Week Two
Thursday Morning
Greeting and Doxology
PSALM 81
You who are our strength, be with us in our need.
Shout joy to God,
the God of our strength,
sing to the God of Jacob.
Lift hearts, strike tambourines,
sound lyre and harp.
Blow trumpets at the New Moon,
till the full moon of our feast.
For this is a law for Israel,
the command of Jacob’s God,
decreed for the house of Joseph
when we marched from Egypt.
We heard a voice unknown;
“I lifted burdens from your backs,
a blistering load from your hands.
“You cried out in pain
and I rescued you;
robed in thunder,
I answered you.
At the waters of Meribah
I tested you.
“My people, hear my complaint;
Israel, if you would only listen.
You shall have no other gods,
do not bow before them.
I am the Lord you God.
I brought you out of Egypt
and fed your hungry mouths.
“But you would not hear me,
my people rejected me.
So I hardened your hearts,
and you left me out of your plans.
My people, if you would only listen!
Israel, walk in my ways!
“Then I will strike your enemy,
and put them all to flight.
With their fate sealed,
my foes will grovel at your feet.
But you, O Israel,
will feast on finest wheat,
will savor pure wild honey.”
READING: Romans 14:17-19
The kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The one who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and has human approval. Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
Fill me, O God, with the spirit of justice and peace.
Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
who shepherds the people and sets them free.
God raises from David’s house
a child with power to save.
Through the holy prophets
God promised in ages past
to save us from enemy hands,
from the grip of all who hate us.
The Lord favored our ancestors
recalling the sacred covenant,
the pledge to our ancestor Abraham,
to free us from our enemies,
so we might worship without fear
and be holy and just all our days.
And you child, will be called
Prophet of the Most High,
for you will come to prepare
a pathway for the Lord
by teaching the people salvation
through forgiveness of their sin.
Out of God’s deepest mercy
a dawn will come from on high,
light for those shadowed by death,
a guide for our feet on the way to peace.
INTERCESSIONS
Jesus, as we begin this day, we remember your presence among us, and we pray:
You changed water into wine:
~May we be wine for those who thirst for justice.
You calmed the storm at sea:
~May we be peace for the war-torn.
You healed a man born blind:
~May we be hope for the powerless.
You forgave a woman caught in adultery:
~May we be home for the brokenhearted.
You drove out evil spirits:
~May we be a voice for the oppressed.
You wept for Lazarus:
~May we be comfort for the sorrowing.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
PRAYER
Jesus, you walked among us and were moved to compassion for your people. The lame and the leper came to you and found healing. The tax collector and the prostitute came, and you believed in them. No one was excluded from your love. Send us your spirit of union and compassion that we may make a home in our hearts for all the persons we meet. This day, O Jesus, give us hearts that love. Amen.
BLESSING
May God’s blessing be upon us. Amen
May God’s light lead us in the way of Righteousness. Amen.
May our lives be patterned on Christ Jesus. Amen.