Week 4
Thursday Morning
Greeting
O God, come to my assistance,
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Doxology
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to
the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever
shall be world without end. Amen
PSALM 147
Open our ears to hear you, O god who speak to the earth.
How good to sing God praise!
How lovely the sound!
The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem
and gathers the exiles of Israel,
healing the brokenhearted,
binding their aching wounds.
God fixes the number of stars,
calling each by name.
Great is our God and powerful,
wise beyond all telling.
The Lord upholds the poor
but lets the wicked fall.
Sing thanks to the Lord,
sound the harp for our God.
The Lord stretches the clouds,
sending rain to the earth,
clothing mountains with green.
The Lord feeds the cattle
and young ravens when they call.
A horse’s strength, a runner’s speed-
they count for nothing!
The Lord favors the reverent,
those who trust in God’s mercy.
Jerusalem, give glory!
Praise God with song, O Zion!
For the Lord strengthens your gates
guarding your children within.
The Lord fills your land with peace,
giving you golden wheat.
God speaks to the earth,
the word speeds forth.
The Lord sends heavy snow
and scatters frost like ashes.
The Lord hurls chunks of hail.
Who can stand such cold?
God speaks, the ice melts;
God breathes, the streams flow.
God speaks his word to Jacob,
to Israel, his laws and decrees.
God has not done this for others,
no others receive this wisdom.
Hallelujah!
READING
Romans 8:18-21
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
God, our refuge and our strength, be our hope in times of trouble.
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
As we greet this new day, we praise you, loving God, and beg for your blessing.
You are our safety and our strength:
~ Help us to support one another when we experience crisis and pain.
You created the world and all its creatures:
~Help us to be protectors and advocates of life, for the earth and all its inhabitants.
You sent your Beloved to free us from sin and the power of death:
~Help us to bring your peace to all who are sick and dying.
You call us to remember those who are forgotten:
~Help us to comfort those who suffer, especially those who are scorned and ignored.
You made us in your image:
~Help us to bring down the barriers that divide us and to recognize one another as members of the same human family.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
PRAYER
You are the God who upholds us in our weakness. Be with us when we are in trouble. May we open our ears to hear, as you call us each by name. Give us courage for this new day as we place our trust in you. We pray always and forever through the power of your Spirit. Amen.
BLESSING
May the God of mercy bless and protect us all. Amen.
May the God of peace comfort us in times of trial. Amen.
May the God of love shine forth in our lives. Amen.