Preparation
O Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Glory to the Holy One
Seated on the heav’nly throne
Above all mortal view
The King supreme in glory sat
Bathed in resplendent hue
Refrain
“Holy, Holy, Holy”
Cried the seraph throng
Glory to the Holy One
Join in heaven’s song
All around the mercy seat
The heav’nly creatures sang
Glory to our God on high
Their poignant anthem rang
Shielded eyes and covered feat
The angels hovered high
Glory shook the portal walls
And smoke rose to the sky
Refrain
“Angel come now, purge my lips
Make pure my soul anew
Now I’ll rise and stand again
In grace to go for you”
Refrain [1]
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight, O Lord,
My strength and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14
The Word of God
Psalm 105:8-15
Refrain: Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
8He has remembered his covenant forever,
the word which he commanded to a thousand generations,
9 the covenant which he made with Abraham,
his oath to Isaac,
10 and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute;
to Israel for an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan,
the lot of your inheritance,” R
12 when they were but a few men in number,
yes, very few, and foreigners in it.
13 They went about from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people.
14 He allowed no one to do them wrong.
Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes,
15 “Don’t touch my anointed ones!
Do my prophets no harm!” R
Silence may be kept.
God of our earthly pilgrimage,
feed your people with the bread of heaven,
that we may hunger and thirst for righteousness
until we reach our promised land;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Leviticus 21:10-24
“ ‘He who is the high priest amongst his brothers, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured, and who is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not let the hair of his head hang loose, or tear his clothes. 11 He must not go in to any dead body, or defile himself for his father or for his mother. 12 He shall not go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him. I am the LORD.
13 “ ‘He shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 He shall not marry a widow, or one divorced, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute. He shall take a virgin of his own people as a wife. 15 He shall not profane his offspring amongst his people, for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.’ ”
16 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Say to Aaron, ‘None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect may approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For whatever man he is that has a defect, he shall not draw near: a blind man, or a lame, or he who has a flat nose, or any deformity, 19 or a man who has an injured foot, or an injured hand, 20 or hunchbacked, or a dwarf, or one who has a defect in his eye, or an itching disease, or scabs, or who has damaged testicles. 21 No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall come near to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire. Since he has a defect, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy. 23 He shall not come near to the veil, nor come near to the altar, because he has a defect; that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.’ ”
24 So Moses spoke to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel.
Proverbs 22:14-16
14 The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit.
He who is under the LORD’s wrath will fall into it.
15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child:
the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
16 Whoever oppresses the poor for his own increase and whoever gives to the rich,
both come to poverty.
A song may be sung (Suggestion: Psalm 126) [2]
Our mouths they were filled, filled with laughter
Our tongues they were loosed, loosed with joy
Restore us, O Lord
Restore us, O Lord
Although we are weeping
Lord, help us keep sowing
The seeds of Your Kingdom
For the day You will reap them
Your sheaves we will carry
Lord, please do not tarry
All those who sow weeping will go out with songs of joy
The nations will say, “He has done great things!”
The nations will sing songs of joy
Restore us, O Lord
Restore us, O Lord
Mark 8:13-21
13 He left them, and again entering into the boat, departed to the other side. 14 They forgot to take bread; and they didn’t have more than one loaf in the boat with them. 15 He warned them, saying, “Take heed: beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”
16 They reasoned with one another, saying, “It’s because we have no bread.”
17 Jesus, perceiving it, said to them, “Why do you reason that it’s because you have no bread? Don’t you perceive yet, neither understand? Is your heart still hardened? 18 Having eyes, don’t you see? Having ears, don’t you hear? Don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves amongst the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?”
They told him, “Twelve.”
20 “When the seven loaves fed the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?”
They told him, “Seven.”
21 He asked them, “Don’t you understand yet?”[3]
You have set us free to worship you without fear,
holy and righteous in your sight.
Prayers
Prayers may include these concerns:
– The media and the arts
– Farming and fishing
– Commerce and industry
– Those whose work is unfulfilling, stressful or fraught with danger
– All who are unemployed
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer
Silence may be kept.
The Collect of the day or the following is said
O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:
increase and multiply upon us your mercy;
that with you as our ruler and guide
we may so pass through things temporal
that we lose not our hold on things eternal;
grant this, heavenly Father,
for our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The Conclusion
Jesus said, I am the true vine.
My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit. John 15:1a,8
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
May God bless the work of our hands.
Amen.[4]
(The pdf of these prayers may be downloaded here)
[1] Music by Jeff Lippencott | Words by R.C. Sproul | Album: Glory to the Holy One
[2] Bifrost Arts, ft. Molly Parden | He Will Not Cry Out, July 2013
[3] All Scripture from the World English Bible: British Edition (WEBBE)
[4] N. Andrew Long. The Offerings of Our Lips: Prayer in Community. Nampa, ID: In(habit) Media, 2017.
Long-ing For Life 