“Order of Worship” α
–RED TEXT indicates links to content with the exception of any prayers from The Worship Sourcebook.
§ WE ARE LED INTO GOD’S PRESENCE
Through prayer, let’s draw near to our heavenly Father through His only Son Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, approaching the throne of grace with confidence that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need:
O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may
think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through
Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for
ever and ever. Amen. (Sunday Closest to June 8 — Book of Common Prayer 229)
§ WE LISTEN TO GOD’S WORD
Reading the Word – ISAIAH 33 (LISTEN HERE)
From Bible Gateway:
Distress and Help
33:1 Woe to you, destroyer,
you who have not been destroyed!
Woe to you, betrayer,
you who have not been betrayed!
When you stop destroying,
you will be destroyed;
when you stop betraying,
you will be betrayed.
2 Lord, be gracious to us;
we long for you.
Be our strength every morning,
our salvation in time of distress.
3 At the uproar of your army, the peoples flee;
when you rise up, the nations scatter.
4 Your plunder, O nations, is harvested as by young locusts;
like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.
5 The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;
he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness.
6 He will be the sure foundation for your times,
a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.[a]
7 Look, their brave men cry aloud in the streets;
the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
8 The highways are deserted,
no travelers are on the roads.
The treaty is broken,
its witnesses[b] are despised,
no one is respected.
9 The land dries up and wastes away,
Lebanon is ashamed and withers;
Sharon is like the Arabah,
and Bashan and Carmel drop their leaves.
10 “Now will I arise,” says the Lord.
“Now will I be exalted;
now will I be lifted up.
11 You conceive chaff,
you give birth to straw;
your breath is a fire that consumes you.
12 The peoples will be burned to ashes;
like cut thornbushes they will be set ablaze.”
13 You who are far away, hear what I have done;
you who are near, acknowledge my power!
14 The sinners in Zion are terrified;
trembling grips the godless:
“Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?
Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”
15 Those who walk righteously
and speak what is right,
who reject gain from extortion
and keep their hands from accepting bribes,
who stop their ears against plots of murder
and shut their eyes against contemplating evil—
16 they are the ones who will dwell on the heights,
whose refuge will be the mountain fortress.
Their bread will be supplied,
and water will not fail them.
17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty
and view a land that stretches afar.
18 In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror:
“Where is that chief officer?
Where is the one who took the revenue?
Where is the officer in charge of the towers?”
19 You will see those arrogant people no more,
people whose speech is obscure,
whose language is strange and incomprehensible.
20 Look on Zion, the city of our festivals;
your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved;
its stakes will never be pulled up,
nor any of its ropes broken.
21 There the Lord will be our Mighty One.
It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.
No galley with oars will ride them,
no mighty ship will sail them.
22 For the Lord is our judge,
the Lord is our lawgiver,
the Lord is our king;
it is he who will save us.
23 Your rigging hangs loose:
The mast is not held secure,
the sail is not spread.
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided
and even the lame will carry off plunder.
24 No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”;
and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 33:6 Or is a treasure from him
- Isaiah 33:8 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text / the cities
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
A period of silence may follow for reflection & recording insights.
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§ WE LIVE IN PRAYERFUL RESPONSE TO GOD
As we spend time with God in prayer (Listening as well as offering up prayers of Adoration, Confession of Sin, Thanksgiving, Surrender, & Supplication), we might include in our praying:
+The Jesus Creed (see * below) and/or The Apostles’ Creed (see ** below)
+The Lord’s Prayer (Prayed, Used as a Guide, or Both; see *** below)
+Prayers for Ourselves, Our Families, the Church, & the World
* – “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31, NIV 2011).
** – I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day He rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead; I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic (universal) Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. (United Methodist Hymnal 881)
*** – 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, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. (United Methodist Hymnal 895)
α NOTE: The following “Order of Worship” is offered as a possible way into prayerful communion with the Triune God of the Bible and into earnestly listening for God’s revelation of His nature, saving work, and will through the Scriptures. However, depending upon your time limitations, interests, and convictions, one can “pick and choose” what it will look like for him or her to seek God through disciplined engagement with Scripture (“Read”) and Prayer (“Pray”) with the goal of receiving and reflecting the love of God (“Love”) every day of our lives (“Daily”).
† = Reprinted by permission from The Worship Sourcebook, © 2004, Faith Alive Christian Resources.
Read. Pray. Love. Daily. 