Praise and Worship Service
Worship Service
Lectionary Theme: Reflect, Rejoice and Renew
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Isaiah 40:25-31 First Lesson
25. To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
26. Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.
27. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28. Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
29. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.
30. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted;
31. but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
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Philippians 2:12-18 Second Lesson
12. Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
13. for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
14. Do all things without murmuring and arguing,
15. so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world.
16. It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
17. But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you—
18. and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me. Timothy and Epaphroditus
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1 Thessalonians 5:14-28 Epistle
14. And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them.
15. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.
16. Rejoice always,
17. pray without ceasing,
18. give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
19. Do not quench the Spirit.
20. Do not despise the words of prophets,
21. but test everything; hold fast to what is good;
22. abstain from every form of evil.
23. May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.
25. Beloved, pray for us.
26. Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss.
27. I solemnly command you by the Lord that this letter be read to all of them.
28. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
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Matthew 5:13-16 Gospel
13. “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
14. “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.
15. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.
16. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. The Law and the Prophets