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Midweek Noon Prayer 05 04 2023
Pam Smith
Pam Smith
Thursday, May 4, 2023
Notes
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Mid-Day Noon Prayer – Great Fifty Days
May 4, 2023

Call to Worship

In the middle of the day we become weary
We come to you, O Lord

We come for rest and refreshment
Come to us, O Lord    

Restore us as we serve you and your people
Be with us, O Lord

Invocation

Dialogue

O God, come to my assistance.

O Lord, make haste to help me. 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.

Prayer of the Day    
Almighty God, your Son Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. Give us grace to love one another, to follow in the way of his commandments, and to share his risen life with all the world, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Commemoration    Monica, mother of Augustine, died 387

Monica, the mother of St. Augustine, was born in Northern Africa about 322. Her son, St. Augustine was one of the early prominent leaders in the Christian Church and was the Bishop of Hippo, present day Algeria. Many controversies and heresies were addressed under his leadership. St. Augustine was born in 354 and his mother, Monica, attempted to raise him as a Christian without success. He was baptized in 387 after many of his doubts as a younger man were dispelled through the teaching of St. Ambrose. Monica prayed fervently for him particularly throughout his early years. She rejoiced in his baptism. We commemorate Monica as a model to us of her perseverance in faith and prayer.

Let us pray. Lord God, you have surrounded us with so great a cloud of witnesses. Grant that we, encouraged by the example of your servant Monica, may persevere in the course that is set before us, to be living signs of the Gospel and, at the last, with all the saints, to share in your eternal joy; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Psalm 31

 1In you, O LORD, I seek refuge;
 do not let me ever be put to shame;
 in your righteousness deliver me.
 2Incline your ear to me;
 rescue me speedily.
 Be a rock of refuge for me,
 a strong fortress to save me.
 3You are indeed my rock and my fortress;
 for your name's sake lead me and guide me,
 4take me out of the net that is hidden for me,
 for you are my refuge.
 5Into your hand I commit my spirit;
 you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.
 6You hate those who pay regard to worthless idols,
 but I trust in the LORD.
 7I will exult and rejoice in your steadfast love,
 because you have seen my affliction;
 you have taken heed of my adversities,
 8and have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;
 you have set my feet in a broad place.
 9Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
 my eye wastes away from grief,
 my soul and body also.
 10For my life is spent with sorrow,
 and my years with sighing;
 my strength fails because of my misery,
 and my bones waste away.
 11I am the scorn of all my adversaries,
 a horror to my neighbors,
 an object of dread to my acquaintances;
 those who see me in the street flee from me.
 12I have passed out of mind like one who is dead;
 I have become like a broken vessel.
 13For I hear the whispering of many —
 terror all around! —
 as they scheme together against me,
 as they plot to take my life.
 14But I trust in you, O LORD;
 I say, "You are my God."
 15My times are in your hand;
 deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.
 16Let your face shine upon your servant;
 save me in your steadfast love.
 17Do not let me be put to shame, O LORD,
 for I call on you;
 let the wicked be put to shame;
 let them go dumbfounded to Sheol.
 18Let the lying lips be stilled
 that speak insolently against the righteous
 with pride and contempt.
 19O how abundant is your goodness
 that you have laid up for those who fear you,
 and accomplished for those who take refuge in you,
 in the sight of everyone!
 20In the shelter of your presence you hide them
 from human plots;
 you hold them safe under your shelter
 from contentious tongues.
 21Blessed be the LORD,
 for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me
 when I was beset as a city under siege.
 22I had said in my alarm,
 "I am driven far from your sight."
 But you heard my supplications
 when I cried out to you for help.
 23Love the LORD, all you his saints.
 The LORD preserves the faithful,
 but abundantly repays the one who acts haughtily.
 24Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
 all you who wait for the LORD.

Psalm 29

 1Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
 ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
 2Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name;
 worship the LORD in holy splendor.
 3The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
 the God of glory thunders,
 the LORD, over mighty waters.
 4The voice of the LORD is powerful;
 the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
 5The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
 the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
 6He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
 and Sirion like a young wild ox.
 7The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
 8The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
 the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
 9The voice of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl,
 and strips the forest bare;
 and in his temple all say, "Glory!"
 10The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
 the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
 11May the LORD give strength to his people!
 May the LORD bless his people with peace!

Gloria Patri

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be. Amen.

Reading   1 Peter 2:2-10

2Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation — 3if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
4Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and 5like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6For it stands in scripture:
 "See, I am laying in Zion a stone,
 a cornerstone chosen and precious;
 and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."
7To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe,
 "The stone that the builders rejected
 has become the very head of the corner,"
8and
 "A stone that makes them stumble,
 and a rock that makes them fall."
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
9But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
 10Once you were not a people,
 but now you are God's people;
 once you had not received mercy,
 but now you have received mercy.

Reflection

Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
  creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
  who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
  born of the virgin Mary,
  suffered under Pontius Pilate,
  was crucified, died, and was buried;
  he descended to the dead.*
  On the third day he rose again;
  he ascended into heaven,
  he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
  and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
  the holy catholic church,
  the communion of saints,
  the forgiveness of sins,
  the resurrection of the body,
  and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers        

Mighty God of mercy, we give you thanks that at midday you give us a time of rest; may we accept it gratefully and be strengthened by it, to serve you and our neighbor. And we thank you…

   for the sustaining goodness of your creation…
   for the new creation in Christ and all gifts of healing and forgiveness…
   for the gifts of relationship with others…    
   for the communion of faith in your church…

Merciful God of might, renew this weary world, heal the hurts of all your children, and bring about your peace for all in Christ Jesus, the living Lord.  We pray …
    
   for those who govern nations of the world…
   for the people in countries ravaged by strife or warfare…
   for all who work for peace and international harmony…
   for all who strive to save the earth from carelessness and destruction…
   for the church of Jesus Christ in every land…
    
God of heaven and earth, help us to live in this world faithfully guided by your love, which manifests itself in our love toward one another. Prepare us for that great morning when your new world is fully revealed. Amen.


Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven,
  hallowed be your name,
  your kingdom come,
  your will be done,
  on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
  as we forgive those
  who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
  and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
  and the glory are yours,
  now and forever. Amen.
Benediction
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: 
    wherever he may send you;
May he guide you through the wilderness:
    protect you through the storm;
May he bring you home rejoicing:
    at the wonders he has shown you;
May he bring you home rejoicing:
    once again into our doors.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.