Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near.
Isaiah 55.6
Glory to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as in the beginning, so now, and for ever. Amen.
A poem: The Lord’s Servant
He was despised; he was rejected:
a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.
As one from whom people hide their faces:
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Ours were the sufferings he bore:
ours the torments he endured,
While we thought he was being punished:
struck by God and brought low.
He was pierced for our sins:
bruised for no fault but ours.
His punishment has won our peace:
and by his wounds we are healed.
We had all strayed like sheep:
all taking our own way;
But the Lord laid on him:
the guilt of us all.
Isaiah 53.3-6
The opening prayer
By night and by day we worship the Lord; let us pray with one heart and mind.
We remember God’s presence and pause in silence.
Father of lights, receive the prayer and praise we offer you as our daily sacrifice; make us a light for all the world, delivered by your goodness from all the works of darkness; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
The readings
1 Kings 8.1-7, 9-13
Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. All the people of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the festival in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests carried the ark. So they brought up the ark of the LORD, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles.
There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses had placed there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites, when they came out of the land of Egypt. And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.
Then Solomon said,
‘The LORD has said that he would dwell in thick darkness.
I have built you an exalted house,
a place for you to dwell in for ever.’
Psalm 132.1-9
Lord, remember for David
all the hardships he endured;
How he swore an oath to the Lord
and vowed a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
I will not come within the shelter of my house,
not climb up into my bed;
I will not allow my eyes to sleep,
nor let my eyelids slumber,
Until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.’
Now, we heard of the ark in Ephrathah
and found it in the fields of Ja-ar.
Let us enter his dwelling place
and fall low before his footstool.
Arise, O Lord, into your resting place,
you and the ark of your strength.
Let your priests be clothed with righteousness
and your faithful ones sing with joy.
Mark 6.53-end
When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the market-places, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.
The Prayers
The 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.
This week’s prayer:
Father of all,
who gave your only-begotten Son
to take upon himself the form of a servant
and to be obedient even to death on a cross:
give us the same mind that was in Christ Jesus,
that, sharing in his humility,
we may come to be with him in his glory;
where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
We thank God for what we have and pray for what we need.
Today we pray for ourselves, that God would increase our faith. In our local church, we ask God to be good managers of the resources given to our parish by previous generations. In our world, we pray for all who serve in the courts and the justice system. We remember before God those who have asked for our prayers, or who are in need of them.
A prayer for the day
Lord Jesus Christ,
we thank you for all the benefits that you have won for us,
for all the pains and insults that you have borne for us.
Most merciful redeemer, friend and brother,
may we know you more clearly,
love you more dearly,
and follow you more nearly,
day by day.
Amen
The Lord be with us
now and forever.
Let us praise the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
May the God of peace equip us with everything good so that we may do his will; and may he work in us that which is pleasing in his sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
see Hebrews 13.20-21