Lord God, your care for us surpasses even a mother’s tender love. Through this word and sacrament renew our trust in your provident care, that we may abandon all anxiety and seek first your kingdom. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen

1 I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up

    and have not let my foes rejoice over me.

2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,

    and you have healed me.

3 O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;

    you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,

    and give thanks to his holy name.

5 For his anger is but for a moment,

    and his favor is for a lifetime.

   Weeping may tarry for the night,

    but joy comes with the morning.

6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,

    “I shall never be moved.”

Psalm 30 – English Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Job 29:1-20 - Acts 14:1-18 - John 10:31-42

O God, our very breath, our only hope, in every age you take pity on us and bring forth life from death. Visit your people and raise your Church to new life, that we may join with all generations in voicing our wonder and praise. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen

9 The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,

    a stronghold in times of trouble.

10 And those who know your name put their trust in you,

    for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

11 Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!

    Tell among the peoples his deeds!

12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;

    he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

13 Be gracious to me, O Lord!

    See my affliction from those who hate me,

    O you who lift me up from the gates of death,

14 that I may recount all your praises,

    that in the gates of the daughter of Zion

    I may rejoice in your salvation.

Psalm 9 – English Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Job 32:1-10,32:19-33:1,33:19-28 - Acts 13:44-52 - John 10:19-30

 Almighty and eternal God, direct all our actions to accord with your holy will, that our lives may be rich in good works done in the name of your beloved Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen

14 Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves;

    then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.

15 Unseal my lips, O Lord,

    that my mouth may praise you.

16 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.

    You do not want a burnt offering.

17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.

    You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

18 Look with favor on Zion and help her;

    rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then you will be pleased with sacrifices

    offered in the right spirit—

    with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings.

    Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.

Psalm 51– New Living Translation

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Daniel 6:10-16,19-23 - James 1:2-4,12 - Matthew 15:21-28

Your sovereign rule, O God, draws near to us in the person of Jesus your Son. Your word summons us to faith, your power transforms our lives. Free us to follow in Christ’s footsteps,

so that neither human loyalty nor earthly attachment may hold us back from answering your call. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.

1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;

    I have no good apart from you.”

3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,

    in whom is all my delight.

4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;

    their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out

    or take their names on my lips.

5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;

    you hold my lot.

6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

    indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

Psalm 16 – English Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Job 16:16-22, 17:1, 13-16 - Acts 12:18-25 - John 9:1-17

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;

    maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.

4 Rescue the weak and the needy;

    deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding,

    they walk about in darkness;

    all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

6 I said, “You are gods,

    sons of the Most High, all of you;

7 nevertheless, like men you shall die,

    and fall like any prince.”

8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;

    for you shall inherit all the nations!

Psalm 146 – English Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Job 12:1, 14:1-22 - Acts 12:18-25 - John 8:47-59

Albert Schweitzer, Theologian, Physician, and Missionary

Heavenly Father, whose Son Jesus Christ came, not to be served But to serve: Give us the grace to follow in his footsteps, and to show forth your love by loving and serving our neighbors, and coming, as did Albert Schweitzer, to the rescue of those in need; for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live;

    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3 Put not your trust in princes,

    in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;

    on that very day his plans perish.

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

    whose hope is in the Lord his God,

6 who made heaven and earth,

    the sea, and all that is in them,

   who keeps faith forever;

7  who executes justice for the oppressed,

    who gives food to the hungry.

Psalm 146 – English Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Job 12:1, 13:3-17, 21-27 - Acts 12:1-17 - John 8:33-47

The Martyrs of Papua New Guinea

Almighty God, we remember before you this day the blessed martyrs of New Guinea, who, following the example of their Savior, laid down their lives for their friends; and we pray that we, who honor their memory, may imitate their loyalty and faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(From Lesser Feasts and Fasts)

1 I love the LORD, because he has heard

   my voice and my pleas for mercy.

2 Because he inclined his ear to me,

   therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

3 The snares of death encompassed me;
   the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;

   I suffered distress and anguish.

4 Then I called on the name of the LORD:

   "O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!"

5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;

   our God is merciful.

6 The LORD preserves the simple;

   when I was brought low, he saved me.

7 Return, O my soul, to your rest;

   for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

8 For you have delivered my soul from death,

   my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling;

Psalm 116 – English Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Job 12:1-6, 13-25 - Acts 11:19-30 - John 8:21-32