Week 36: July 30 - August 5, 2017

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Monday, July 31st, 2017

  • 1 This Week's Theme
  • 2 Preparing Our Hearts
  • 3 Praising Our God
  • 4 Listening to His Voice
  • 5 Responding in Faith
  • 6 Departing to Serve
  • 7 For Your Weekly Journey
  • Broken: Hannah

    1 Samuel 2.1-11

    Elkanah, a man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim, had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah was barren. Elkanah went up to the temple and gave portions to Peninnah and her sons and daughters, but he gave Hannah a double portion, for he loved her though the LORD had closed her womb. Peninnah was cruel in her irritation of Hannah, causing her at times not even to eat.

    On going to Shiloh where Eli the priest dwelt, Hannah was deeply distressed, praying to the Lord, promising him to dedicate the fruit of her womb to him if she had a child, and continued to weep bitterly, moving her lips only, praying in her heart. Thinking she was drunk, Eli rebuked her, but Hannah answered that she wasn’t drunk, but pouring her heart out to God, out of her “great anxiety and vexation.” She asked Eli for favor, and he answered her to go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant her petition. Soon, Hannah became pregnant, bore a son, and called him Samuel (“I have asked for him from the LORD”).

    When Samuel grew and was weaned, she brought him to Shiloh to live and serve there. She prayed, exulting in the Lord, rejoicing in his salvation. She exclaimed that none are holy like the LORD, no other god exists beside him. The proud and the arrogant should be quiet, the mighty would be brought low, and the barren would bare children. The LORD kills and brings to life, the LORD makes poor and rich, he brings low and exalts. The poor are raised up from the dust and the wicked are cut off. Her petition speaks of humility, brokenness, and the acknowledgment that only the LORD can exalt and bless. Hannah provides a wonderful picture of a truly broken spirit before God.

    In today's teaching, Dr. Davis refers to the following two documents:
  • Invocation: Our Prayer of Acclamation

    Father, Hannah’s broken spirit prayed to you in pain and tears, and you remembered her and her petition, granting to her the birth of your servant Samuel, the last great judge and beginning of the prophets. Work in us that kind of deep, true brokenness that Hannah displayed, the kind you remembered and blessed, and led to Samuel’s birth. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

    Call to Worship  

    Blessed are you, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And blessed is your Kingdom, both now and forever, Amen.

  • Te Deum Laudamus

    You are God: we praise you; you are the Lord; we acclaim you; you are the eternal Father: All creation worships you. To you all angels, all the powers of heaven, Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.

    The glorious company of apostles praise you. The noble fellowship of prophets praise you. The white-robed army of martyrs praise you. Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you; Father, of majesty unbounded, your true and only Son, worthy of all worship, and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.

    You, Christ, are the king of glory, the eternal Son of the Father. When you became man to set us free you did not shun the Virgin’s womb. You overcame the sting of death and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. You are seated at God’s right hand in glory. We believe that you will come and be our judge. Come then, Lord, and help your people, bought with the price of your own blood, and bring us with your saints to glory everlasting.

    Praise and Thanksgiving (songs and prayers)

    Gloria Patri

    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, amen. 

  • The Apostles' Creed

    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; he descended into hell; the third day he arose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven and sits on 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* church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

    *In the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds, the term catholic refers to the Church’s universality, through all ages and times, of all languages and peoples. It refers to no particular tradition or denominational expression (e.g., as in Roman Catholic).

    Prayers of Confession
    Let us now confess our sins to God and receive mercy and grace to help in our time of need.

    Assurance of Pardon
    Having faithfully confessed and renounced your sin, Christ also has been faithful to forgive your sins and to purify you from all unrighteousness. It is certain, that there is One who has spoken to the Father in your defense, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One who is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and for the sins of the whole world. His grace and peace are with you now. Amen.

    Petitions and Supplications, Ending with The Lord's Prayer
    Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

    --Matthew 6.9-13 (KJV)

    Doxology (and/or closing song)
    Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
    Praise Him all creatures here below;
    Praise Him above ye heavenly host;
    Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.

  • Benediction  
    Lord Jesus, who was broken before God and cried many tears in petition to the Father on our behalf, reproduce in us your spirit, the same heart that Hannah displayed in brokenness before you in Shiloh. Remember us as you remembered her, in her lowly, gentle spirit before you. In your name we pray, amen.

    Affirmation from the Psalms
    As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. [2] My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? [3] My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” [4] These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.

    ~ Psalm 42.1-4

    Pray without Ceasing - Flash Prayer for the Day
    According to our brokenness before you, O God, cause us to be heard by you and remembered in the midst of our petitions to you.

  • Let God Arise! Seasonal Focus

    Brokenness before God

    1 Samuel 2.1-11



    Book Reading

    Cunningham and Hamilton, Why Not Women