Collect for: Proper 8
Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Old Testament
Jeremiah 28:5-9, 15-17
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people who stood in the house of the LORD,
6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, 'Amen! The LORD do so; the LORD perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the LORD's house and all who were carried away captive, from Babylon to this place.
7 Nevertheless hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people:
8 The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms -- of war and disaster and pestilence.
9 As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the LORD has truly sent.'
15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, 'Hear now, Hananiah, the LORD has not sent you, but you make this people trust in a lie.
16 Therefore thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will cast you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have taught rebellion against the LORD.' '
17 So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
Officiant: The Word of the Lord. The People: Thanks be to God.
Psalm
Psalm
89
1 I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I have said, 'Mercy shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens.'
3 I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David:
4 Your seed I will establish forever, And build up your throne to all generations.' '
Selah 5 And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints.
6 For who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD?
7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.
8 O LORD God of hosts, Who is mighty like You, O LORD? Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
9 You rule the raging of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them.
10 You have broken Rahab in pieces, as one who is slain; You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.
12 The north and the south, You have created them; Tabor and Hermon rejoice in Your name.
13 You have a mighty arm; Strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face.
15 Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance.
16 In Your name they rejoice all day long, And in Your righteousness they are exalted.
17 For You are the glory of their strength, And in Your favor our horn is exalted.
18 For our shield belongs to the LORD, And our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19 Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one, And said: 'I have given help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him,
21 With whom My hand shall be established; Also My arm shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23 I will beat down his foes before his face, And plague those who hate him.
24 But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him, And in My name his horn shall be exalted.
25 Also I will set his hand over the sea, And his right hand over the rivers.
26 He shall cry to Me, 'You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.'
27 Also I will make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.
28 My mercy I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall stand firm with him.
29 His seed also I will make to endure forever, And his throne as the days of heaven.
30 If his sons forsake My law And do not walk in My judgments,
31 If they break My statutes And do not keep My commandments,
32 Then I will punish their transgression with the rod, And their iniquity with stripes.
33 Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.
34 My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.
35 Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David:
36 His seed shall endure forever, And his throne as the sun before Me;
37 It shall be established forever like the moon, Even like the faithful witness in the sky.'
Selah 38 But You have cast off and abhorred, You have been furious with Your anointed.
39 You have renounced the covenant of Your servant; You have profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.
40 You have broken down all his hedges; You have brought his strongholds to ruin.
41 All who pass by the way plunder him; He is a reproach to his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries; You have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You have also turned back the edge of his sword, And have not sustained him in the battle.
44 You have made his glory cease, And cast his throne down to the ground.
45 The days of his youth You have shortened; You have covered him with shame.
Selah 46 How long, LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my time is; For what futility have You created all the children of men?
48 What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave?
Selah 49 Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses, Which You swore to David in Your truth?
50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of Your servants -- How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,
51 With which Your enemies have reproached, O LORD, With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.
52 Blessed be the LORD forevermore! Amen and Amen.
*At the end of the Psalms this is sung or said Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: * as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
New Testament
Romans 6:16-23
16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Officiant: The Word of the Lord. The People: Thanks be to God.
Gospel
Matthew 10:37-42
Introduction to the Gospel:
Deacon:
The Lord be with you.
People:
And also with you. Or And with your spirit
Deacon:
May the Lord be on our minds, on our lips, and on our hearts as we hear His Holy Gospel. The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew.
People:
Glory to You, Lord Christ.
Deacon:
We are reading from Matthew's Gospel chapter 10, beginning at verse 37.
37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
40 He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.
41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
42 And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.'
After the Gospel reading, the deacon elevates the book and says:
Deacon:
The Gospel of the Lord.
People:
Praise to You, Lord Christ. Prayers of the People
Prayers of the People for: Proper 8
Brothers and sisters, aware that God cares for us more than we can imagine, let us present the needs of the whole world before Him.
That the Church will always boldly proclaim that Jesus is the Savior of the world and through Him we have peace with God.
Lord in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
That governments will enact laws that promote justice and mercy for all their people, especially the poor and the powerless.
Lord in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
That Christians who are persecuted for their faith will remain faithful remembering the promise of a great reward in the age to come.
Lord in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
That we will acknowledge Christ in all our daily activities.
Lord in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
That those who defend us at home and abroad will be protected by the grace of God.
Lord in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
That those who are suffering from the loss of a loved one will be comforted by the promises of the Risen Christ.
Lord in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
For our own special intentions. (Pause)
Lord in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, You know the number of hairs on our head and our needs even before we ask. Mercifully hear our prayer and give us the grace to be a thankful people. We ask this through Christ our Lord. AMEN