Todays Readings

Today's Readings

Psalm 88:1-18
2 Kings 9:17-37
1 Corinthians 7:1-9
Matthew 6:7-15
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Ordinary Time
Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. Psalm 43:3

Confession of Sin

Most merciful God,
I confess that I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart; I have not loved my neighbors as myself. I am truly sorry and I humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on me and forgive me; that I may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen

The Lessons

Select one or more of the readings



Psalm 88

(1) O LORD, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You. (2) Let my prayer come before You; Incline Your ear to my cry. (3) For my soul is full of troubles, And my life draws near to the grave. (4) I am counted with those who go down to the pit; I am like a man who has no strength,

(5) Adrift among the dead, Like the slain who lie in the grave, Whom You remember no more, And who are cut off from Your hand. (6) You have laid me in the lowest pit, In darkness, in the depths. (7) Your wrath lies heavy upon me, And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah (8) You have put away my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an abomination to them; I am shut up, and I cannot get out;

(9) My eye wastes away because of affliction. LORD, I have called daily upon You; I have stretched out my hands to You. (10) Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise You? Selah (11) Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction? (12) Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

(13) But to You I have cried out, O LORD, And in the morning my prayer comes before You. (14) LORD, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? (15) I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught. (16) Your fierce wrath has gone over me; Your terrors have cut me off.

(17) They came around me all day long like water; They engulfed me altogether. (18) Loved one and friend You have put far from me, And my acquaintances into darkness.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.



2 Kings 9

(17) Now a watchman stood on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu as he came, and said, 'I see a company of men.' And Joram said, 'Get a horseman and send him to meet them, and let him say, 'Is it peace?' ' (18) So the horseman went to meet him, and said, 'Thus says the king: 'Is it peace?' ' And Jehu said, 'What have you to do with peace? Turn around and follow me.' So the watchman reported, saying, 'The messenger went to them, but is not coming back.' (19) Then he sent out a second horseman who came to them, and said, 'Thus says the king: 'Is it peace?' ' And Jehu answered, 'What have you to do with peace? Turn around and follow me.' (20) So the watchman reported, saying, 'He went up to them and is not coming back; and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously!'

(21) Then Joram said, 'Make ready.' And his chariot was made ready. Then Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot; and they went out to meet Jehu, and met him on the property of Naboth the Jezreelite. (22) Now it happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, 'Is it peace, Jehu?' So he answered, 'What peace, as long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft are so many?' (23) Then Joram turned around and fled, and said to Ahaziah, 'Treachery, Ahaziah!' (24) Now Jehu drew his bow with full strength and shot Jehoram between his arms; and the arrow came out at his heart, and he sank down in his chariot.

(25) Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, 'Pick him up, and throw him into the tract of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember, when you and I were riding together behind Ahab his father, that the LORD laid this burden upon him: (26) Surely I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,' says the LORD, 'and I will repay you in this plot,' says the LORD. Now therefore, take and throw him on the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD.' (27) But when Ahaziah king of Judah saw this, he fled by the road to Beth Haggan. So Jehu pursued him, and said, 'Shoot him also in the chariot.' And they shot him at the Ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. Then he fled to Megiddo, and died there. (28) And his servants carried him in the chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the City of David.

(29) In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king over Judah. (30) Now when Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she put paint on her eyes and adorned her head, and looked through a window. (31) Then, as Jehu entered at the gate, she said, 'Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of your master?' (32) And he looked up at the window, and said, 'Who is on my side? Who?' So two or three eunuchs looked out at him.

(33) Then he said, 'Throw her down.' So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses; and he trampled her underfoot. (34) And when he had gone in, he ate and drank. Then he said, 'Go now, see to this accursed woman, and bury her, for she was a king's daughter.' (35) So they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. (36) Therefore they came back and told him. And he said, 'This is the word of the LORD, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 'On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel;

(37) and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as refuse on the surface of the field, in the plot at Jezreel, so that they shall not say, 'Here lies Jezebel.' ' '

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.



1 Corinthians 7

(1) Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. (2) Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. (3) Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. (4) The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.

(5) Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. (6) But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment. (7) For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. (8) But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am;

(9) but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.



Matthew 6

(7) And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. (8) Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. (9) In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. (10) Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

(11) Give us this day our daily bread. (12) And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. (13) And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (14) For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

(15) But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.


The Lord's Prayer   
Our Father, who art in heaven,
  hallowed be thy Name,
  thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
  on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
  And forgive us our trespasses,
  as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
  but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
  and the power, and the glory,
  forever and ever. Amen.


Seasonal Collect:  Proper 20 The Sunday closest to September 21
Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Personal Prayers and Reflection

This is a time to pause, consider and listen. Pray for yourself and others.



Closing Prayers   

The General Thanksgiving

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

Conclude with following
O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.



This concludes the Daily Prayer
Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord