Come, let us sing to the Lord; let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the caverns of the earth, and the heights of the hills are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands have molded the dry land.

Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, and kneel before the Lord our Maker.

For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!

38:1   O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,
    nor discipline me in your wrath!
2   For your arrows have sunk into me,
    and your hand has come down on me.
3   There is no soundness in my flesh
    because of your indignation;
  there is no health in my bones
    because of my sin.
4   For my iniquities have gone over my head;
    like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
5   My wounds stink and fester
    because of my foolishness,
6   I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
    all the day I go about mourning.
7   For my sides are filled with burning,
    and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8   I am feeble and crushed;
    I groan because of the tumult of my heart.
9   O Lord, all my longing is before you;
    my sighing is not hidden from you.
10   My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
    and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
11   My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,
    and my nearest kin stand far off.
12   Those who seek my life lay their snares;
    those who seek my hurt speak of ruin
    and meditate treachery all day long.
13   But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
    like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
14   I have become like a man who does not hear,
    and in whose mouth are no rebukes.
15   But for you, O LORD, do I wait;
    it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
16   For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me,
    who boast against me when my foot slips!”
17   For I am ready to fall,
    and my pain is ever before me.
18   I confess my iniquity;
    I am sorry for my sin.
19   But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
    and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
20   Those who render me evil for good
    accuse me because I follow after good.
21   Do not forsake me, O LORD!
    O my God, be not far from me!
22   Make haste to help me,
    O Lord, my salvation!

6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:

  “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
  the whole earth is full of his glory!”

4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

  “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
  keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
10   Make the heart of this people dull,
    and their ears heavy,
    and blind their eyes;
  lest they see with their eyes,
    and hear with their ears,
  and understand with their hearts,
    and turn and be healed.”
11   Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”
  And he said:
  “Until cities lie waste
    without inhabitant,
  and houses without people,
    and the land is a desolate waste,
12   and the LORD removes people far away,
    and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13   And though a tenth remain in it,
    it will be burned again,
  like a terebinth or an oak,
    whose stump remains
    when it is felled.”
  The holy seed is its stump.

1:1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

5 This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. 11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

53 [[They went each to his own house, 8:1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]]

Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name.
Spend a moment now to be aware of God's gifts and thank Him.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
What would you like to ask God to heal and restore in our world?

Give us this day our daily bread,
Talk to God about your needs and bring your worry to Him.

And forgive us our debts
Take a moment to reflect on how your actions or inactions have cost others and God.

As we forgive our debtors.
Ask God for the grace to forgive as you have been forgiven. What steps can you take toward reconciliation?

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
Talk to God about your fears and unburden yourself to Him. He perfectly cares for you.

For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.

Amen.