The Scriptures

The Scriptures

23
1 The Lord is my shepherd,* I shall lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,* he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.* He guides me in paths or righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,* for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.* You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,* and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Glory be 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

51
1 Have mercy on me, 0 God, according to your unfailing love;* according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity* and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,* and my sin is always before me. Against you, only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,* so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I have been a sinner from birth,* sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;* you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;* wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;* let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins* and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, 0 God,* and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence* or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation* and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,* and sinners will turn back to you.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, 0 God, the God who saves me,* and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 0 Lord, open my lips,* and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;* you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;* a broken and contrite heart, 0 God, you will not despise.
18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;* build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you;* then bulls will be offered on your altar. Glory be 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

95 (NIV)
1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;* let us shout aloud t the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving* and extol him with music and song.
3 For the Lord is the great God,* the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,* and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,* and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down in worship,* let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture,* the flock under his care. Today you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,* as you did that day at Massah in the desert,
9 where your fathers tested and tried me,* though they had seen what I did.
10 For forty years I was angry with that generation;* I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways."
11 So I declared on oath in my anger, "They shall never enter my rest." Glory be 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

117
1 Praise the Lord, all you nations,* extol him, all you peoples.
2 For great is his love toward us,* and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord. Glory be 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

121
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills-* where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,* the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip-* he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel* will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you-* the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day, * nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm-* he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going* both now and forevermore.
Glory be 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

130
1 Out of the depths* I cry to you, 0 Lord;
2 0 Lord, hear my voice.* Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.
3 If you, 0 Lord, kept a record of sins,* 0 Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,* therefore you are feared.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,* and in his word I put my hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning,* more than watchmen wait for the morning.
7 0 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,* for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.
8 He himself will redeem Israel* from all their sins. Glory be 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

139
1 0 Lord, you have searched me* and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;* you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;* you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue* you know it completely, 0 Lord.
5 You hem me in, behind and before;* you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,* too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?* Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;* if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,* if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,* your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "surely the darkness will hide me* and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;* the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being,* you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made,* your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.* When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.* All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, 0 God!* How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.* When I awake, I am still with you.
19 If only you would slay the wicked, 0 God!* Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;* your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, 0 Lord,* and abhor those who rise up against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;* I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, 0 God, and know my heart;* test me and know my anxious thoughts
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,* and lead me in the way everlasting. Glory be 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

148
1 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens,* praise him in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels,* praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
3 Praise him, sun and moon,* praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens* and you waters above the skies.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,* for he commanded and they were created.
6 He set them in place for ever and ever,* he gave a decree that will never pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,* you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds,* stormy winds that do his bidding,
9 you mountains and all hills,* fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals and all cattle,* small creatures and flying birds,
11 kings of the earth and all nations,* you princes and all rulers on earth,
12 young men and maidens,* old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted;* his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
14 He has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his saints,* of Israel, the people close to his heart. Praise the Lord. Glory be 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

150 (NIV)
1 Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary;* praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of trumpet,* praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 Praise him with tambourine and dancing,* praise him with the strings and flute,
5 Praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.

Glory be 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

Psalms 23, 51, 117, 121, 130, 139, 148 - Reprinted from LUTHERAN WORSHIP, Copyright @ 1982 Concordia Publishing House. Reprinted by permission.

PSALM 95, 150 - Scriptures quotations [marked NIV] are from The Holy Bible: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, @ 1973,1978,1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

OTHER PSALMS FOR READING Psalms: 1, 32,46, 98,100,103, 119:9-16, 133 and 136

THE LESSONS Use one or more of the following in each worship service:

Old Testament Lessons

Genesis 1: 1-2:3 (The story of creation)
Genesis 28:10-17 (Jacob's ladder)
Genesis 20:1-17 (The Ten Commandments)
I Samuel 17:37-51 (David and Goliath)
Jonah (Read one chapter on 4 successive days)
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 (Time is God*s .1~ift to Ll~)
Isaiah 53 (God sends us a substitute)

Epistle Lessons
Romans 5:1-5 (Peace, character, hope)
Romans 8:31-39 (God is for us)
I Corinthians 12:12-27 (Church is Body of Christ: cooperation)
2 Corinthians 8:6-15 (Cheerful service to others as service to God)
Galatians 5:13-25 (The call to kingdom and service)
Ephesians 2: 1 - 10 (Saved by grace through faith)
Philippians 2:4-11 (Jesus as example of humble service)
Hebrews 12:1-14 (Living the disciplined life)
1 John 1:5-2:2 (Forgiveness through Christ)
I John 4:7-21 (Love one another)

Gospel Lessons
Matthew 6:5-15 (Lord's Prayer)
Matthew 13:31-34,44-45 (Parables of God's kingdom)
Matthew 20:20-28 (On being greatest)
Luke 11: 1- 13 (Prayer and Lord's Prayer)
Luke 15:1-7 (Lost sheep)
Luke 15:11-32 (Two lost sons)
Luke 24:13-35 (On walking with Jesus)
John 10:7-18 (The Good Shepherd)
John 6:5-14 (Jesus uses a boy's gift to serve others)
John 13:1-17 (Jesus washes feet; a lesson on servanthood)
Luke 2: 1 - 10 (Jesus' birth)
Mark 15:1-39 (Jesus' crucifixion)
Matthew 28: 1 - 10 (Jesus' resurrection)