We hear God’s CALL TO WORSHIP in Psalm 66:7–8
Bless our God, you peoples;
make the voice of his praise to be heard;
who holds our souls in life,
and will not allow our feet to slip.
We listen in silence for God’s still small voice, CENTERING ourselves, becoming aware of God’s presence within us and around us
We respond to God with ADORATION following the words of the Universalist “Hymns of the Spirit”
Let us adore the ever-living God, and render praise to the One who spread out the heavens and established the earth, whose glory is revealed in the heavens above and whose greatness is manifest throughout the world. He is our God; there is no other. We bow the head and bend the knee and magnify the King of kings, the Holy One, praised be he.
We hear God’s CALL TO REPENTANCE in Romans 8:38–39 and Joel 2:13
I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from God’s love, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Rend your hearts and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God; for he indeed is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and plenteous in love, and relents of the evil.
We respond with CONFESSION using the words of Alcuin of York
Almighty and merciful God, the fountain of all goodness, you know the thoughts of our hearts. We confess to you that we have sinned against you and done evil in your sight. Wash us, we pray, from the stains of our past sins, and give us grace and strength to put away all that is harmful; so that, set free from the bondage of sin, we may bring forth worthy fruits of repentance.
Eternal Light, shine into our hearts.
Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil.
Eternal Power, be our support.
Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance.
Eternal Mercy, have mercy on us;
so that with all our heart, and mind, and strength, we may seek your face, and be brought by your infinite mercy into your holy presence; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
We hear God’s teaching for our lives in THE READING OF THE LAW in Micah 6:6–8
With what should I come before the Lord?
Bow myself before the God on high?
Should I come before him with burnt-offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
With ten thousand streams of oil?
Should I give him my firstborn son for my guilt,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
The Lord has told you what is good,
what he demands of you:
Only to do justice and love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.
We PRAISE God in the INVITATORY PSALM, the VenitePsalm 95:1–7 · Venite, exultemus
1O come, let us sing to the Lord; *
let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
2Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, *
and show ourselves glad in him with psalms.
3For the Lord is a great God, *
and a great King above all gods.
4In his hand are all the corners of the earth, *
and the strength of the hills is his also.
5The sea is his, and he made it; *
and his hands prepared the dry land.
6O come, let us worship and bow down, *
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7For he is the Lord our God, *
and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
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.
We PRAISE God in THE PSALM OF THE DAYPsalm 18:6–14 · Diligam te, Domine
6I called upon the Lord in my distress *
and cried out to my God for help.
7He heard my voice from his heavenly dwelling; *
my cry of anguish came to his ears.
8The earth reeled and rocked; *
the roots of the mountains shook; *
they reeled because of his anger.
9Smoke rose from his nostrils and a consuming fire out of his mouth; *
hot burning coals blazed forth from him.
10He parted the heavens and came down *
with a storm cloud under his feet.
11He mounted on cherubim and flew; *
he swooped on the wings of the wind.
12He wrapped darkness about him; *
he made dark waters and thick clouds his pavilion.
13From the brightness of his presence, through the clouds, *
burst hailstones and coals of fire.
14The Lord thundered out of heaven; *
the Most High uttered his voice.
We pray a PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION in the words of George Herbert
O, make your Word a swift Word,
passing from the ear to the heart,
from the heart to the life and conversation;
that, as the rain returns not empty,
so neither may your Word,
but accomplish that for which it is given. Amen.
We hear God speaking to us in THE READING for the day1 Kings 18:20–40
Monday, 14 June 2027 · Ordinary Time
20So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together to Mount Carmel. 21Elijah came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you waver between the two sides? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.”
The people didn’t say a word.
22Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left as a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 23Let them therefore give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under; and I will dress the other bull, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under it. 24You call on the name of your god, and I will call on the LORD’s name. The God who answers by fire, let him be God.”
All the people answered, “What you say is good.”
25Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves, and dress it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.”
26They took the bull which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, “Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice, and nobody answered. They leapt about the altar which was made.
27At noon, Elijah mocked them, and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is deep in thought, or he has gone somewhere, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he sleeps and must be awakened.”
28They cried aloud, and cut themselves in their way with knives and lances until the blood gushed out on them. 29When midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the evening offering; but there was no voice, no answer, and nobody paid attention.
30Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me!”; and all the people came near to him. He repaired the LORD’s altar that had been thrown down. 31Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the LORD’s word came, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” 32With the stones he built an altar in the LORD’s name. He made a trench around the altar large enough to contain two seahs of seed. 33He put the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 34He said, “Do it a second time;” and they did it the second time. He said, “Do it a third time;” and they did it the third time. 35The water ran around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.
36At the time of the evening offering, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37Hear me, LORD, hear me, that this people may know that you, LORD, are God, and that you have turned their heart back again.”
38Then the LORD’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust; and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces. They said, “The LORD, he is God! The LORD, he is God!”
40Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Don’t let one of them escape!”
They seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and killed them there.
World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: 1 Kings 18:20–40 · the short form, 1 Kings 18:36–39.
We REFLECT in silence
We greet the day with THE SONG OF ZECHARIAH, the Benedictus Luke 1:68–79
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham,
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
We pray the LORD’S PRAYER as Jesus taught his disciples, in those words which are most meaningful to us
Our [ Father / Mother / Creator ] in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our [ trespasses / sins ]
as we forgive those who [ trespass / sin ] against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
We pray a PRAYER OF INTERCESSION in the words of John Bradford
Let your mighty hand and outstretched arm, Lord,
be still our defense;
your mercy and loving kindness in Jesus Christ your dear Son,
our salvation;
your true and holy Word,
our instruction;
your grace and Holy Spirit,
our comfort and consolation
unto the end, and in the end.
Amen.
We silently pray PERSONAL PRAYER
Followed by
Amen.
We pray a PRAYER FOR UNITY OF ALL PEOPLE
God, you have made of one blood all nations of the earth, and your will is that all your children should be gathered into one family of love: break down, we pray you, the walls that divide us; deliver us from hardness of heart and from contempt for those who differ from us; and hasten the time when all shall dwell together in that peace which passes understanding, knowing you as Father and one another as brothers and sisters; through Jesus Christ our Lord, in whom there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but all are one. Amen.
We pray a PRAYER OF GENERAL THANKSGIVING in the words of Hugh Cameron
For the life which you have given and preserved,
the world in which we dwell,
and the hope of everlasting blessedness,
we thank you, O God.
For the pains and distresses which have moulded us as clay is moulded by the potter,
and for the consolations which so often like springs in the desert have refreshed our weariness,
we thank you, O God.
For comfort and help in sorrow,
in pain,
in bereavement,
and when flesh and heart failed,
we thank you, O God.
For the warnings of your spirit speaking to our spirits when the sky was bright and all people spoke well of us,
we thank you, O God.
For the life and doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ,
for his love and sacrifice,
for his boundless compassion,
and for the glorious company of those who have followed him in weakness unto victory,
we thank you, O God.
A concluding BENEDICTION or blessing Numbers 6:24–26
The Lord bless us and keep us;
the Lord make his face to shine upon us,
and be gracious to us;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon us,
and give us peace.
Amen.