Thursday in Season after Pentecost

Semicontinuous (Track 1)

FIRST READING

Genesis 21:1-7

Verse 1. Now the LORD attended to Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what He had promised. Verse 2. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised. Verse 3. And Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore to him. Verse 4. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him. Verse 5. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Verse 6. Then Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears of this will laugh with me.” Verse 7. She added, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

PSALM

Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19

I love the LORD, for He has heard my voice — my appeal for mercy.

Because He has inclined His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.

How can I repay the LORD for all His goodness to me?

I will lift the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.

I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people.

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.

Truly, O LORD, I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have broken my bonds.

I will offer to You a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.

I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people,

in the courts of the LORD’s house, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Hallelujah!

Complementary (Track 2)

FIRST READING

Exodus 4:18-23

Verse 18. Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Please let me return to my brothers in Egypt to see if they are still alive.” “Go in peace,” Jethro replied. Verse 19. Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who sought to kill you are dead.” Verse 20. So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand. Verse 21. The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. Verse 22. Then tell Pharaoh that this is what the LORD says: ‘Israel is My firstborn son, Verse 23. and I told you to let My son go so that he may worship Me. But since you have refused to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son!’”

PSALM

Psalm 100

A Psalm of thanksgiving. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.

Serve the LORD with gladness; come into His presence with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and bless His name.

For the LORD is good, and His loving devotion endures forever; His faithfulness continues to all generations.

SECOND READING

Hebrews 3:1-6

Verse 1. Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, set your focus on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. Verse 2. He was faithful to the One who appointed Him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Verse 3. For Jesus has been counted worthy of greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. Verse 4. And every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Verse 5. Now Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be spoken later. Verse 6. But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast.