Bless the Lord, my soul
And bless God’s holy name
Bless the Lord, my soul
Who leads me into life

The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.

The Lord upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.

You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.

The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth. (Psalm 145:13-18)

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the king of creation
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation
All ye who hear, now to his temple draw near
Praise Him in glad adoration

Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully, wondrously, made thee
Granted thee health and, when heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee
What need or grief ever hath failed of relief?
Wings of his mercy did shade thee

chorus

Praise him, praise him
Praise him

Praise to the Lord who, when tempests their warfare are waging
Who, when the elements madly around thee are raging
Biddeth them cease, turneth their fury to peace
Whirlwinds and waters assuaging

chorus

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him
Let the “amen” sound from his people again
Gladly forever adore him

Praise him (praise him)
Praise him (praise him)

chorus

1 “Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a ruler and commander of the peoples.
5 Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.”

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Confession both acknowledges our need for mercy and celebrates its abundance in Christ. Come now to Jesus bringing your needs, weakness, and regret to his throne of grace. The writer of Hebrews leads us in prayer:

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

Almighty and most merciful Father,
we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep.
We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.

For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (from Psalm 103:8-12)

God’s grace abounds for us even in our weakness. Let us remember the promise of the gospel: In Christ, we are forgiven.

O let all who thirst, let them come to the water
And let all who have nothing, let them come to the Lord
Without money, without price
Why should you pay the price
Except for the Lord?

And let all who seek, let them come to the water
And let all who have nothing, let them come to the Lord
Without money, without strife
Why should you spend your life
Except for the Lord?

And let all who toil, let them come to the water
And let all who are weary, let them come to the Lord
All who labor without rest
How can your soul find rest
Except for the Lord?

And let all the poor, let them come to the water
And let the ones who are laden, let them come to the Lord
Bring the children without might, easy the load and light
Come to the Lord
I will run to you, I will run to you
I will run to you my Lord

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. Amen. (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

Let us go forth and serve our world as those who love our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Thanks be to God!