Preparation

Opening response

Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.
Lord, come quickly and help us.

I offer my life to you, Lord.
My God, I trust you.

Psalm 25:1-2a

Praise

I am giving you worship with all my life,
I am giving you obedience with all my power,
I am giving you praise with all my strength,
I am giving you honor with all my speech.

I am giving you love with all my heart,
I am giving you affection with all my sense,
I am giving you my being with all my mind,
I am giving you my soul, O most high and holy God.

Praise to the Father,
Praise to the Son,
Praise to the Spirit,
The Three in One.

adapted from Alexander Carmichael,
Carmina Gadelica (1900)

The Word of God

Psalm 39

Refrain:
Hear my prayer, Lord! Listen closely to my cry for help!

I promised I would watch my steps
so as not to sin with my tongue;
promised to keep my mouth shut
as long as the wicked were in my presence.
So I was completely quiet, silent.
I kept my peace, but it did no good.
My pain got worse.
My heart got hot inside me;
while stewing over it, the fire burned.
Then I spoke out with my tongue:
“Let me know my end, Lord.
How many days do I have left?
I want to know how brief my time is.”
You’ve made my days so short;
my lifetime is like nothing in your eyes.
Yes, a human life is nothing but a puff of air!

Yes, people wander around like shadows;
yes, they hustle and bustle, but pointlessly;
they don’t even know who will get the wealth they’ve amassed.
So now, Lord, what should I be waiting for?
My hope is set on you.
Deliver me from all my sins;
don’t make me some foolish person’s joke.
I am completely silent; I won’t open my mouth
because you have acted.
Get this plague of yours off me!
I’m being destroyed by the blows from your fist.
You discipline people for their sin, punishing them;
like a moth, you ruin what they treasure.
Yes, a human life is just a puff of air!

Hear my prayer, Lord!
Listen closely to my cry for help!
Please don’t ignore my tears!
I’m just a foreigner—
an immigrant staying with you,
just like all my ancestors were.
Look away from me
so I can be happy again
before I pass away and am gone.

Glory 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.

Refrain:
Hear my prayer, Lord! Listen closely to my cry for help!

Psalm prayer

O Christ, Son of the living God,
help us when we are too cast down to pray,
and grant that we may trust you all our days,
for you are with us in our living and our dying,
Jesus, Lord and God.

Scripture reading
Revelation 22:1-2

Then the angel showed me the river of life-giving water, shining like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb through the middle of the city’s main street. On each side of the river is the tree of life, which produces twelve crops of fruit, bearing its fruit each month. The tree’s leaves are for the healing of the nations.

Silence may be kept.

Response

Jesus said, I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me won’t walk in darkness but will have the light of life.

John 8:12

Prayers

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers may include these concerns:

All who are sick in body, mind or spirit
Those in the midst of famine or disaster
Victims of abuse and violence, intolerance and prejudice
Those who are bereaved
All who work in the medical and healing professions

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Prayer

Eternal God,
the light of the minds that know you,
the joy of the hearts that love you,
and the strength of the wills that serve you:
grant us so to know you
that we may truly love you,
so to love you that we may truly serve you,
whose service is perfect freedom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

after Augustine of Hippo (430)

The Lord’s Prayer

As our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.

Conclusion

May Christ our redeemer bring us healing and wholeness.
Amen.