Friday morning December 2
Saturday morning
Thursday morning
Preparation
Opening response
Lord, open our lips
and our mouth will proclaim your praise.
Reveal among us the light of your presence
that we may behold your power and glory.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God of all,
to you be praise and glory forever.
In your tender compassion
the dawn from on high is breaking upon us
to dispel the lingering shadows of night.
As we look for your coming among us this day,
open our eyes to behold your presence
and strengthen our hands to do your will,
that the world may rejoice and give you praise.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
In the Midst Do Thou Appear
Charles Wesley
In the midst do thou appear,
Lord, reveal thy presence here!
Sanctify us now, and bless;
Breathe thy Spirit, give thy peace.
While we walk with God in light,
God our hearts doth still unite,
Sweetly each with each combined
In the bonds of duty joined.
Father, still our faith increase:
Cleanse from all unrighteousness,
Thee the unholy cannot see;
Make, oh make us meet for thee!
Mutual love the token be,
Lord, that we belong to thee,
Only love to us be given,
Lord we ask no other heaven.
Confession of sin
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Silence may be kept.
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
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.
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins
through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all
goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in
eternal life.
Amen.
The Word of God
Psalm 25
Refrain:
Lord, remember your compassion and faithful love.
I offer my life to you, Lord.
My God, I trust you.
Please don’t let me be put to shame!
Don’t let my enemies rejoice over me!
For that matter,
don’t let anyone who hopes in you
be put to shame;
instead, let those who are treacherous without excuse be put to shame.
Make your ways known to me, Lord;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth—teach it to me—
because you are the God who saves me.
I put my hope in you all day long.
Lord, remember your compassion and faithful love—
they are forever!
But don’t remember the sins of my youth or my wrongdoing.
Remember me only according to your faithful love
for the sake of your goodness, Lord.
The Lord is good and does the right thing;
he teaches sinners which way they should go.
God guides the weak to justice,
teaching them his way.
All the Lord’s paths are loving and faithful
for those who keep his covenant and laws.
Please, for the sake of your good name, Lord, forgive my sins, which are many! Where are the ones who honor the Lord?
God will teach them which path to take.
They will live a good life,
and their descendants will possess the land.
The Lord counsels those who honor him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
My eyes are always looking to the Lord
because he will free my feet from the net.
Turn to me, God, and have mercy on me
because I’m alone and suffering.
My heart’s troubles keep getting bigger—
set me free from my distress!
Look at my suffering and trouble—
forgive all my sins!
Look at how many enemies I have
and how violently they hate me!
Please protect my life! Deliver me!
Don’t let me be put to shame
because I take refuge in you.
Let integrity and virtue guard me
because I hope in you.
Please, God, save Israel from all its troubles!
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:
Lord, remember your compassion and faithful love.
Psalm prayer
Free us, God of mercy,
from all that keeps us from you;
relieve the misery of the anxious and the ashamed
and fill us with the hope of peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 26
Refrain:
Lord, I love the place where your glory resides.
Establish justice for me, Lord,
because I have walked with integrity.
I’ve trusted the Lord without wavering.
Examine me, Lord; put me to the test!
Purify my mind and my heart.
Because your faithful love is right in front of me—
I walk in your truth!
I don’t spend time with people up to no good;
I don’t keep company with liars.
I detest the company of evildoers,
and I don’t sit with wicked people.
I wash my hands—they are innocent!
I walk all around your altar, Lord,
proclaiming out loud my thanks,
declaring all your wonderful deeds!
I love the beauty of your house, Lord;
I love the place where your glory resides.
Don’t gather me up with the sinners,
taking my life along with violent people
in whose hands are evil schemes,
whose strong hands are full of bribes.
But me? I walk with integrity.
Save me! Have mercy on me!
My feet now stand on level ground.
I will bless the Lord in the great congregation.
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:
Lord, I love the place where your glory resides.
Psalm prayer
Have mercy on us and redeem us, Lord,
for our merits are your mercies
and in your judgment is our salvation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Isaiah 44:9-23
Idol-makers are all as nothing;
their playthings do no good.
Their promoters neither see nor know anything,
so they ought to be ashamed.
Who would form a god or cast an idol
that does no good?
All its worshippers will be ashamed,
and its artisans, who are only human.
They will all gather and stand,
tremble and be ashamed together.
A blacksmith with his tools
works it over coals,
and shapes it with hammers,
and works it with his strong arm.
He even becomes hungry and weak.
If he didn’t drink water, he’d pass out.
A carpenter stretches out a string,
marks it out with a stylus,
fashions it with carving tools,
and marks it with a compass.
He makes it into a human form,
like a splendid human,
to live in a temple.
He cuts down cedars for himself,
or chooses a cypress or oak,
selecting from all the trees of the forest.
He plants a pine, and the rain makes it grow.
It becomes suitable to burn for humans,
so he takes some of the wood and warms himself.
He kindles fire and bakes bread.
He fashions a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it.
Half of it he burns in the fire;
on that half he roasts and eats meat, and he is satisfied.
He warms himself and says,
“Ah, I’m warm, watching the fire!”
And the rest of it he makes into a god,
into his idol,
and he bows down, worships, and prays to it, saying, “Save me, for you are my god!”
They don’t know or comprehend,
for their eyes can’t see
and their minds can’t comprehend.
He doesn’t think,
and has no knowledge or understanding to think:
Half of it I burned in the fire,
and I baked bread on its coals,
and roasted meat and ate.
Should I make the rest into something detestable?
Should I bow down to a block of wood?
He’s feeding on ashes;
his deluded mind has led him astray.
He can’t save himself and say,
“Isn’t this thing in my hand a lie?”
Remember these things, Jacob;
Israel, for you are my servant.
I formed you; you are my servant!
I won’t forget you, Israel.
I swept away your rebellions like a cloud,
and your sins like fog.
Return to me,
because I have redeemed you.
Sing, heavens, for the Lord has acted;
shout, depths of the earth!
Burst out with a ringing cry,
you mountains, forest, and every tree in it.
The Lord has redeemed Jacob,
and will glorify himself through Israel.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Revelation 21:22-22:5
I didn’t see a temple in the city, because its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb. The city doesn’t need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God’s glory is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day, and there will be no night there. They will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. Nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is vile and deceitful, but only those who are registered in the Lamb’s scroll of life.
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. There will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. Night will be no more. They won’t need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will shine on them, and they will rule forever and always.
Silence may be kept.
Gospel canticle
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Refrain:
Jerusalem, look to the east and see the joy that is coming to you from God.
Bless the Lord God of Israel
because he has come to help and has delivered his people.
He has raised up a mighty savior for us in his servant David’s house,
just as he said through the mouths of his holy prophets long ago.
He has brought salvation from our enemies
and from the power of all those who hate us.
He has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and remembered his holy covenant,
the solemn pledge he made to our ancestor Abraham.
He has granted that we would be rescued
from the power of our enemies
so that we could serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness in God’s eyes,
for as long as we live.
You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
You will tell his people how to be saved
through the forgiveness of their sins.
Because of our God’s deep compassion,
the dawn from heaven will break upon us,
to give light to those who are sitting in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide us on the path of peace.”
Luke 1:68-79
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:
Jerusalem, look to the east and see the joy that is coming to you from God.
Brief silence.
The Apostle’s Creed
Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Prayers
Intercession and thanksgiving
Prayers may be offered for:
the day and its tasks
the world and its needs
the church and her life
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Lord of life
In your mercy, hear us.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God,
give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armor of light,
now in the time of this mortal life,
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;
that on the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Awaiting his coming in glory, 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 the Lord, when he comes, find us watching and waiting.
Amen.