Opening response

Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall 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

Arm of the Lord, awake, awake!

Charles Wesley

Arm of the Lord, awake, awake!
thine own immortal strength put on;
with terror clothed, hell's kingdom shake
and cast thy foes with fury down.

As in the ancient days appear;
the sacred annals speak thy fame:
be now omnipotently near,
to endless ages still the same.

Thine arm, Lord, is not shortened now;
it lacks not now the power to save;
still present with thy people, thou
bearest them through life's disparted wave.

By death and hell pursued in vain,
to thee the ransomed seed shall come,
shouting, their heavenly Zion gain,
and pass through death triumphant home.

Where pure essential joy is found,
the Lord's redeemed their heads shall raise,
with everlasting gladness crowned,
and filled with love, and lost in praise.

Confession of sin

O King enthroned on high,
filling the earth with your glory:
holy is your name,
Lord God almighty.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

In our sinfulness we cry to you
to take our guilt away,
and to cleanse our lips to speak your word,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

May the God of all healing and forgiveness
draw us to himself,
and cleanse us from all our sins
that we may behold the glory of his Son,
the Word made flesh,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Psalm 144

𝙍: Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.

Blessed be the LORD, my Rock,
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
He is my steadfast love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer.
He is my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.

O LORD, what is man, that You regard him,
the son of man that You think of him?
Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow. 𝙍

Part Your heavens, O LORD, and come down;
touch the mountains, that they may smoke.
Flash forth Your lightning and scatter them;
shoot Your arrows and rout them.
Reach down from on high;
set me free and rescue me
from the deep waters,
from the grasp of foreigners,
whose mouths speak falsehood,
whose right hands are deceitful. 𝙍

I will sing to You a new song, O God;
on a harp of ten strings I will make music to You—
to Him who gives victory to kings,
who frees His servant David from the deadly sword.
Set me free and rescue me
from the grasp of foreigners,
whose mouths speak falsehood,
whose right hands are deceitful. 𝙍

Then our sons will be like plants
nurtured in their youth,
our daughters like corner pillars
carved to adorn a palace.
Our storehouses will be full,
supplying all manner of produce;
our flocks will bring forth thousands,
tens of thousands in our fields.
Our oxen will bear great loads.
There will be no breach in the walls,
no going into captivity,
and no cry of lament in our streets.

Blessed are the people of whom this is so;
blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.

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.

𝙍: Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.

Psalm prayer

God our deliverer,
stir our weak wills,
revive our weary spirits,
and give us the courage
to strive for the freedom of all your children,
to the praise of your glorious name.

Psalm 146

𝙍: The LORD reigns forever.

Hallelujah!

Praise the LORD, O my soul.

I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Put not your trust in princes,
in mortal man, who cannot save.
When his spirit departs, he returns to the ground;
on that very day his plans perish. 𝙍

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
He remains faithful forever.
He executes justice for the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry. 𝙍

The LORD sets the prisoners free,
the LORD opens the eyes of the blind,
the LORD lifts those who are weighed down,
the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD protects foreigners;
He sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but the ways of the wicked He frustrates.

The LORD reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Hallelujah!

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.

𝙍: The LORD reigns forever.

Psalm prayer

Lord of all,
our breath and being come from you,
yet our earthly end is dust;
as you loose the bound and feed the hungry,
so bring us in your mercy through the grave and gate of death
to the feast of eternal life,
where you reign for evermore.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 51:9-16

Awake, awake,
put on strength, O arm of the LORD.
Wake up as in days past,
as in generations of old.
Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces,
who pierced through the dragon?
Was it not You who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
who made a road in the depths of the sea
for the redeemed to cross over?
So the redeemed of the LORD will return
and enter Zion with singing,
crowned with everlasting joy.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee.

“I, even I, am He who comforts you.
Why should you be afraid of mortal man,
of a son of man who withers like grass?
But you have forgotten the LORD, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth.
You live in terror all day long
because of the fury of the oppressor
who is bent on destruction.
But where is the fury of the oppressor?
The captive will soon be freed;
he will not die in the dungeon,
and his bread will not be lacking.
For I am the LORD your God
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the LORD of Hosts is His name.
I have put My words in your mouth,
and covered you with the shadow of My hand,
to establish the heavens, to found the earth,
and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’ ”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

2 Thessalonians 2

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers, not to be easily disconcerted or alarmed by any spirit or message or letter seeming to be from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord has already come. Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed. He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

Do you not remember that I told you these things while I was still with you? And you know what is now restraining him, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.

The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder, and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them. For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they believe the lie, in order that judgment may come upon all who have disbelieved the truth and delighted in wickedness.

But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth. To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brothers, stand firm and cling to the traditions we taught you, whether by speech or by letter.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who by grace has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good word and deed.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

𝙍: Look towards the east, O Jerusalem, and see the glory that is coming from God.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
because He has visited and redeemed His people.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David,
as He spoke through His holy prophets,
those of ages past,
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us,
to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember His holy covenant,
the oath He swore to our father Abraham,
to grant us deliverance from hostile hands,
that we may serve Him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before Him
all the days of our lives.

And you, child, will be called
a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord
to prepare the way for Him,
to give to His people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,
to shine on those who live in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet
into the path of peace.

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.

𝙍: Look towards the east, O Jerusalem, and see the glory that is coming 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.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He 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,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He 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.

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers may be offered for:

the day and its tasks
the world and its needs
the church and her life

Prayers may include the following concerns:

The church, that she may be ready for the coming of Christ
The leaders of the church
The nations, that they may be subject to the rule of God
Those who are working for justice in the world
The broken, that they may find God’s healing

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

Response

Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

O Lord Jesus Christ,
who at your first coming sent your messenger
to prepare your way before you:
grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise so prepare and make ready your way
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world
we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father
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, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.

Conclusion

May the Lord, when he comes, find us watching and waiting.
Amen.