Photo by Hilary Halliwell. Distributed freely under Pexels license.

Opening response

Lord, open our lips.
Our mouth will declare your praise.

Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth.
The heavens are the work of your hands.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, sovereign God,
creator of heaven and earth,
to you be praise and glory forever.
As your living Word, eternal in heaven,
assumed the frailty of our mortal flesh,
may the light of your love be born in us
to fill our hearts with joy as we sing:
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

Sing, ye ransomed nations, sing

Charles Wesley

Sing, ye ransomed nations, sing
Praises to our newborn King;
Son of Man our maker is,
Lord of Hosts and Prince of Peace.

Lo! He lays His glory by,
Emptied of his majesty!
See the God who all things made,
Humbly in a manger laid.

Let us then with angels gaze
On our newborn monarch’s face,
With the choir celestial joined,
Shout the Savior of mankind.

Son of Man, will he despise
Man’s well-meaning sacrifice?
No; with condescending grace
He accepts his creature’s praise.

Will his majesty disdain
The poor shepherd’s simple strain?
No; for Israel’s shepherd he
Loves their artless melody.

He will not refuse the song
Of the stammering infant’s tongue;
Babes he hears humanely mild,
Once himself a little child.

Let us then our Prince proclaim,
Humbly chant Immanuel’s name;
Publish at his wondrous birth
Praise in heaven and peace on earth.

Triumph in our Savior’s love,
Till he takes us up above,
All his majesty displays,
Shows us all his glorious face.

Confession of sin

Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.

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

Almighty God,
patient and of great goodness:
I confess to you,
I confess with my whole heart
my neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments,
my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking;
the hurts I have done to others,
and the good I have left undone.
O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you;
and raise me to newness of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

May the God of love and power
forgive us and free us from our sins,
heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,
and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Psalm 102

Refrain:
You, LORD, will remain forever;
your renown endures to all generations.

Hear my prayer, LORD!
Let my cry come to you.
Don’t hide your face from me in the day of my distress.
Turn your ear to me.
Answer me quickly in the day when I call.
For my days consume away like smoke.
My bones are burnt as a torch.
My heart is blighted like grass, and withered,
for I forget to eat my bread.
By reason of the voice of my groaning,
my bones stick to my skin.
I am like a pelican of the wilderness.
I have become as an owl of the waste places.
I watch, and have become like a sparrow that is alone on the housetop.
My enemies reproach me all day.
Those who are mad at me use my name as a curse.
For I have eaten ashes like bread,
and mixed my drink with tears,
because of your indignation and your wrath;
for you have taken me up and thrown me away.
My days are like a long shadow.
I have withered like grass.

But you, LORD, will remain forever;
your renown endures to all generations.
You will arise and have mercy on Zion,
for it is time to have pity on her.
Yes, the set time has come.
For your servants take pleasure in her stones,
and have pity on her dust.
So the nations will fear the LORD’s name,
all the kings of the earth your glory.
For the LORD has built up Zion.
He has appeared in his glory.
He has responded to the prayer of the destitute,
and has not despised their prayer.
This will be written for the generation to come.
A people which will be created will praise the LORD,
for he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary.
From heaven, the LORD saw the earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoner,
to free those who are condemned to death,
that men may declare the LORD’s name in Zion,
and his praise in Jerusalem,
when the peoples are gathered together,
the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.

He weakened my strength along the course.
He shortened my days.
I said, “My God, don’t take me away in the middle of my days.
Your years are throughout all generations.
Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth.
The heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you will endure.
Yes, all of them will wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a cloak, and they will be changed.
But you are the same.
Your years will have no end.
The children of your servants will continue.
Their offspring will be established before you.”

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:
You, LORD, will remain forever;
your renown endures to all generations.

Psalm prayer

Have pity on our frailty, God,
and in the hour of our death
cast us not away as clothing that is worn,
for you are our eternal refuge;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 59:15b-21

The LORD saw it,
and it displeased him that there was no justice.
He saw that there was no man,
and wondered that there was no intercessor.
Therefore his own arm brought salvation to him;
and his righteousness sustained him.
He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his head.
He put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and was clad with zeal as a mantle.
According to their deeds,
he will repay as appropriate:
wrath to his adversaries,
recompense to his enemies.
He will repay the islands their due.
So they will fear the LORD’s name from the west,
and his glory from the rising of the sun;
for he will come as a rushing stream,
which the LORD’s breath drives.

“A Redeemer will come to Zion,
and to those who turn from disobedience in Jacob,” says the LORD.
“As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit who is on you, and my words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth, nor out of the mouth of your offspring, nor out of the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from now on and forever.”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

John 1:29-34

The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me.’ I didn’t know him, but for this reason I came baptising in water, that he would be revealed to Israel.” John testified, saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him. I didn’t recognise him, but he who sent me to baptise in water said to me, ‘On whomever you will see the Spirit descending and remaining on him is he who baptises in the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

Refrain:
To us is born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, and all the heavenly hosts now sing,
Glory to God in the highest.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people;
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
(as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old),
salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show mercy toward our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant,
the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
should serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the dawn from on high will visit us,
to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death;
to guide our feet into the way 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.

Refrain:
To us is born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, and all the heavenly hosts now sing,
Glory to God in the highest.

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.

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, especially in places of conflict
The Holy Land, for peace with justice, and reconciliation
Refugees and asylum seekers
Homeless people
Families with young children

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

Response

Loving God, we look to you.
Receive our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,
you have given us your only-begotten Son
to take our nature upon him
and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin:
grant that we, who have been born again
and made your children by adoption and grace,
may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Rejoicing in the presence of God here among us, 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 God, who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light, bless us and fill us with peace.
Amen.