Opening response

Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of all,
to you be glory and praise forever.
You founded the earth in the beginning
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
In the fullness of time you made us in your image,
and in these last days you have spoken to us
in your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
As we rejoice in the gift of your presence among us
let the light of your love always shine in our hearts,
your Spirit ever renew our lives
and your praises ever be on our lips.
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

Come, O thou greater than our heart

Charles Wesley

Come, O thou greater than our heart,
And make thy faithful mercies known;
The mind which was in thee impart,
Thy constant mind in us be shown.

O let us by thy cross abide,
Thee, only thee, resolved to know,
The Lamb for sinners crucified,
A world to save from endless woe.

Take us into thy people’s rest,
And we from our own works shall cease;
With thy meek Spirit arm our breast,
And keep our minds in perfect peace.

Jesus, for this we calmly wait;
O let our eyes behold thee near!
Hasten to make our heaven complete:
Appear, our glorious God, appear!

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 27

𝙍: The LORD is my light and my salvation.

The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
whom shall I dread?
When the wicked came upon me to devour my flesh,
my enemies and foes stumbled and fell.
Though an army encamps around me,
my heart will not fear;
though a war breaks out against me,
I will keep my trust.

One thing I have asked of the LORD;
this is what I desire:
to dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the LORD
and seek Him in His temple.
For in the day of trouble
He will hide me in His shelter;
He will conceal me under the cover of His tent;
He will set me high upon a rock.
Then my head will be held high
above my enemies around me.
At His tabernacle I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD. 𝙍

Hear, O LORD, my voice when I call;
be merciful and answer me.
My heart said, “Seek His face.”
Your face, O LORD, I will seek.
Hide not Your face from me,
nor turn away Your servant in anger.
You have been my helper;
do not leave me or forsake me,
O God of my salvation.

Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.
Teach me Your way, O LORD,
and lead me on a level path,
because of my oppressors.
Do not hand me over to the will of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.

Still I am certain to see
the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait patiently for the LORD;
be strong and courageous.

Wait patiently for 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: The LORD is my light and my salvation.

Psalm prayer

God, our light and our salvation,
illuminate our lives,
that we may see your goodness in the land of the living,
and, looking on your beauty,
may be changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 30

𝙍: You turned my mourning into dancing.

I will exalt You, O LORD,
for You have lifted me up
and have not allowed my foes
to rejoice over me.
O LORD my God, I cried to You for help,
and You healed me.
O LORD, You pulled me up from Sheol;
You spared me from descending into the Pit.

Sing to the LORD, O you His saints,
and praise His holy name.
For His anger is fleeting,
but His favor lasts a lifetime.
Weeping may stay the night,
but joy comes in the morning.

In prosperity I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
O LORD, You favored me;
You made my mountain stand strong.

When You hid Your face,
I was dismayed.
To You, O LORD, I called,
and I begged my Lord for mercy:
“What gain is there in my bloodshed,
in my descent to the Pit?
Will the dust praise You?
Will it proclaim Your faithfulness?
Hear me, O LORD, and have mercy;
O LORD, be my helper.”

You turned my mourning into dancing;
You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing Your praises and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks forever.

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: You turned my mourning into dancing.

Psalm prayer

Lord, you hide your face
when we trust in ourselves;
strip us of false security
and reclothe us in your praise,
that we may know you
as the one who raises us from death,
as you raised your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.

Old Testament reading

Joel 1:1-14

This is the word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel:

Hear this, O elders;
and give ear, all who dwell in the land.
Has anything like this ever happened in your days
or in the days of your fathers?
Tell it to your children;
let your children tell it to their children,
and their children to the next generation.
What the devouring locust has left,
the swarming locust has eaten;
what the swarming locust has left,
the young locust has eaten;
and what the young locust has left,
the destroying locust has eaten.

Wake up, you drunkards, and weep;
wail, all you drinkers of wine,
because of the sweet wine,
for it has been cut off from your mouth.
For a nation has invaded My land,
powerful and without number;
its teeth are the teeth of a lion,
and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness.
It has laid waste My grapevine
and splintered My fig tree.
It has stripped off the bark and thrown it away;
the branches have turned white.

Wail like a virgin dressed in sackcloth,
grieving for the husband of her youth.
Grain and drink offerings have been cut off
from the house of the LORD;
the priests are in mourning,
those who minister before the LORD.
The field is ruined;
the land mourns.
For the grain is destroyed,
the new wine is dried up, and the oil fails.
Be dismayed, O farmers,
wail, O vinedressers,
over the wheat and barley,
because the harvest of the field has perished.
The grapevine is dried up,
and the fig tree is withered;
the pomegranate, palm, and apple—
all the trees of the orchard—are withered.
Surely the joy of mankind has dried up.

Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests;
wail, O ministers of the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
O ministers of my God,
because the grain and drink offerings
are withheld from the house of your God.
Consecrate a fast;
proclaim a solemn assembly!
Gather the elders
and all the residents of the land
to the house of the LORD your God,
and cry out to the LORD.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

John 15:1-11

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard. He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.

I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, proving yourselves to be My disciples.

As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

𝙍: You have raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of your servant David.

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: You have raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of your servant David.

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 media and the arts
Farming and fishing
Commerce and industry
Those whose work is unfulfilling, stressful or fraught with danger
All who are unemployed

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

O God,
you know us to be set
in the midst of so many and great dangers,
that by reason of the frailty of our nature
we cannot always stand upright:
grant to us such strength and protection
as may support us in all dangers
and carry us through all temptations;
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

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

The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.