Opening response

Lord, open our lips.
Our mouth will declare 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

Draw Near, O Son of God, Draw Near

Charles Wesley

Draw near, O Son of God, draw near,
Us with thy flaming eye behold;
Still in thy church vouchsafe to appear,
And let our candlestick be gold.

Still hold the stars in thy right hand,
And let them in thy luster glow,
The lights of a benighted land,
The angels of thy church below.

Make good their apostolic boast,
Their high commission let them prove,
Be temples of the Holy Ghost,
And filled with faith, and hope, and love.

Their hearts from things of earth remove,
Sprinkle them, Lord, from sin and fear;
Fix their affections all above,
And lay up all their treasures there.

Give them an ear to hear thy word;
Thou speakest to the churches now:
And let all tongues confess their Lord,
Let every knee to Jesus bow.

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 142

Refrain:
Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name.

I cry with my voice to the LORD.
With my voice, I ask the LORD for mercy.
I pour out my complaint before him.
I tell him my troubles.
When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,
you knew my route.
On the path in which I walk,
they have hidden a snare for me.
Look on my right, and see;
for there is no one who is concerned for me.
Refuge has fled from me.
No one cares for my soul.
I cried to you, LORD.
I said, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
Listen to my cry,
for I am in desperate need.
Deliver me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me.
Bring my soul out of prison,
that I may give thanks to your name.
The righteous will surround me,
for you will be good to me.

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:
Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name.

Psalm prayer

God of compassion,
you regard the forsaken
and give hope to the crushed in spirit;
hear those who cry to you in distress
and bring your ransomed people to sing your glorious praise,
now and forever.

Psalm 144

Refrain:
Happy are the people whose God is the LORD.

Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
who trains my hands to war,
and my fingers to battle—
my loving kindness, my fortress,
my high tower, my deliverer,
my shield, and he in whom I take refuge,
who subdues my people under me.
LORD, what is man, that you care for him?
Or the son of man, that you think of him?
Man is like a breath.
His days are like a shadow that passes away.
Part your heavens, LORD, and come down.
Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.
Throw out lightning, and scatter them.
Send out your arrows, and rout them.
Stretch out your hand from above,
rescue me, and deliver me out of great waters,
out of the hands of foreigners,
whose mouths speak deceit,
whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
I will sing a new song to you, God.
On a ten-stringed lyre, I will sing praises to you.
You are he who gives salvation to kings,
who rescues David, his servant, from the deadly sword.
Rescue me, and deliver me out of the hands of foreigners,
whose mouths speak deceit,
whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

Then our sons will be like well-nurtured plants,
our daughters like pillars carved to adorn a palace.
Our barns are full, filled with all kinds of provision.
Our sheep produce thousands and ten thousands in our fields.
Our oxen will pull heavy loads.
There is no breaking in, and no going away,
and no outcry in our streets.
Happy are the people who are in such a situation.
Happy 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.

Refrain:
Happy 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.

Old Testament reading

Job 5

“Call now; is there any who will answer you?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?
For resentment kills the foolish man,
and jealousy kills the simple.
I have seen the foolish taking root,
but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
His children are far from safety.
They are crushed in the gate.
Neither is there any to deliver them,
whose harvest the hungry eat up,
and take it even out of the thorns.
The snare gapes for their substance.
For affliction doesn’t come out of the dust,
neither does trouble spring out of the ground;
but man is born to trouble,
as the sparks fly upward.

“But as for me, I would seek God.
I would commit my cause to God,
who does great things that can’t be fathomed,
marvelous things without number;
who gives rain on the earth,
and sends waters on the fields;
so that he sets up on high those who are low,
those who mourn are exalted to safety.
He frustrates the plans of the crafty,
so that their hands can’t perform their enterprise.
He takes the wise in their own craftiness;
the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong.
They meet with darkness in the day time,
and grope at noonday as in the night.
But he saves from the sword of their mouth,
even the needy from the hand of the mighty.
So the poor has hope,
and injustice shuts her mouth.

“Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects.
Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.
For he wounds and binds up.
He injures and his hands make whole.
He will deliver you in six troubles;
yes, in seven no evil will touch you.
In famine he will redeem you from death;
in war, from the power of the sword.
You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,
neither will you be afraid of destruction when it comes.
You will laugh at destruction and famine,
neither will you be afraid of the animals of the earth.
For you will be allied with the stones of the field.
The animals of the field will be at peace with you.
You will know that your tent is in peace.
You will visit your fold, and will miss nothing.
You will know also that your offspring will be great,
your offspring as the grass of the earth.
You will come to your grave in a full age,
like a shock of grain comes in its season.
Behold, we have researched it. It is so.
Hear it, and know it for your good.”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Romans 3:1-20

Then what advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way! Because first of all, they were entrusted with the revelations of God. For what if some were without faith? Will their lack of faith nullify the faithfulness of God? May it never be! Yes, let God be found true, but every man a liar. As it is written,

“that you might be justified in your words,
and might prevail when you come into judgement.”

But if our unrighteousness commends the righteousness of God, what will we say? Is God unrighteous who inflicts wrath? I speak like men do. May it never be! For then how will God judge the world? For if the truth of God through my lie abounded to his glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? Why not (as we are slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say), “Let’s do evil, that good may come?” Those who say so are justly condemned.

What then? Are we better than they? No, in no way. For we previously warned both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written,

“There is no one righteous;
no, not one.
There is no one who understands.
There is no one who seeks after God.
They have all turned away.
They have together become unprofitable.
There is no one who does good,
no, not so much as one.”
“Their throat is an open tomb.
With their tongues they have used deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is under their lips.”
“Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood.
Destruction and misery are in their ways.
The way of peace, they haven’t known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Now we know that whatever things the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may be brought under the judgement of God. Because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight; for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Refrain:
You have raised up a mighty savior for us in your servant David’s house.

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:
You have raised up a mighty savior for us in your servant David’s house.

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:

Political leaders and the armed forces
Peace and justice in the world
Those who work for reconciliation
All whose lives are devastated by war and civil strife
Prisoners, refugees and homeless people

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, from whom all good things come:
grant to us your humble servants,
that by your holy inspiration
we may think those things that are good,
and by your merciful guiding may perform the same;
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
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 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

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