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

The Mighty Conqueror Leaves the Dead

Charles Wesley

The mighty conqueror leaves the dead,
Jesus the Lord ascends on high;
The powers of hell are captive led,
Dragged to the portals of the sky.

There his triumphal chariot waits,
And angels chant the solemn lay:
“Lift up your heads, ye heavenly gates;
Ye everlasting doors, give way.

Loose all your bars of massy light,
And wide unfold the radiant scene;
He claims these mansions as his right,
Receive the King of Glory in.”

“Who is the King of Glory, who?”
“The Lord, that all our foes overcame;
The world, sin, death, and hell overthrew,
Jesus is the conqueror’s name.”

Lo! His triumphal chariot waits,
And angels chant the solemn lay:
“Lift up your heads, ye heavenly gates;
Ye everlasting doors, give way.”

“Who is the King of Glory, who?”
“The Lord, of boundless power possessed,
The King of saints and angels too,
God over all, forever blessed.”

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 119:153-176

Refrain:
Revive me, LORD, according to your loving kindness.

Consider my affliction, and deliver me,
    for I don’t forget your law.
Plead my cause, and redeem me!
    Revive me according to your promise.
Salvation is far from the wicked,
    for they don’t seek your statutes.
Great are your tender mercies, LORD.
    Revive me according to your ordinances.
Many are my persecutors and my adversaries.
    I haven’t swerved from your testimonies.
I look at the faithless with loathing,
    because they don’t observe your word.
Consider how I love your precepts.
    Revive me, LORD, according to your loving kindness.
All of your words are truth.
    Every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever.

Princes have persecuted me without a cause,
    but my heart stands in awe of your words.
I rejoice at your word,
    as one who finds great plunder.
I hate and abhor falsehood.
    I love your law.
Seven times a day, I praise you,
    because of your righteous ordinances.
Those who love your law have great peace.
    Nothing causes them to stumble.
I have hoped for your salvation, LORD.
    I have done your commandments.
My soul has observed your testimonies.
    I love them exceedingly.
I have obeyed your precepts and your testimonies,
    for all my ways are before you.

Let my cry come before you, LORD.
    Give me understanding according to your word.
Let my supplication come before you.
    Deliver me according to your word.
Let my lips utter praise,
    for you teach me your statutes.
Let my tongue sing of your word,
    for all your commandments are righteousness.
Let your hand be ready to help me,
    for I have chosen your precepts.
I have longed for your salvation, LORD.
    Your law is my delight.
Let my soul live, that I may praise you.
    Let your ordinances help me.
I have gone astray like a lost sheep.
    Seek your servant, for I don’t forget your commandments.

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:
Revive me, LORD, according to your loving kindness.

Psalm prayer

God of mercy, swift to help us,
as our lips pour forth your praise,
fill our hearts with the peace you give
to those who wait for your salvation
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 45:9-22

Woe to him who strives with his Maker—
a clay pot amongst the clay pots of the earth!
Shall the clay ask him who fashions it, ‘What are you making?’
or your work, ‘He has no hands’?
Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What have you become the father of?’
or to a mother, ‘What have you given birth to?’ ”

The LORD, the Holy One of Israel
and his Maker says:
“You ask me about the things that are to come, concerning my sons,
and you command me concerning the work of my hands!
I have made the earth, and created man on it.
I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens.
I have commanded all their army.
I have raised him up in righteousness,
and I will make all his ways straight.
He shall build my city,
and he shall let my exiles go free,
not for price nor reward,” says the LORD of Armies.

The LORD says: “The labor of Egypt,
and the merchandise of Ethiopia,
and the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you,
and they will be yours.
They will go after you.
They shall come over in chains.
They will bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you:
‘Surely God is in you; and there is no one else.
There is no other god.
Most certainly you are a God who has hidden yourself,
God of Israel, the Savior.’ ”
They will be disappointed,
yes, confounded, all of them.
Those who are makers of idols will go into confusion together.
Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation.
You will not be disappointed nor confounded to ages everlasting.

For the LORD who created the heavens,
the God who formed the earth and made it,
who established it and didn’t create it a waste,
who formed it to be inhabited says:
“I am the LORD.
There is no other.
I have not spoken in secret,
in a place of the land of darkness.
I didn’t say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’
I, the LORD, speak righteousness.
I declare things that are right.

“Assemble yourselves and come.
Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations.
Those have no knowledge who carry the wood of their engraved image,
and pray to a god that can’t save.
Declare and present it.
Yes, let them take counsel together.
Who has shown this from ancient time?
Who has declared it of old?
Haven’t I, the LORD?
There is no other God besides me, a just God and a Saviour.
There is no one besides me.

“Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Revelation 14:1-5

I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a number, one hundred and forty-four thousand, having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads. I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of a great thunder. The sound which I heard was like that of harpists playing on their harps. They sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand, those who had been redeemed out of the earth. These are those who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed by Jesus from amongst men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. In their mouth was found no lie, for they are blameless.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

Refrain:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be filled.

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:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be filled.

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 universal church
Bishops, superintendents and all who lead the church
The leaders of the nations
The natural world and the resources of the earth
All who are in any kind of need

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

God, who in generous mercy sent the Holy Spirit
upon your church in the burning fire of your love:
grant that your people may be fervent
in the fellowship of the gospel
that, always abiding in you,
they may be found steadfast in faith and active in service;
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 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,
preserve us from all evil,
and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.