Sunday morning November 28

Monday morning
Saturday morning

Preparation

Opening response

Lord, open our lips

and our mouth will 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

Center of Our Hopes Thou Art

Charles Wesley

Center of our hopes thou art,

End of our enlarged desires;

Stamp thine image on our heart,

Fill us now with holy fires;

Cemented by love divine,

Seal our souls forever thine.

All our works in thee be wrought,

Leveled at one common aim,

Every word and every thought,

Purge in the refining flame,

Lead us through the paths of peace,

On to perfect holiness.

Let us altogether rise,

To thy glorious life restored;

Here regain our paradise,

Here prepare to meet our Lord;

Here enjoy the earnest given

Travel hand in hand to heaven.

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.

The Word of God

Psalm 44

Refrain:

We glory in God at all times, and give thanks to his name forever.

We have heard it, God, with our own ears;

our ancestors told us about it:

about the deeds you did in their days,

in days long past.

You, by your own hand, removed all the nations,

but you planted our ancestors.

You crushed all the peoples,

but you set our ancestors free.

No, not by their own swords

did they take possession of the land—

their own arms didn’t save them.

No, it was your strong hand, your arm,

and the light of your face

because you were pleased with them.

It’s you, God! You who are my king,

the one who orders salvation for Jacob.

We’ve pushed our foes away by your help;

we’ve trampled our enemies by your name.

No, I won’t trust in my bow;

my sword won’t save me

because it’s you who saved us from our foes,

you who put those who hate us to shame.

So we glory in God at all times

and give thanks to your name forever.

But now you’ve rejected and humiliated us.

You no longer accompany our armies.

You make us retreat from the enemy;

our adversaries plunder us.

You’ve handed us over like sheep for butchering;

you’ve scattered us among the nations.

You’ve sold your people for nothing,

not even bothering to set a decent price.

You’ve made us a joke to all our neighbors;

we’re mocked and ridiculed by everyone around us.

You’ve made us a bad joke to the nations,

something to be laughed at by all peoples.

All day long my disgrace confronts me,

and shame covers my face

because of the voices of those

who make fun of me and bad-mouth me,

because of the enemy who is out for revenge.

All this has come upon us,

but we haven’t forgotten you

or broken your covenant.

Our hearts haven’t turned away,

neither have our steps strayed from your way.

But you’ve crushed us in the place where jackals live,

covering us with deepest darkness.

If we had forgotten the name of our God

or spread out our hands to some strange deity,

wouldn’t God have discovered it?

After all, God knows every secret of the heart.

No, God, it’s because of you that we are getting killed every day—

it’s because of you that we are considered sheep ready for slaughter.

Wake up! Why are you sleeping, Lord?

Get up! Don’t reject us forever!

Why are you hiding your face,

forgetting our suffering and oppression?

Look: we’re going down to the dust;

our stomachs are flat on the ground!

Stand up! Help us!

Save us for the sake of your faithful love.

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:

We glory in God at all times, and give thanks to his name forever.

Psalm prayer

In the darkness of unknowing,

when your love seems absent,

draw near to us, O God,

in Christ forsaken,

in Christ risen,

our Redeemer and our Lord.

Old Testament reading
Isaiah 51:4-11

Pay attention to me, my people;

listen to me, my nation,

for teaching will go out from me,

my justice, as a light to the nations.

I will quickly bring my victory.

My salvation is on its way,

and my arm will judge the peoples.

The coastlands hope for me;

they wait for my judgment.

Look up to the heavens,

and gaze at the earth beneath.

The heavens will disappear like smoke,

the earth will wear out like clothing,

and its inhabitants will die like gnats.

But my salvation will endure forever,

and my righteousness will be unbroken.

Listen to me, you who know what is right,

people who carry my teaching in your heart:

Don’t fear human scorn,

and don’t be upset when they abuse you.

The moth will eat them as if they were clothing,

and the worm will eat them like wool,

but my righteousness is forever,

and my salvation for all generations.

Awake, awake, put on strength,

arm of the Lord.

Awake as in times past,

generations long ago.

Aren’t you the one who crushed Rahab,

who pierced the dragon?

Didn’t you dry up the sea,

the waters of the great deep?

And didn’t you make the redeemed a road to cross

through the depths of the sea,

a road for the redeemed to pass?

Then let those ransomed by the Lord return

and come to Zion with singing

and with everlasting joy upon their heads.

Let happiness and joy overwhelm them;

let grief and groaning flee.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Romans 13:11-14

As you do all this, you know what time it is. The hour has already come for you to wake up from your sleep. Now our salvation is nearer than when we first had faith. The night is almost over, and the day is near. So let’s get rid of the actions that belong to the darkness and put on the weapons of light. Let’s behave appropriately as people who live in the day, not in partying and getting drunk, not in sleeping around and obscene behavior, not in fighting and obsession. Instead, dress yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, and don’t plan to indulge your selfish desires.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticle
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Refrain:

You have shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and remembered your holy covenant.

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 shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and remembered your holy covenant.

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.

Prayers

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

Loving God, we look to you.

Receive our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,

give us grace to cast away the works of darkness

and to put on the armor of light,

now in the time of this mortal life,

in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;

that on the last day,

when he shall come again in his glorious majesty

to judge the living and the dead,

we may rise to the life immortal;

through him who is alive and reigns with you,

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

Amen.