Opening response

O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

Hear my voice, O LORD, according to your loving devotion;
give me life according to your justice.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, God of compassion and mercy,
to you be praise and glory forever.
In the darkness of our sin,
your light breaks forth like the dawn
and your healing springs up for deliverance.
As we rejoice in the gift of your saving help,
sustain us with your bountiful Spirit
and open our lips to sing your 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

Hail! Jesus Hail! Our Great High Priest

Charles Wesley

Hail! Jesus hail! Our great High Priest,
Entered into thy glorious rest,
That holy, happy place above;
Thou hast the conquest more than gained
The everlasting bliss obtained
For all who trust thy dying love.

The blood of goats and bullocks slain
Could never purge our guilty stain,
Could never for our sins atone;
But thou thine own most precious blood,
Hast shed to make us priests to God,
And seat us with thee on thy throne.

Not without blood, thou prayest above,
The marks of thy expiring love,
God on thy hands engraven sees!
He hears thy blood for mercy cry,
And sends his Spirit from the sky,
And seals our everlasting peace.

Thankful we now the earnest take,
The pledge thou wilt at last come back,
And openly thy servants own;
To us, who long to see thee here,
Thou shalt a second time appear,
And bear us to thy glorious throne.

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 105:1-6, 37-45

𝙍: Remember the wonders the LORD has done.

Give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name;
make known His deeds among the nations.
Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
tell of all His wonders.
Glory in His holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
Seek out the LORD and His strength;
seek His face always.
Remember the wonders He has done,
His marvels, and the judgments He has pronounced,
O offspring of His servant Abraham,
O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones.

He brought Israel out with silver and gold,
and none among His tribes stumbled.
Egypt was glad when they departed,
for the dread of Israel had fallen on them.
He spread a cloud as a covering
and a fire to light up the night.
They asked, and He brought quail
and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
He opened a rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed like a river in the desert.
For He remembered His holy promise
to Abraham His servant.
He brought forth His people with rejoicing,
His chosen with shouts of joy.
He gave them the lands of the nations,
that they might inherit the fruit of others’ labor,
that they might keep His statutes
and obey His laws.

Hallelujah!

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: Remember the wonders the LORD has done.

Psalm prayer

God of our earthly pilgrimage,
feed your Easter people with the bread of heaven,
that we may hunger and thirst for righteousness
until we reach our promised land;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 51:1-11

“Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the LORD:
Look to the rock from which you were cut,
and to the quarry from which you were hewn.
Look to Abraham your father,
and to Sarah who gave you birth.
When I called him, he was but one;
then I blessed him and multiplied him.
For the LORD will comfort Zion
and will look with compassion on all her ruins;
He will make her wilderness like Eden
and her desert like the garden of the LORD.
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and melodious song.

Pay attention to Me, My people,
and listen to Me, My nation;
for a law will go out from Me,
and My justice will become a light to the nations;
I will bring it about quickly.

My righteousness draws near,
My salvation is on the way,
and My arms will bring justice to the nations.
The islands will look for Me
and wait in hope for My arm.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth below;
for the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and its people will die like gnats.
But My salvation will last forever,
and My righteousness will never fail.

Listen to Me, you who know what is right,
you people with My law in your hearts:
Do not fear the scorn of men;
do not be broken by their insults.
For the moth will devour them like a garment,
and the worm will eat them like wool.
But My righteousness will last forever,
My salvation through all generations.”

Awake, awake,
put on strength, O arm of the LORD.
Wake up as in days past,
as in generations of old.
Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces,
who pierced through the dragon?
Was it not You who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
who made a road in the depths of the sea
for the redeemed to cross over?
So the redeemed of the LORD will return
and enter Zion with singing,
crowned with everlasting joy.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Galatians 3:1-9, 23-29

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?

Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, are you now finishing in the flesh? Have you suffered so much for nothing, if it really was for nothing? Does God lavish His Spirit on you and work miracles among you because you practice the law, or because you hear and believe?

So also, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Understand, then, that those who have faith are sons of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Before this faith came, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

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

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

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:

Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
Those serving through leadership
Those looking for forgiveness
Those misled by the false gods of this present age
All who are hungry

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

Almighty God,
you show to those who are in error the light of your truth,
that they may return to the way of righteousness:
grant to all those who are admitted
into the fellowship of Christ's religion,
that they may reject those things
that are contrary to their profession,
and follow all such things as are agreeable to 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

Trusting in the compassion of God, 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 our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
Amen.