Saturday morning April 27

Image: Unsplash

Opening response

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

In your resurrection, O Christ,
let heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia. 

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be praise and glory forever.
As once you ransomed your people from Egypt
and led them to freedom in the promised land,
so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son.
May we, the first fruits of your new creation,
rejoice in this new day you have made,
and praise you for your mighty acts.
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

All Praise to Our Redeeming Lord

Charles Wesley

All praise to our redeeming Lord,
Who joins us by his grace
And bids us, each to each restored,
Together seek his face.

He bids us build each other up;
And gathered into one,
To our high calling’s glorious hope,
We hand in hand go on.

The gift which he on one bestows,
We all delight to prove;
The grace through every vessel flows,
In purest streams of love.

We all partake the joy of one;
The common peace we feel;
A peace to sensual minds unknown,
A joy unspeakable.

And if our fellowship below
In Jesus be so sweet,
What greater blessings shall we know
When round his throne we meet!

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 34

𝙍: Taste and see that the LORD is good.

I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.
My soul boasts in the LORD;
let the oppressed hear and rejoice.
Magnify the LORD with me;
let us exalt His name together.  

I sought the LORD, and He answered me;
He delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to Him are radiant with joy;
their faces shall never be ashamed. 𝙍

This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him;
He saved him from all his troubles.
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,
and he delivers them.  

Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
Fear the LORD, you His saints,
for those who fear Him lack nothing.
Young lions go lacking and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. 𝙍

Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.  

Who is the man who delights in life,
who desires to see good days?
Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceitful speech.
Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it. 𝙍

The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
and His ears are inclined to their cry.
But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to wipe out all memory of them from the earth.  

The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears;
He delivers them from all their troubles.
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted;
He saves the contrite in spirit.   𝙍

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the LORD delivers him from them all.
He protects all his bones;
not one of them will be broken.  

Evil will slay the wicked,
and the haters of the righteous will be condemned.
The LORD redeems His servants,
and none who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

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: Taste and see that the LORD is good.

Psalm prayer

Send your holy angels
to watch over us, O God,
that on our lips will be found your truth
and in our hearts your love;
so we may ever taste your goodness
in the land of the living;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Exodus 40:17-38

So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month of the second year.

When Moses set up the tabernacle, he laid its bases, positioned its frames, inserted its crossbars, and set up its posts. Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, just as the LORD had commanded him.

Moses took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attaching the poles to the ark; and he set the mercy seat atop the ark. Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle, put up the veil for the screen, and shielded off the ark of the Testimony, just as the LORD had commanded him.

Moses placed the table in the Tent of Meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil. He arranged the bread on it before the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him.

He also placed the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle and set up the lamps before the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him.

Moses placed the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting, in front of the veil, and he burned fragrant incense on it, just as the LORD had commanded him. Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. He placed the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, just as the LORD had commanded him.

He placed the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing; and from it Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and feet. They washed whenever they entered the Tent of Meeting or approached the altar, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

And Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and the altar, and he hung the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.

Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses was unable to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

Whenever the cloud was lifted from above the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out through all the stages of their journey. If the cloud was not lifted, they would not set out until the day it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel through all their journeys.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Luke 4:31-37

Then He went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath He began to teach the people. They were astonished at His teaching, because His message had authority.

In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon. He cried out in a loud voice, “Ha! What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

But Jesus rebuked the demon. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!” At this, the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without harming him.

All the people were overcome with amazement and asked one another, “What is this message? With authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” And the news about Jesus spread throughout the surrounding region.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

𝙍: The Lord is risen from the tomb who for our sakes hung upon the tree. Alleluia.

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: The Lord is risen from the tomb who for our sakes hung upon the tree. Alleluia.

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 people of God, that they may proclaim the risen Lord
God’s creation, that the peoples of the earth may meet their responsibility to care
Those in despair and darkness, that they may find the hope and light of Christ
Those in fear of death, that they may find faith through the resurrection
Prisoners and captives

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,
whose Son Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life:
raise us, who trust in him, 
from the death of sin to the life of righteousness,
that we may seek those things which are above,
where he reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. 
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Rejoicing in God’s new creation, 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

May the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
Amen.