Opening response

Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim 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

Light of Those Whose Dreary Dwelling

Charles Wesley

Light of those whose dreary dwelling
Borders on the shades of death,
Come, and by thy love's revealing
Dissipate the clouds beneath.

The new heaven and earth's Creator,
In our deepest darkness rise,
Scattering all the night of nature,
Pouring eyesight on our eyes.

Still we wait for thine appearing;
Life and joy thy beams impart,
Chasing all our fears, and cheering
Every poor benighted heart.

Come, and manifest the favor
God hath for our ransomed race;
Come, thou universal Savior,
Come, and bring the gospel grace.

Save us in thy great compassion,
O thou mild, pacific Prince;
Give the knowledge of salvation,
Give the pardon of our sins.

By thine all restoring merit
Every burdened soul release;
Every weary, wandering spirit
Guide into thy perfect peace.

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

𝙍: Free my soul from prison, that I may praise Your name.

I cry aloud to the LORD;
I lift my voice to the LORD for mercy.
I pour out my complaint before Him;
I reveal my trouble to Him.

Although my spirit grows faint within me,
You know my way.
Along the path I travel
they have hidden a snare for me.
Look to my right and see;
no one attends to me.
There is no refuge for me;
no one cares for my soul. 𝙍

I cry to You, O LORD: “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”

Listen to my cry,
for I am brought quite low.
Rescue me from my pursuers,
for they are too strong for me.
Free my soul from prison,
that I may praise Your name.
The righteous will gather around me
because of Your goodness 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.

𝙍: Free my soul from prison, that I may praise 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

𝙍: Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.

Blessed be the LORD, my Rock,
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
He is my steadfast love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer.
He is my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.

O LORD, what is man, that You regard him,
the son of man that You think of him?
Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow. 𝙍

Part Your heavens, O LORD, and come down;
touch the mountains, that they may smoke.
Flash forth Your lightning and scatter them;
shoot Your arrows and rout them.
Reach down from on high;
set me free and rescue me
from the deep waters,
from the grasp of foreigners,
whose mouths speak falsehood,
whose right hands are deceitful. 𝙍

I will sing to You a new song, O God;
on a harp of ten strings I will make music to You—
to Him who gives victory to kings,
who frees His servant David from the deadly sword.
Set me free and rescue me
from the grasp of foreigners,
whose mouths speak falsehood,
whose right hands are deceitful. 𝙍

Then our sons will be like plants
nurtured in their youth,
our daughters like corner pillars
carved to adorn a palace.
Our storehouses will be full,
supplying all manner of produce;
our flocks will bring forth thousands,
tens of thousands in our fields.
Our oxen will bear great loads.
There will be no breach in the walls,
no going into captivity,
and no cry of lament in our streets.

Blessed are the people of whom this is so;
blessed 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.

𝙍: Blessed 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

2 Samuel 23:1-7

These are the last words of David:

“The oracle of David son of Jesse,
the oracle of the man raised on high,
the one anointed by the God of Jacob,
and the sweet psalmist of Israel:

The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me;
His word was on my tongue.
The God of Israel spoke;
the Rock of Israel said to me,
‘He who rules the people with justice,
who rules in the fear of God,
is like the light of the morning
at sunrise of a cloudless dawn,
the glistening after the rain
on the sprouting grass of the earth.’

Is not my house right with God?
For He has established with me
an everlasting covenant,
ordered and secured in every part.
Will He not bring about my full salvation
and my every desire?

But the worthless are all like thorns raked aside,
for they can never be gathered by hand.
The man who touches them must be armed with iron
or with the shaft of a spear.
The fire burns them to ashes
in the place where they lie.”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Acts 12:18-25

At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. After Herod had searched for him unsuccessfully, he examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent some time there.

Now Herod was in a furious dispute with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they convened before him. Having secured the support of Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their region depended on the king’s country for food. On the appointed day, Herod donned his royal robes, sat on his throne, and addressed the people. And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!”

Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

But the word of God continued to spread and multiply.

When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, bringing with them John, also called Mark.Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

𝙍: 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.

𝙍: 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.
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:

National leaders, public officials 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

In faith we pray
We pray to you, our God.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,
who called your church to bear witness
that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself:
help us to proclaim the good news of your love,
that all who hear it may be drawn to you;
through him who was lifted up on the cross,
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, 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

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