Opening response

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

Your light springs up for the righteous
and all the peoples have seen your glory.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
king of the nations,
to you be praise and glory forever.
From the rising of the sun to its setting
your name is proclaimed in all the world.
As the Sun of Righteousness dawns in our hearts
anoint our lips with the seal of your Spirit
that we may witness to your gospel
and sing your praise in all the earth.
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

Jesus, Thou Strength of All That Turn

Charles Wesley

Jesus, thou strength of all that turn
The battle to the gate,
Behold us for thy glory burn,
And for thy kingdom wait.

O that thy foes were all subdued,
In bonds of love confined,
And forced to own the all-cleansing blood,
That flowed for all mankind.

Captain of our salvation, hear,
Savior of human race,
Appear, in thy own cause appear,
And vindicate thy grace.

Thy grace for all divinely free
Doth every sinner call;
Thou drawest all men unto thee,
For thou hast purchased all.

Lo! here we are, thy truth to prove,
To witness thou art good,
To assert thine universal love,
And all-redeeming blood.

Thy blood from all iniquity
Redeems, and makes us clean;
From pride, and wrath, it sets us free,
From all indwelling sin.

The Spirit’s living law it writes
Upon our inward parts,
Our newborn souls to God unites,
And purifies our hearts.

It keeps our mind in perfect peace,
Thy kingdom it brings in,
Thine everlasting righteousness,
And makes an end of sin.

This sovereign antidote expels
The poison from our veins;
Our old congenial sickness heals,
And purges all our stains.

A perfect soundness it imparts,
Destroys the carnal mind,
And forms in all believing hearts
The Savior of mankind.

Come O thou Lamb, for sinners slain,
Bring in the cleansing flood;
Apply, to wash out every stain,
Thine efficacious blood.

O let it sink into our soul
Deep as the inbred sin,
Make every wounded spirit whole,
And every leper clean.

Thy sanctifying word is sure;
Lord, we our sins confess,
Faithful and just, O make us pure
From all unrighteousness.

Such power belongeth unto thee,
thy saying we receive;
We shall be pure in heart, and see
thy smiling face, and live.

Lord, we believe, and with calm zeal
For this our faith contend,
Waiting till thou thyself reveal,
And hoping to the end.

Our high, and holy calling’s prize
We earnestly pursue;
Nor fear we, lest our thoughts should rise,
Above what thou canst do.

Thy goodness, O all-gracious Lord,
Is equal to thy power;
And we shall try thy utmost word,
And we shall sin no more.

Thou willest, and it must be done,
That we should holy be;
And we shall live to thee alone,
And we shall die to thee.

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 40

𝙍: Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done.

I waited patiently for the LORD;
He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me up from the pit of despair,
out of the miry clay;
He set my feet upon a rock,
and made my footsteps firm.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.

Blessed is the man
who has made the LORD his trust,
who has not turned to the proud,
nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders You have done,
and the plans You have for us—
none can compare to You—
if I proclaim and declare them,
they are more than I can count. 𝙍

Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
but my ears You have opened.
Burnt offerings and sin offerings
You did not require.
Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll:
I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your law is within my heart.”

I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
behold, I do not seal my lips,
as You, O LORD, do know.
I have not covered up Your righteousness in my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and salvation;
I have not concealed Your loving devotion and faithfulness
from the great assembly. 𝙍

O LORD, do not withhold Your mercy from me;
Your loving devotion and faithfulness will always guard me.
For evils without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, so that I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart has failed within me.
Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;
hurry, O LORD, to help me.

May those who seek my life
be ashamed and confounded;
may those who wish me harm
be repelled and humiliated.
May those who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
be appalled at their own shame. 𝙍

May all who seek You
rejoice and be glad in You;
may those who love Your salvation
always say, “The LORD be magnified!”

But I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my helper and deliverer;
O my God, do not delay.

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: Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done.

Psalm prayer

Free us from our sins, O God,
and may our sacrifices be of praise
to the glory of your Son,
our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Psalm 108

𝙍: Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.

My heart is steadfast, O God;
I will sing and make music with all my being.
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations;
I will sing Your praises among the peoples. 𝙍

For Your loving devotion extends beyond the heavens,
and Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
may Your glory cover all the earth.
Respond and save us with Your right hand,
that Your beloved may be delivered. 𝙍

God has spoken from His sanctuary:
“I will triumph!
I will parcel out Shechem
and apportion the Valley of Succoth.
Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim is My helmet, Judah is My scepter.
Moab is My washbasin;
upon Edom I toss My sandal;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.” 𝙍

Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
Have You not rejected us, O God?
Will You no longer march out, O God, with our armies?
Give us aid against the enemy,
for the help of man is worthless.
With God we will perform with valor,
and He will trample our enemies.

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: Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.

Psalm prayer

In times of terror, God,
give us boldness
to act with courage, yet with mercy,
for you rule the nations with the
sword of truth;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Hosea 2:18-3:5

On that day I will make a covenant for them
with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air
and the creatures that crawl on the ground.
And I will abolish bow and sword
and weapons of war in the land,
and will make them lie down in safety.
So I will betroth you to Me forever;
I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
in loving devotion and compassion.
And I will betroth you in faithfulness,
and you will know the LORD.”

“On that day I will respond—”
declares the LORD—
“I will respond to the heavens,
and they will respond to the earth.
And the earth will respond to the grain,
to the new wine and oil,
and they will respond to Jezreel.
And I will sow her as My own in the land,
and I will have compassion on ‘No Compassion.’
I will say to those called ‘Not My People,’
‘You are My people,’
and they will say,
‘You are my God.’ ”

Then the LORD said to me, “Go show love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and offer raisin cakes to idols.”

So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley. Then I said to her, “You must live with me for many days; you must not be promiscuous or belong to another, and I will do the same for you.”

For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol. Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

1 Corinthians 9:15-27

But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this to suggest that something be done for me. Indeed, I would rather die than let anyone nullify my boast.

Yet when I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am obligated to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If my preaching is voluntary, I have a reward. But if it is not voluntary, I am still entrusted with a responsibility. What then is my reward? That in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not use up my rights in preaching it.

Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), to win those under the law. To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.

I do all this for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize. Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable. Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air. No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

𝙍: This is the Christ, the Chosen of God, the one who will bring healing to the nations.

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: This is the Christ, the Chosen of God, the one who will bring healing to the nations.

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 unity of the church
The peace of the world
The healing of the sick
The revelation of Christ to those from whom his glory is hidden
All who travel

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 revealed in signs and miracles
the wonder of your saving presence:
renew your people with your heavenly grace,
and in all our weakness
sustain us by your mighty power;
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

Believing the promises of God,
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 Christ, who sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit.
Amen.