Opening response

Lord, open our lips.
Our mouth will declare 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

God Is Gone Up On High

Charles Wesley

God is gone up on high,
With a triumphant noise;
The clarions of the sky
Proclaim the angelic joys!
Join all on earth, rejoice and sing;
Glory ascribe to glory’s King.

God in the flesh below,
For us he reigns above:
Let all the nations know
Our Jesus’ conquering love!
Join all on earth, rejoice and sing;
Glory ascribe to glory’s King.

All power to our great Lord
Is by the Father given;
By angel hosts adored,
He reigns supreme in heaven:
Join all on earth, rejoice and sing;
Glory ascribe to glory’s King.

High on his holy seat
He bears the righteous sway;
His foes beneath his feet
Shall sink and die away:
Join all on earth, rejoice and sing;
Glory ascribe to glory’s King.

His foes and ours are one,
Satan, the world, and sin;
But he shall tread them down.
And bring his kingdom in:
Join all on earth, rejoice and sing;
Glory ascribe to glory’s King.

Till all the earth, renewed
In righteousness divine,
With all the hosts of God
In one great chorus join,
Join all on earth, rejoice and sing;
Glory ascribe to glory’s King.

Confession of sin

When we cry out to the LORD in our trouble,
he will save us out of our distresses.

God will bring us out of darkness
and out of the shadow of death.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

May the Father forgive us
by the death of his Son
and strengthen us
to live in the power of the Spirit
all our days.
Amen.

Let us praise the LORD for his loving kindness,
and his wondrous deeds for all people.

Let us offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and declare God’s deeds with singing.

cf Psalm 107

Psalm 61

Refrain:
You are my refuge, O God, a tower of strength in the face of the enemy.

Hear my cry, God.
Listen to my prayer.
From the end of the earth, I will call to you when my heart is overwhelmed.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For you have been a refuge for me,
a strong tower from the enemy.
I will dwell in your tent forever.
I will take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah.

For you, God, have heard my vows.
You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
You will prolong the king’s life.
His years will be for generations.
He shall be enthroned in God’s presence forever.
Appoint your loving kindness and truth, that they may preserve him.
So I will sing praise to your name forever,
that I may fulfill my vows daily.

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 are my refuge, O God, a tower of strength in the face of the enemy.

Psalm prayer

Risen Christ,
as you knew the discipline of suffering
and the victory that brings us salvation,
so grant us your presence in our weakness
and a place in your unending kingdom
now and forevermore.

Psalm 65

Refrain:
Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!

Praise waits for you, God, in Zion.
Vows shall be performed to you.
You who hear prayer,
all men will come to you.
Sins overwhelmed me,
but you atoned for our transgressions.
Blessed is the one whom you choose and cause to come near,
that he may live in your courts.
We will be filled with the goodness of your house,
your holy temple.
By awesome deeds of righteousness, you answer us,
God of our salvation.
You who are the hope of all the ends of the earth,
of those who are far away on the sea.
By your power, you form the mountains,
having armed yourself with strength.
You still the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations.
They also who dwell in faraway places are afraid at your wonders.
You call the morning’s dawn and the evening with songs of joy.
You visit the earth, and water it.
You greatly enrich it.
The river of God is full of water.
You provide them grain, for so you have ordained it.
You drench its furrows.
You level its ridges.
You soften it with showers.
You bless it with a crop.
You crown the year with your bounty.
Your carts overflow with abundance.
The wilderness grasslands overflow.
The hills are clothed with gladness.
The pastures are covered with flocks.
The valleys also are clothed with grain.
They shout for joy!
They also sing.

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:
Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!

Psalm prayer

May the richness of your creation, Lord,
and the mystery of your providence
lead us to that heavenly city
where all peoples will bring their wealth,
forsake their sins and find their true joy,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Hosea 6:7-7:2

But they, like Adam, have broken the covenant.
They were unfaithful to me there.
Gilead is a city of those who work iniquity;
it is stained with blood.
As gangs of robbers wait to ambush a man,
so the company of priests murder on the path towards Shechem,
committing shameful crimes.
In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing.
There is prostitution in Ephraim.
Israel is defiled.

“Also, Judah, there is a harvest appointed for you,
when I restore the fortunes of my people.
When I would heal Israel,
then the iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered,
also the wickedness of Samaria;
for they commit falsehood,
and the thief enters in,
and the gang of robbers ravages outside.
They don’t consider in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness.
Now their own deeds have engulfed them.
They are before my face.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

But in giving you this command I don’t praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For first of all, when you come together in the assembly, I hear that divisions exist amongst you, and I partly believe it. For there also must be factions amongst you, that those who are approved may be revealed amongst you. When therefore you assemble yourselves together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. For in your eating each one takes his own supper first. One is hungry, and another is drunken. What, don’t you have houses to eat and to drink in? Or do you despise God’s assembly and put them to shame who don’t have enough? What shall I tell you? Shall I praise you? In this I don’t praise you.

For I received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread. When he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in memory of me.” In the same way he also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in memory of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks the Lord’s cup in a way unworthy of the Lord will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy way eats and drinks judgement to himself if he doesn’t discern the Lord’s body. For this cause many amongst you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep. For if we discerned ourselves, we wouldn’t be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. Therefore, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest your coming together be for judgement. The rest I will set in order whenever I come.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

Refrain:
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,
for he has visited and redeemed his people;
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
(as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old),
salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show mercy toward our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant,
the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
should serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the dawn from on high will visit us,
to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death;
to guide our feet into the way 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.

Refrain:
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,
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:

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

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

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