Opening response

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

All your saints will bless you.
They will tell of the glory of your kingdom.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
ruler and judge of all,
to you be praise and glory forever.
In the darkness of this age that is passing away
may the light of your presence which the saints enjoy
surround our steps as we journey on.
May we reflect your glory this day
and so be made ready to see your face
in the heavenly city where night shall be no more.
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

See How Great a Flame Aspires

Charles Wesley

See how great a flame aspires,
Kindled by a spark of grace.
Jesus’ love the nations fires,
Sets the kingdoms on a blaze:
To bring fire on earth he came;
Kindled in some hearts it is;
O that all might catch the flame,
All partake the glorious bliss!

When he first the work begun,
Small and feeble was his day:
Now the word doth swiftly run;
Now it wins its widening way:
More and more it spreads and grows,
Ever mighty to prevail;
Sin’s strongholds it now overthrows,
Shakes the trembling gates of hell.

Sons of God, your Savior praise,
who the door hath opened wide;
He hath given the word of grace,
Jesus’ word is glorified;
Jesus, mighty to redeem,
He alone the work hath wrought;
Worthy is the work of him,
Him who spake a world from naught.

Saw ye not the cloud arise,
Little as a human hand?
Now it spreads along the skies,
Hangs over all the thirsty land.
Lo! the promise of a shower
Drops already from above;
But the Lord will shortly pour
All the spirit of his love.

Confession of sin

The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins
or repaid us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his loving devotion for those who fear him.

Silence is kept for reflection.

Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.

As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and do not forget all his kind deeds.

Psalm 9

𝙍: You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart;
I will recount all Your wonders.
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

When my enemies retreat,
they stumble and perish before You.
For You have upheld my just cause;
You sit on Your throne judging righteously. 𝙍

You have rebuked the nations;
You have destroyed the wicked;
You have erased their name forever and ever.
The enemy has come to eternal ruin,
and You have uprooted their cities;
the very memory of them has vanished.

But the LORD abides forever;
He has established His throne for judgment.
He judges the world with justice;
He governs the people with equity.
The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
Those who know Your name trust in You,
for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You. 𝙍

Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion;
proclaim His deeds among the nations.
For the Avenger of bloodshed remembers;
He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.

Be merciful to me, O LORD;
see how my enemies afflict me!
Lift me up from the gates of death,
that I may declare all Your praises—
that within the gates of Daughter Zion
I may rejoice in Your salvation.

The nations have fallen into a pit of their making;
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
The LORD is known by the justice He brings;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. 𝙍

The wicked will return to Sheol—
all the nations who forget God.
For the needy will not always be forgotten;
nor the hope of the oppressed forever dashed.

Rise up, O LORD, do not let man prevail;
let the nations be judged in Your presence.
Lay terror upon them, O LORD;
let the nations know they are but men.

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, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

Psalm prayer

Remember, Lord, all who cry to you
from death’s dark gates;
do not forget those whom the world forgets,
but raise your faithful ones to Zion’s gate,
with your all-conquering Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 147:12-20

𝙍: Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.

Exalt the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion!
For He strengthens the bars of your gates
and blesses the children within you.
He makes peace at your borders;
He fills you with the finest wheat. 𝙍

He sends forth His command to the earth;
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes;
He casts forth His hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand His icy blast? 𝙍

He sends forth His word and melts them;
He unleashes His winds, and the waters flow.

He declares His word to Jacob,
His statutes and judgments to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation;
they do not know His judgments.

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: Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.

Psalm prayer

Compassionate God,
as you know each star you have created,
so you know the secrets of every heart;
in your loving mercy bring to your table
all who are fearful and broken,
all who are wounded and needy,
that our hungers may be satisfied
in the city of your peace;
through Christ who is our peace.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 2:1-11

This is the message that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD
will be established as the chief of the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.

And many peoples will come and say:

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us His ways
so that we may walk in His paths.”

For the law will go forth from Zion,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Then He will judge between the nations
and arbitrate for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will no longer take up the sword against nation,
nor train anymore for war.

Come, O house of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the LORD.
For You have abandoned Your people,
the house of Jacob,
because they are filled
with influences from the east;
they are soothsayers like the Philistines;
they strike hands with the children of foreigners.

Their land is full of silver and gold,
with no limit to their treasures;
their land is full of horses,
with no limit to their chariots.
Their land is full of idols;
they bow down to the work of their hands,
to what their fingers have made.
So mankind is brought low,
and man is humbled—
do not forgive them!

Go into the rocks
and hide in the dust
from the terror of the LORD
and the splendor of His majesty.
The proud look of man will be humbled,
and the loftiness of men brought low;
the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Matthew 2:16-23

When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

“A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those seeking the Child’s life are now dead.”

So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he learned that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

𝙍: You delivered us, O Lord, that we may serve you without fear, holy and righteous before you.

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: You delivered us, O Lord, that we may serve you without fear, holy and righteous before you.

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 saints on earth, that they may live as citizens of heaven
All people, that they may hear and believe the word of God
All who fear the winter months
All sovereigns and political leaders, that they may imitate the righteous rule of Christ
All who grieve or wait with the dying

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty and eternal God,
you have kindled the flame of love
in the hearts of the saints:
grant to us the same faith and power of love,
that, as we rejoice in their triumphs,
we may be sustained by their example and fellowship;
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

Uniting our prayers with the whole company of heaven, 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 has opened the kingdom of heaven, bring us to reign with him in glory.
Amen.