Sunday morning February 20

Monday morning
Saturday morning

Preparation

Opening response

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

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, creator of all,
to you be praise and glory forever.
As your dawn renews the face of the earth
bringing light and life to all creation,
may we rejoice in this day you have made;
as we wake refreshed from the depths of sleep,
open our eyes to behold your presence
and strengthen our hands to do your will,
that the world may rejoice and give you praise.
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

Away, My Needless Fears

Charles Wesley
           
Away, my needless fears
And doubts no longer mine!
A ray of heavenly light appears,
A messenger divine.

Thrice comfortable hope,
That calms my troubled breast;
My Father's hand prepares the cup,
And what he wills is best.

He knows whatever I want;
He sees my helplessness,
And always readier is to grant
Than I to ask his grace.

My fearful heart he reads,
Secures my soul from harms,
And underneath his mercy spreads
Its everlasting arms.

If what I wish is good,
And suits the will divine,
By earth and hell in vain withstood,
I know it shall be mine.

Here is firm footing; here,
My soul, is solid rock,
To break the waves of grief and fear,
And trouble's rudest shock:

This only can sustain
When earth and heaven remove:
O turn thee to thy rest again,
Thy God's eternal love!

Here then I doubt no more,
But in his pleasure rest,
Whose wisdom, love, and truth and power
Engage to make me blest.

Confession of sin

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor. 

Silence may be kept.

Most merciful God, 
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed, 
by what we have done, 
and by what we have left undone. 
We have not loved you with our whole heart; 
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. 
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. 
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, 
have mercy on us and forgive us; 
that we may delight in your will, 
and walk in your ways, 
to the glory of your name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins
through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all
goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in
eternal life. 
Amen.

The Word of God

Psalm 104

Refrain:

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.

Let my whole being bless the Lord!

Lord my God, how fantastic you are!

You are clothed in glory and grandeur!

You wear light like a robe;

you open the skies like a curtain.

You build your lofty house on the waters;

you make the clouds your chariot,

going around on the wings of the wind.

You make the winds your messengers;

you make fire and flame your ministers.

You established the earth on its foundations

so that it will never ever fall.

You covered it with the watery deep like a piece of clothing;

the waters were higher than the mountains!

But at your rebuke they ran away;

they fled in fear at the sound of your thunder.

They flowed over the mountains,

streaming down the valleys

to the place you established for them.

You set a boundary they cannot cross

so they’ll never again cover the earth.

You put gushing springs into dry riverbeds.

They flow between the mountains,

providing water for every wild animal—

the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

Overhead, the birds in the sky make their home,

chirping loudly in the trees.

From your lofty house, you water the mountains.

The earth is filled full by the fruit of what you’ve done.

You make grass grow for cattle;

you make plants for human farming

in order to get food from the ground,

and wine, which cheers people’s hearts,

along with oil, which makes the face shine,

and bread, which sustains the human heart.

The Lord’s trees are well watered—

the cedars of Lebanon, which God planted,

where the birds make their nests,

where the stork has a home in the cypresses.

The high mountains belong to the mountain goats;

the ridges are the refuge of badgers.

God made the moon for the seasons,

and the sun too, which knows when to set.

You bring on the darkness and it is night,

when every forest animal prowls.

The young lions roar for their prey,

seeking their food from God.

When the sun rises, they gather together

and lie down in their dens.

Then people go off to their work,

to do their work until evening.

Lord, you have done so many things!

You made them all so wisely!

The earth is full of your creations!

And then there’s the sea, wide and deep,

with its countless creatures—

living things both small and large.

There go the ships on it,

and Leviathan, which you made, plays in it!

All your creations wait for you

to give them their food on time.

When you give it to them, they gather it up;

when you open your hand, they are filled completely full!

But when you hide your face, they are terrified;

when you take away their breath,

they die and return to dust.

When you let loose your breath, they are created,

and you make the surface of the ground brand-new again.

Let the Lord’s glory last forever!

Let the Lord rejoice in all he has made!

He has only to look at the earth, and it shakes.

God just touches the mountains, and they erupt in smoke.

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;

I will sing praises to my God while I’m still alive.

Let my praise be pleasing to him;

I’m rejoicing in the Lord!

Let sinners be wiped clean from the earth;

let the wicked be no more.

But let my whole being bless the Lord!

Praise 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.

Refrain:

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.

Psalm prayer

Creator God,

send your Holy Spirit to renew this living world,

that the whole creation,

in its groaning and striving,

may know your loving purpose

and come to reflect your glory;

in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading
Job 28:1-11

There is a sure source of silver,
    a place where gold is refined.
Iron is taken from the earth;
    rock is smelted into copper.
Humans put an end to darkness,
    dig for ore to the farthest depths,
        into stone in utter darkness,
    open a shaft away from any inhabitant,
        places forgotten by those on foot,
        apart from any human they hang and sway.
Earth—from it comes food—
    is turned over below ground as by fire.
Its rocks are the source for lapis lazuli;
    there is gold dust in it.
A path—
    no bird of prey knows it;
        a hawk’s eye hasn’t seen it;
    proud beasts haven’t trodden on it;
        a lion hasn’t crossed over it.
Humans thrust their hands into flint,
        pull up mountains from their roots,
    cut channels into rocks;
        their eyes see everything precious.
They dam up the sources of rivers;
    hidden things come to light.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Acts 14:8-20

In Lystra there was a certain man who lacked strength in his legs. He had been crippled since birth and had never walked. Sitting there, he heard Paul speaking. Paul stared at him and saw that he believed he could be healed.

Raising his voice, Paul said, “Stand up straight on your feet!” He jumped up and began to walk.

Seeing what Paul had done, the crowd shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have taken human form and come down to visit us!” They referred to Barnabas as Zeus and to Paul as Hermes, since Paul was the main speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was located just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates. Along with the crowds, he wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

When the Lord’s messengers Barnabas and Paul found out about this, they tore their clothes in protest and rushed out into the crowd. They shouted, “People, what are you doing? We are humans too, just like you! We are proclaiming the good news to you: turn to the living God and away from such worthless things. He made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. In the past, he permitted every nation to go its own way. Nevertheless, he hasn’t left himself without a witness. He has blessed you by giving you rain from above as well as seasonal harvests, and satisfying you with food and happiness.”

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticle
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Refrain:
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.

Refrain:
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,
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.

Prayers

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 universal church
Bishops, superintendents and all who lead the church
The leaders of the nations
The natural world and the resources of the earth
All who are in any kind of need

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

Response

Lord of life
In your mercy, hear us.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,
you have created the heavens and the earth
and made us in your own image:
teach us to discern your hand in all your works
and your likeness in all your children;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who with you and the Holy Spirit reigns supreme over all things,
now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

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

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