Friday morning July 19

Saturday morning
Thursday morning

Preparation

Opening response

Lord, open our lips
and our mouth will 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

This Slumber From My Spirit Shake

Charles Wesley
           
This slumber from my spirit shake,
Warned by the Spirit’s inward call,
Let me to righteousness awake,
And pray that I may never fall;
Or give to sin or Satan place,
But walk in all thy righteous ways.

O wouldst thou, Lord, thy servant guard;
Against every known or secret foe;
A mind for all assaults prepared,
A sober vigilance bestow;
Ever apprised of danger nigh,
And when to fight and when to fly.

O never suffer me to sleep,
Secure within the verge of hell;
But still my watchful spirit keep
In lowly awe and loving zeal;
And bless me with a godly fear,
And plant that guardian angel here.

Attended by that sacred dread,
And wise from evil to depart,
Let me from strength to strength proceed,
And rise to purity of heart;
Through all the paths of duty move,
From humble faith to perfect love.

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.

The Word of God

Psalm 88

Refrain:
You are my refuge. You are all I have in the land of the living.

Lord, God of my salvation,
    by day I cry out,
    even at night, before you—
    let my prayer reach you!
Turn your ear to my outcry
    because my whole being is filled with distress;
    my life is at the very brink of hell.

I am considered as one of those plummeting into the pit.
    I am like those who are beyond help,
    drifting among the dead,
    lying in the grave, like dead bodies—
    those you don’t remember anymore,
    those who are cut off from your power.
You placed me down in the deepest pit,
    in places dark and deep.
Your anger smothers me;
    you subdue me with it, wave after wave. 
You’ve made my friends distant.
    You’ve made me disgusting to them.
    I can’t escape. I’m trapped!
My eyes are tired of looking at my suffering.
    I’ve been calling out to you every day, Lord—
    I’ve had my hands outstretched to you!

Do you work wonders for the dead?
    Do ghosts rise up and give you thanks? 

Is your faithful love proclaimed in the grave,
    your faithfulness in the underworld?
Are your wonders known in the land of darkness,
    your righteousness in the land of oblivion?

But I cry out to you, Lord!
    My prayer meets you first thing in the morning!
Why do you reject my very being, Lord?
    Why do you hide your face from me?
Since I was young I’ve been afflicted, I’ve been dying.
    I’ve endured your terrors. I’m lifeless.
Your fiery anger has overwhelmed me;
    your terrors have destroyed me.
They surround me all day long like water;
    they engulf me completely.
You’ve made my loved ones and companions distant.
    My only friend is darkness.

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. You are all I have in the land of the living.

Psalm prayer

In the depths of our isolation
we cry to you, Lord God;
give light in our darkness
and bring us out of the prison of our despair
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 95

Refrain:
Come, let’s worship and bow down!

Come, let’s sing out loud to the Lord!
    Let’s raise a joyful shout to the rock of our salvation!
Let’s come before him with thanks!
    Let’s shout songs of joy to him!
The Lord is a great God,
    the great king over all other gods.
The earth’s depths are in his hands;
    the mountain heights belong to him;
    the sea, which he made, is his
        along with the dry ground,
        which his own hands formed.
Come, let’s worship and bow down!
    Let’s kneel before the Lord, our maker!
He is our God,
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    the sheep in his hands.
If only you would listen to his voice right now!
    “Don’t harden your hearts
    like you did at Meribah,
    like you did when you were at Massah,
        in the wilderness,
    when your ancestors tested me
        and scrutinized me,
    even though they had already seen my acts.
For forty years I despised that generation;
    I said, ‘These people have twisted hearts.
    They don’t know my ways.’
So in anger I swore:
    ‘They will never enter my place of rest!’”

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:
Come, let’s worship and bow down!

Psalm prayer

Lord God, the maker of all,
as we bow down in praise this day,
make us attentive to your voice
and do not test us beyond our enduring;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading
Nehemiah 9:1-23

On the twenty-fourth day of this month, the people of Israel were assembled. They fasted, wore funeral clothing, and had dirt on their heads. After the Israelites separated themselves from all of the foreigners, they stood to confess their sins and the terrible behavior of their ancestors. They stood in their place and read the Instruction scroll from the Lord their God for a quarter of the day. For another quarter of the day, they confessed and worshipped the Lord their God.

On the stairs of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani. They cried out with a loud voice to the Lord their God. Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said:

Stand up and bless the Lord your God.

From everlasting to everlasting bless your glorious name,

which is high above all blessing and praise.

You alone are the Lord.

You alone made heaven, even the heaven of heavens, with all their forces.

You made the earth and all that is on it, and the seas and all that is in them.

You preserve them all, and the heavenly forces worship you.

Lord God, you are the one who chose Abram.

You brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.

You found him to be faithful before you,

and you made a covenant with him.

You promised to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites,

the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites.

And you have kept your promise because you are righteous.

You saw the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt

and heard their cry at the Reed Sea.

You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,

all his servants, and the people of his land.

You knew that they had acted arrogantly against our ancestors.

You made a name for yourself, a name that is famous even today.

You divided the sea before them so that they went through it on dry land.

But you cast their pursuers into the depths,

as a stone into the mighty waters.

With a pillar of cloud you led them by day

and with a column of lightning by night;

they lit the way in which the people should go.

You came down upon Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven.

You gave them proper judgments and true Instruction,

good statutes and commandments.

You made known to them your holy Sabbath,

and gave them commandments, statutes, and Instruction through your servant Moses.

When they were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven;

when they were thirsty, you brought water out of the rock for them.

You told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them.

But our ancestors acted arrogantly.

They were stubborn and wouldn’t obey your commandments.

They refused to obey,

and didn’t remember the wonders that you accomplished in their midst.

They acted arrogantly and decided to return to their slavery in Egypt.

But you are a God ready to forgive, merciful and compassionate,

very patient, and truly faithful.

You didn’t forsake them.

Even when they had cast an image of a calf for themselves,

saying, “This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,”

and holding you in great contempt,

you, in your great mercy, didn’t abandon them in the wilderness.

The column of cloud continued to guide them on their journey during the day,

and the column of lightning lit their path during the night.

You gave your good spirit to teach them.

You didn’t withhold your manna from them,

and you gave them water for their thirst.

You kept them alive for forty years—

they lacked nothing in the wilderness!

Their clothes didn’t wear out,

and their feet didn’t swell.

You gave them kingdoms and peoples,

and assigned to them every side.

They took possession of the land of King Sihon of Heshbon

and the land of King Og of Bashan.

You multiplied their descendants as the stars of heaven.

You brought them into the land that you had told their ancestors to enter and possess.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Romans 16:1-16

I’m introducing our sister Phoebe to you, who is a servant of the church in Cenchreae. Welcome her in the Lord in a way that is worthy of God’s people, and give her whatever she needs from you, because she herself has been a sponsor of many people, myself included.

Say hello to Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life. I’m not the only one who thanks God for them, but all the churches of the Gentiles do the same. Also say hello to the church that meets in their house. Say hello to Epaenetus, my dear friend, who was the first convert in Asia for Christ. Say hello to Mary, who has worked very hard for you. Say hello to Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and my fellow prisoners. They are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. Say hello to Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. Say hello to Urbanus, our coworker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. Say hello to Apelles, who is tried and true in Christ. Say hello to the members of the household of Aristobulus. Say hello to my relative Herodion. Say hello to the members of the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. Say hello to Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who are workers for the Lord. Say hello to my dear friend Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. Say hello to Rufus, who is an outstanding believer, along with his mother and mine. Say hello to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them. Say hello to Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. Say hello to each other with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ say hello to you.

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:

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

Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:
increase and multiply upon us your mercy;
that with you as our ruler and guide
we may so pass through things temporal
that we lose not our hold on things eternal;
grant this, heavenly Father,
for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake,
who is alive 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 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.