Monday evening March 20
Image: Unsplash
Opening response
Hurry, God, to deliver us.
LORD, come quickly to help us.
Hear our voice according to your loving kindness.
Revive us, LORD, according to your ordinances.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be glory and praise forever.
In the darkness of our sin you have shone in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ.
Open our eyes to acknowledge your presence,
that freed from the misery of sin and shame
we may grow into your likeness from glory to glory.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
Spirit of Grace and Health and Power
John Wesley
Spirit of grace, and health and power,
Fountain of light and love below,
Abroad thy healing influence shower,
On all thy servants let it flow;
Inflame our hearts with perfect love,
In us the work of faith fulfill;
So not heaven’s host shall swifter move
Than we on earth to do thy will.
Father, ’tis thine each day to yield
Thy children’s wants a fresh supply,
Thou clothest the lilies of the field,
And hearest the young ravens cry.
On thee we cast our care; we live
Through thee, who knowest our every need;
O feed us with thy grace, and give
Our souls this day the living bread!
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 25
Refrain:
Turn to me, God, and have mercy on me.
To you, LORD, I lift up my soul.
My God, I have trusted in you.
Don’t let me be shamed.
Don’t let my enemies triumph over me.
Yes, no one who waits for you will be shamed.
They will be shamed who deal treacherously without cause.
Show me your ways, LORD.
Teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth, and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation.
I wait for you all day long.
LORD, remember your tender mercies and your loving kindness,
for they are from old times.
Don’t remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions.
Remember me according to your loving kindness,
for your goodness’ sake, LORD.
Good and upright is the LORD,
therefore he will instruct sinners in the way.
He will guide the humble in justice.
He will teach the humble his way.
All the paths of the LORD are loving kindness and truth
to such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
For your name’s sake, LORD,
pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
What man is he who fears the LORD?
He shall instruct him in the way that he shall choose.
His soul will dwell at ease.
His offspring will inherit the land.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him.
He will show them his covenant.
My eyes are ever on the LORD,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
Turn to me, and have mercy on me,
for I am desolate and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart are enlarged.
Oh bring me out of my distresses.
Consider my affliction and my travail.
Forgive all my sins.
Consider my enemies, for they are many.
They hate me with cruel hatred.
Oh keep my soul, and deliver me.
Let me not be disappointed, for I take refuge in you.
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you.
God, redeem Israel
out of all his troubles.
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:
Turn to me, God, and have mercy on me.
Psalm prayer
Free us, God of mercy,
from all that keeps us from you;
relieve the misery of the anxious and the ashamed
and fill us with the hope of peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 28
Refrain:
The LORD is my strength and my shield.
To you, LORD, I call.
My rock, don’t be deaf to me,
lest, if you are silent to me,
I would become like those who go down into the pit.
Hear the voice of my petitions, when I cry to you,
when I lift up my hands towards your Most Holy Place.
Don’t draw me away with the wicked,
with the workers of iniquity who speak peace with their neighbours,
but mischief is in their hearts.
Give them according to their work, and according to the wickedness of their doings.
Give them according to the operation of their hands.
Bring back on them what they deserve.
Because they don’t respect the works of the LORD,
nor the operation of his hands,
he will break them down and not build them up.
Blessed be the LORD,
because he has heard the voice of my petitions.
The LORD is my strength and my shield.
My heart has trusted in him, and I am helped.
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices.
With my song I will thank him.
The LORD is their strength.
He is a stronghold of salvation to his anointed.
Save your people,
and bless your inheritance.
Be their shepherd also,
and bear them up forever.
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:
The LORD is my strength and my shield.
Psalm prayer
Hear us, Shepherd of your people,
forgive us our sins
and, in a world of pretenses,
make us true in heart and mind;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Exodus 2:11-22
In those days, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his brothers and saw their burdens. He saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his brothers. He looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no one, he killed the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
He went out the second day, and behold, two men of the Hebrews were fighting with each other. He said to him who did the wrong, “Why do you strike your fellow?”
He said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you plan to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian?”
Moses was afraid, and said, “Surely this thing is known.” Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and lived in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.
Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. The shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. When they came to Reuel, their father, he said, “How is it that you have returned so early today?”
They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and moreover he drew water for us, and watered the flock.”
He said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.”
Moses was content to dwell with the man. He gave Moses Zipporah, his daughter. She bore a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, “I have lived as a foreigner in a foreign land.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Hebrews 9:1-14
Now indeed even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and an earthly sanctuary. For a tabernacle was prepared. In the first part were the lamp stand, the table, and the show bread, which is called the Holy Place. After the second veil was the tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which was a golden pot holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat, of which things we can’t speak now in detail.
Now these things having been thus prepared, the priests go in continually into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the services, but into the second the high priest alone, once in the year, not without blood, which he offers for himself and for the errors of the people. The Holy Spirit is indicating this, that the way into the Holy Place wasn’t yet revealed while the first tabernacle was still standing. This is a symbol of the present age, where gifts and sacrifices are offered that are incapable, concerning the conscience, of making the worshipper perfect, being only (with foods and drinks and various washings) fleshly ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation.
But Christ having come as a high priest of the coming good things, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify to the cleanness of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without defect to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Silence may be kept.
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Luke 1:46-55
Refrain:
Come, let us return to the LORD,
for our God will freely pardon.
My soul magnifies the Lord.
My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
for he has looked at the humble state of his servant.
For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
For he who is mighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
His mercy is for generations and generations on those who fear him.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down princes from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things.
He has sent the rich away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and his offspring forever.
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 us return to the LORD,
for our God will freely pardon.
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.
Thanksgiving and intercession
Thanksgiving may be made for the day.
Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs
Prayers may include the following concerns:
Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
Those serving through leadership
Those looking for forgiveness
Those misled by the false gods of this present age
All who are hungry
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
Merciful Lord,
absolve your people from their offenses,
that through your bountiful goodness
we may all be delivered from the chains of those sins
which by our frailty we have committed;
grant this, heavenly Father,
for Jesus Christ’s sake, our blessed Lord and Savior,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Trusting in the compassion 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 God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
Amen.
Sunday evening March 19
Image: Unsplash
Opening response
Hurry, God, to deliver us.
LORD, come quickly to help us.
Hear our voice according to your loving kindness.
Revive us, LORD, according to your ordinances.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be glory and praise forever.
In the darkness of our sin you have shone in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ.
Open our eyes to acknowledge your presence,
that freed from the misery of sin and shame
we may grow into your likeness from glory to glory.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
In the Midst Do Thou Appear
Charles Wesley
In the midst do thou appear,
Lord, reveal thy presence here!
Sanctify us now, and bless;
Breathe thy Spirit, give thy peace.
While we walk with God in light,
God our hearts doth still unite,
Sweetly each with each combined
In the bonds of duty joined.
Father, still our faith increase:
Cleanse from all unrighteousness,
Thee the unholy cannot see;
Make, oh make us meet for thee!
Mutual love the token be,
Lord, that we belong to thee,
Only love to us be given,
Lord we ask no other heaven.
Confession of sin
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor repaid us for our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his loving kindness towards 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.
Like a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
Praise the LORD, my soul!
All that is within me, praise his holy name!
Praise the LORD, my soul,
and don’t forget all his benefits.
Psalm 31:1-16
Refrain:
Into your hand I commend my spirit.
In you, LORD, I take refuge.
Let me never be disappointed.
Deliver me in your righteousness.
Bow down your ear to me.
Deliver me speedily.
Be to me a strong rock,
a house of defence to save me.
For you are my rock and my fortress,
therefore for your name’s sake lead me and guide me.
Pluck me out of the net that they have laid secretly for me,
for you are my stronghold.
Into your hand I commend my spirit.
You redeem me, LORD, God of truth.
I hate those who regard lying vanities,
but I trust in the LORD.
I will be glad and rejoice in your loving kindness,
for you have seen my affliction.
You have known my soul in adversities.
You have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy.
You have set my feet in a large place.
Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am in distress.
My eye, my soul, and my body waste away with grief.
For my life is spent with sorrow,
my years with sighing.
My strength fails because of my iniquity.
My bones are wasted away.
Because of all my adversaries I have become utterly contemptible to my neighbours,
a horror to my acquaintances.
Those who saw me on the street fled from me.
I am forgotten from their hearts like a dead man.
I am like broken pottery.
For I have heard the slander of many, terror on every side,
while they conspire together against me,
they plot to take away my life.
But I trust in you, LORD.
I said, “You are my God.”
My times are in your hand.
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me.
Make your face to shine on your servant.
Save me in your loving kindness.
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:
Into your hand I commend my spirit.
Psalm prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
when scorn and shame besiege us
and hope is veiled in grief,
hold us in your wounded hands
and make your face shine on us again,
for you are our Lord and God.
Old Testament reading
Micah 7
Misery is mine!
Indeed, I am like one who gathers the summer fruits, as gleanings of the vineyard.
There is no cluster of grapes to eat.
My soul desires to eat the early fig.
The godly man has perished out of the earth,
and there is no one upright amongst men.
They all lie in wait for blood;
every man hunts his brother with a net.
Their hands are on that which is evil to do it diligently.
The ruler and judge ask for a bribe.
The powerful man dictates the evil desire of his soul.
Thus they conspire together.
The best of them is like a brier.
The most upright is worse than a thorn hedge.
The day of your watchmen,
even your visitation, has come;
now is the time of their confusion.
Don’t trust in a neighbour.
Don’t put confidence in a friend.
With the woman lying in your embrace,
be careful of the words of your mouth!
For the son dishonours the father,
the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.
But as for me, I will look to the LORD.
I will wait for the God of my salvation.
My God will hear me.
Don’t rejoice against me, my enemy.
When I fall, I will arise.
When I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.
I will bear the indignation of the LORD,
because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my case and executes judgement for me.
He will bring me out to the light.
I will see his righteousness.
Then my enemy will see it,
and shame will cover her who said to me,
“Where is the LORD your God?”
My eyes will see her.
Now she will be trodden down like the mire of the streets.
A day to build your walls!
In that day, he will extend your boundary.
In that day they will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt even to the River,
and from sea to sea,
and mountain to mountain.
Yet the land will be desolate because of those who dwell therein,
for the fruit of their doings.
Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your heritage,
who dwell by themselves in a forest.
Let them feed in the middle of fertile pasture land,
in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
“As in the days of your coming out of the land of Egypt,
I will show them marvellous things.”
The nations will see and be ashamed of all their might.
They will lay their hand on their mouth.
Their ears will be deaf.
They will lick the dust like a serpent.
Like crawling things of the earth, they will come trembling out of their dens.
They will come with fear to the LORD our God,
and will be afraid because of you.
Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity,
and passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage?
He doesn’t retain his anger forever,
because he delights in loving kindness.
He will again have compassion on us.
He will tread our iniquities under foot.
You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
You will give truth to Jacob,
and mercy to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
James 5
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you. Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be for a testimony against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up your treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Armies. You have lived in luxury on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn’t resist you.
Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receives the early and late rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door. Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of perseverance, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we call them blessed who endured. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and have seen the Lord in the outcome, and how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
But above all things, my brothers, don’t swear— not by heaven, or by the earth, or by any other oath; but let your “yes” be “yes”, and your “no”, “no”, so that you don’t fall into hypocrisy.
Is any amongst you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises. Is any amongst you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn’t rain on the earth for three years and six months. He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
Brothers, if any amongst you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
Silence may be kept.
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Luke 1:46-55
Refrain:
Come, let us return to the LORD,
for our God will freely pardon.
My soul magnifies the Lord.
My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
for he has looked at the humble state of his servant.
For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
For he who is mighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
His mercy is for generations and generations on those who fear him.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down princes from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things.
He has sent the rich away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and his offspring forever.
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 us return to the LORD,
for our God will freely pardon.
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.
Thanksgiving and intercession
Thanksgiving may be made for the day.
Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs
Prayers may include the following concerns:
Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
Those serving through leadership
Those looking for forgiveness
Those misled by the false gods of this present age
All who are hungry
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
Merciful Lord,
absolve your people from their offenses,
that through your bountiful goodness
we may all be delivered from the chains of those sins
which by our frailty we have committed;
grant this, heavenly Father,
for Jesus Christ’s sake, our blessed Lord and Savior,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Trusting in the compassion 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 God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
Amen.
Saturday evening March 18
“Moses Rescued from the Waters” (c. 1670) by Nicolas de Plattemontagne. Public domain.
Opening response
Hurry, God, to deliver us.
LORD, come quickly to help us.
Hear our voice according to your loving kindness.
Revive us, LORD, according to your ordinances.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be glory and praise forever.
In the darkness of our sin you have shone in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ.
Open our eyes to acknowledge your presence,
that freed from the misery of sin and shame
we may grow into your likeness from glory to glory.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
Where Shall My Wondering Soul Begin?
Charles Wesley
Where shall my wondering soul begin?
How shall I all to heaven aspire?
A slave redeemed from death and sin,
A brand plucked from eternal fire,
How shall I equal triumphs raise,
And sing my great Deliverer’s praise!
O how shall I the goodness tell,
Father, which thou to me hast showed,
That I, a child of wrath, and hell,
Should now be called a child of God!
Should know, should feel my sins forgiven,
Blest with this antepast of heaven!
And shall I slight my Father’s love,
Or basely fear his gifts to own?
Unmindful of his favors prove?
Shall I the hallowed cross to shun
Refuse his righteousness to impart
By hiding it within my heart?
No—though the ancient dragon rage
And call forth all his hosts to war,
Though earth’s self-righteous sons engage;
Them, and their god alike I dare:
Jesus the sinner’s friend proclaim,
Jesus, to sinners still the same.
Outcasts of men, to you I call,
Harlots and publicans, and thieves!
He spreads his arms to embrace you all;
Sinners alone his grace receives:
No need of him the righteous have,
He came the lost to seek and save!
Come all ye Magdalens in lust,
Ye ruffians fell in murders old;
Repent, and live: despair and trust!
Jesus for you to death was sold;
Though hell protest, and earth repine,
He died for crimes like yours—and mine.
Come O my guilty brethren come,
Groaning beneath your load of sin!
His bleeding heart shall make you room,
His open side shall take you in.
He calls you now, invites you home—
Come, O my guilty brethren, come!
For you the purple current flowed
In pardons from his wounded side:
Languished for you the eternal God,
For you the Prince of Glory died.
Believe; and all your guilt is forgiven,
Only believe—and yours is heaven.
Confession of sin
Come, Holy Spirit of God,
and search our hearts with the light of Christ.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
The first commandment is this:
‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’
No other commandment is greater than these.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.
Amen. Lord, have mercy.
After a period of reflection
Come, let us return to the Lord and say:
Lord our God,
in our sin we have avoided your call.
Our love for you is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that disappears early.
Have mercy on us;
deliver us from judgment;
bind up our wounds and revive us;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
cf Hosea 6
May almighty God,
who sent his Son into the world to save sinners,
bring us his pardon and peace, now and forever.
Amen.
Psalm 116
Refrain:
The LORD is gracious and righteous.
I love the LORD, because he listens to my voice,
and my cries for mercy.
Because he has turned his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
The cords of death surrounded me,
the pains of Sheol got a hold of me.
I found trouble and sorrow.
Then I called on the LORD’s name:
“LORD, I beg you, deliver my soul.”
The LORD is gracious and righteous.
Yes, our God is merciful.
The LORD preserves the simple.
I was brought low, and he saved me.
Return to your rest, my soul,
for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
and my feet from falling.
I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
I believed, therefore I said,
“I was greatly afflicted.”
I said in my haste,
“All people are liars.”
What will I give to the LORD for all his benefits towards me?
I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the LORD’s name.
I will pay my vows to the LORD,
yes, in the presence of all his people.
Precious in the LORD’s sight is the death of his saints.
LORD, truly I am your servant.
I am your servant, the son of your servant girl.
You have freed me from my chains.
I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and will call on the LORD’s name.
I will pay my vows to the LORD,
yes, in the presence of all his people,
in the courts of the LORD’s house,
in the middle of you, Jerusalem.
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:
The LORD is gracious and righteous.
Psalm prayer
As we walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
may we call upon your name,
raise the cup of salvation,
and so proclaim your death, O Lord,
until you come in glory.
Psalm 130
Refrain:
My soul longs for the Lord.
Out of the depths I have cried to you, LORD.
Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my petitions.
If you, LORD, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
therefore you are feared.
I wait for the LORD.
My soul waits.
I hope in his word.
My soul longs for the Lord more than watchmen long for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
Israel, hope in the LORD,
for there is loving kindness with the LORD.
Abundant redemption is with him.
He will redeem Israel from all their sins.
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:
My soul longs for the Lord.
Psalm prayer
Father, we commend to your faithful love
those who are crying from the depths;
help them to watch and pray
through their time of darkness,
in sure hope of the dawn of your
forgiveness and redemption;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Exodus 1:22-2:10
Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “You shall cast every son who is born into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”
A man of the house of Levi went and took a daughter of Levi as his wife. The woman conceived and bore a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. When she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket for him, and coated it with tar and with pitch. She put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank. His sister stood far off, to see what would be done to him. Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe at the river. Her maidens walked along by the riverside. She saw the basket amongst the reeds, and sent her servant to get it. She opened it, and saw the child, and behold, the baby cried. She had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”
Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Should I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?”
Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.”
The young woman went and called the child’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away, and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.”
The woman took the child, and nursed it. The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Hebrews 8
Now in the things which we are saying, the main point is this: we have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a servant of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, seeing there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law, who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses was warned by God when he was about to make the tabernacle, for he said, “See, you shall make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain.” But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which on better promises has been given as law.
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. For finding fault with them, he said,
“Behold, the days are coming”, says the Lord,
“that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt;
for they didn’t continue in my covenant,
and I disregarded them,” says the Lord.
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days,” says the Lord:
“I will put my laws into their mind;
I will also write them on their heart.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
They will not teach every man his fellow citizen
and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
for all will know me,
from their least to their greatest.
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness.
I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more.”
In that he says, “A new covenant”, he has made the first obsolete. But that which is becoming obsolete and grows aged is near to vanishing away.
Silence may be kept.
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Luke 1:46-55
Refrain:
Come, let us return to the LORD,
for our God will freely pardon.
My soul magnifies the Lord.
My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
for he has looked at the humble state of his servant.
For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
For he who is mighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
His mercy is for generations and generations on those who fear him.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down princes from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things.
He has sent the rich away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and his offspring forever.
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 us return to the LORD,
for our God will freely pardon.
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.
Thanksgiving and intercession
Thanksgiving may be made for the day.
Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs
Prayers may include the following concerns:
Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
Those serving through leadership
Those looking for forgiveness
Those misled by the false gods of this present age
All who are hungry
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
Merciful Lord,
absolve your people from their offenses,
that through your bountiful goodness
we may all be delivered from the chains of those sins
which by our frailty we have committed;
grant this, heavenly Father,
for Jesus Christ’s sake, our blessed Lord and Savior,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Trusting in the compassion 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 God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
Amen.