Shane Raynor 1/22/26 Shane Raynor 1/22/26

Thu. evening Jan. 22

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Opening response

Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!

From the rising of the sun to its setting
your glory is proclaimed in all the world.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God, our light and our salvation, to you be glory and praise forever. You gave your Christ as a light to the nations, and through the anointing of the Spirit, you established us as a royal priesthood. As you call us into your marvelous light, may our lives bear witness to your truth and our lips never cease to proclaim your praise.

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

Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed?

Words: Isaac Watts (1707); ref. Ralph E. Hudson (1885)
Music: Ralph E. Hudson (1885)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#564)

Alas, and did my Savior bleed?
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For sinners such as I?

Was it for crimes that I have done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!

Refrain:
At the cross, at the cross
where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!

Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And shut His glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker, died
For man, the creature’s sin. [Refrain]

But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
’Tis all that I can do.

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.

Psalm 99

The LORD reigns;
let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned above the cherubim;
let the earth quake.
The LORD is great in Zion;
He is exalted above all the peoples.
Let them praise Your great and awesome name!
Holy is He!

The King in His might loves justice;
You have established equity;
You have executed justice
and righteousness in Jacob.
Exalt the LORD our God,
and worship at His footstool!
Holy is He!

Moses and Aaron were among His priests,
and Samuel was among those who called upon His name.
They called upon the LORD,
and He answered them.
He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
they kept His testimonies and the statute that He gave them.

You answered them,
O LORD our God;
You were a forgiving God to them,
though You took vengeance on their deeds.
Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at His holy mountain,
for the LORD our God is holy!

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.

Psalm prayer

Lord God, mighty king, you love justice and establish equity; may we love justice more than gain and mercy more than power; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 100

𝙍: The LORD is good; His mercy endures forever.

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth!
Serve the LORD with gladness;
come before Him with singing.
Know that the LORD, He is God!
It is He who has made us, and we are His;
we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

𝙍: The LORD is good; His mercy endures forever.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
and His courts with praise!
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the LORD is good; His mercy endures forever,
and His faithfulness to all generations.

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: The LORD is good; His mercy endures forever.

Psalm prayer

O Christ, door of the sheepfold, may we enter your gates with praise and go from your courts to serve you in the poor, the lost, and the wandering, this day and all our days.

Psalm 111

𝙍: The LORD is gracious and compassionate.

Praise the LORD!

I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.

Great are the works of the LORD,
studied by all who have pleasure in them.
Honorable and majestic is His work,
and His righteousness endures forever.
He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and compassionate.

𝙍: The LORD is gracious and compassionate.

He has given food to those who fear Him;
He will ever be mindful of His covenant.

He has shown His people the power of His works,
in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
The works of His hands are truth and justice;
all His precepts are trustworthy.

𝙍: The LORD is gracious and compassionate.

They stand forever and ever,
and are performed in truth and uprightness.
He has sent redemption to His people;
He has commanded His covenant forever;
holy and awesome is His name.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
a good understanding have all those who do His commands.
His praise endures 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.

𝙍: The LORD is gracious and compassionate.

Psalm prayer

Gracious God, you are full of compassion; may we who long for your kingdom to come rejoice to do your will and acknowledge your power alone to save; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Amos 9

I saw the Lord standing upon the altar, and He said:

Strike the capitals
so that the thresholds shake;
break them off onto the heads of all of them.
Those who remain I will slay with the sword.Not one of them will get away;
not one fugitive will survive.
Though they dig down to Sheol,
from there My hand will capture them;
though they climb up to the heavens,
from there I will bring them down;
though they hide on the top of Carmel,
from there I will search and catch them;
though they hide from My sight on the bottom of the sea,
from there will I command the serpent to bite them;
and though they go into captivity before their enemies,
from there will I command the sword to slay them.

I will set My eyes upon them
for evil and not for good.

The Lord GOD of Hosts,
He who touches the earth and it melts,
and all who live on it mourn;
it all rises up like the Nile,
and subsides like the river of Egypt;
who builds His chambers in the heavens,
and founds His vault over the earth;
who summons the waters of the sea,
and pours them out upon the surface of the earth—
the LORD is His name.

Are you not like the Cushites to Me,
O Israelites?
says the LORD.
Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt,
but also the Philistines from Caphtor,
and the Arameans from Kir?

The eyes of the Lord GOD
are upon the sinful kingdom,
and I will destroy it
from off the face of the earth,
though I will not completely destroy
the house of Jacob,
says the LORD.
Behold, I am giving the command,
and I will sift the house of Israel
among all the nations,
as one sifts with a sieve,
and not a pebble falls to the ground.
All the sinners of My people
will die by the sword,
those who say,
“Never will disaster reach or overtake us.”

On that day will I raise up
the hut of David that is fallen;
I will close up its breached walls,
raise up its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old;
that they may possess the remnant of Edom,
and of all the nations called by My name,
says the LORD who will do this.

Indeed, the days are coming, says the LORD,

when the plowman will overtake the one who is reaping,
and the treader of grapes the one who is sowing the seed;
the mountains will drip sweet wine,
and all the hills will flow with it.
I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel;
they will rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;
they will plant vineyards and drink their wine;
they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
I will plant them upon their land,
and no more will they be uprooted
out of their land which I have given them.
The LORD your God has spoken.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

1 Corinthians 7:25-40

Now concerning those not having married, I have no command from the Lord. Yet I will give my judgment as one who has obtained mercy from the Lord to be faithful. I suppose therefore that this is good because of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you committed to a wife? Do not seek to be uncommitted. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you marry, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Nevertheless they will have trouble in this life, but I would spare you that.

But this I say, brothers, the time is short. It remains that those who have wives should be as though they had none; those who weep, as though they did not weep; those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; those who buy, as though they possessed nothing; and those who use this world, as though they did not make full use of it. For the form of this world is passing away.

But I prefer that you have no concern. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But he who is married cares for the things of the world, how he may please his wife. There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.

If any man thinks that he is behaving improperly toward his unmarried woman, and if she is past the bloom of her youth, and passions so require, let him do what he will. He does not sin. Let them marry. Nevertheless he who stands steadfast in his heart without necessity, and has power over his own will, and has so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, does well. So then he who gives her in marriage does well, but he who gives her not in marriage does better.

The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband lives. But if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will, but only in the Lord. But in my judgment she is happier if she so remains as she is. And I think that I have the Spirit of God.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded
the low estate 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,
and holy is His name.
His mercy is on those who fear Him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has pulled down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
in remembrance of His mercy,
as He spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his descendants 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.

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.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He 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,
and is seated at the
right hand of the Father.
He 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:

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

Lord of life
In your mercy, hear us.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God, in Christ you make all things new: transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace, and in the renewal of our lives make known your heavenly glory; 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, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.

Conclusion

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

Shane Raynor 1/21/26 Shane Raynor 1/21/26

Wed. evening Jan. 21

Opening response

Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!

From the rising of the sun to its setting
your glory is proclaimed in all the world.

Prayer of thanksgiving

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

Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven

Words: Henry F. Lyte (1834)
Music: John Goss (1869)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#22)

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
to his feet your tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
evermore his praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King!

Praise him for his grace and favor
to his people in distress.
Praise him, still the same as ever,
slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glorious in his faithfulness!

Fatherlike he tends and spares us;
well our feeble frame he knows.
In his hand he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Widely yet his mercy flows!

Angels, help us to adore him;
you behold him face to face.
Sun and moon, bow down before him,
dwellers all in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise with us the God of grace!

Confession of Sin

Let us confess our sins to God.

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

My God, for love of you, I desire to hate and forsake all sins by which I have ever displeased you; and I resolve by the help of your grace to commit them no more; and to avoid all opportunities of sin. Help me to do this, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lord enrich us with his grace, and nourish us with his blessing; the Lord defend us in trouble and keep us from all evil; the Lord accept our prayers, and absolve us from our offenses, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen.

Psalm 97

𝙍: You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth.

The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be joyful!
Clouds and darkness surround Him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
Fire goes before Him
and burns up His enemies all around.

𝙍: You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth.

His lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD,
at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens declare His righteousness,
and all the peoples see His glory.

𝙍: You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth.

Let all who serve graven images be put to shame,
who boast of idols;
worship Him, all you gods.

Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice
because of Your judgments, O LORD.
For You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth;
You are exalted far above all gods.

𝙍: You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth.

You who love the LORD, hate evil!
He preserves the souls of His saints;
He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Light is sown for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous,
and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name!

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, are Most High over all the earth.

Psalm Prayer

Most high and holy God, enthroned in fire and light, burn away the dross of our lives and kindle in us the fire of your love, that our lives may reveal the light and life we find in your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 98

𝙍: The LORD has made known His salvation.

Oh sing to the LORD a new song,
for He has done marvelous things!
His right hand and His holy arm
have gained the victory for Him.
The LORD has made known His salvation;
He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered His mercy
and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.

𝙍: The LORD has made known His salvation.

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song, and sing praises.
Sing to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of a psalm,
with trumpets and the sound of the horn;
make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King!

𝙍: The LORD has made known His salvation.

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it,
the world and those who dwell in it;
let the rivers clap their hands;
let the hills be joyful together
before the LORD,
for He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.

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: The LORD has made known His salvation.

Psalm prayer

Lord God, just and true, you make your salvation known in the sight of the nations; tune the song of our hearts to the music of creation as you come among us to judge the earth; through our Savior Jesus Christ.

Old Testament reading

Amos 8

This is what the Lord GOD showed me: A basket of summer fruit. He said, “Amos, what do you see?”

And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.”

Then the LORD said to me, “The end has come upon My people Israel. I will forgive them no more.

“The songs of the temple shall become wailings on that day,” says the Lord GOD. “The corpses shall be many, cast down everywhere. Hush!”

Hear this, you who trample on the needy
to make the poor of the land fail,

saying,

“When will the New Moon be over,
so that we may sell grain?
And the Sabbath,
that we may open the wheat sales,
making the ephah too small,
and the shekel too heavy,
cheating with dishonest scales,
that we may buy the poor for silver,
the needy for a pair of sandals,
and sell the refuse as wheat?”

The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.

Will not the land tremble because of this,
and everyone mourn who lives on it?
It will all rise up like the Nile,
and be tossed around, then sink
like the Nile of Egypt.

On that day, says the Lord GOD,

I will make the sun go down at noon,
and darken the earth in mid-daylight;
I will turn your feasts into mourning,
and all your songs into dirges;
I will put sackcloth upon all loins,
and baldness on every head;
I will make it like the mourning for an only child,
and its end like a bitter day.

The time is coming, says the Lord GOD,
when I will send a famine on the land,
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the LORD.
They will wander from sea to sea,
and from north to east;
they will run back and forth to seek the word of the LORD,
but they will not find it.

On that day

the beautiful maidens and the young men
will faint with thirst.
Those who swear by Ashimah of Samaria, and say,
“By the life of your god, O Dan,”
and, “By the life of the way of Beer-sheba” —
they shall fall
and never rise again.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

1 Corinthians 7:1-24

Now concerning the things about which you wrote to me: “It is good for a man not to touch a woman.” Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render to the wife due affection, and likewise the wife to the husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan does not tempt you for lack of self-control. I speak this as a concession and not as a command. For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But every man has his proper gift from God, one after this manner and another after that.

I say to the unmarried and widows that it is good for them if they live even as I am. But if they cannot restrain themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

Now to the married I command, not I, but the Lord, do not let the wife depart from her husband. But if she departs, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And do not let the husband divorce his wife.

To the rest I speak, not the Lord: If any brother has an unbelieving wife who consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. And if the woman has an unbelieving husband who consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean. But now they are holy.

But if the unbeliever departs, let that one depart. A brother or a sister is not bound in such cases. God has called us to peace. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?

But as God has given to every man and as the Lord has called every man, so let him walk. This I command in all churches. Is any man called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Is any man called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God is everything. Let each man remain in the same condition in which he was called.

Were you called while a servant? Do not worry about it. But if you may become free, do so. For he who is called in the Lord while a servant is the Lord’s freeman. Likewise, he who is called while free is Christ’s servant. You were bought at a price. Do not be the servants of men. Brothers, let every man, in whatever condition he is called, remain there with God.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

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.

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 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:

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

Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

The Lord’s Prayer

Believing the promises of God, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Conclusion

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

Shane Raynor 1/20/26 Shane Raynor 1/20/26

Tue. evening Jan. 20

Opening response

Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!

From the rising of the sun to its setting
your glory is proclaimed in all the world.

Prayer of thanksgiving

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

Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine

Words: Fanny J. Crosby (1873)
Music: Phoebe P. Knapp (1873)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#570)

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending, bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love. [Refrain]

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with His goodness, lost in His love. [Refrain]

Confession of Sin

When we cry to the LORD in our trouble,
He will save us from our distress.

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 give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
and for His wonderful works to all people!

Let us offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and declare God’s works with rejoicing.

cf Psalm 107

Psalm 89:1-37

I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever;
with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
For I have said, “Mercy will be built up forever;
Your faithfulness will be established in the heavens.”
You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
‘I will establish your descendants forever,
and build up your throne for all generations.’ ”

Let the heavens praise Your wonders, O LORD,
Your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.
For who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD?
God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the holy ones,
and awesome above all who are around Him.
O LORD God of Hosts, who is as mighty as You, O LORD?
Your faithfulness surrounds You.

You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, You still them.
You crushed Rahab like one who is slain;
You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
The heavens are Yours; the earth also is Yours;
the world and all that is in it, You have founded them.
The north and the south, You have created them;
Tabor and Hermon rejoice in Your name.
You have a mighty arm;
strong is Your hand, and exalted is Your right hand.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
mercy and truth go before Your presence.
Blessed are the people who know the joyful shout.
They walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance.
In Your name they rejoice all day long,
and in Your righteousness they are exalted.
For You are the glory of their strength;
by Your favor our horn is exalted.
For our shield belongs to the LORD,
and our king to the Holy One of Israel.

Long ago You spoke in a vision
to Your holy one, and said:
“I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
I have found David, My servant;
with My holy oil have I anointed him,
by whom My hand shall be established;
My arm also shall strengthen him.
The enemy shall not exact usury from him,
nor the wicked humiliate him.
I will beat down his foes before him,
and strike those who hate him.
My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him,
and in My name his horn shall be exalted.
I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, my God,
and the rock of my salvation.’
Also I will make him my firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
My mercy will I keep for him forever,
and My covenant will stand firm with him.
His descendants also will I establish forever
and his throne as the days of heaven.

“If his children forsake My law
and do not walk according to My decrees,
if they break My statutes
and do not keep My commandments,
then will I punish their transgression with the rod,
and their iniquity with stripes.
Nevertheless I will not remove My lovingkindness from him,
nor allow My faithfulness to fail.
I will not break My covenant,
nor alter the word that has gone out from My lips.
Once and for all have I sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David.
His descendants shall endure forever,
and his throne as the sun before Me.
It shall be established forever like the moon,
a faithful witness in the sky.”

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.

Psalm prayer

As we sing of your love, O Lord, anoint us with the Spirit’s seal, that we may praise your faithfulness and proclaim your truth from age to age; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Amos 7

This is what the Lord GOD showed me: He was forming a plague of locusts when the latter growth was beginning to sprout up, the latter growth after the king’s reaping. When they had finished devouring the foliage of the land, I said, “O Lord GOD, please forgive. How can Jacob survive? For he is small.”

The LORD relented concerning this:

“It shall not be,” said the LORD.

This is what the Lord GOD showed me: The Lord GOD was calling for a judgment by fire. It was consuming the great deep and was devouring the fields. I said, “O Lord GOD, please stop. How can Jacob survive? For he is small.”

The LORD relented concerning this:

“This also shall not be,” said the Lord GOD.

This is what He showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall made using a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. The LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”

And I said, “A plumb line.”

Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am putting a plumb line in the midst of My people Israel. I will forgive them no more.

The high places of Isaac will be destroyed,
the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste,
and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you at the very center of the house of Israel. The country cannot endure all his words. For this is what Amos said:

‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and Israel will surely be exiled
away from its land.’ ”

So Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee back to the land of Judah. Earn your sustenance there, and prophesy there. But do not prophesy any more at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.”

But Amos answered Amaziah: “I am no prophet, and I am no prophet’s disciple. Rather, I am a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees. But the LORD took me away from the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’ Now therefore hear the word of the LORD: You say,

‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’

“Therefore thus says the LORD:

‘Your wife will be a prostitute in the city,
your sons and daughters will fall by the sword,
and your land will be divided by measuring line;
you yourself will die in an unclean land;
and Israel will surely go into exile
away from its land.’ ”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

“All things are lawful to me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be brought under the power of anything. “Food is for the belly, and the belly is for food,” but God will destroy both of them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. God has raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His own power. Do you not know that your bodies are the parts of Christ? Shall I then take the parts of Christ and make them the parts of a harlot? God forbid! What? Do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him.

Escape from sexual immorality. Every sin that a man commits is outside the body. But he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. What? Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God, and that you are not your own? You were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

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.

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 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:

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

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

The Lord’s Prayer

Believing the promises of God, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Conclusion

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