Friday morning January 11

Saturday morning
Thursday morning

Preparation

Opening response

Lord, open our lips

and our mouth will proclaim your praise.

Your light springs up for the righteous

and all the peoples have seen your glory.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,

king of the nations,

to you be praise and glory forever.

From the rising of the sun to its setting

your name is proclaimed in all the world.

As the Sun of Righteousness dawns in our hearts

anoint our lips with the seal of your Spirit

that we may witness to your gospel

and sing your praise in all the earth.

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

Spirit of holiness, let all thy saints adore

Charles Wesley

Spirit of holiness,

Let all thy saints adore

Thy sacred energy, and bless

Thy heart-renewing power.

Not angel tongues can tell

Thy love’s ecstatic height,

The glorious joy unspeakable,

The beatific sight.

Eternal, triune God!

Let all the hosts above,

Let all the sons of men record,

And dwell upon thy love.

When heaven and earth are fled

Before thy glorious face,

Sing, all the saints thy love hath made

Thine everlasting praise.

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:

‘Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord,

and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart,

with all your being, with all your mind,

and with all your strength.’

The second is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’

No other commandment is greater than these.

All the 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 goes away 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.

The Word of God

Psalm 98

Refrain:

The Lord has made his salvation widely known.

Sing to the Lord a new song

because he has done wonderful things!

His own strong hand and his own holy arm

have won the victory!

The Lord has made his salvation widely known;

he has revealed his righteousness

in the eyes of all the nations.

God has remembered his loyal love

and faithfulness to the house of Israel;

every corner of the earth has seen our God’s salvation.

Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth!

Be happy!

Rejoice out loud!

Sing your praises!

Sing your praises to the Lord with the lyre—

with the lyre and the sound of music.

With trumpets and a horn blast,

shout triumphantly before the Lord, the king!

Let the sea and everything in it roar;

the world and all its inhabitants too.

Let all the rivers clap their hands;

let the mountains rejoice out loud altogether before the Lord

because he is coming to establish justice on the earth!

He will establish justice in the world rightly;

he will establish justice among all people fairly.

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 has made his salvation widely known.

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.

Psalm 150

Refrain:

Let every living thing praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary!

Praise God in his fortress, the sky!

Praise God in his mighty acts!

Praise God as suits his incredible greatness!

Praise God with the blast of the ram’s horn!

Praise God with lute and lyre!

Praise God with drum and dance!

Praise God with strings and pipe!

Praise God with loud cymbals!

Praise God with clashing cymbals!

Let every living thing praise 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:

Let every living thing praise the Lord!

Psalm prayer

God of life and love,

whose Son was victorious over sin and death,

make us alive with his life,

that the whole world may resound with your praise;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading
Isaiah 66:1-11

The Lord says:

Heaven is my throne,

and earth is my footstool.

So where could you build a house for me,

and where could my resting place be?

My hand made all these things

and brought them into being, says the Lord.

But here is where I will look:

to the humble and contrite in spirit,

who tremble at my word.

The one who slaughters an ox kills a person;

the one who sacrifices a sheep breaks a dog’s neck;

the one who makes a grain offering offers swine’s blood;

the one who burns incense blesses an idol.

All these have chosen their own ways,

and prefer their detestable things.

So I too will choose to punish them,

to bring horrors upon them,

since I called and no one answered.

I spoke and no one heard,

but they did evil in my eyes.

What I didn’t want, they chose.

Listen to the Lord’s word,

you who tremble at his word:

Your family members, those who hate and exclude you because of my name,

have said, “Let the Lord be glorified;

let’s see your joy.”

But they will be ashamed.

The sound of an uproar from the city! A sound from the temple!

The sound of the Lord repaying his enemies what they have earned.

Mother Zion

Before she was in labor, she gave birth.

Before her pangs came upon her, she delivered a boy.

Whoever heard of such a thing?

Whoever saw such things as these?

Can a land come to birth in one day?

Can a nation be born all at once?

Yet as soon as birth pangs came,

Zion bore her children.

Will I open the womb and not bring to birth? says the Lord.

Will I, who create life, close the womb? says your God.

Celebrate with Jerusalem; be happy with her,

all you who love her!

Rejoice with her in joy,

all you who mourn over her,

so that you may nurse and be satisfied

from her comforting breasts,

that you may drink and be refreshed

from her full breasts.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
2 John

From the elder.

To the chosen gentlewoman and her children, whom I truly love (and I am not the only one, but also all who know the truth), because of the truth that remains with us and will be with us forever.

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, will be ours who live in truth and love.

I was overjoyed to find some of your children living in the truth, just as we had been commanded by the Father. Now, dear friends, I am requesting that we love each other. It’s not as though I’m writing a new command to you, but it’s one we have had from the beginning. This is love: that we live according to his commands. This is the command that you heard from the beginning: live in love.

Many deceivers have gone into the world who do not confess that Jesus Christ came as a human being. This kind of person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves so that you don’t lose what we’ve worked for but instead receive a full reward. Anyone who goes too far and does not continue in the teaching about Christ does not have God. Whoever continues in this teaching has both the Father and the Son. Whoever comes to you who does not affirm this teaching should neither be received nor welcomed into your home, because welcoming people like that is the same thing as sharing in their evil actions.

I have a lot to tell you. I don’t want to use paper and ink, but I hope to visit you and talk with you face-to-face, so that our joy can be complete.

Your chosen sister’s children greet you.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticle
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Refrain:

This is the Christ, the Chosen of God, the one who will bring healing to the nations.

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:

This is the Christ, the Chosen of God, the one who will bring healing to the nations.

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 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

Father, hear our prayer,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

O God,

who by the leading of a star

manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth:

mercifully grant that we,

who know you now by faith,

may at last behold your glory face to face;

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 in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

as we forgive those who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,

and the glory are yours

now and forever.

Amen.

Conclusion

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

Amen.