Sun. morning Nov. 2
All Souls’ Day
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Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
All your saints shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God, ruler and judge of all, to you be praise and glory forever. In the darkness of this age that is passing away, may the light of your presence which the saints enjoy surround our steps as we journey on. May we reflect your glory this day and so be made ready to see your face in the heavenly city where night shall be no more.
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
Light of Those Whose Dreary Dwelling
Music by The Hymnodist: Spotify, Apple, Amazon, iHeart, YouTube Music, Pandora, Boomplay, Deezer
Lyrics by Charles Wesley
Light of those whose dreary dwelling
Borders on the shades of death
Come, and by Thy love's revealing
Dissipate the clouds beneath
The new heaven and earth's Creator
In our deepest darkness rise
Scattering all the night of nature
Pouring eyesight on our eyes
Still we wait for Thy appearing
Life and joy Thy beams impart
Chasing all our fears, and hearing
Every poor benighted heart
Come, and manifest the favor
God hath for our ransomed race
Come, Thou universal Savior
Come, and bring the gospel grace
Save us in Thy great compassion
O Thou mild pacific Prince
Give the knowledge of salvation
Give the pardon of our sins
By thine all-sufficient merit
Every burdened soul release
Every weary wandering spirit
Guide into Thy perfect peace
Confession of sin
Seek the LORD while He may be found,
call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
and let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him,
and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
cf Isaiah 55
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Lord God, I have sinned against you; I have done what is evil in your sight. I am sorry and repent. Have mercy on me according to your lovingkindness. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Renew a right spirit within me, and restore unto me the joy of your salvation, through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
cf Psalm 51
May the Father of all mercies cleanse us from our sins, and restore us in his image to the praise and glory of his name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Blessed be the LORD,
because He has heard the voice of my supplications.
Therefore my heart rejoices,
and with my song I will thank Him.
cf Psalm 28:7,9
Psalm 87
𝙍: The LORD has chosen Zion for himself.
His foundation is in the holy mountains.
The LORD loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
Glorious things are spoken of you,
O city of God.
I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon
to those who know Me;
behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush:
“This one was born there.”
And of Zion it shall be said,
“This one and that one were born in her,”
for the Most High Himself will establish her.
The LORD will record when He registers the peoples,
“This one was born there.”
The singers and the players of instruments say,
“All my springs are in you.”
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 chosen Zion for himself.
Psalm prayer
Lord, as you call us to your city founded on the rock of ages, let the springs of living water rise within us to eternal life; in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Job 26
But Job answered:
“How have you helped him who is without power?
How have you saved the arm that has no strength?
How have you counseled him who has no wisdom?
And how have you plentifully declared sound knowledge?
To whom have you uttered words?
And whose breath came from you?
“The departed spirits tremble under the waters,
and their inhabitants.
The underworld is naked before Him,
and destruction has no covering.
He stretches out the north over empty space,
He hangs the earth upon nothing.
He binds up the waters in His thick clouds,
and the cloud is not broken under them.
He covers the face of the full moon
and spreads His cloud over it.
He has circled the waters with boundaries,
until the day and night come to an end.
The pillars of heaven tremble
and are astonished at His reproof.
He divides the sea with His power,
and by His understanding He strikes through the proud.
By His breath He has made fair the heavens;
His hand has formed the fleeing serpent.
Indeed, these are but a part of His ways,
and how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Colossians 1:9-14
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing to all, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might according to His glorious power, enduring everything with perseverance and patience joyfully, giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled us to be partakers in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
𝙍: You will guide me with Your counsel, O God, and afterward receive me to glory.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for He has visited and redeemed His people,
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David,
as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets of long ago,
that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us,
to perform the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember His holy covenant,
the oath which He swore to our father Abraham,
to grant us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
might serve Him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
for you will go before the presence of the Lord to prepare His ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to His people
by the remission of their sins,
through the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise from on high has visited us;
to give light to those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way 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.
𝙍: You will guide me with Your counsel, O God, and afterward receive me to glory.
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.
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 saints on earth, that they may live as citizens of heaven
All people, that they may hear and believe the word of God
All who fear the winter months
All sovereigns and political leaders, that they may imitate the righteous rule of Christ
All who grieve or wait with the dying
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
Almighty and eternal God, you have kindled the flame of love in the hearts of the saints: grant to us the same faith and power of love, that, as we rejoice in their triumphs, we may be sustained by their example and fellowship; 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
Uniting our prayers with the whole company of heaven, 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 has opened the kingdom of heaven, bring us to reign with him in glory.
Amen.
