Thursday morning June 13

Friday morning
Wednesday morning

Preparation

Opening response

Lord, open our lips
and our mouth will proclaim your praise.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of all,
to you be glory and praise forever.
You founded the earth in the beginning
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
In the fullness of time you made us in your image,
and in these last days you have spoken to us
in your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
As we rejoice in the gift of your presence among us
let the light of your love always shine in our hearts,
your Spirit ever renew our lives
and your praises ever be on our lips.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
 
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.
 
Silence is kept.
 
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and forever.
Amen.

Hymn

Father, Hear the Blood of Jesus

Charles Wesley

Father, hear the blood of Jesus,
Speaking in thine ears above;
From impending wrath release us,
Manifest thy pardoning love.
 
Oh, receive us to thy favor,
For his only sake, receive;
Give to us the bleeding Savior,
Let us by his dying live.
 
“To thy pardoning grace receive them,”
Once he prayed upon the tree;
Still his blood cries out “Forgive them;
All their sins were laid on me.”
 
Still our Advocate in heaven
Prays the prayer on earth begun,
“Father show their sins forgiven;
Father, glorify thy Son!”

Confession of sin

When we cry out to the Lord in our distress,
he will save us from our desperate circumstances.
 
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 thank the Lord for his faithful love,
and his wondrous works for all people.
 
Let us offer thanksgiving sacrifices
and declare what God has done in songs of joy.

cf Psalm 107

The Word of God

Psalm 143

Refrain: 
Lord, show me the way I should go.
 
Listen to my prayer, Lord!
    Because of your faithfulness, hear my requests for mercy!
    Because of your righteousness, answer me!
Please don’t bring your servant to judgment,
    because no living thing is righteous before you.
The enemy is chasing me,
    crushing my life in the dirt,
        forcing me to live in the dark
            like those who’ve been dead forever.
My spirit is weak inside me—
    inside, my mind is numb.
I remember the days long past;
    I meditate on all your deeds;
    I contemplate your handiwork.
I stretch out my hands to you;
    my whole being is like dry dirt, thirsting for you.
Answer me, Lord—and quickly! My breath is fading.
    Don’t hide your face from me
        or I’ll be like those going down to the pit!
Tell me all about your faithful love come morning time,
    because I trust you.
Show me the way I should go,
    because I offer my life up to you.
Deliver me from my enemies, Lord!
    I seek protection from you.
Teach me to do what pleases you,
    because you are my God.
Guide me by your good spirit
        into good land.
Make me live again, Lord, for your name’s sake.
    Bring me out of distress because of your righteousness.
Wipe out my enemies because of your faithful love.
    Destroy everyone who attacks me,
        because I am your servant.
 
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: 
Lord, show me the way I should go.

Psalm prayer

Jesus, our companion,
when we are driven to despair,
help us, through the friends and strangers
we encounter on our path,
to know you as our refuge,
our way, our truth and our life.

Psalm 146

Refrain: 
The Lord will rule forever!
 
Praise the Lord!
    Let my whole being praise the Lord!
I will praise the Lord with all my life;
    I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
Don’t trust leaders;
    don’t trust any human beings—
    there’s no saving help with them!
Their breath leaves them,
    then they go back to the ground.
    On that very same day, their plans die too.
The person whose help is the God of Jacob—
    the person whose hope rests on the Lord their God—
    is truly happy!
God: the maker of heaven and earth,
    the sea, and all that is in them,
God: who is faithful forever,
    who gives justice to people who are oppressed,
    who gives bread to people who are starving!
The Lord: who frees prisoners.
    The Lord: who makes the blind see.
    The Lord: who straightens up those who are bent low.
    The Lord: who loves the righteous.
    The Lord: who protects immigrants,
        who helps orphans and widows,
        but who makes the way of the wicked twist and turn!
The Lord will rule forever!
    Zion, your God will rule from one generation to the next!
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 will rule forever!

Psalm prayer

Lord of all,
our breath and being come from you,
yet our earthly end is dust;
as you loose the bound and feed the hungry,
so bring us in your mercy through the grave and gate of death
to the feast of eternal life,
where you reign forevermore.

Old Testament reading
2 Chronicles 20:1-23

Some time later, the Moabites and the Ammonites, along with some of the Meunites, attacked Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was told, “A large army from beyond the sea, from Edom, is coming to attack you. They are already at Hazazon-tamar!” (that is, En-gedi). Frightened, Jehoshaphat decided to seek the Lord’s help and proclaimed a fast for all Judah. People from all of Judah’s cities came to ask the Lord for help. Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem in the Lord’s temple in front of the new courtyard. “Lord, the God of our ancestors, you alone are God in heaven. You rule all the kingdoms of the nations. You are so powerful that no one can oppose you. You, our God, drove out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave this land to the descendants of your friend Abraham forever. They have lived in it and have built a sanctuary in honor of your name in it, saying, ‘If calamity, sword, flood, plague, or famine comes upon us, we will stand before this temple, before you, because your name is in this temple. We will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’ So look here! The Ammonites, the Moabites, and those from Mount Seir—the people you wouldn’t let Israel invade when they came out of Egypt’s land, so Israel avoided them and didn’t destroy them— here they are, returning the favor by coming to drive us out of your possession that you gave to us! Our God, won’t you punish them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We don’t know what to do, and so we are looking to you for help.”

All Judah was standing before the Lord, even their little ones, wives, and children. Then the Lord’s spirit came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah son of Benaiah son of Jeiel son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the line of Asaph, as he stood in the middle of the assembly.

“Pay attention, all of Judah, every inhabitant of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat,” Jahaziel said. “This is what the Lord says to you: Don’t be afraid or discouraged by this great army because the battle isn’t yours. It belongs to God! March out against them tomorrow. Since they will be coming through the Ziz pass, meet them at the end of the valley that opens into the Jeruel wilderness. You don’t need to fight this battle. Just take your places, stand ready, and watch how the Lord, who is with you, will deliver you, Judah and Jerusalem. Don’t be afraid or discouraged! Go out tomorrow and face them. The Lord will be with you.”

Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord in worship. Levites from the lines of Kohath and Korah stood up to loudly praise the Lord, the God of Israel.

Early the next morning they went into the Tekoa wilderness. When they were about to go out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and every inhabitant of Jerusalem! Trust the Lord your God, and you will stand firm; trust his prophets and succeed!”

After consulting with the people, Jehoshaphat appointed musicians to play for the Lord, praising his majestic holiness. They were to march out before the warriors, saying, “Give thanks to the Lord because his faithful love lasts forever!” As they broke into joyful song and praise, the Lord launched a surprise attack against the Ammonites, the Moabites, and those from Mount Seir who were invading Judah, so that they were defeated. The Ammonites and the Moabites turned on those from Mount Seir, completely destroying them. Once they had finished off the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy each other!
 
Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Romans 2:17-29

But,
if you call yourself a Jew;
if you rely on the Law;
if you brag about your relationship to God;
if you know the will of God;
if you are taught by the Law so that you can figure out the things that really matter;
if you have persuaded yourself that you are:
        a guide for the blind;
        a light to those who are in darkness;
        an educator of the foolish;
        a teacher of infants (since you have the full content of knowledge and truth in the Law);
then why don’t you who are teaching others teach yourself?
If you preach, “No stealing,” do you steal?
If you say, “No adultery,” do you commit adultery?
If you hate idols, do you rob temples?
 
If you brag about the Law, do you shame God by breaking the Law? As it is written: The name of God is discredited by the Gentiles because of you.
 
Circumcision is an advantage if you do what the Law says. But if you are a person who breaks the Law, your status of being circumcised has changed into not being circumcised. So if the person who isn’t circumcised keeps the Law, won’t his status of not being circumcised be counted as if he were circumcised? The one who isn’t physically circumcised but keeps the Law will judge you. You became a lawbreaker after you had the written Law and circumcision. It isn’t the Jew who maintains outward appearances who will receive praise from God, and it isn’t people who are outwardly circumcised on their bodies. Instead, it is the person who is a Jew inside, who is circumcised in spirit, not literally. That person’s praise doesn’t come from people but from God.
 
Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticle
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Refrain:
You have raised up a mighty savior for us in your servant David’s house.
 
Bless the Lord God of Israel
because he has come to help and has delivered his people.
He has raised up a mighty savior for us in his servant David’s house,
just as he said through the mouths of his holy prophets long ago.
He has brought salvation from our enemies
and from the power of all those who hate us.
He has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and remembered his holy covenant,
the solemn pledge he made to our ancestor Abraham.
He has granted that we would be rescued
from the power of our enemies
so that we could serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness in God’s eyes,
for as long as we live.
You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
You will tell his people how to be saved
through the forgiveness of their sins.
Because of our God’s deep compassion,
the dawn from heaven will break upon us,
to give light to those who are sitting in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide us on the path of peace.”

Luke 1:68-79

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.
 
Refrain:
You have raised up a mighty savior for us in your servant David’s house.
 
Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith: 
 
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
 
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
 
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers may be offered for:
 
the day and its tasks
the world and its needs
the church and her life
 
Prayers may include the following concerns:
 
Local government, community leaders
All who provide local services
Those who work with young or elderly people
Schools, colleges and universities
Emergency and rescue organizations
 
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

O Lord, from whom all good things come:
grant to us your humble servants,
that by your holy inspiration
we may think those things that are good,
and by your merciful guiding may perform the same;
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

As our Savior taught us, so we pray
 
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.

Conclusion

The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.