Sunday morning October 3

Monday morning
Saturday 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

Forth in thy Name, O Lord, I Go

Charles Wesley

Forth in thy Name, O Lord, I go,

My daily labor to pursue;

Thee, only thee, resolved to know

In all I think, or speak, or do.

The task thy wisdom hath assigned

O let me cheerfully fulfill;

In all my works thy presence find,

And prove thy good and perfect will.

Thee may I set at my right hand,

Whose eyes mine inmost substance see,

And labor on at thy command,

And offer all my works to thee.

Give me to bear thy easy yoke,

And every moment watch and pray;

And still to things eternal look,

And hasten to thy glorious day:

For thee delightfully employ

Whatever thy bounteous grace hath given,

And run my course with even joy,

And closely walk with thee to heaven.

Confession of sin

Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.

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

Almighty God,

patient and of great goodness:

I confess to you,

I confess with my whole heart

my neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments,

my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking;

the hurts I have done to others,

and the good I have left undone.

O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you;

and raise me to newness of life;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

May the God of love and power

forgive us and free us from our sins,

heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,

and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The Word of God

Psalm 123

Refrain:

God is my helper; my Lord sustains my life.

I raise my eyes to you—

you who rule heaven.

Just as the eyes of servants attend to their masters’ hand,

just as the eyes of a female servant attends to her mistress’ hand—

that’s how our eyes attend to the Lord our God

until he has mercy on us.

Have mercy on us, Lord! Have mercy

because we’ve had more than enough shame.

We’ve had more than enough mockery from the self-confident,

more than enough shame from the proud.

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:

God is my helper; my Lord sustains my life.

Psalm prayer

Sovereign God, enthroned in the heavens,

look upon us with your eyes of mercy,

as we look on you with humility and love,

and fill our souls with your peace

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 124

Refrain:

Our help is in the name of the Lord.

If the Lord hadn’t been for us—

let Israel now repeat!—

if the Lord hadn’t been for us,

when those people attacked us

then they would have swallowed us up whole

with their rage burning against us!

Then the waters would have drowned us;

the torrent would have come over our necks;

then the raging waters would have come over our necks!

Bless the Lord

because he didn’t hand us over

like food for our enemies’ teeth!

We escaped like a bird from the hunters’ trap;

the trap was broken so we escaped!

Our help is in the name of the Lord,

the maker of heaven and earth.

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:

Our help is in the name of the Lord.

Psalm prayer

O God, maker of heaven and earth,

you save us in the water of baptism

and by the suffering of your Son you set us free;

help us to put our trust in his victory

and to know the salvation won for us

by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading
Isaiah 49:13-23

Sing, heavens! Rejoice, earth!

Break out, mountains, with a song.

The Lord has comforted his people,

and taken pity on those who suffer.

But Zion says, “The Lord has abandoned me;

my Lord has forgotten me.”

Can a woman forget her nursing child,

fail to pity the child of her womb?

Even these may forget,

but I won’t forget you.

Look, on my palms I’ve inscribed you;

your walls are before me continually.

Your builders come quickly;

those who destroy and demolish you will depart from you.

Look up all around and see:

they are all gathered;

they come to you.

As surely as I live, says the Lord,

you will put them all on like ornaments,

bind them on like a bride.

As for your ruins and desolate places

and destroyed land—

you will soon be crowded with settlers,

and those who swallowed you will be far away.

You will again hear the children who were born bereaved say,

“The place is too crowded for me;

make room for me to settle.”

And you will think to yourself,

Who bore me these?

I was bereaved and desolate, exiled and sent off.

So who raised these?

I was left behind, I was alone;

where were these?

The Lord God says:

Look, I will raise my hand to the nations,

and to the peoples I will lift up my signal.

They will bring your sons in their arms,

and will carry your daughters on their shoulders.

Kings will be your attendants,

and their queens your nursemaids.

With faces to the ground they will bow down to you;

they will lick the dust from your feet.

You will know that I am the Lord;

the one who hopes in me won’t be ashamed.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Luke 12:1-12

When a crowd of thousands upon thousands had gathered so that they were crushing each other, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples: “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees—I mean, the mismatch between their hearts and lives. Nothing is hidden that won’t be revealed, and nothing is secret that won’t be brought out into the open. Therefore, whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and whatever you have whispered in the rooms deep inside the house will be announced from the rooftops.

“I tell you, my friends, don’t be terrified by those who can kill the body but after that can do nothing more. I’ll show you whom you should fear: fear the one who, after you have been killed, has the authority to throw you into hell. Indeed, I tell you, that’s the one you should fear. Aren’t five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them is overlooked by God. Even the hairs on your head are all counted. Don’t be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.

“I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before humans, the Human One will acknowledge before God’s angels. But the one who rejects me before others will be rejected before God’s angels. Anyone who speaks a word against the Human One will be forgiven, but whoever insults the Holy Spirit won’t be forgiven. When they bring you before the synagogues, rulers, and authorities, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what you should say. The Holy Spirit will tell you at that very moment what you must say.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticle
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Refrain:

You have shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and remembered your holy covenant.

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 shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and remembered your holy covenant.

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 universal church

Bishops, superintendents and all who lead the church

The leaders of the nations

The natural world and the resources of the earth

All who are in any kind of need

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Loving God, we look to you.

Receive our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

O God, forasmuch as without you

we are not able to please you;

mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit

may in all things direct and rule our hearts;

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

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.