Sat. morning Feb. 7
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Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare 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
Christian! Dost Thou See Them
Words: Andrew of Crete (660-732); trans. John M. Neale (1818-1866)
Music: John B. Dykes (1823-1876)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#475)
Christian! dost thou see them
on the holy ground,
how the pow'rs of darkness
rage thy steps around?
Christian! up and smite them,
counting gain but loss,
in the strength that cometh
by the holy cross.
Christian! dost thou feel them,
how they work within,
striving, tempting, luring,
goading into sin?
Christian! never tremble;
never be downcast;
gird thee for the battle;
watch, and pray, and fast!
Christian! dost thou hear them,
how they speak thee fair?
"Always fast and vigil?
Always watch and prayer?"
Christian! answer boldly,
"While I breath, I pray!"
Peace shall follow battle,
night shall end in day.
"Well I know thy trouble,
O my servant true;
thou art very weary–
I was weary too;
but that toil shall make thee
some day all Mine own,
and the end of sorrow
shall be near My throne."
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
Psalm 20
𝙍: We trust in the name of the LORD our God.
May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble;
may the name of the God of Jacob defend you;
may He send you help from the sanctuary,
and strengthen you from Zion;
may He remember all your offerings,
and accept your burnt sacrifice.
May He grant you your heart’s desire,
and fulfill all your plans.
We will rejoice in your salvation,
and in the name of our God we will set up our banners!
May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.
𝙍: We trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
with the saving strength of His right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
They have collapsed and fallen,
but we have risen and stand upright.
Save, O LORD!
May the King answer us when we call.
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: We trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Psalm prayer
Merciful God, purify our hearts in the flame of your Spirit and transform our toil into an offering of praise, that we may reject the proud rule of might and trust in Christ alone, for He is our Lord forever and ever.
Psalm 21
𝙍: The king trusts in the LORD.
The king will rejoice in Your strength, O LORD,
and in Your salvation how greatly will he rejoice!
You have given him his heart’s desire,
and have not withheld the request of his lips.
For You meet him with the blessings of goodness;
You set a crown of pure gold on his head.
He asked life of You, and You gave it to him,
length of days forever and ever.
𝙍: The king trusts in the LORD.
His glory is great in Your salvation;
honor and majesty You bestow on him.
For You have made him most blessed forever;
You have made him glad with the joy of Your presence.
For the king trusts in the LORD,
and by the lovingkindness of the Most High
he shall not be moved.
𝙍: The king trusts in the LORD.
Your hand will find out all Your enemies;
Your right hand will find out those who hate You.
You will make them like a fiery furnace
in the time of Your anger;
the LORD will swallow them up in His wrath,
and the fire will consume them.
You will destroy their offspring from the earth,
and their descendants from among the sons of men.
𝙍: The king trusts in the LORD.
For they intended evil against You;
they devised a plot which they are not able to perform.
Therefore You will put them to flight;
You will aim Your bows at their faces.
Be exalted, O LORD, in Your strength!
We will sing and praise Your power.
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 king trusts in the LORD.
Psalm prayer
Crown us, God, but with humility, and robe us with compassion, that, as you call us into the kingdom of your Son, we may strive to overcome all evil by the power of good, and so walk gently on the earth with you, our God, forever.
Psalm 23
𝙍: I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
𝙍: I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff,
they comfort me.
𝙍: I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life;
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
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: I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Psalm prayer
O God, our sovereign and shepherd, who brought again your Son Jesus Christ from the valley of death, comfort us with your protecting presence and your angels of goodness and love, that we also may come home and dwell with him in your house forever.
Old Testament reading
Genesis 23
Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years. These were the years of the life of Sarah. Then Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
Then Abraham stood up from before his dead and spoke to the Hittites, saying, “I am a stranger and a foreigner among you. Give me property for a burying place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
So the Hittites answered Abraham, “Hear us, my lord. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place that you may bury your dead.”
Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the Hittites. He spoke with them, saying, “If it be your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat Ephron the son of Zohar for me, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns, at the end of his field. Let him give it to me in your presence for the full price for a burial site.”
Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of all the Hittites, all who went in at the gate of his city, saying, “No, my lord. Hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. Bury your dead.”
Then Abraham bowed before the people of the land. Then he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “Indeed, if you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.”
Then Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, “My lord, listen to me. The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”
Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out for Ephron four hundred shekels of silver, the price that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, according to the standard commercial measure.
So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field that were within all the surrounding borders were deeded to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city. After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. So the field and the cave that was in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as property for a burial place.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Matthew 28:16-20
Then the eleven disciples went away to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw Him, they worshipped Him. But some doubted. Then Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
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.
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.
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:
Our homes, families, friends, and all whom we love
Those whose time is spent caring for others
Those who are close to death
Those who have lost hope
The worship of the Church
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
God our creator, who in the beginning commanded the light to shine out of darkness: we pray that the light of the glorious gospel of Christ may dispel the darkness of ignorance and unbelief, shine into the hearts of all your people, and reveal the knowledge of your glory in the face of 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, 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
The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.