Wed. morning Nov. 19
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
Come, Let Us Join Our Friends Above
Music by The Hymnodist: Spotify, Apple, Amazon, iHeart, YouTube Music, Pandora, Boomplay, Deezer
Lyrics by Charles Wesley
Chorus
Come, let us join our friends above
Who have obtained the prize
And on the eagle wings of love
To joys celestial rise
Let saints on earth unite to sing
With those to glory gone
For all the servants of our King
In earth and heaven are one
Verse 1
One family we dwell in Him
One church above, beneath
Though now divided by the stream
The narrow stream of death
One army of the living God
To His command we bow
Part of His host have crossed the flood
And part are crossing now
Chorus
Verse 2
Ten thousand to their endless home
This solemn moment fly
And we are to the margin come
And we expect to die
Even now by faith we join our hands
With those that went before
And greet the blood-besprinkled bands
On the eternal shore
Chorus
Verse 3
Our spirits too shall quickly join
Like theirs with glory crowned
And shout to see our Captain's sign
To hear His trumpet sound
O that we now might grasp our Guide
O that the word were given
Come, Lord of Hosts, the waves divide
And land us all in heaven
Chorus
Confession of Sin
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor recompensed us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his mercy toward those who fear Him.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children,
so the LORD pities those who fear Him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits.
Psalm 56
𝙍: In God have I put my trust; I will not fear.
Be gracious to me, O God, for man would trample on me;
fighting all day long he oppresses me.
My enemies would trample on me all day long,
for there are many who fight against me, O Most High.
When I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God have I put my trust; I will not fear.
What can mere flesh do to me?
𝙍: In God have I put my trust; I will not fear.
All day they twist my words;
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
They stir up strife, they lurk,
they watch my steps,
when they wait for my life.
For their wickedness will they escape?
In Your anger cast down the peoples, O God.
You keep count of my wanderings;
put my tears in Your bottle;
are they not in Your book?
𝙍: In God have I put my trust; I will not fear.
Then my enemies will turn back
in the day when I call;
this I know, that God is for me.
In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise,
in God have I put my trust; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
My vows to You are binding upon me, O God;
I will render thank offerings to You;
for You have delivered my soul from death,
and kept my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of the living.
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: In God have I put my trust; I will not fear.
Psalm prayer
Faithful God, your deliverance is nearer than we know; free us from fear and help us to find courage in your Word, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 57
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For in You my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of Your wings will I take refuge,
until these calamities pass by.
I will cry out to God Most High,
to God who performs all things for me.
He will send from heaven and save me;
He will reproach him who tramples on me.
God will send forth His mercy and His truth.
My soul is among lions;
I lie among the sons of men who are set on fire,
whose teeth are spears and arrows,
and their tongue a sharp sword.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let Your glory be above all the earth.
They have prepared a net for my steps;
my soul is bowed down;
they have dug a pit before me,
but they have fallen into it themselves.
My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and give praise.
Awake, my glory!
Awake, psaltery and harp!
I will awaken the dawn.
I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing to You among the nations.
For Your mercy is great unto the heavens,
and Your truth unto the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
Let Your glory be above all the 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.
Psalm prayer
Tender God, gentle protector in time of trouble, pierce the gloom of despair and give us, with all your people, the song of freedom and the shout of praise; in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Isaiah 10:20-32
In that day the remnant of Israel
and those who have escaped of the house of Jacob
shall never again depend on him
who struck them,
but shall depend on the LORD,
the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob,
to the mighty God.
For though your people, O Israel, are as the sand of the sea,
yet a remnant of them shall return;
the destruction is decreed,
overflowing with righteousness.
For the Lord GOD of Hosts shall make a complete destruction,
as decreed, in the midst of all the land.
Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD of Hosts:
O My people who dwell in Zion,
do not be afraid of the Assyrian.
He shall strike you with a rod
and shall lift up his staff against you, after the manner of Egypt.
For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease,
and My anger will be directed to their destruction.
The LORD of Hosts shall stir up a scourge for him
according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb;
and as His rod was over the sea, so shall He lift it up
after the manner of Egypt.
In that day his burden shall be taken away from off your shoulder,
and his yoke from off your neck;
and the yoke shall be destroyed
because of the anointing oil.
He has come against Aiath,
he has passed through Migron;
at Mikmash he has laid up his carriages.
They are gone over the pass,
they have taken up their lodging at Geba.
Ramah is afraid,
Gibeah of Saul has fled.
Lift up your voice, O daughter of Gallim.
Listen, Laishah
and poor Anathoth.
Madmenah has fled,
the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee.
Yet today he shall remain at Nob;
he shakes his fist
against the mount of the daughter of Zion,
the hill of Jerusalem.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Matthew 8:1-13
When He came down from the mountains, large crowds followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshipped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
Jesus reached out His hand and touched him, saying, “I will. Be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one. But go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded as a testimony to them.”
And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, entreating Him, and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home, sick with paralysis, terribly tormented.”
Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But speak the word only, and my servant will be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this man, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard it, He was amazed and said to those who followed, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say to you that many will come from the east and west and will dine with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way. And as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that very moment.
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:
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
Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Heavenly Father, whose blessed Son was revealed to destroy the works of the devil and to make us the children of God and heirs of eternal life: grant that we, having this hope, may purify ourselves even as he is pure; that when he shall appear in power and great glory we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he 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.