Opening response

O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

All your saints will bless you.
They will tell 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

The Mighty Conqueror Leaves the Dead

Charles Wesley

The mighty conqueror leaves the dead,
Jesus the Lord ascends on high;
The powers of hell are captive led,
Dragged to the portals of the sky.

There his triumphal chariot waits,
And angels chant the solemn lay:
“Lift up your heads, ye heavenly gates;
Ye everlasting doors, give way.

Loose all your bars of massy light,
And wide unfold the radiant scene;
He claims these mansions as his right,
Receive the King of Glory in.”

“Who is the King of Glory, who?”
“The Lord, that all our foes overcame;
The world, sin, death, and hell overthrew,
Jesus is the conqueror’s name.”

Lo! His triumphal chariot waits,
And angels chant the solemn lay:
“Lift up your heads, ye heavenly gates;
Ye everlasting doors, give way.”

“Who is the King of Glory, who?”
“The Lord, of boundless power possessed,
The King of saints and angels too,
God over all, forever blessed.”

Confession of sin

O King enthroned on high,
filling the earth with your glory:
holy is your name,
Lord God almighty.

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

In our sinfulness we cry to you
to take our guilt away,
and to cleanse our lips to speak your word,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

May the God of all healing and forgiveness
draw us to himself,
and cleanse us from all our sins
that we may behold the glory of his Son,
the Word made flesh,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Psalm 63

𝙍: My soul thirsts for God.

O God, You are my God.
Earnestly I seek You;
my soul thirsts for You.
My body yearns for You
in a dry and weary land without water.

So I have seen You in the sanctuary
and beheld Your power and glory.
Because Your loving devotion is better than life,
my lips will glorify You.
So I will bless You as long as I live;
in Your name I will lift my hands. 𝙍

My soul is satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with joyful lips my mouth will praise You.
When I remember You on my bed,
I think of You through the watches of the night.
For You are my help;
I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings.
My soul clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me. 𝙍

But those who seek my life to destroy it
will go into the depths of the earth.
They will fall to the power of the sword;
they will become a portion for foxes.
But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by Him will exult,
for the mouths of liars will be shut.

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: My soul thirsts for God.

Psalm prayer

To you we come, radiant Lord,
the goal of all our desiring,
beyond all earthly beauty;
gentle protector, strong deliverer,
in the night you are our confidence;
from first light be our joy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 65

𝙍: Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth!

Praise awaits You, O God, in Zion;
to You our vows will be fulfilled.
O You who listen to prayer,
all people will come to You.
When iniquities prevail against me,
You atone for our transgressions.
Blessed is the one You choose
and bring near to dwell in Your courts!
We are filled with the goodness of Your house,
the holiness of Your temple. 𝙍

With awesome deeds of righteousness You answer us,
O God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas.
You formed the mountains by Your power,
having girded Yourself with might.
You stilled the roaring of the seas,
the pounding of their waves,
and the tumult of the nations.
Those who live far away fear Your wonders;
You make the dawn and sunset shout for joy. 𝙍

You attend to the earth and water it;
with abundance You enrich it.
The streams of God are full of water,
for You prepare our grain
by providing for the earth.
You soak its furrows and level its ridges;
You soften it with showers and bless its growth.
You crown the year with Your bounty,
and Your paths overflow with plenty.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow;
the hills are robed with joy.
The pastures are clothed with flocks,
and the valleys are decked with grain.
They shout in triumph;
indeed, they sing.

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: Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth!

Psalm prayer

May the richness of your creation, Lord,
and the mystery of your providence
lead us to that heavenly city
where all peoples will bring their wealth,
forsake their sins and find their true joy,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 11:10-12:6

On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious. On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

He will raise a banner for the nations
and gather the exiles of Israel;
He will collect the scattered of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.
Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart,
and the adversaries of Judah will be cut off.
Ephraim will no longer envy Judah,
nor will Judah harass Ephraim.

They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines to the west;
together they will plunder the sons of the east.
They will lay their hands on Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites will be subject to them.
The LORD will devote to destruction
the gulf of the Sea of Egypt;
with a scorching wind He will sweep His hand
over the Euphrates.
He will split it into seven streams
for men to cross with dry sandals.
There will be a highway for the remnant of His people
who remain from Assyria,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from the land of Egypt.

In that day you will say:

“O LORD, I will praise You.
Although You were angry with me,
Your anger has turned away,
and You have comforted me.
Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song,
and He also has become my salvation.”

With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation, and on that day you will say:

“Give praise to the LORD;
proclaim His name!
Make His works known among the peoples;
declare that His name is exalted.
Sing to the LORD, for He has done glorious things.
Let this be known in all the earth.
Cry out and sing, O citizen of Zion,
for great among you is the Holy One of Israel.”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Matthew 8:23-34

When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was engulfed by the waves; but Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

“You of little faith,” Jesus replied, “why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was perfectly calm.

The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!”

When Jesus arrived on the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, He was met by two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs. They were so violent that no one could pass that way.

“What do You want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before the appointed time?”

In the distance a large herd of pigs was feeding. So the demons begged Jesus, “If You drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

“Go!” He told them. So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and died in the waters.

Those tending the pigs ran off into the town and reported all this, including the account of the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

𝙍: You have raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of your servant David.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
because He has visited and redeemed His people.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David,
as He spoke through His holy prophets,
those of ages past,
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us,
to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember His holy covenant,
the oath He swore to our father Abraham,
to grant us deliverance from hostile hands,
that we may serve Him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before Him
all the days of our lives.

And you, child, will be called
a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord
to prepare the way for Him,
to give to His people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,
to shine on those who live in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet
into the path 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.

𝙍: You have raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of your servant David.

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.

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, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.

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 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

May Christ, who has opened the kingdom of heaven, bring us to reign with him in glory.
Amen.