Thu. morning Nov. 27
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
Arm of the Lord, Awake, Awake!
Music by The Hymnodist: Spotify, Apple, Amazon, iHeart, YouTube Music, Pandora, Boomplay, Deezer
Lyrics by Charles Wesley
Chorus
Arm of the Lord, awake, awake
Thine own immortal strength put on
With terror clothed, hell's kingdom shake
And cast thy foes with fury down
Verses 1 & 2
As in the ancient days appear
The sacred annals speak thy fame
Be now omnipotently near
To endless ages still the same
Thy arm, Lord, is not shortened now
It lacks not now the power to save
Still present with thy people, thou
Bearest them through life's disparted wave
Chorus
Verses 3 & 4
By death and hell pursued in vain
To thee the ransomed seed shall come
Shouting their heavenly Zion gain
And pass through death triumphant home
The pain of life shall there be over
The anguish and distracting care
There, sighing grief shall weep no more
And sin shall never enter there
Chorus
Verse 5
Where pure essential joy is found
The Lord's redeemed, their heads shall raise
With everlasting gladness crowned
And filled with love, and lost in praise
Chorus
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 125
𝙍: Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God.
Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the LORD surrounds His people,
from this time forth and forevermore.
𝙍: Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God.
For the scepter of the wicked shall not rest
on the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous put forth
their hands to do wrong.
Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,
and to those who are upright in their hearts.
As for those who turn aside to their crooked ways,
the Lord will lead them away with the workers of iniquity.
Peace be upon Israel!
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: Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God.
Psalm prayer
God of power, you are strong to save, and you never fail those who trust in you; keep us under your protection and spread abroad your reign of peace through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 126
𝙍: The LORD has done great things for us.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then was our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with singing;
then said they among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are glad.
𝙍: The LORD has done great things for us.
Bring back our captives, O LORD,
like the streams in the Negev.
Those who sow in tears
shall reap with joy.
He who goes forth weeping,
bearing seed for sowing,
shall come home with rejoicing,
bringing his sheaves with him.
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 LORD has done great things for us.
Psalm prayer
Lord, as you send rain and flowers even to the wilderness, renew us by your Holy Spirit, help us to sow good seed in time of adversity and to live to rejoice in your good harvest of all creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 127
𝙍: The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Unless the LORD builds the house,
they labor in vain who build it.
Unless the LORD guards the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain for you to rise up early,
to sit up late,
to eat the bread of sorrowful toil;
for so He gives His beloved sleep.
𝙍: The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
so are the children of one’s youth.
Happy is the man
who has his quiver full of them;
they shall not be ashamed
when they speak with their enemies in the gate.
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 LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Psalm prayer
Lord, you are ever watchful and bless us with your gifts; as you provide for all our needs, so help us to build only what pleases you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 128
𝙍: How great is Your goodness, O God.
Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in His ways.
For you shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.
𝙍: How great is Your goodness, O God.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house,
your children like olive plants
around your table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the LORD.
𝙍: How great is Your goodness, O God.
The LORD bless you from Zion,
and may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
Indeed, may you see your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel!
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: How great is Your goodness, O God.
Psalm prayer
O Christ, our true vine, may we your branches be ever fruitful in your service, and share your love and peace with all your children, in the power of the Spirit and to the glory of the Father.
Old Testament reading
Isaiah 21:1-12
The oracle of the desert of the sea.
As whirlwinds in the Negev pass through,
so it comes from the desert,
from a terrible land.
A grievous vision is declared to me;
the treacherous one still deals treacherously, and the destroyer still destroys.
Go up, O Elam. Lay siege, O Media.
All her sighing I have made to cease.
Therefore, my loins are filled with pain;
pangs have taken hold of me as the pangs of a woman who travails.
I am so perplexed at the hearing of it;
I am so dismayed at the seeing of it.
My heart panted,
fearfulness overwhelmed me;
the night for which I longed
has turned into trembling for me.
Prepare the table,
watch in the watchtower,
eat and drink.
Arise, you princes,
and oil the shields.
For thus the Lord has said to me:
“Go, station a watchman;
let him declare what he sees.
When he sees chariots
with horsemen in pairs,
a chariot of donkeys,
and a chariot of camels,
then let him pay close attention,
very close attention.”
Then the watchman called:
“O Lord, I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime,
and I am stationed at my guard post every night.
Behold, here comes a chariot of men,
horsemen in pairs.”
Then he responded,
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon.
And all the graven images of her gods
lie shattered on the ground.”
O my threshed people and my afflicted of the threshing floor!
What I have heard from the LORD of Hosts,
the God of Israel,
I have declared to you.
The oracle of Dumah.
He calls to me out of Seir,
“Watchman, how far gone is the night?
Watchman, how far gone is the night?”
The watchman says,
“The morning comes and also the night.
If you would inquire, inquire;
return again.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Matthew 10:34-11:1
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn
‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
a man’s foes will be those of his own household.’
“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, truly I tell you, he shall in no way lose his reward.”
When Jesus finished instructing His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.
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.
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
Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Eternal Father, whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven that he might rule over all things as Lord and King: keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit and in the bond of peace, and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet; who 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.