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

Gracious Redeemer, Shake This Slumber

Charles Wesley

Gracious Redeemer, shake
This slumber from my soul!
Say to me now, "Awake, awake!
And Christ shall make thee whole."
Lay to thy mighty hand!
Alarm me in this hour,
And make me fully understand
The thunder of thy power.

Give me on thee to call,
Always to watch and pray,
Lest I into temptation fall,
And cast my shield away;
For each assault prepared
And ready may I be,
Forever standing on my guard,
And looking up to thee.

O do thou always warn
My soul of evil near!
When to the right or left I turn,
Thy voice still let me hear;
"Come back! this is the way,
Come back, and walk herein!"
O may I hearken and obey,
And shun the paths of sin!

Confession of sin

Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their own ways
and the unrighteous their own thoughts.
Let them return to the LORD so that he may have compassion,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

cf Isaiah 55

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

Lord God,
we have sinned against you;
we have done what is evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your loving devotion.
Wash us clean of our iniquity and cleanse us from our sin.
Renew a right spirit within us,
and restore to us the joy of your salvation
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

cf Psalm 51

May the Father of all mercies
cleanse us from our sins,
and restore us in his image
to the praise and glory of his name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Blessed be the LORD,
for he has heard our cry for mercy.
Therefore our hearts rejoice
and we give thanks to him with our song.

cf Psalm 28:7, 9

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 protect you.
May He send you help from the sanctuary
and sustain you from Zion.
May He remember all your gifts
and look favorably on your burnt offerings.

May He give you the desires of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
May we shout for joy at your victory
and raise a banner in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your petitions. 𝙍

Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;
He answers him from His holy heaven
with the saving power of His right hand.
Some trust in chariots and others in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
They collapse and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
O LORD, save the king.
Answer us on the day 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 21

𝙍: The king trusts in the LORD.

O LORD, the king rejoices in Your strength.
How greatly he exults in Your salvation!
You have granted his heart’s desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips.

For You welcomed him with rich blessings;
You placed on his head a crown of pure gold.
He asked You for life, and You granted it—
length of days, forever and ever. 𝙍

Great is his glory in Your salvation;
You bestow on him splendor and majesty.
For You grant him blessings forever;
You cheer him with joy in Your presence.
For the king trusts in the LORD;
through the loving devotion of the Most High,
he will not be shaken. 𝙍

Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies;
Your right hand will seize those who hate You.
You will place them in a fiery furnace
at the time of Your appearing.

In His wrath the LORD will engulf them,
and the fire will consume them.
You will wipe their descendants from the earth,
and their offspring from the sons of men. 𝙍

Though they intend You harm,
the schemes they devise will not prevail.
For You will put them to flight
when Your bow is trained upon them.

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, O 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 lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters. 𝙍

He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
for the sake of His name.
Even 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

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 will 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

Old Testament reading

Ecclesiastes 6

There is another evil I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily upon mankind: God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a grievous affliction.

A man may father a hundred children and live for many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he is unsatisfied with his prosperity and does not even receive a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. For a stillborn child enters in futility and departs in darkness, and his name is shrouded in obscurity. The child, though neither seeing the sun nor knowing anything, has more rest than that man, even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?

All a man’s labor is for his mouth,
yet his appetite is never satisfied.

What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others? Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Whatever exists was named long ago, and what happens to a man is foreknown; but he cannot contend with one stronger than he. For the more words, the more futility—and how does that profit anyone? For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

John 18:28-40

Then they led Jesus away from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. By now it was early morning, and the Jews did not enter the Praetorium, to avoid being defiled and unable to eat the Passover.

So Pilate went out to them and asked, “What accusation are you bringing against this man?”

“If He were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed Him over to you.”

“You take Him and judge Him by your own law,” Pilate told them.

“We are not permitted to execute anyone,” the Jews replied. This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to indicate the kind of death He was going to die.

Pilate went back into the Praetorium, summoned Jesus, and asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

“Are you saying this on your own,” Jesus asked, “or did others tell you about Me?”

“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?”

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world; if it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is not of this realm.”

“Then You are a king!” Pilate said.

“You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered. “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.”

“What is truth?” Pilate asked.

And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against Him. But it is your custom that I release to you one prisoner at the Passover. So then, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

“Not this man,” they shouted, “but Barabbas!” (Now Barabbas was an insurrectionist.)

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, hear our prayer,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty and eternal God,
you have kindled the flame of love
in the hearts of the saints:
grant to us the same faith and power of love,
that, as we rejoice in their triumphs,
we may be sustained by their example and fellowship;
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

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.