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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
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
Confession of sin
Come, Holy Spirit of God,
and search our hearts with the light of Christ.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
“The first of all the commandments is, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Amen. Lord, have mercy.
After a period of reflection
Come, let us return to the Lord and say:
Lord our God, in our sin, we have avoided your call. Our faithfulness is like a morning cloud, and like the early dew, it goes away. Have mercy on us; deliver us from judgment; bind up our wounds and revive us; in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
cf Hosea 6
May Almighty God, who sent his Son into the world to save sinners, bring us his pardon and peace, now and forever.
Amen.
Psalm 5
𝙍: You, LORD, will bless the righteous.
Give ear to my words, O LORD;
consider my meditation.
Listen to the voice of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to You will I pray.
O LORD, in the morning You will hear my voice;
in the morning I will direct my prayer to You,
and I will look up expectantly.
For You are not a God who has pleasure in wickedness,
nor will evil dwell with You.
𝙍: You, LORD, will bless the righteous.
Those who boast will not stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
You will destroy those who speak lies;
the LORD abhors
the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
But as for me, in the abundance of Your mercy
I will enter Your house;
in fear of You I will worship
at Your holy temple.
𝙍: You, LORD, will bless the righteous.
Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make Your way straight before me.
For there is no uprightness in their mouth;
destruction is in their midst;
their throat is an open tomb;
they flatter with their tongue.
Declare them guilty, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions,
for they have rebelled against You.
𝙍: You, LORD, will bless the righteous.
But let all those who take refuge in You rejoice;
let them ever shout for joy,
because You defend them;
let those who love Your name be joyful in You.
For You, LORD, will bless the righteous;
You surround him with favor like a shield.
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, LORD, will bless the righteous.
Psalm Prayer
Lord, protect us from the deceit of flattering tongues and lying lips; give us words of life which speak your truth and bless your name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 147:1-12
𝙍: Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.
Praise the LORD!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
for it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.
The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
𝙍: Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.
He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by their names.
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;
His understanding is infinite.
The LORD lifts up the humble;
He casts the wicked down to the ground.
𝙍: Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.
Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
sing praises on the harp to our God,
who covers the heavens with clouds,
who prepares rain for the earth,
who makes grass to grow on the mountains.
𝙍: Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.
He gives to the beast its food
and to the young ravens that cry.
He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
in those who hope in His mercy.
Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
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: Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.
Psalm Prayer
Compassionate God, as you know each star you have created, so you know the secrets of every heart; in your loving mercy, bring to your table all who are fearful and broken, all who are wounded and needy, that our hungers may be satisfied in the city of your peace; through Christ who is our peace.
Old Testament reading
Daniel 2:1-24
And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams, and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. Then the king gave the command to call the magicians and the astrologers and the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. The king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream.”
Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever. Tell your servants the dream, and we will tell the interpretation.”
The king answered the Chaldeans, “The command from me is firm: If you will not make known to me the dream with its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces and your houses shall be made a dunghill. But if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.”
They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will tell the interpretation.”
The king answered, “I know of certainty that you are bargaining for time, because you see that the command from me is firm: If you will not make known to me the dream, there is but one decree for you. For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the circumstance is changed. Therefore tell me the dream so that I know that you can tell me its interpretation.”
The Chaldeans answered before the king and said, “There is not a man on the earth who can tell the king’s matter, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician or astrologer or Chaldean. Also, it is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is no one else who can tell it before the king, except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. Therefore the decree went out that the wise men should be slain. And they sought for Daniel and his companions to be slain.
Then Daniel answered with discretion and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. He asked Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. Then Daniel went in and desired of the king that he would give him time in order that he could tell the king the interpretation.
Then Daniel went to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, so that they might ask for compassion from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel said:
“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
for wisdom and might are His.
It is He who changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and sets up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who know understanding.
He reveals the deep and secret things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
and the light dwells with Him.
I thank and praise You, O God of my fathers;
for You have given me wisdom and might,
and have made known to me now what we asked of You,
for You have made known to us the king’s matter.”
Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Bring me in before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Revelation 2:1-11
“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write:
“He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, says these things: I know your works, your labor and your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles, but are not, and have found them to be liars. You have endured, and have been patient, and for My name’s sake have labored and have not grown weary.
“But I have something against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen. Repent, and do the works you did at first, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your candlestick from its place, unless you repent. But this you have: You hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give permission to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.
“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
“The First and the Last, who was dead and came to life, says these things: I know your works and tribulation and poverty (but you are rich). And I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tried, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
𝙍: You will guide me with Your counsel, O God, and afterward receive me to glory.
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.
𝙍: You will guide me with Your counsel, O God, and afterward receive me to glory.
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, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
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
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.