Thu. morning Nov. 9
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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
Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown
Music by The Hymnodist: Spotify, Apple, Amazon, iHeart, YouTube Music, Pandora, Boomplay, Deezer
Lyrics by Charles Wesley
Verse 1
Come, O thou traveler unknown
Whom still I hold, but cannot see
My company before is gone
And I am left alone with thee
With thee all night I mean to stay
And wrestle till the break of day
Verse 2
I need not tell thee who I am
My misery or sin declare
Thyself hast called me by my name
Look on thy hands and read it there
But who, I ask thee, who art thou
Tell me thy name, and tell me now
Chorus
My strength is gone, my nature dies
I sink beneath thy weighty hand
Faint to revive, and fall to rise
I fall, and yet by faith I stand
I stand, and will not let thee go
Till I thy name, thy nature know
Thy nature know
Verse 3
Yield to me now—for I am weak
But confident in self-despair
Speak to my heart, in blessings speak
Be conquered by my instant prayer
Speak, or thou never hence shalt move
And tell me, if thy name is love
Chorus
Verse 4
’Tis love! ’tis love! Thou died for me
I hear thy whisper in my heart
The morning breaks, the shadows flee
Pure, universal love thou art
To me, to all thy passions move
Thy nature and thy name is love
My strength is gone, my nature dies
Thy nature and thy name is love
My strength is gone, my nature dies
Thy nature and thy name is love
Verse 5
My prayer hath power with God; the grace
Unspeakable I now receive
Through faith I see thee face to face
I see thee face to face and live
In vain I have not wept and strove
Thy nature and thy name is love
Verse 6
I know thee, Savior, who thou art
Jesus, the feeble sinner’s friend
Nor wilt thou with the night depart
But stay and love me to the end
Thy mercies never shall remove
Thy nature and thy name is love
My strength is gone, my nature dies
Thy nature and thy name is love
My strength is gone, my nature dies
Thy nature and thy name is love
Thy nature and thy name is love
Thy nature and thy name is love
Confession of sin
When we cry to the LORD in our trouble,
He will save us from our distress.
God will bring us out of darkness
and out of the shadow of death.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
May the Father forgive us by the death of his Son, and strengthen us to live in the power of the Spirit all our days.
Amen.
Let us give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
and for His wonderful works to all people!
Let us offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and declare God’s works with rejoicing.
cf Psalm 107
Psalm 11
𝙍: The LORD’s throne is in heaven.
In the LORD I seek refuge;
how do you say to my soul,
“Flee as a bird to your mountain,
for behold, the wicked bend their bow;
they have fitted their arrow to the string,
that they may treacherously shoot
the upright in heart.
If the foundations are broken,
what can the righteous do?”
𝙍: The LORD’s throne is in heaven.
The LORD is in His holy temple,
His throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold,
His eyes examine mankind.
The LORD tests the righteous,
but the wicked and he who loves violence
His soul hates.
On the wicked He will rain
coals of fire and brimstone; a burning wind
will be the portion of their cup.
For the LORD is righteous;
He loves righteousness;
His countenance beholds the upright.
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’s throne is in heaven.
Psalm prayer
God of heaven, when the foundations are shaken and there is no escape, test us, but not to destruction, look on the face of your anointed and heal us in Jesus Christ your Son.
Psalm 15
𝙍: In the abundance of Your mercy I will enter Your house.
LORD, who will abide in Your tabernacle?
Who will dwell in Your holy hill?
He who walks uprightly,
and does righteousness,
and speaks truth in his heart;
he who does not slander with the tongue
and does no evil to his neighbor,
nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
but who honors those who fear the LORD;
he who swears against harm and does not change;
he who does not put his money out to usury,
nor takes a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
will never be moved.
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 the abundance of Your mercy I will enter Your house.
Psalm prayer
Lord, lead us to our heavenly home by single steps of self-restraint and deeds of righteousness; through the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 148
𝙍: O praise the name of the LORD.
Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
praise Him in the heights!
Praise Him, all His angels;
praise Him, all His hosts!
Praise Him, sun and moon;
praise Him, all you stars of light!
Praise Him, you heavens of heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.
Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for He commanded and they were created.
He has also established them forever and ever;
He has made a decree which shall not pass away.
𝙍: O praise the name of the LORD.
Praise the LORD from the earth,
you great sea creatures, and all the depths;
fire and hail, snow and clouds;
stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
mountains and all hills;
fruitful trees and all cedars;
beasts and all cattle;
creeping things and flying fowl;
kings of the earth and all peoples;
princes and all judges of the earth;
both young men and maidens;
old men and children.
Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for His name alone is exalted;
His glory is above the earth and heaven.
He has exalted the horn for His people,
praise for all His saints,
for the Israelites, a people near to Him.
Praise the LORD!
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: O praise the name of the LORD.
Psalm prayer
Glorious God, your whole creation sings your marvelous work; may heaven’s praise so echo in our hearts that we may be good stewards of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Isaiah 2:12-22
For the day of the LORD of Hosts shall be
upon everything that is proud and lofty,
and upon everything that is lifted up,
and it shall be brought low;
and it will be upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up,
and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
and upon all the high mountains,
and upon all the hills that are lifted up,
and upon all the high towers,
and upon every fenced wall,
and upon all the ships of Tarshish,
and upon all pleasant sloops.
The loftiness of man shall be humbled,
and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low;
the LORD alone will be exalted in that day;
the idols He shall utterly abolish.
They shall go into the holes of the rocks,
and into the caves of the earth,
from the fear of the LORD,
and from the glory of His majesty,
when He shall arise to shake the earth mightily.
In that day a man shall cast away
his idols of silver and his idols of gold,
which they made for themselves to worship,
to the moles and to the bats,
to enter the caverns of the rocks,
and into the clefts of the cliffs,
from the terror of the LORD,
and from the glory of His majesty,
when He arises to shake the earth mightily.
Cease regarding man,
whose breath is in his nostrils;
for why should he be esteemed?
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Matthew 3
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make His paths straight.’ ”
This same John had clothing made of camel’s hair, a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him, and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who has warned you to escape from the wrath to come? Therefore, bear fruit worthy of repentance, and do not think to say within yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I say to you that God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is put to the tree roots. Therefore, every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
“I indeed baptize you with water to repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean His floor and gather His wheat into the granary, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. But John prohibited Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”
But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him.
And when Jesus was baptized, He came up immediately out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending on Him like a dove. And behold, a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
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
In faith we pray
We pray to you, our God.
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, 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.
