Fri. morning Nov. 7
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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
Arise, My Soul, Arise
Music by The Hymnodist: Spotify, Apple, Amazon, iHeart, YouTube Music, Pandora, Boomplay, Deezer
Lyrics by Charles Wesley
Chorus
Arise, my soul, arise
Shake off thy guilty fears
The bleeding sacrifice
In my behalf appears
Before the throne my Savior stands
Before the throne my Savior stands
My name is written on His hands
Verse 1
He ever lives above
For me to intercede
His all-redeeming love
His precious blood to plead
His blood atoned for all our race
His blood atoned for all our race
And sprinkles now the throne of grace
Chorus
Verse 2
Five bleeding wounds He bears
Received on Calvary
They pour effectual prayers
They strongly speak for me
"Forgive him, O forgive," they cry
"Forgive him, O forgive," they cry
"Nor let that ransomed sinner die!"
Chorus
Verse 3
The Father hears Him pray
His dear Anointed One
He cannot turn away
The presence of His Son
His Spirit answers to the blood
His Spirit answers to the blood
And tells me I am born of God
Chorus
Verse 4
To God I'm reconciled
His pard’ning voice I hear
He owns me for His child
I can no longer fear
With confidence I now draw nigh
With confidence I now draw nigh
And "Father, Abba, Father," cry
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 16
𝙍: The LORD is at my right hand; I shall not be moved.
Preserve me, O God,
for in You I take refuge.
I have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
my welfare has no existence outside of You.”
For the holy ones in the land,
they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.
Those who choose another god
multiply their sorrows;
their drink offerings of blood I will not offer
nor take their names upon my lips.
O LORD, you are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You hold my lot.
The boundary lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
yes, I have a goodly inheritance.
𝙍: The LORD is at my right hand; I shall not be moved.
I will bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the LORD always before me;
because He is at my right hand,
I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my flesh also will rest secure.
For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
nor will You allow Your holy one to see corruption.
You will show me the path of life.
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
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 is at my right hand; I shall not be moved.
Psalm prayer
Give to us, Lord Christ, the fullness of grace, your presence and your very self, for you are our portion and our delight, now and forever.
Psalm 149
𝙍: Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth!
Praise the LORD!
Sing to the LORD a new song,
and His praise in the congregation of the saints.
Let Israel rejoice in his maker;
let the sons of Zion be joyful in their King.
Let them praise His name in the dance;
let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.
For the LORD takes pleasure in His people;
He will beautify the meek with salvation.
𝙍: Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth!
Let the saints be joyful in glory;
let them sing for joy on their beds.
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
and a two-edged sword in their hand,
to execute vengeance on the nations,
and punishment on the peoples;
to bind their kings with chains,
and their nobles with fetters of iron;
to execute on them the judgment written!
This honor have all His saints.
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: Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth!
Psalm prayer
Glorious and redeeming God, give us hearts to praise you all our days and wills to reject the world’s deceits, that we may bind the evils of our age and proclaim the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Isaiah 3:1-15
For behold, the Lord,
the LORD of Hosts,
takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah
the stock and the store,
the whole supply of bread, and the whole supply of water;
the mighty man and the man of war,
the judge and the prophet,
and the prudent and the ancient,
the captain of fifty and the honorable man,
the counselor and the skillful artisan, and the eloquent orator.
I will give youths to be their princes,
and unweaned children shall rule over them.
The people shall be oppressed,
every one by another, and every one by his neighbor;
the youth shall behave himself proudly against the elder,
and the inferior against the honorable.
When a man shall take hold of his brother
in the house of his father saying,
“You have clothing; be our ruler,
and let this ruin be under your power,”
in that day he shall swear saying,
“I will not be a healer.
For in my house is neither bread nor clothing;
do not make me a ruler of the people.”
For Jerusalem is ruined,
and Judah is fallen,
because their tongue and their deeds are against the LORD,
to provoke the eyes of His glory.
The expression of their countenance witnesses against them,
and they declare their sin as Sodom;
they hide it not.
Woe to them!
For they have brought evil on themselves.
Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them,
for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
As for My people, children are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
O My people, those who lead you cause you to err,
and destroy the way of your paths.
The LORD stands up to plead
and stands to judge the people.
The LORD will enter into judgment
with the elders and the princes of His people:
For you have eaten up the vineyard;
the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
What do you mean that you beat My people to pieces
and grind the faces of the poor?
says the LORD God of Hosts.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Matthew 4:1-11
Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. And He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, and then He was hungry. And the tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones be turned into bread.”
But He answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ”
Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, and set Him on the highest point of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written,
‘He shall give His angels charge concerning you,’
and
‘In their hands they shall lift you up,
lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
Jesus said to him, “It is also written, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their grandeur, and said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Get away from here, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.’ ”
Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
𝙍: Christ gave them as a light to the nations, that his salvation might reach to the ends of the earth.
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: Christ gave them as a light to the nations, that his salvation might reach to the ends of the earth.
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
Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.
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.