Mon. morning Dec. 29
Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
You laid the foundation of the earth
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, sovereign God, creator of heaven and earth, to you be praise and glory forever. As your living Word, eternal in heaven, assumed the frailty of our mortal flesh, may the light of your love be born in us to fill our hearts with joy as we sing:
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
Once in Royal David’s City
Words: Cecil Frances Alexander (1848)
Music: Henry J. Gauntlett (1849)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#175)
Once in royal David’s city
stood a lowly cattle shed,
where a mother laid her baby
in a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little Child.
He came down to earth from heaven
who is God and Lord of all,
and His shelter was a stable,
and His cradle was a stall:
with the poor, and meek, and lowly,
lived on earth our Savior holy.
For He is our childhood's pattern,
Day by day, like us, He grew.
He was little, weak, and helpless,
Tears and smiles, like us, He knew;
And he feeleth for our sadness,
And he shareth in our gladness.
And our eyes at last shall see Him,
through His own redeeming love;
for that Child so dear and gentle
is our Lord in heav'n above,
and He leads His children on
to the place where He is gone.
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 19
𝙍: The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech,
and night unto night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor are there words
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice has gone out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them He has set a tent for the sun,
which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
and rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
Its rising is from one end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
𝙍: The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
converting the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple;
the statutes of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring forever;
the decrees of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
yes, than much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is Your servant warned,
and in keeping them there is great reward.
𝙍: The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I will be upright,
and I will be innocent of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.
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 commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Psalm prayer
Christ, the sun of righteousness, rise in our hearts this day, enfold us in the brightness of your love and bear us at the last to heaven’s horizon; for your love’s sake.
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 defend you;
may He send you help from the sanctuary,
and strengthen you from Zion;
may He remember all your offerings,
and accept your burnt sacrifice.
May He grant you your heart’s desire,
and fulfill all your plans.
We will rejoice in your salvation,
and in the name of our God we will set up our banners!
May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.
𝙍: We trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
with the saving strength of His right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
They have collapsed and fallen,
but we have risen and stand upright.
Save, O LORD!
May the King answer us when 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 prayer
Merciful God, purify our hearts in the flame of your Spirit and transform our toil into an offering of praise, that we may reject the proud rule of might and trust in Christ alone, for He is our Lord forever and ever.
Old Testament reading
Jonah 1
Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, “Get up, go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry out against it, because their wickedness has come up before Me.”
But Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found there a ship going to Tarshish. He paid its fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and a mighty storm came upon the sea, so that the ship was in danger of breaking up. Then the sailors were afraid, and each cried to his god. They tossed the ship’s cargo into the sea in order to lighten the load.
But Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. The captain came to him and said, “What are you doing asleep? Get up, call to your god! Perhaps your god will consider us, so that we will not perish.”
The sailors said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots that we may know on whose account this disaster has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
Then the sailors said to Jonah, “Tell us why this disaster has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And from what people are you?”
Jonah replied, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
Then the men were very afraid and said to him, “What is this you have done?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD because he had told them.
Then they said to Jonah, “What shall we do to you, so that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea was growing stormier.
So Jonah said to them, “Pick me up and toss me into the sea. Then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know that it is on my account this great storm has come upon you.”
Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to bring the ship to land, but they could not do it, for the sea grew more tempestuous against them. Then they cried to the LORD and said, “Please, LORD, do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not make us guilty for innocent blood, for You, LORD, have done as it pleased You.” So they picked up Jonah and tossed him into the sea. Then the sea ceased from its raging. Therefore the men were very afraid of the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.
Now the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Colossians 1:1-14
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ who are at Colosse:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you. For we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints, because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you have already heard in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has in all the world, and brings forth fruit, as it has also in you, since the day you heard it and knew the grace of God in truth. And you also learned of Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ for you, who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing to all, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might according to His glorious power, enduring everything with perseverance and patience joyfully, giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled us to be partakers in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
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.
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 Church, especially in places of conflict
The Holy Land, for peace with justice, and reconciliation
Refugees and asylum seekers
Homeless people
Families with young children
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 God, who wonderfully created us in your own image and yet more wonderfully restored us through your Son Jesus Christ: grant that, as he came to share in our humanity, so we may share the life of his divinity; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Rejoicing in the presence of God here among us, 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 God, who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light, bless us and fill us with peace.
Amen.