Sun. morning May 17
Opening response
O Lord, open our lips,
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Send your Holy Spirit upon us,
and clothe us with power from on high. Alleluia.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, creator God, to you be praise and glory forever. As your Spirit moved over the face of the waters, bringing light and life to your creation, pour out your Spirit on us today that we may walk as children of light and by your grace reveal your presence.
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
Savior, More Than Life to Me
Words: Fanny J. Crosby (1875)
Music: William H. Doane (1899)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#336)
Savior, more than life to me,
I am clinging, clinging close to Thee;
let Thy precious blood applied,
keep me ever, ever near Thy side.
Refrain:
Ev'ry day, ev'ry hour
let me feel thy cleansing pow'r;
may Thy tender love to me
bind me closer, closer, Lord, to Thee.
Through this changing world below,
lead me gently, gently as I go;
trusting Thee, I cannot stray,
I can never, never lose my way. [Refrain]
Let me love Thee more and more,
till this fleeting, fleeting life is o'er;
till my soul is lost in love,
in a brighter, brighter world above. [Refrain]
Confession of Sin
Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Almighty God, patient and of great goodness: I confess to you, I confess with my whole heart my neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments, my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking; the hurts I have done to others, and the good I have left undone. O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you; and raise me to newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
May the God of love and power forgive us and free us from our sins, heal and strengthen us by his Spirit, and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Psalm 104:26-35
𝙍: I will sing to the LORD as long as I live.
O LORD, how manifold are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all.
The earth is full of Your possessions.
So is this great and wide sea,
which is full of innumerable creatures,
living things both small and great.
There the ships sail along;
and there is Leviathan, which You have made to play in it.
These all wait upon You,
that You may give them their food in due season.
You give to them;
they gather it up;
You open Your hand,
they are filled with good.
You hide Your face;
they are troubled;
You take away their breath;
they die and return to their dust.
You send forth Your Spirit;
they are created,
and You renew the face of the ground.
𝙍: I will sing to the LORD as long as I live.
May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in His works.
He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
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 sing to the LORD as long as I live.
Psalm prayer
Creator God, send your Holy Spirit to renew this living world, that the whole creation, in its groaning and striving, may know your loving purpose and come to reflect your glory; in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Isaiah 65:17-25
For behold, I create
new heavens and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing,
and her people for joy.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in My people;
and the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her,
nor the voice of crying.
There shall no longer be
an infant who lives only a few days,
nor an old man who has not filled out his days.
For the child shall die
at one hundred years old,
but the sinner being one hundred years old
shall be accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them;
and they shall plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them.
They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for as the days of a tree
are the days of My people,
and My chosen ones shall long enjoy
the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain
nor bring forth children for trouble;
for they are the descendants of the blessed of the Lord
and their offspring with them.
Before they call, I will answer;
and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
and the lion shall eat straw like the bull,
and dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all My holy mountain,
says the LORD.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Revelation 21:1-8
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth.” For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no more sea. I, John, saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them. They shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. ‘God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. There shall be no more death.’ Neither shall there be any more sorrow nor crying nor pain, for the former things have passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Then He said to me, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”
He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the spring of the water of life to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the abominable, the murderers, the sexually immoral, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars shall have their portion in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone. This is the second death.”
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:
God’s royal priesthood, for empowerment by the Spirit
Those who wait on God, that they may find renewal
All people, that they may acknowledge the kingdom of the ascended Christ
The earth, for productivity and for fruitful harvests
All who are struggling with broken relationships
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
O God the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: we beseech you, leave us not comfortless, but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us and exalt us to the place where our Savior Christ is gone before, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Being made one by the power of the Spirit, 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 the Spirit kindle in us the fire of God’s love.
Amen.