Opening response

Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

All your saints will bless you.
They will tell 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

Blest Be Our Everlasting Lord

Charles Wesley

Blest be our everlasting Lord,
Our Father, God, and King!
Thy sovereign goodness we record,
Thy glorious power we sing.

By thee the victory is given:
The majesty divine,
Wisdom and might, and earth and heaven,
And all therein are thine.

The kingdom, Lord, is thine alone,
Who dost thy right maintain,
And high on thine eternal throne,
Over men and angels reign.

Riches, as seemeth good to thee,
Thou dost, and honor give;
And kings their power and dignity
Out of thy hand receive.

Thou hast on us the grace bestowed,
Thy greatness to proclaim;
And therefore now thank we our God,
And praise thy glorious name.

Thy glorious name, thy nature’s powers,
Thou hast to man made known;
And all the Deity is ours,
Through thy incarnate Son.

Confession of sin

When we cry out to the LORD in our trouble,
he will bring us out of 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 loving devotion,
and his wonders to the sons of men.

Let us offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
and declare God’s works with rejoicing.

cf Psalm 107

Psalm 110

𝙍: You, O LORD, sit enthroned forever.

The LORD said to my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand
until I make Your enemies
a footstool for Your feet.”

The LORD extends Your mighty scepter from Zion:
“Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
Your people shall be willing
on Your day of battle.
Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn,
to You belongs the dew of Your youth. 𝙍

The LORD has sworn
and will not change His mind:
“You are a priest forever
in the order of Melchizedek.”

The Lord is at Your right hand;
He will crush kings in the day of His wrath. 𝙍

He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead;
He will crush the leaders far and wide.
He will drink from the brook by the road;
therefore He will lift up His head.

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, O LORD, sit enthroned forever.

Psalm prayer

Lord Jesus, divine Son and eternal priest,
inspire us with the confidence of your final conquest of evil,
and grant that daily on our way
we may drink of the brook of your eternal life
and so find courage against all adversities;
for your mercy’s sake.

Psalm 111

𝙍: Holy and awesome is the LORD’s name.

Hallelujah!

I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart
in the council of the upright and in the assembly.

Great are the works of the LORD;
they are pondered by all who delight in them.
Splendid and majestic is His work;
His righteousness endures forever.
He has caused His wonders to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and compassionate. 𝙍

He provides food for those who fear Him;
He remembers His covenant forever.

He has shown His people the power of His works
by giving them the inheritance of the nations.
The works of His hands are truth and justice;
all His precepts are trustworthy. 𝙍

They are upheld forever and ever,
enacted in truth and uprightness.
He has sent redemption to His people;
He has ordained His covenant forever;
holy and awesome is His name.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding.

His praise endures forever!

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: Holy and awesome is the LORD’s name.

Psalm prayer

Gracious God, you are full of compassion;
may we who long for your kingdom to come
rejoice to do your will
and acknowledge your power alone to save;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 112

𝙍: The righteous man will be remembered forever.

Hallelujah!

Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in His commandments.
His descendants will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
Light dawns in the darkness for the upright—
for the gracious, compassionate, and righteous. 𝙍

It is well with the man who is generous and lends freely,
whose affairs are guided by justice.
Surely he will never be shaken;
the righteous man will be remembered forever.
He does not fear bad news;
his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. 𝙍

His heart is assured; he does not fear,
until he looks in triumph on his foes.
He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever;
his horn will be lifted high in honor.

The wicked man will see and be grieved;
he will gnash his teeth and waste away;
the desires of the wicked will perish.

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 righteous man will be remembered forever.

Psalm prayer

Generous God,
save us from the meanness
that calculates its interest and hoards its earthly gain;
as we have freely received,
so may we freely give;
in the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 40:27-41:7

Why do you say, O Jacob,
and why do you assert, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my claim is ignored by my God”?
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary;
His understanding is beyond searching out.
He gives power to the faint
and increases the strength of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength;
they will mount up with wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not faint.

“Be silent before Me, O islands,
and let the peoples renew their strength.
Let them come forward and testify;
let us together draw near for judgment.
Who has aroused one from the east
and called him to his feet in righteousness ?
He hands nations over to him
and subdues kings before him.
He turns them to dust with his sword,
to windblown chaff with his bow.
He pursues them, going on safely,
hardly touching the path with his feet.
Who has performed this and carried it out,
calling forth the generations from the beginning?
I, the LORD—the first and the last—
I am He.”

The islands see and fear;
the ends of the earth tremble.
They approach and come forward.
Each one helps the other
and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
The craftsman encourages the goldsmith,
and he who wields the hammer
cheers him who strikes the anvil,
saying of the welding, “It is good.”
He nails it down so it will not be toppled.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Revelation 16:1-11

Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out on the earth the seven bowls of God’s wrath.”

So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and loathsome, malignant sores broke out on those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

And the second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it turned to blood like that of the dead, and every living thing in the sea died.

And the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water, and they turned to blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say:

“Righteous are You, O Holy One,
who is and was,
because You have brought these judgments.
For they have spilled the blood of saints and prophets,
and You have given them blood to drink,
as they deserve.”

And I heard the altar reply:

“Yes, Lord God Almighty,
true and just are Your judgments.”

Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was given power to scorch the people with fire. And the people were scorched by intense heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues; yet they did not repent and give Him glory.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

𝙍: You have raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of your servant David.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
because He has visited and redeemed His people.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David,
as He spoke through His holy prophets,
those of ages past,
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us,
to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember His holy covenant,
the oath He swore to our father Abraham,
to grant us deliverance from hostile hands,
that we may serve Him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before Him
all the days of our lives.

And you, child, will be called
a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord
to prepare the way for Him,
to give to His people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,
to shine on those who live in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet
into the path 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 have raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of your servant David.

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

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs

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

Eternal Father,
whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven
that he might rule over all things as Lord and King:
keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit
and in the bond of peace,
and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet;
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.