Opening response

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

Reveal among us the light of your presence
that we may behold your power and glory.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God of all,
to you be praise and glory forever.
In your tender compassion
the dawn from on high is breaking upon us
to dispel the lingering shadows of night.
As we look for your coming among us this day,
open our eyes to behold your presence
and strengthen our hands to do your will,
that the world may rejoice and give you praise.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.

Hymn

Light of Those Whose Dreary Dwelling

Charles Wesley

Light of those whose dreary dwelling
Borders on the shades of death,
Come, and by thy love's revealing
Dissipate the clouds beneath.

The new heaven and earth's Creator,
In our deepest darkness rise,
Scattering all the night of nature,
Pouring eyesight on our eyes.

Still we wait for thine appearing;
Life and joy thy beams impart,
Chasing all our fears, and cheering
Every poor benighted heart.

Come, and manifest the favor
God hath for our ransomed race;
Come, thou universal Savior,
Come, and bring the gospel grace.

Save us in thy great compassion,
O thou mild, pacific Prince;
Give the knowledge of salvation,
Give the pardon of our sins.

By thine all restoring merit
Every burdened soul release;
Every weary, wandering spirit
Guide into thy perfect peace.

Confession of sin

Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their own ways
and the unrighteous their own thoughts.
Let them return to the LORD so that he may have compassion,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

cf Isaiah 55

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

Lord God,
we have sinned against you;
we have done what is evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your loving devotion.
Wash us clean of our iniquity and cleanse us from our sin.
Renew a right spirit within us,
and restore to us the joy of your salvation
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

cf Psalm 51

May the Father of all mercies
cleanse us from our sins,
and restore us in his image
to the praise and glory of his name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Bless be the LORD,
for he has heard our cry for mercy.
Therefore our hearts rejoice
and we give thanks to him with our song.

cf Psalm 28:7, 9

Psalm 12

𝙍: You, O LORD, will keep us.

Help, O LORD, for the godly are no more;
the faithful have vanished from among men.
They lie to one another;
they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
May the LORD cut off all flattering lips
and every boastful tongue.
They say, “With our tongues we will prevail.
We own our lips—who can be our master?” 𝙍

“For the cause of the oppressed
and for the groaning of the needy,
I will now arise,” says the LORD.
“I will bring safety to him who yearns.”

The words of the LORD are flawless,
like silver refined in a furnace,
like gold purified sevenfold.
You, O LORD, will keep us;
You will forever guard us from this generation.
The wicked wander freely,
and vileness is exalted among men.

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, will keep us.

Psalm prayer

Lord, when faith is faint
and speech veils our intentions,
restore us by your word of power and purity,
both now and forever.

Psalm 14

𝙍: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.

The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”

They are corrupt; their acts are vile.
There is no one who does good.

The LORD looks down from heaven
upon the sons of men
to see if any understand,
if any seek God.
All have turned away,
they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one. 𝙍

Will the workers of iniquity never learn?

They devour my people like bread;
they refuse to call upon the LORD.
There they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is in the company of the righteous.
You sinners frustrate the plans of the oppressed,
yet the LORD is their shelter.

Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!

When the LORD restores His captive people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!

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 fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.

Psalm prayer

God of heaven,
look with mercy on all who are consumed
by ignorance and greed,
and let the children of earth know
that you are God forever.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 25:1-9

O LORD, You are my God!

I will exalt You;
I will praise Your name.
For You have worked wonders—
plans formed long ago—
in perfect faithfulness.
Indeed, You have made the city a heap of rubble,
the fortified town a ruin.
The fortress of strangers is a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.
Therefore, a strong people will honor You.
The cities of ruthless nations will revere You.

For You have been a refuge for the poor,
a stronghold for the needy in distress,
a refuge from the storm,
a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
is like rain against a wall,
like heat in a dry land.
You subdue the uproar of foreigners.
As the shade of a cloud cools the heat,
so the song of the ruthless is silenced.

On this mountain the LORD of Hosts
will prepare a banquet for all the peoples,
a feast of aged wine, of choice meat,
of finely aged wine.
On this mountain He will swallow up
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
He will swallow up death forever.
The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face
and remove the disgrace of His people
from the whole earth.
For the LORD has spoken.
And in that day it will be said, “Surely this is our God;
we have waited for Him, and He has saved us.
This is the LORD for whom we have waited.
Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

I care very little, however, if I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who judges me.

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

𝙍: Look toward the east, O Jerusalem, and see the glory that is coming from God.

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: Look toward the east, O Jerusalem, and see the glory that is coming from God.

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, that she may be ready for the coming of Christ
The leaders of the church
The nations, that they may be subject to the rule of God
Those who are working for justice in the world
The broken, that they may find God’s healing

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 Lord Jesus Christ,
who at your first coming sent your messenger
to prepare your way before you:
grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise so prepare and make ready your way
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world
we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Awaiting his coming in glory, 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 Lord, when he comes,
find us watching and waiting.
Amen.