Fri. morning Feb. 20
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Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
Hear my voice according to your lovingkindness.
O LORD, give me life according to your judgment.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, God of compassion and mercy, to you be praise and glory forever. In the darkness of our sin, your light breaks forth like the dawn and your healing springs up for deliverance. As we rejoice in the gift of your saving help, sustain us with your bountiful Spirit and open our lips to sing your praise.
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
Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus
Words: George Duffield, Jr. (1858)
Music: George J. Webb (1830)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#477)
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
ye soldiers of the cross;
lift high His royal banner,
it must not suffer loss.
From vict'ry unto vict'ry
His army shall He lead,
till ev'ry foe is vanquished,
and Christ is Lord indeed.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
the trumpet call obey;
forth to the mighty conflict,
in this His glorious day.
Ye that are brave now serve him
against unnumbered foes;
let courage rise with danger,
and strength to strength oppose.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
stand in His strength alone;
the arm of flesh will fail you,
ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the gospel armor,
each piece put on with prayer;
where duty calls or danger,
be never wanting there.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
the strife will not be long;
this day the noise of battle,
the next the victor's song.
To him who overcometh
a crown of life shall be;
they with the King of Glory
shall reign eternally.
Confession of Sin
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor recompensed us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his mercy toward those who fear Him.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children,
so the LORD pities those who fear Him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits.
Psalm 3
𝙍: You, O LORD, are a shield for me.
LORD, how my foes have multiplied!
Many rise up against me!
Many are saying about my life,
“There is no help for him in God.”
𝙍: You, O LORD, are a shield for me.
But You, O LORD, are a shield for me,
my glory, and the One who lifts up my head.
I cried to the LORD with my voice,
and He answered me from His holy hill.
I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the LORD sustained me.
I will not be afraid of multitudes of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
𝙍: You, O LORD, are a shield for me.
Arise, O LORD;
save me, O my God!
For You have struck all my enemies on the cheek;
You have broken the teeth of the wicked.
Salvation belongs to the LORD.
Your blessing is on Your people.
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, are a shield for me.
Psalm prayer
Shield us, Lord, from all evil, and lift us from apathy and despair, that even when we are terrified, we may trust your power to save; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 7
𝙍: Grant me justice, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity within me.
O LORD my God, in You I put my trust;
save me from all those who persecute me, and deliver me,
lest they tear my soul like a lion,
rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
O LORD my God, if I have done this,
if there is iniquity in the palms of my hands,
if I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me,
or have delivered my adversary without cause,
then may the enemy pursue my life and overtake me;
may my enemy trample my life to the ground,
and lay my honor in the dust.
𝙍: Grant me justice, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity within me.
Arise, O LORD, in Your anger;
rise up because of the rage of my adversaries,
and awaken Yourself for me; You have commanded justice.
So shall the congregation of the peoples surround You;
For their sakes, therefore, return on high.
The LORD will judge the peoples;
grant me justice, O LORD, according to my righteousness,
and according to my integrity within me.
May the evil of the wicked come to an end;
may You vindicate the righteous;
You are a righteous God who examines the minds and hearts.
𝙍: Grant me justice, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity within me.
My defense depends on God,
who saves the upright in heart.
God is a righteous judge,
and God has indignation every day.
If a man does not repent,
God will sharpen His sword;
He has bent His bow and made it ready.
He has prepared for Himself deadly weapons;
He makes His arrows flaming shafts.
𝙍: Grant me justice, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity within me.
Behold, the wicked man writhes in pain of iniquity;
he has conceived mischief and brought forth falsehood.
He who digs a hole and hollows it
will then fall into his own pit.
His mischief will return on his own head;
his violence will descend on the crown of his own head.
I will thank the LORD according to His righteousness,
and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.
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: Grant me justice, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity within me.
Psalm prayer
Lord, your justice turns evil on itself: move us to examine our hearts and repent of all duplicity; for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Judge and righteous Savior.
Old Testament reading
Genesis 40
Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, with the chief of the cupbearers and with the chief of the bakers. So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he attended to them.
They continued to be in confinement for some time. Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation.
Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them and realized they were sad. So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in the care of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?”
And they said to him, “We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter for it.”
Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”
The chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream, a vine was in front of me. And in the vine there were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms shot forth and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.”
Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it. The three branches are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand in the same way you did before when you were his cupbearer. But remember me when it is well with you, and show kindness, I pray you, to me, and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. For I was indeed kidnapped out of the land of the Hebrews, and I have done nothing that they should put me in the dungeon.”
When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and I had three white baskets on my head. In the uppermost basket there was all manner of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”
And Joseph answered, “This is the interpretation: The three baskets are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat the flesh from you.”
It happened on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker among his servants. He restored the chief cupbearer to his position again, and he put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand. However, he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them.
Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Galatians 3:1-14
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified. I want to learn only this from you: Did you receive the Spirit through the works of the law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Have you endured so many things for nothing, if indeed it was for nothing? Does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by hearing with faith? Even Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Therefore know that those who are of faith are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel in advance to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
For all who rely on the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the Book of the Law, to do them.” Now it is evident that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, for “The just shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, for “The man who does them shall live by them.” Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by being made a curse for us—as it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” — so that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
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:
Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
Those serving through leadership
Those looking for forgiveness
Those misled by the false gods of this present age
All who are hungry
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing that you have made and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent: create and make in us new and contrite hearts that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may receive from you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; 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
Trusting in the compassion of God, 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 our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
Amen.