Mon. morning Mar. 2
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
My Faith Has Found a Resting Place
Words: Lidie H. Edmonds (1891)
Music: Norse melody
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#135)
My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device nor creed.
I trust the ever-living One;
His wounds for me shall plead.
Refrain:
I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that he died for me.
Enough for me that Jesus saves,
This ends my fear and doubt;
A sinful soul, I come to Him,
He’ll never cast me out. [Refrain]
My heart is leaning on the Word,
The written Word of God,
Salvation by my Savior’s name,
Salvation through his blood. [Refrain]
My Great Physician heals the sick,
The lost He came to save;
For me his precious blood he shed,
For me his life he gave. [Refrain]
Confession of Sin
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Silence may be kept.
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life.
Amen.
Psalm 26
𝙍: LORD, I love the place where Your glory dwells.
Vindicate me, O LORD,
for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the LORD;
therefore I will not waver.
Examine me, O LORD, and prove me;
try my mind and my heart.
For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,
and I have walked in Your truth.
I have not sat with the worthless,
nor will I consort with hypocrites.
𝙍: LORD, I love the place where Your glory dwells.
I have hated the assembly of evildoers,
and will not sit with the wicked.
I will wash my hands in innocence;
thus will I go around Your altar, O LORD,
that I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving,
and tell of all Your wondrous works.
LORD, I have loved the habitation of Your house,
and the place where Your glory dwells.
𝙍: LORD, I love the place where Your glory dwells.
Do not gather my soul with sinners,
nor my life with murderers,
in whose hands is wickedness,
and whose right hand is full of bribes.
But as for me, I will walk in my integrity;
redeem me and be gracious to me.
My foot stands on level ground;
in the congregations I will bless the LORD.
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: LORD, I love the place where Your glory dwells.
Psalm prayer
Have mercy on us and redeem us, Lord, for our merits are your mercies, and in your judgment is our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 32
𝙍: Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones.
Blessed is he
whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man
against whom the LORD imputes no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
When I kept silent,
my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night
Your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was turned
into the drought of summer.
𝙍: Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones.
I acknowledged my sin to You,
and my iniquity I did not conceal.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD,”
and You forgave
the iniquity of my sin.
For this cause everyone who is godly will pray to You
in a time when You may be found;
surely in the flood of great waters,
they shall not reach him.
You are my hiding place;
You will preserve me from trouble;
You will surround me with songs of deliverance.
𝙍: Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Do not be like the horse or like the mule,
which have no understanding,
which must be restrained with bit and bridle,
or they will not come near you.
Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but lovingkindness will surround
the man who trusts in the LORD.
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones;
and shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart!
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: Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones.
Psalm prayer
Give us honest hearts, O God, and send your kindly Spirit to help us confess our sins and bring us the peace of your forgiveness; in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Genesis 43:16-34
When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the house steward, “Bring these men home, slaughter an animal and prepare it, for these men will dine with me at noon.”
The man did as Joseph ordered, so the man brought the men into Joseph’s house. The men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph’s house. They said, “We have been brought in because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time, so that he may seek occasion against us and fall upon us and take us for slaves with our donkeys.”
They approached the steward of Joseph’s house, and they spoke with him at the entrance of the house. They said, “My lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food. When we came to the lodging place, we opened our sacks and realized every man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. So we have brought it again with us. We have also brought additional money with us to buy food. We cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.”
He said, “Be at peace; do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks. I had your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.
The man brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water to wash their feet and gave feed to their donkeys. Then they made ready the gift for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they would be eating a meal there.
When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present that they had with them and bowed themselves to him to the ground. He asked them about their well-being and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”
And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health. He is still alive.” And they bowed down their heads and prostrated themselves.
He lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” Joseph hurried out, for he was deeply moved over his brother and sought a place to weep. So he entered into his chamber and wept there.
Then he washed his face and came out. Controlling himself, he said, “Serve the food.”
They served him by himself and them by themselves and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat a meal with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. They sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, and the men looked at one another in astonishment. He gave them portions from his own table, but Benjamin’s serving was five times more than any of theirs. So they drank and feasted with him.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Hebrews 1
God, who at various times and in diverse ways spoke long ago to the fathers through the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the ages. He is the brightness of His glory, the express image of Himself, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. He was made so much better than the angels as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.
For to which of the angels did He at any time say:
“You are My Son;
today I have become Your Father” ?
Or again,
“I will be a Father to Him,
and He shall be a Son to Me” ?
And again, when He brings the firstborn into the world, He says:
“Let all the angels of God worship Him.”
Of the angels He says:
“He makes His angels spirits,
and His servants a flame of fire.”
But to the Son He says:
“Your throne, O God, lasts forever and ever;
a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
And,
“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
and the heavens are the works of Your hands.
They will perish, but You remain;
and they all will wear out like a garment;
as a cloak You will fold them up,
and they will be changed.
But You are the same,
and Your years will not end.”
But to which of the angels did He at any time say:
“Sit at My right hand,
until I make Your enemies
Your footstool” ?
Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to minister to those who will inherit salvation?
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 of life
In your mercy, hear us.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God, you show to those who are in error the light of your truth, that they may return to the way of righteousness: grant to all those who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ's religion, that they may reject those things that are contrary to their profession, and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same; through our Lord Jesus Christ, 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.