Sat. morning Mar. 21
Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
Hear my voice, O LORD, according to your loving devotion;
give me life according to your justice.
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
Lead On, O King Eternal
Words: Ernest W. Shurtleff (1887)
Music: Henry T. Smart (1835)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#478)
Lead on, O King eternal,
the day of march has come;
henceforth in fields of conquest
your tents will be our home.
Through days of preparation
your grace has made us strong;
and now, O King eternal,
we lift our battle song.
Lead on, O King eternal,
till sin's fierce war shall cease,
and holiness shall whisper
the sweet amen of peace.
For not with swords' loud clashing
or roll of stirring drums
with deeds of love and mercy
the heavenly kingdom comes.
Lead on, O King eternal;
we follow, not with fears,
for gladness breaks like morning
where'er your face appears.
Your cross is lifted o'er us,
we journey in its light;
the crown awaits the conquest;
lead on, O God of might.
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 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
Exodus 7:8-25
Now the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “When Pharaoh shall speak to you, saying, ‘Show a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod, and throw it before Pharaoh,’ and it shall become a serpent.”
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, and they did what the LORD had commanded. And Aaron threw down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers. Then the magicians of Egypt likewise performed with their secret arts. For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. Nonetheless, Pharaoh’s heart hardened so that he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.
The LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened. He refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the water, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him. You must take the rod which was turned to a serpent in your hand. Then you are to say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness.” But up to this point you have not listened! Thus says the LORD, “In this you shall know that I am the LORD: Behold, I will strike the waters of the Nile with the rod that is in my hand, and they shall be turned to blood. And the fish that are in the river shall die, and the river shall stink so that the Egyptians shall be weary of drinking the river’s water.” ’ ”
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their canals, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, so that they may become blood. And there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’ ”
Moses and Aaron did so, just as the LORD commanded. And he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants, and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river. Blood was everywhere throughout the land of Egypt.
Nevertheless, the magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had said. Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not concern himself with this either. So all the Egyptians dug around about the river for water to drink, because they could not drink of the water of the river.
Seven days passed after the LORD had struck the river.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Hebrews 11:1-16
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the men of old obtained a good report.
By faith we understand that the ages were set by the word of God, so that things that are seen were not made out of things which are visible.
By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain offered. Through this he was approved as righteous, with God testifying concerning his gifts. He still speaks through his faith, though he is dead.
By faith Enoch was taken to heaven so that he would not see death. He was not found, because God took him away. For before he was taken, he had this commendation, that he pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.
By faith Noah, being divinely warned about things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to save his family, by which he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out into a place which he would later receive as an inheritance. He went out not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the promised land, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs of the same promise, for he was looking for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. By faith Sarah herself also received the ability to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, who was as good as dead, sprang so many, a multitude as the stars of the sky and innumerable as the sand by the seashore.
These all died in faith not having received the promises, but having seen them from afar were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Those who say such things declare plainly that they are looking for a homeland. And certainly, if they had been thinking of the country out of which they came, they might have had the opportunity to return. But they desired a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
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
Loving God, we look to you.
Receive our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Merciful Lord, absolve your people from their offenses, that through your bountiful goodness we may all be delivered from the chains of those sins which by our frailty we have committed; grant this, heavenly Father, for Jesus Christ’s sake, our blessed Lord and Savior, 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.