Sat. morning Apr. 18
Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
In your resurrection, O Christ,
let heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation, to you be praise and glory forever. As once you ransomed your people from Egypt and led them to freedom in the promised land, so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son. May we, the first fruits of your new creation, rejoice in this new day you have made, and praise you for your mighty acts.
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 Looks Up to Thee
Words: Ray Palmer (1875)
Music: Lowell Mason (1831)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#351)
My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray,
take all my guilt away;
O let me from this day
be wholly Thine.
May Thy rich grace impart
strength to my fainting heart,
my zeal inspire;
as Thou hast died for me,
O may my love to Thee
pure, warm, and changeless be,
a living fire.
While life’s dark maze I tread,
and griefs around me spread,
be Thou my Guide;
bid darkness turn to day,
wipe sorrow’s tears away,
nor let me ever stray
from Thee aside.
When ends life's transient dream,
when death’s cold, sullen stream
shall o'er me roll,
blest Savior, then in love,
fear and distrust remove;
O bear me safe above,
a ransomed soul.
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 63
𝙍: My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
O God, You are my God;
early will I seek You;
my soul thirsts for You;
my flesh longs for You,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary,
beholding Your power and Your glory.
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
my lips shall praise You.
Thus will I bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
𝙍: My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
When I remember You upon my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches,
for You have been my help.
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings will I rejoice.
My soul clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me.
𝙍: My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
But those who seek my soul, to destroy it,
shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
They shall fall by the sword;
they shall be prey for jackals.
But the king shall rejoice in God;
everyone who swears by Him shall glory,
for the mouths of those who speak lies shall be stopped.
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: My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
Psalm prayer
To you we come, radiant Lord, the goal of all our desiring, beyond all earthly beauty; gentle protector, strong deliverer, in the night you are our confidence; from first light be our joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 84
𝙍: Blessed are those who dwell in Your house.
How lovely is Your dwelling place,
O LORD of Hosts!
My soul longs and even yearns
for the courtyards of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at Your altars,
O LORD of Hosts, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;
they will still be praising You.
𝙍: Blessed are those who dwell in Your house.
Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
in whose heart are the paths to Zion.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a spring;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
every one of them appears in Zion before God.
𝙍: Blessed are those who dwell in Your house.
O LORD God of Hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob!
Behold our shield, O God,
and look upon the face of Your anointed.
For a day in Your courtyards is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
𝙍: Blessed are those who dwell in Your house.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD will give grace and glory;
no good thing will He withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O LORD of Hosts,
blessed is the man who trusts in You.
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: Blessed are those who dwell in Your house.
Psalm prayer
Lord God, sustain us in this vale of tears with the vision of your grace and glory, that, strengthened by the bread of life, we may come to your eternal dwelling place; in the power of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Exodus 18:13-27
On the next day, Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from the morning until the evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why are you sitting by yourself while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?”
Then Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”
Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. You will surely wear yourself out, both you, and these people who are with you, for this thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it by yourself. Now listen to me, I will advise you, and may God be with you: You be a representative for the people to God so that you may bring their disputes to God. And you shall teach them the statutes and laws and shall show them the way in which they must walk and the work that they must do. Moreover, you shall choose out of all the people capable men who fear God, men of truth, hating dishonest gain, and place these men over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. Let them judge the people at all times, and let it be that every difficult matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they shall judge, so that it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you shall do this thing and God commands you so, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their place in peace.”
So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything that he had said. Moses chose capable men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. They judged the people at all times. They brought the difficult cases to Moses, but they judged every small matter themselves.
Moses sent out his father-in-law, and he went his way to his own land.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Colossians 4:2-18
Continue in prayer, and be watchful with thanksgiving, while praying also for us, that God would open to us a door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may reveal it clearly, as I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, wisely using the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you should answer everyone.
Tychicus, who is a beloved brother and a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that he might know your circumstances and comfort your hearts, with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you everything which is happening here.
Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you received instructions: If he comes to you, receive him), and Jesus, who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision. They have been a comfort to me. Epaphras greets you. He is one of you, a servant of Christ, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand mature and complete in the entire will of God. I bear witness of him, that he has a great zeal for you, those who are in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you. Greet the brothers who are in Laodicea, and Nympha, and the church which is in his house.
When this epistle is read among you, ensure that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you, likewise, read the epistle from Laodicea.
Tell Archippus, “Make sure that you fulfill the ministry which you have received in the Lord.”
I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Amen.
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:
The people of God, that they may proclaim the risen Lord
God’s creation, that the peoples of the earth may meet their responsibility to care
Those in despair and darkness, that they may find the hope and light of Christ
Those in fear of death, that they may find faith through the resurrection
Prisoners and captives
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 Father, you have given your only Son to die for our sins and to rise again for our justification: grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness that we may always serve you in pureness of living and truth; through the merits of your Son Jesus Christ 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
Rejoicing in God’s new creation, 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 risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
Amen.