Mon. morning May 25
Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of all, to you be glory and praise forever. You founded the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands. In the fullness of time, you made us in your image, and in these last days you have spoken to us in your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. As we rejoice in the gift of your presence among us, let the light of your love always shine in our hearts, your Spirit ever renew our lives, and your praises ever be on our lips.
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
Seek the LORD while He may be found,
call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
and let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him,
and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
cf Isaiah 55
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Lord God, I have sinned against you; I have done what is evil in your sight. I am sorry and repent. Have mercy on me according to your lovingkindness. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Renew a right spirit within me, and restore unto me the joy of your salvation, through Jesus Christ my 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.
Blessed be the LORD,
because He has heard the voice of my supplications.
Therefore my heart rejoices,
and with my song I will thank Him.
cf Psalm 28:7,9
Psalm 123
𝙍: Our eyes wait upon the LORD our God.
Unto You do I lift up my eyes,
O You who are enthroned in the heavens.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God,
until He has mercy upon us.
𝙍: Our eyes wait upon the LORD our God.
Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,
for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorn of those who are at ease,
and with the contempt of the proud.
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: Our eyes wait upon the LORD our God.
Psalm prayer
Sovereign God, enthroned in the heavens, look upon us with your eyes of mercy, as we look on you with humility and love, and fill our souls with your peace through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 124
𝙍: Our help is in the name of the LORD.
If it had not been the LORD who was on our side—
let Israel now say—
if it had not been the LORD who was on our side,
when men rose up against us,
then they would have swallowed us alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
the stream would have gone over our soul;
then the raging waters
would have gone over our soul.
𝙍: Our help is in the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the LORD,
who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
Our soul has escaped
like a bird from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
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: Our help is in the name of the LORD.
Psalm prayer
O God, maker of heaven and earth, through the blood of your Son you have set us free; help us to put our trust in his victory and to know the salvation won for us by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 125
𝙍: Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God.
Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the LORD surrounds His people,
from this time forth and forevermore.
𝙍: Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God.
For the scepter of the wicked shall not rest
on the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous put forth
their hands to do wrong.
Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,
and to those who are upright in their hearts.
As for those who turn aside to their crooked ways,
the Lord will lead them away with the workers of iniquity.
Peace be upon Israel!
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: Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God.
Psalm prayer
God of power, you are strong to save, and you never fail those who trust in you; keep us under your protection and spread abroad your reign of peace through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 126
𝙍: The LORD has done great things for us.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then was our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with singing;
then said they among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are glad.
𝙍: The LORD has done great things for us.
Bring back our captives, O LORD,
like the streams in the Negev.
Those who sow in tears
shall reap with joy.
He who goes forth weeping,
bearing seed for sowing,
shall come home with rejoicing,
bringing his sheaves with him.
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 LORD has done great things for us.
Psalm prayer
Lord, as you send rain and flowers even to the wilderness, renew us by your Holy Spirit, help us to sow good seed in time of adversity and to live to rejoice in your good harvest of all creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Joshua 1
Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses: “Moses My servant is dead, so now get up and cross over the Jordan—you and all this people—to the land that I am giving to the Israelites. I have given you every place that the sole of your foot shall tread, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates River, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Mediterranean Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. No man will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, I will be with you. I will not abandon you. I will not leave you.
“Be strong and courageous, for you shall provide the land that I swore to their fathers to give them as an inheritance for this people. Be strong and very courageous, in order to act carefully in accordance with all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn aside from it to the right or the left, so that you may succeed wherever you go. This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth. Meditate on it day and night so that you may act carefully according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way successful, and you will be wise. Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare food, for in three days you will cross the Jordan to go to take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.’ ”
To the Reubenites, the Gadites, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you: ‘The LORD your God has given you a place for rest and will give this land.’ Your wives, your children, and your livestock may live in the land that Moses gave you on the east side of the Jordan. But you must cross over with your brothers fully armed, your mighty men of valor, and help them, until the LORD has given your brothers rest, as He has given you, and they also have possessed the land that the LORD your God is giving to them. Then you may return to your own land and possess what Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the east side of the Jordan where the sun rises.”
They answered Joshua, “All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, we will obey you. May the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses! Whoever rebels against your command and disobeys your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Luke 9:18-27
As He was alone praying, His disciples were with Him. And He asked them, “Who do the people say that I am?”
They answered, “John the Baptist. But some say Elijah. And others say that one of the old prophets has risen.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
Jesus strictly commanded them to tell no one of this, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”
Then He said to them all, “If anyone will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever will save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in His own glory and in the glory of His Father and of the holy angels.
“But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”
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 media and the arts
Farming and fishing
Commerce and industry
Those whose work is unfulfilling, stressful, or fraught with danger
All who are unemployed
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, from whom all good things come: grant to us your humble servants, that by your holy inspiration we may think those things that are good, and by your merciful guiding may perform 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
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
The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.