Fri. morning Jun. 5
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
And Can It Be
Confession of Sin
O King enthroned on high, filling the earth with your glory: holy is your name, Lord God Almighty.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
In our sinfulness, we cry to you to take our guilt away, and to cleanse our lips to speak your word, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
May the God of all healing and forgiveness draw us to himself, and cleanse us from all our sins that we may behold the glory of his Son, the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Psalm 17
𝙍: Deliver me, O LORD, by your hand.
Hear a just cause, O LORD,
attend to my cry;
give ear to my prayer
that is not from deceitful lips.
Let my vindication come from Your presence;
let Your eyes behold the things that are right.
You have tried my heart; You have visited me by night;
You have tested me and found nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
Concerning the works of men,
by the word of Your lips
I have avoided
the paths of the violent.
Keep my steps in Your paths,
that my footsteps may not slip.
𝙍: Deliver me, O LORD, by your hand.
I have called upon You, for You will answer me, O God;
incline Your ear to me, and hear my words.
Wondrously show Your lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O Savior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries.
Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
hide me in the shadow of Your wings,
from the wicked who oppress me,
from my deadly enemies who surround me.
𝙍: Deliver me, O LORD, by your hand.
They close their hard hearts;
with their mouths they speak proudly.
They have now surrounded us in our steps;
they have set their eyes to cast me to the ground,
like a lion eager to rip its prey,
and like a young lion lurking in secret places.
𝙍: Deliver me, O LORD, by your hand.
Arise, O LORD! Confront him, cast him down!
Deliver my soul from the wicked by Your sword,
from men by Your hand, O LORD,
from men of the world whose portion is in this life.
You fill their belly with Your treasure;
they are satisfied with children,
and they leave their abundance to their infants.
As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.
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: Deliver me, O LORD, by your hand.
Psalm prayer
Generous Lord, deliver us from all envious thoughts, and when we are tempted by the desire for wealth, let us see your face; for your abundance is enough to clothe our lack; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 19
𝙍: The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech,
and night unto night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor are there words
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice has gone out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them He has set a tent for the sun,
which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
and rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
Its rising is from one end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
𝙍: The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
converting the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple;
the statutes of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring forever;
the decrees of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
yes, than much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is Your servant warned,
and in keeping them there is great reward.
𝙍: The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I will be upright,
and I will be innocent of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.
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 commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Psalm prayer
Christ, the sun of righteousness, rise in our hearts this day, enfold us in the brightness of your love and bear us at the last to heaven’s horizon; for your love’s sake.
Old Testament reading
Joshua 9:3-26
But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they acted craftily, and took old sacks on their donkeys, and old wineskins, torn and mended, old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves. All the bread of their provision was dry and crumbly. They went to Joshua at the Gilgal settlement and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant land. Now make a pact with us.”
Then the Israelites said to these Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us, so how could we make a pact with you?”
Yet they said to Joshua, “We are your slaves.”
Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and where do you come from?”
They said to him, “We, your slaves, have come from a very distant land because of the name of the LORD your God, for we heard news of Him and all He did in Egypt and all that He did to the two Amorite kings on the other side of the Jordan, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan in Ashtaroth. So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take food provisions for the journey and go to meet them. Say to them, “We are your slaves. So now, make a pact with us.” ’ This bread of ours was hot as we took it from our homes on the day we left to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. These wineskins that we filled were new, and behold, they are ripped open. These clothes and sandals wore out due to the very long journey.”
So the men examined some of the food provisions, but they did not ask the LORD about it. Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.
Three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were neighbors to them and lived among them. So the Israelites set out and came to their cities on the third day. Their cities were Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. Now the Israelites did not attack them, for the leaders of the congregation had sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel, so the congregation murmured against the leaders.
Yet all the leaders said to the whole congregation, “We swore to them by the LORD God of Israel, so now we may not harm them. This is what we will do to them. We will let them live so that wrath will not come upon us due to the oath that we swore to them.” The leaders of the congregation also said to them, “Let them live!” So they became woodcutters and water carriers for the whole congregation, as the leaders told them.
Joshua met them and said, “Why did you trick us, saying, ‘We are very distant from you,’ but you are living in our midst? Therefore now you are cursed, and you will always be slaves, cutting wood and carrying water for the house of my God.”
They answered Joshua, “It was told to your slaves that the LORD your God commanded Moses His servant to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you. So we were very afraid for our lives, and we did this thing. Now behold, we are in your hands. Do to us whatever is good and right in your eyes.”
Thus he did to them, and delivered them from the hand of the Israelites; and they did not kill them. That day he made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and the altar of the LORD, even to this day, at the place He would choose.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Luke 11:29-36
When the crowds pressed upon Him, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It looks for a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And behold, One greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore lest the light which is in you is darkness. If your whole body, then, is full of light, no part being dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”
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:
Political leaders and the armed forces
Peace and justice in the world
Those who work for reconciliation
All whose lives are devastated by war and civil strife
Prisoners, refugees, and homeless people
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty and everlasting God, you have given us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity and in the power of the divine majesty to worship the Unity: keep us steadfast in this faith, that we may evermore be defended from all adversities; 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
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
The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.