Thu. morning Jul. 9
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
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
Confession of Sin
When we cry to the LORD in our trouble,
He will save us from our distress.
God will bring us out of darkness
and out of the shadow of death.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
May the Father forgive us by the death of his Son, and strengthen us to live in the power of the Spirit all our days.
Amen.
Let us give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
and for His wonderful works to all people!
Let us offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and declare God’s works with rejoicing.
cf Psalm 107
Psalm 113
𝙍: From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised.
Praise the LORD!
Praise, O servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore.
From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the LORD is to be praised.
The LORD is high above all nations,
and His glory above the heavens.
𝙍: From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised.
Who is like the LORD our God,
who dwells on high,
who looks far down
on the heavens and on the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust,
and lifts the needy out of the ash heap,
to seat him with princes,
with the princes of His people.
He gives the barren woman a home,
to be a joyful mother of children.
Praise 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: From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised.
Psalm prayer
From the rising of the sun to its setting, we praise your name, Lord; may your promise to raise the poor from the dust and turn the fortunes of the needy upside down be fulfilled in our time also, as it was in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 115
𝙍: The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us.
Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us,
but unto Your name give glory,
for the sake of Your mercy, for the sake of Your truth.
Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
But our God is in the heavens;
He does whatever He pleases.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of men’s hands.
𝙍: The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us.
They have mouths, but they do not speak;
they have eyes, but they do not see;
they have ears, but they do not hear;
they have noses, but they do not smell;
they have hands, but they do not feel;
they have feet, but they do not walk,
nor do they make a sound with their throat.
Those who make them are like them;
so is everyone who trusts in them.
𝙍: The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us.
O Israel, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and their shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and their shield.
You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and their shield.
The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
He will bless those who fear the LORD,
both small and great.
𝙍: The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us.
May the LORD give you increase,
you and your children.
May you be blessed by the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
The heavens are the LORD’s heavens,
but the earth has He given to the sons of men.
The dead do not praise the LORD,
nor do any who go down into silence.
But we will bless the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore.
Praise 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: The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us.
Psalm prayer
Living God, defend us from the idols which our hearts enthrone, that we may not go down into silence but be raised to our heaven of heavens in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
1 Samuel 2:27-36
A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Did I not plainly reveal Myself to the house of your father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? And choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before Me? And I gave to the house of your father all the offerings made by fire by the Israelites? Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering, which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?’
“Therefore the LORD God of Israel says, ‘I surely said that your house, and the house of your father, should walk before Me forever,’ but now the LORD says, ‘Far be it from Me to do so, for those who honor Me, I will honor, and those that despise Me will be humbled. Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your authority and the strength of your father’s house, so there shall not be an old man in your house. You shall see the distress of My dwelling, despite all the good which will be done for Israel. And there shall not be an elderly man in your house perpetually. Yet the one I do not cut off from My altar will be spared so your eyes will not stop weeping or your soul grieving. All the increase of your house will die in their prime.
“ ‘This will be the sign to you which will come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: In one day, they will both die. And I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest; what is in My heart and in My soul he will do it. And I will build him a sure house, and it will walk before My anointed forever. But it will be that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and will say, Please attach me to one of the priestly offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.’ ”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Luke 20:9-19
He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, and leased it to vinedressers, and went to a distant country for a long time. At harvest time he sent a servant to the vinedressers so they might give him some fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again, he sent another servant. But they beat him also, and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. Once again, he sent a third. And they wounded him also and drove him out.
“Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him when they see him.’
“But when the vinedressers saw him, they debated among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’ So they drove him out of the vineyard and killed him.
“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill these vinedressers and will give the vineyard to others.”
When they heard this, they said, “May it not be so!”
He looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written:
‘The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone’ ?
Whoever falls on that stone will be broken. But he on whom it falls will be crushed to powder.”
The chief priests and the scribes tried to lay their hands on Him that same hour, but they feared the people. For they perceived that He had told this parable against 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:
Local government, community leaders
All who provide local services
Those who work with young or elderly people
Schools, colleges, and universities
Emergency and rescue organizations
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
In faith we pray
We pray to you, our God.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified: hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people, that in their vocation and ministry they may serve you in holiness and truth to the glory of your name; through our Lord and Savior 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.