Thu. morning Jul. 23
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
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
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 14
𝙍: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
The fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there is no one who does good.
The LORD looks down from heaven
on the sons of men,
to see if there are any who are wise,
who seek after God.
They have all gone astray;
they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
no, not one.
𝙍: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
Have they no knowledge, all the workers of iniquity,
who eat my people as they eat bread,
and do not call upon the LORD?
There they are in great fear,
for God is with the company of the righteous.
You shame the plans of the poor,
but the LORD is his refuge.
Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!
When the LORD turns back the captivity of His people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.
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 fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
Psalm prayer
God of heaven, look with mercy on all who are consumed by ignorance and greed, and let the children of earth know that you are God forever.
Psalm 15
𝙍: In the abundance of Your mercy I will enter Your house.
LORD, who will abide in Your tabernacle?
Who will dwell in Your holy hill?
He who walks uprightly,
and does righteousness,
and speaks truth in his heart;
he who does not slander with the tongue
and does no evil to his neighbor,
nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
but who honors those who fear the LORD;
he who swears against harm and does not change;
he who does not put his money out to usury,
nor takes a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
will never be moved.
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: In the abundance of Your mercy I will enter Your house.
Psalm prayer
Lord, lead us to our heavenly home by single steps of self-restraint and deeds of righteousness; through the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 16
𝙍: The LORD is at my right hand; I shall not be moved.
Preserve me, O God,
for in You I take refuge.
I have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
my welfare has no existence outside of You.”
For the holy ones in the land,
they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.
Those who choose another god
multiply their sorrows;
their drink offerings of blood I will not offer
nor take their names upon my lips.
O LORD, you are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You hold my lot.
The boundary lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
yes, I have a goodly inheritance.
𝙍: The LORD is at my right hand; I shall not be moved.
I will bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the LORD always before me;
because He is at my right hand,
I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my flesh also will rest secure.
For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
nor will You allow Your holy one to see corruption.
You will show me the path of life.
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
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 is at my right hand; I shall not be moved.
Psalm prayer
Give to us, Lord Christ, the fullness of grace, your presence and your very self, for you are our portion and our delight, now and forever.
Old Testament reading
1 Samuel 12
Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. And now, behold, the king walks before you, but I am old and gray-headed. As for my sons, they are with you. But I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. Behold, here I am. Witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I received any bribe to blind my eyes with? Indeed I will restore it to you.”
They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us. Neither have you taken anything from any man’s hand.”
He said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.”
And they answered, “He is witness.”
Samuel said to the people: “It is the LORD who prepared Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. Now therefore stand still that I may reason with you before the LORD, concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD, which He did for you and your fathers.
“When Jacob went into Egypt and your fathers cried out to the LORD, the LORD sent Moses and Aaron who brought forth your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place.
“When they forgot the LORD their God, He sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them. They cried to the LORD, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD and have served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ The LORD sent Jerub-Baal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel. And He delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you dwelt in safety.
“When you saw that Nahash, king of the Ammonites, came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king will reign over us,’ when the LORD your God was your king. And now behold the king whom you have chosen and for whom you have asked! Behold, the LORD has set a king over you. If you will fear the LORD, and serve Him, and obey His voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and the king that reigns over you will continue following the LORD your God. But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then will the hand of the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers.
“Even now, take your stand and see this great thing which the LORD is doing before your eyes. Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call to the LORD. And He will send thunder and rain, that you may know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, by asking for yourselves a king.”
So Samuel called to the LORD. And the LORD sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.
All the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we will not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.”
Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness, only do not turn aside from following the LORD, and serve the LORD with all your heart. But do not turn aside, for then you would be going after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. As befits His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people. For it has pleased the LORD to make you His people. Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you. But I will teach you the good and the right way. Fear the LORD; serve Him in truth with all your heart, and consider what great things He has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, both you and your king will be swept away.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Luke 22:47-62
While He was yet speaking, a crowd came. And he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said to him, “Judas, do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”
When those who were around Him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
But Jesus said, “This is enough!” And He touched his ear and healed him.
Then Jesus said to the chief priests, and captains of the temple guard, and the elders who had come for Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as against a rebel? Daily, while I was with you in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!”
Then they arrested Him, and led Him away, and brought Him into the high priest’s house. Peter followed at a distance. But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. Then a servant girl saw him as he sat near the fire, and gazed at him, and said, “This man was with Him.”
But he denied Him, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.”
A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”
Peter said, “Man, I am not!”
About an hour later another man firmly declared, “Certainly, this man also was with Him, for he is a Galilean.”
Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are saying.” Immediately, while he was yet speaking, the cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before the cock crows, you will deny Me three times.” And Peter went outside and wept bitterly.
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
Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: graft in our hearts the love of your name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and of your great mercy keep us in the same; 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
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.