Mon. morning Aug. 31
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
The Solid Rock (My Hope is Built)
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
2 Samuel 18:1-18
David mustered the people who were with him, and he set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. Then David dispatched the people, one-third under the command of Joab, one-third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah and brother of Joab, and one-third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. Then David said to the people, “I myself will go out with you.”
But the people said, “You should not go, for if we retreat, they will not be concerned about us. Even if half of us die, they will not be concerned about us. But now you are worth ten thousand of us. Therefore, it would be better to assist us from the city.”
The king said to them, “I will do what seems best to you.”
So the king stood beside the gate while all of the people went out by hundreds and thousands. The king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “Deal gently with the young man Absalom.” All of the people heard the king instruct the commanders concerning Absalom.
So the people went out toward Israel in the field, but the fighting occurred in the forest of Ephraim. The people of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David. That day the defeat was extensive, twenty thousand men. The fighting spread across the land, and the people consumed by the forest were more numerous than those consumed by the sword that day.
Absalom was encountered by some of the servants of David. Now Absalom was riding on his mule. When the mule went under the branches of a very large tree, his head was caught in the tree. He was left in midair while the mule that was under him kept going.
And a certain man saw him and told Joab, “Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in a tree.”
Joab said to the man who was reporting to him, “What? You saw him? Why did you not strike him on the spot, sending him to the ground? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a belt.”
The man said to Joab, “Not even if I had felt the weight of a thousand shekels of silver in my hand would I have laid a hand on the king’s son. In our hearing the king commanded you, Abishai, and Ittai saying: Beware lest anyone touch the young man Absalom! Otherwise, I would have worked falsehood against my own life. For nothing is hidden from the king, and you yourself would have set yourself against me.”
Then Joab said, “I will not waste any more time with you.” He took three spears in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the midst of the tree. Then ten young men, armor bearers for Joab, gathered around and struck down Absalom, killing him.
When Joab blew the horn, the people returned from pursuing Israel, for Joab held back the people. Then they took Absalom, disposed of him in a large pit in the forest, and piled over him a very large heap of stones. Then all Israel fled, everyone to his home.
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself a memorial stone in the Valley of the King, for he said, “I have no son by whom my name may be remembered.” So he named the memorial stone after himself; and to this day, it is called the monument of Absalom.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 10:34-48
Then Peter began to speak, saying, “Truthfully, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. But in every nation he who fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. The word which He sent to the Israelites, preaching peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, the word, which you know, that was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
“We are witnesses of all that He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. But God raised Him on the third day and presented Him publicly, not to all the people, but to witnesses previously chosen by God, to us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be the Judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets bear witness that whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins through His name.”
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the word. All the believers of the circumcision who had come with Peter were astonished, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in other tongues and magnifying God.
Then Peter continued, “Can anyone forbid water for baptizing these, who have received the Holy Spirit as we have?” So he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.
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
Almighty God, who called your Church to bear witness that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself: help us to proclaim the good news of your love, that all who hear it may be drawn to you; through him who was lifted up on the cross, 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.