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 Love of God
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 1
𝙍: The LORD knows the way of the righteous.
Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
or stand in the path of sinners,
or sit in the seat of mockers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that brings forth its fruit in its season;
its leaf will not wither,
and whatever he does will prosper.
𝙍: The LORD knows the way of the righteous.
The wicked are not so,
but are like the chaff
which the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
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 knows the way of the righteous.
Psalm prayer
Christ our wisdom, give us delight in your law, that we may bear fruits of patience and peace in the kingdom of the righteous; for your mercy’s sake.
Psalm 2
𝙍: The LORD is the strength of His people, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
Why do the nations rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD
and against His anointed, saying,
“Let us tear off their bonds
and cast away their ropes from us.”
𝙍: The LORD is the strength of His people, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the LORD ridicules them.
Then He will speak to them in His wrath
and terrify them in His burning anger:
“I have set My king
on Zion, My holy hill.”
𝙍: The LORD is the strength of His people, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
I will declare the decree of the LORD:
He said to me, “You are My son;
today have I begotten you.
Ask of Me,
and I will give you the nations for your inheritance,
and the ends of the earth for your possession.
You will break them with a rod of iron;
you will dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
𝙍: The LORD is the strength of His people, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
Now then, you kings, be wise;
be admonished, you judges of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear;
and tremble with trepidation!
Kiss the son, lest He become angry,
and you perish in the way,
when His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all who seek refuge in 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 is the strength of His people, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
Psalm prayer
Most high and holy God, lift our eyes to your Son enthroned on Calvary; and as we behold his meekness, shatter our earthly pride; for he is Lord forever and ever.
Psalm 3
𝙍: You, O LORD, are a shield for me.
LORD, how my foes have multiplied!
Many rise up against me!
Many are saying about my life,
“There is no help for him in God.”
𝙍: You, O LORD, are a shield for me.
But You, O LORD, are a shield for me,
my glory, and the One who lifts up my head.
I cried to the LORD with my voice,
and He answered me from His holy hill.
I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the LORD sustained me.
I will not be afraid of multitudes of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
𝙍: You, O LORD, are a shield for me.
Arise, O LORD;
save me, O my God!
For You have struck all my enemies on the cheek;
You have broken the teeth of the wicked.
Salvation belongs to the LORD.
Your blessing is on Your people.
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: You, O LORD, are a shield for me.
Psalm prayer
Shield us, Lord, from all evil, and lift us from apathy and despair, that even when we are terrified, we may trust your power to save; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Exodus 22:21-27; 23:1-17
You must neither wrong a foreigner nor oppress him, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. If you afflict them in any way and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry. And My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will become widows, and your children fatherless.
If you lend money to any of My people who is poor among you, do not be to him a usurer, and do not lay upon him usury. If you take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, for that is his only covering; it is his garment for his body. In what else will he sleep? And when he cries out to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious.
You must not give a false report. Do not join your hand with the wicked to be a malicious witness.
You must not follow the masses to do evil, and do not testify in a dispute that agrees with the crowd to pervert justice. You must not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute.
If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely return it to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying under its burden, you must not ignore it; you must surely help him with it.
You shall not turn justice away from your poor in his dispute. Keep far away from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not justify the wicked.
You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and subverts the words of the righteous.
Also you shall not oppress a foreigner, for you know the life of a foreigner, seeing you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
You shall sow your land for six years and shall gather in its produce, but in the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor of your people may eat, and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard and with your olive grove.
For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the foreigner may refresh themselves.
In all things that I have said to you, watch yourselves, and do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth.
Three times in the year you must celebrate a feast to Me.
You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month Aviv, for in it you came out from Egypt.
No one shall appear before Me empty-handed.
You shall observe the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors, which you have sown in the field.
You shall observe the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.
Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord GOD.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
1 Timothy 6:1-10
Let as many servants as are under the yoke of slavery count their own masters worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and His teaching may not be slandered. Let those who have believing masters not despise them, because they are brothers. Instead, let them serve as slaves, because those who receive their service are faithful and beloved.
Teach and command these things. Anyone who teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to godly teaching is conceited and knows nothing. He has a morbid disposition for controversy and verbal disputes, from which come envy, strife, blasphemies, evil speculations, constant disputes by men of corrupt minds, being destitute of the truth, and supposing that financial gain is godliness. Withdraw yourself from such men.
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with these things. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and harmful lusts, which drown men in ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all evil. While coveting after money, some have strayed from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
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
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: help us so to hear them, to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them that, through patience, and the comfort of your holy word, we may embrace and for ever hold fast the hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our 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.