Sat. morning Sep. 12
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
He Leadeth Me
Confession of Sin
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor recompensed us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his mercy toward those who fear Him.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children,
so the LORD pities those who fear Him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
andall that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits.
Psalm 20
𝙍: We trust in the name of the LORD our God.
May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble;
may the name of the God of Jacob defend you;
may He send you help from the sanctuary,
and strengthen you from Zion;
may He remember all your offerings,
and accept your burnt sacrifice.
May He grant you your heart’s desire,
and fulfill all your plans.
We will rejoice in your salvation,
and in the name of our God we will set up our banners!
May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.
𝙍: We trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
with the saving strength of His right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
They have collapsed and fallen,
but we have risen and stand upright.
Save, O LORD!
May the King answer us when we call.
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: We trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Psalm prayer
Merciful God, purify our hearts in the flame of your Spirit and transform our toil into an offering of praise, that we may reject the proud rule of might and trust in Christ alone, for He is our Lord forever and ever.
Psalm 21
𝙍: The king trusts in the LORD.
The king will rejoice in Your strength, O LORD,
and in Your salvation how greatly will he rejoice!
You have given him his heart’s desire,
and have not withheld the request of his lips.
For You meet him with the blessings of goodness;
You set a crown of pure gold on his head.
He asked life of You, and You gave it to him,
length of days forever and ever.
𝙍: The king trusts in the LORD.
His glory is great in Your salvation;
honor and majesty You bestow on him.
For You have made him most blessed forever;
You have made him glad with the joy of Your presence.
For the king trusts in the LORD,
and by the lovingkindness of the Most High
he shall not be moved.
𝙍: The king trusts in the LORD.
Your hand will find out all Your enemies;
Your right hand will find out those who hate You.
You will make them like a fiery furnace
in the time of Your anger;
the LORD will swallow them up in His wrath,
and the fire will consume them.
You will destroy their offspring from the earth,
and their descendants from among the sons of men.
𝙍: The king trusts in the LORD.
For they intended evil against You;
they devised a plot which they are not able to perform.
Therefore You will put them to flight;
You will aim Your bows at their faces.
Be exalted, O LORD, in Your strength!
We will sing and praise Your power.
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 king trusts in the LORD.
Psalm prayer
Crown us, God, but with humility, and robe us with compassion, that, as you call us into the kingdom of your Son, we may strive to overcome all evil by the power of good, and so walk gently on the earth with you, our God, forever.
Psalm 23
𝙍: I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
𝙍: I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff,
they comfort me.
𝙍: I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life;
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
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: I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Psalm prayer
O God, our sovereign and shepherd, who brought again your Son Jesus Christ from the valley of death, comfort us with your protecting presence and your angels of goodness and love, that we also may come home and dwell with him in your house forever.
Old Testament reading
1 Kings 8:1-30
Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the Israelites, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, so that they could ensure that the ark of the covenant of the LORD would be brought out of the City of David in Zion. All the men of Israel assembled themselves before King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
All the elders of Israel came, and the priests carried the ark. The priests and Levites brought up the ark of the LORD, the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy implements that were in the tabernacle. King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled before him stood together in front of the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be told or numbered.
The priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Most Holy Place under the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and the poles from above. The poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen out in the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from outside, and they are there to this day. There was nothing in the ark except for the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb when the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites after they had come out of the land of Egypt.
And when the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not continue to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the LORD.
Then Solomon spoke, saying, “The LORD said that He would dwell in the thick darkness. I have surely built You a house to dwell in, a settled place for You to abide in forever.”
Then the king turned around and blessed all the congregation of Israel (and all the congregation of Israel stood), and he said,
“Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has with His hand fulfilled His word, saying, ‘Since the day that I brought forth My people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city from any tribe of Israel to build a house where My name might be praised, but I chose David to be over My people Israel.’
“My father David had it in mind to build a house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. The LORD said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for My name, you had good intentions. Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who will come out of your loins, he shall build the house for My name.’
“The LORD has fulfilled His word that He spoke, and I have been elevated to the position of my father David, to sit on the throne of Israel as the LORD promised, and have built a house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. I have set a place there for the ark, which houses the covenant of the LORD which He made with our fathers when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
Then Solomon stood in front of the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel and spread his hands toward heaven. and he said,
“LORD God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth below who keeps covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts, who have kept what You promised Your servant David my father. You spoke also with Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day.
“Therefore, LORD God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, ‘You will not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, so long as your sons take heed to their way, that they walk before Me as you have walked before Me.’ Now, O God of Israel, let Your word, I pray, be fulfilled, which You spoke to Your servant David my father.
“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less can this house that I have built? Yet give consideration to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplication, O LORD my God; listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today, that Your eyes may be upon this house night and day, even toward the place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that You may listen to the prayer which Your servant shall make toward this place. Please listen to the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. May You hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and when You hear, forgive.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 15:36-16:5
After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit our brothers in every city where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” Barnabas determined to take with them John, who was called Mark. But Paul thought it was not good to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. Then there arose a sharp contention, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brothers to the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Then he came to Derbe and then to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who believed, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers who were at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted him to travel with him. So he took him and circumcised him, because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to observe, that were set forth by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.
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:
Our homes, families, friends, and all whom we love
Those whose time is spent caring for others
Those who are close to death
Those who have lost hope
The worship of the church
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God, whose only Son has opened for us a new and living way into your presence: give us pure hearts and steadfast wills to worship you in spirit and in truth; 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.