Fri. morning Aug. 21
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
Now Thank We All Our God
Confession of Sin
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Silence may be kept.
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life.
Amen.
Psalm 88
𝙍: You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.
O LORD, God of my salvation,
I cry out day and night before You.
Let my prayer come before You;
incline Your ear to my cry.
For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
I am counted with those who go down to the pit;
I am like a man without strength,
abandoned among the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom You remember no more,
and who are cut off from Your hand.
𝙍: You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.
You have laid me in the depths of the pit,
in the dark and deep regions.
Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and You have afflicted me with all Your waves.
You have removed my acquaintances far from me;
You have made me an abomination to them;
I am shut in and I cannot get out;
my eyes grow dim from affliction.
𝙍: You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.
LORD, I have called daily upon You;
I have stretched out my hands to You.
Will You work wonders for the dead?
Shall the dead arise and praise You?
Will Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
Will Your wonders be known in the darkness,
or Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
𝙍: You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.
But to You have I cried out, O LORD,
and in the morning my prayer comes before You.
O LORD, why do You cast my soul away?
Why do You hide Your face from me?
Afflicted and close to death since my youth,
I suffer Your terrors; I am helpless.
Your fierce wrath has swept over me;
Your terrors have destroyed me.
They surround me all day long like a flood;
they encircled me altogether.
Lover and friend have You removed far from me;
My acquaintances have become darkness.
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 are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.
Psalm prayer
In the depths of our isolation we cry to you, Lord God; give light in our darkness and bring us out of the prison of our despair through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 95
𝙍: Come, let us worship and bow down.
O come, let us sing to the LORD;
let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms!
For the LORD is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
𝙍: Come, let us worship and bow down.
In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are His also.
The sea is His, for He made it,
and His hands formed the dry land.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the LORD, our maker!
For He is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture,
and the sheep of His hand.
𝙍: Come, let us worship and bow down.
Today, if you will hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day of Massah in the wilderness,
when your fathers tested Me; they tried Me,
though they had seen My work.
For forty years I loathed that generation,
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they do not know My ways.”
Therefore I swore in My wrath,
“They shall not enter My rest.”
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: Come, let us worship and bow down.
Psalm prayer
Jesus our redeemer, you bore the cut of the lash for us and our salvation; help us to bear our sufferings and to share in the affliction of all who suffer for your holy name.
Old Testament reading
2 Samuel 7:18-29
Then King David went in and sat before the LORD. He said,
“Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house that You have brought me this far? Yet this was comparatively insignificant in Your sight, Lord GOD, for You have also spoken about Your servant’s house into the distant future. Is this Your manner with man, Lord GOD?
“What more can David say to You? You know Your servant, Lord GOD. Because of Your word, according to Your will, You have done all of this greatness to inform Your servant.
“Therefore You are great, LORD God. There is none like You, and there is no God except You, according to everything that we have heard with our ears. And who is like Your people, like Israel—a single nation in the land, whom God went to redeem as a people for Himself, making a name for Himself by doing great and awesome things for Your land, before Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods. You established Your people Israel as Your own people forever, and You, LORD, became their God.
“Now, LORD God, confirm forever the word that You spoke regarding Your servant and his house and do as You have spoken. May Your name be magnified forever by saying, ‘The LORD of Hosts is God over Israel,’ and may the house of Your servant David be established before You.
“For You, O LORD of Hosts, God of Israel, have revealed a word to Your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore, Your servant has found the courage to pray this prayer to You. Now, LORD God, You are God, and Your words are true. You have spoken this good message to Your servant. Now, be resolved and bless Your servant’s dynastic house, so that it may stand before You forever. You, Lord GOD, have spoken, and with Your blessing, the house of Your servant will be blessed forever.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 7:54-8:3
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart with rage, and they gnashed their teeth at him. But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
Then they cried out with a loud voice, closed their ears, and rushed at him in unison. And they threw him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
They stoned Stephen as he was calling on God, praying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Having said this, he fell asleep.
And Saul was consenting to his death.
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem. And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him. But Saul ravaged the church, entering house by house and dragging out both men and women and committing them to prison.
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:
Political leaders and the armed forces
Peace and justice in the world
Those who work for reconciliation
All whose lives are devastated by war and civil strife
Prisoners, refugees, and homeless people
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Lord of life
In your mercy, hear us.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
O God, you declare your almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity: mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace, that we, running the way of your commandments, may receive your gracious promises, and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure; 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.