Wed. morning Sep. 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
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;
and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits.
Psalm 119:57-80
𝙍: I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right.
You are my portion, O LORD;
I have promised to keep Your words.
I entreated Your favor with all my heart;
be merciful to me according to Your word.
I considered my ways,
and turned my feet to Your testimonies.
I hurried and delayed not
to keep Your commandments.
𝙍: I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right.
The bands of the wicked have bound me,
but I have not forgotten Your law.
At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You,
because of Your righteous judgments.
I am a companion of all those who fear You,
and of those who keep Your precepts.
The earth, O LORD, is full of Your mercy;
teach me Your statutes.
𝙍: I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right.
You have dealt well with Your servant,
O LORD, according to Your word.
Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
for I believe Your commandments.
Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I keep Your word.
You are good and do good;
teach me Your statutes.
𝙍: I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right.
The proud have forged a lie against me,
but I will keep Your precepts with all my heart.
Their heart is insensitive, like fat,
but I delight in Your law.
It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
that I might learn Your statutes.
The law of Your mouth is better to me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
𝙍: I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right.
Your hands have made me and fashioned me;
give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.
Those who fear You will be glad when they see me,
because I have hoped in Your word.
I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right,
and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
Let, I pray, Your lovingkindness comfort me,
according to Your word unto Your servant.
𝙍: I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right.
Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live;
for Your law is my delight.
Let the proud be ashamed, for they wronged me with guile;
but I will meditate on Your precepts.
Let those who fear You turn to me,
those who know Your testimonies.
Let my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes,
so that I may not be ashamed.
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 know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right.
Psalm prayer
God our comforter, send your Holy Spirit to reveal your hidden mercy even in our failures and troubles; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
1 Kings 17
Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was one of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives before whom I stand, there will not be dew or rain these years except by my word.”
The word of the LORD came to him, saying, “Go from here and turn eastward and hide by the Kerith brook, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and lived by the Kerith brook, which is east of the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
After some time, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. The word of the LORD came to him, saying, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” So he got up and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and said, “Please get a small cup of water for me to drink.” As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
She said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, but only a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a jar. I am gathering two sticks, that I can go in and make it for me and my son, so we may eat it and die.”
Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make a little cake for me first, and bring it to me, and afterward, make some for your son and you, for thus says the LORD God of Israel: The barrel of meal will not run out, nor will the jar of oil empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.”
She went and did what Elijah told her to do, and she, he, and her household ate many days. The barrel of meal did not run out, nor did the jar of oil empty, according to the word of the LORD, which He spoke by Elijah.
Later on, the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became terribly sick, so much so that he had no breath left in him. She said to Elijah, “What do I have to do with you, O you man of God? Have you come to remind me of my sin and to kill my son?”
And he said to her, “Give me your son,” and he took him out of her arms and carried him up to a loft where he slept and laid him on his own bed. He cried to the LORD and said, “O LORD, my God, have You brought tragedy upon the widow with whom I live by killing her son?” And he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the LORD and said, “O LORD, my God, I pray that You let this child’s soul come into him again.”
The LORD heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child came into him again, and he was revived. Elijah took the child and brought him down out of the chamber into the house and returned him to his mother, and Elijah said, “See, your son lives!”
The woman said to Elijah, “Now, because of this, I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth!”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 20:1-16
After the uproar ceased, Paul summoned the disciples and embraced them and departed for Macedonia. When he had gone through that region and had greatly exhorted them, he came to Greece, and stayed there three months. When the Jews plotted against him as he was about to sail to Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. Accompanying him to Asia were Sopater of Berea, and Aristarchus and Secundus of Thessalonica, Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia. These men went forward and waited for us at Troas. But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread, and after five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.
On the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to leave the next day, preached to them and continued his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where they were assembled. A young man named Eutychus sat in the window, falling into a deep sleep as Paul spoke for a longer time. Being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third floor and was taken up dead. Paul went down and leaned over him, and embracing him said, “Do not be troubled, for he is alive.” When he had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed for a long while until dawn and departed. They took the lad in alive and were greatly comforted.
We went ahead to the ship and sailed to Assos, intending to take Paul on board there. For he had arranged this, intending to go on foot. When he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. We sailed from there, and on the next day arrived off Chios. The next day we crossed over to Samos and stayed at Trogyllium, and the following day we came to Miletus. Paul had decided to sail by Ephesus, to avoid spending time in Asia. For he was hurrying so he could be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.
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 social services
All who work in the criminal justice system
Victims and perpetrators of crime
The work of aid agencies throughout the world
Those living in poverty or under oppression
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
O Lord, we beseech you mercifully to hear the prayers of your people who call upon you; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfill them; 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.