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
I Am Resolved
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 116
𝙍: Gracious is the LORD, and righteous.
I love the LORD, because He has heard my voice
and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live.
The cords of death encompassed me,
and the pangs of Sheol took hold of me;
I found trouble and sorrow.
Then I called upon the name of the LORD:
“O LORD, I beseech You, deliver my soul.”
Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
yes, our God is merciful.
𝙍: Gracious is the LORD, and righteous.
The LORD preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
Return to your rest, O my soul,
for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
For You have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
and my feet from stumbling.
I will walk before the LORD
in the land of the living.
𝙍: Gracious is the LORD, and righteous.
I believed, even when I said:
“I am greatly afflicted.”
I said in my alarm,
“All men are liars.”
What shall I render unto the LORD
for all His benefits to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call upon the name of the LORD.
I will pay my vows to the LORD,
now in the presence of all His people.
𝙍: Gracious is the LORD, and righteous.
Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of His saints.
O LORD, truly I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant;
You have loosed my bonds.
I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and will call upon the name of the LORD.
I will pay my vows to the LORD,
now in the presence of all His people,
in the courts of the house of the LORD,
in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD!
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: Gracious is the LORD, and righteous.
Psalm prayer
As we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, may we call upon your name, raise the cup of salvation, and so proclaim your death, O Lord, until you come in glory.
Psalm 117
Praise the LORD, all you nations!
Praise Him, all you peoples!
For great is His merciful kindness toward us,
and the truth of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD!
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.
Psalm prayer
Gracious God, we praise you for your faithfulness and pray that every nation may find your blessing in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Isaiah 45:18-25
For thus says the LORD,
who created the heavens,
who is God,
who formed the earth and made it,
who has established it,
who did not create it in vain,
who formed it to be inhabited:
I am the LORD,
and there is no other.
I have not spoken in secret
in a dark place of the earth;
I did not say to the descendants of Jacob,
“Seek Me in a waste place”;
I, the LORD, speak righteousness;
I declare things that are right.
Assemble yourselves and come;
draw near together, you fugitives of the nations.
They have no knowledge who set up the wood of their carved image,
and pray to a god that cannot save.
Declare and set forth your case;
let them take counsel together.
Who has declared this from ancient times?
Who has told it from that time?
Have not I, the LORD?
And there is no God besides Me,
a righteous God and Savior;
there is no other besides Me.
Turn to Me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth.
For I am God, and there is no other.
I have sworn by Myself,
the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness
and shall not return,
that to Me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall take an oath.
Surely, one shall say, “Only in the LORD
are righteousness and strength.”
Men shall come to him,
and all who are incensed at Him shall be ashamed.
In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel
be justified and shall glory.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Luke 6:12-16
In these days He went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God. When it was day, He called for His disciples, and of them He chose twelve, whom He named apostles: Simon, whom He named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip and Bartholomew, and Matthew and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
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
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.