Opening response

Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim 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

Let Earth and Heaven Agree

Charles Wesley

Let earth and heaven agree,
Angels and men be joined,
To celebrate with me
The Savior of mankind;
To adore the all-atoning Lamb,
And bless the sound of Jesus’ name,

Jesus! transporting sound!
The joy of earth and heaven;
No other help is found,
No other name is given,
By which we can salvation have;
But Jesus came the world to save.

His name the sinner hears,
And is from sin set free;
‘Tis music in his ears;
‘Tis life and victory;
New songs do now his lips employ,
And dances his glad heart for joy.

O unexampled love!
O all-redeeming grace!
How swiftly didst thou move
To save a fallen race!
What shall I do to make it known
What thou for all mankind hast done?

O for a trumpet voice,
On all the world to call!
To bid their hearts rejoice
In him who died for all;
For all, my Lord was crucified,
For all, for all, my Savior died.

Confession of sin

When we cry out to the LORD in our trouble,
he will bring us out of our distress.

God will bring us out of darkness
and out of the shadow of death.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

May the Father forgive us
by the death of his Son
and strengthen us
to live in the power of the Spirit
all our days.
Amen.

Let us give thanks to the LORD for his loving devotion,
and his wonders to the sons of men.

Let us offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
and declare God’s works with rejoicing.

cf Psalm 107

Psalm 78:1-39

𝙍: How awesome are your deeds, O Lord!

Give ear, O my people, to my instruction;
listen to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth in parables;
I will utter things hidden from the beginning,
that we have heard and known
and our fathers have relayed to us.
We will not hide them from their children,
but will declare to the next generation
the praises of the LORD and His might,
and the wonders He has performed. 𝙍

For He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which He commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
that the coming generation would know them—
even children yet to be born—
to arise and tell their own children
that they should put their confidence in God,
not forgetting His works,
but keeping His commandments.
Then they will not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose heart was not loyal,
whose spirit was not faithful to God. 𝙍

The archers of Ephraim
turned back on the day of battle.
They failed to keep God’s covenant
and refused to live by His law.
They forgot what He had done,
the wonders He had shown them.
He worked wonders before their fathers
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. 𝙍

He split the sea and brought them through;
He set the waters upright like a wall.
He led them with a cloud by day
and with a light of fire all night.
He split the rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink as abundant as the seas.
He brought streams from the stone
and made water flow down like rivers. 𝙍

But they continued to sin against Him,
rebelling in the desert against the Most High.
They willfully tested God
by demanding the food they craved.
They spoke against God, saying,
“Can God really prepare a table in the wilderness?
When He struck the rock, water gushed out
and torrents raged.
But can He also give bread
or supply His people with meat?” 𝙍

Therefore the LORD heard
and was filled with wrath;
so a fire was kindled against Jacob,
and His anger flared against Israel,
because they did not believe God
or rely on His salvation.

Yet He commanded the clouds above
and opened the doors of the heavens.
He rained down manna for them to eat;
He gave them grain from heaven.
Man ate the bread of angels;
He sent them food in abundance. 𝙍

He stirred the east wind from the heavens
and drove the south wind by His might.
He rained meat on them like dust,
and winged birds like the sand of the sea.
He felled them in the midst of their camp,
all around their dwellings.
So they ate and were well filled,
for He gave them what they craved.

Yet before they had filled their desire,
with the food still in their mouths,
God’s anger flared against them,
and He put to death their strongest
and subdued the young men of Israel. 𝙍

In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;
despite His wonderful works, they did not believe.
So He ended their days in futility,
and their years in sudden terror.
When He slew them, they would seek Him;
they repented and searched for God.
And they remembered that God was their Rock,
that God Most High was their Redeemer. 𝙍

But they deceived Him with their mouths,
and lied to Him with their tongues.
Their hearts were disloyal to Him,
and they were unfaithful to His covenant.

And yet He was compassionate;
He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them.
He often restrained His anger
and did not unleash His full wrath.
He remembered that they were but flesh,
a passing breeze that does not return.

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: How awesome are your deeds, O Lord!

Psalm prayer

God our deliverer,
as you led our ancestors through the wilderness,
so lead us through the wilderness of this world,
that we may be saved through Christ forever.

Old Testament reading

1 Samuel 31

Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.

The Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him critically.

Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run it through me, or these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me!”

But his armor-bearer was terrified and refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died with him.

So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day.

When the Israelites along the valley and those on the other side of the Jordan saw that the army of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their cities and ran away. So the Philistines came and occupied their cities.

The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. They cut off Saul’s head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temples of their idols and among their people. They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan.

When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all their men of valor set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan.

When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there. Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Acts 4:32-5:11

The multitude of believers was one in heart and soul. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they owned. With great power the apostles continued to give their testimony about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And abundant grace was upon them all.

There were no needy ones among them, because those who owned lands or houses would sell their property, bring the proceeds from the sales, and lay them at the apostles’ feet for distribution to anyone as he had need.

Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (meaning Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds for himself, but brought a portion and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land? Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!”

On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened. Then the young men stepped forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

About three hours later his wife also came in, unaware of what had happened. “Tell me,” said Peter, “is this the price you and your husband got for the land?”

“Yes,” she answered, “that is the price.”

“How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came over the whole church and all who heard about these events.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

𝙍: In your tender compassion, O God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us.

Bless the Lord God of Israel
because he has come to help and has delivered his people.
He has raised up a mighty savior for us in his servant David’s house,
just as he said through the mouths of his holy prophets long ago.
He has brought salvation from our enemies
and from the power of all those who hate us.
He has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and remembered his holy covenant,
the solemn pledge he made to our ancestor Abraham.
He has granted that we would be rescued
from the power of our enemies
so that we could serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness in God’s eyes,
for as long as we live.
You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
You will tell his people how to be saved
through the forgiveness of their sins.
Because of our God’s deep compassion,
the dawn from heaven will break upon us,
to give light to those who are sitting in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide us on the path of peace.”

Luke 1:68-79

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: In your tender compassion, O God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us.

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:

Local government, community leaders
All who provide local services
Those who work with young or elderly people
Schools, colleges and universities
Emergency and rescue organizations

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

Let your merciful ears, O Lord,
be open to the prayers of your humble servants;
and that they may obtain their petitions
make them to ask such things as shall please you;
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.