Thu. morning Sep. 10
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 surrender All
Confession of Sin
When we cry to the LORD in our trouble,
He will save us from 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 goodness,
and for His wonderful works to all people!
Let us offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and declare God’s works with rejoicing.
cf Psalm 107
Psalm 14
𝙍: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
The fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there is no one who does good.
The LORD looks down from heaven
on the sons of men,
to see if there are any who are wise,
who seek after God.
They have all gone astray;
they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
no, not one.
𝙍: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
Have they no knowledge, all the workers of iniquity,
who eat my people as they eat bread,
and do not call upon the LORD?
There they are in great fear,
for God is with the company of the righteous.
You shame the plans of the poor,
but the LORD is his refuge.
Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!
When the LORD turns back the captivity of His people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.
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 fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
Psalm prayer
God of heaven, look with mercy on all who are consumed by ignorance and greed, and let the children of earth know that you are God forever.
Psalm 15
𝙍: In the abundance of Your mercy I will enter Your house.
LORD, who will abide in Your tabernacle?
Who will dwell in Your holy hill?
He who walks uprightly,
and does righteousness,
and speaks truth in his heart;
he who does not slander with the tongue
and does no evil to his neighbor,
nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
but who honors those who fear the LORD;
he who swears against harm and does not change;
he who does not put his money out to usury,
nor takes a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
will never be moved.
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 the abundance of Your mercy I will enter Your house.
Psalm prayer
Lord, lead us to our heavenly home by single steps of self-restraint and deeds of righteousness; through the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 16
𝙍: The LORD is at my right hand; I shall not be moved.
Preserve me, O God,
for in You I take refuge.
I have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
my welfare has no existence outside of You.”
For the holy ones in the land,
they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.
Those who choose another god
multiply their sorrows;
their drink offerings of blood I will not offer
nor take their names upon my lips.
O LORD, you are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You hold my lot.
The boundary lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
yes, I have a goodly inheritance.
𝙍: The LORD is at my right hand; I shall not be moved.
I will bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the LORD always before me;
because He is at my right hand,
I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my flesh also will rest secure.
For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
nor will You allow Your holy one to see corruption.
You will show me the path of life.
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
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 LORD is at my right hand; I shall not be moved.
Psalm prayer
Give to us, Lord Christ, the fullness of grace, your presence and your very self, for you are our portion and our delight, now and forever.
Old Testament reading
1 Kings 4:29-5:12
God gave Solomon wisdom and great depth of understanding as well as compassion, as vast as the sand on the seashore. Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the people of the East country and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Kalkol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; his fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered one thousand and five. He spoke of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that springs out of the wall. He also spoke of beasts and of fowl and of insects and fish. People from all over came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, for he had heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, and Hiram had always loved David. And Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying,
“You know how David my father was unable to build a house for the name of the LORD his God because of the wars all around him, until the LORD put his enemies under his feet. But now the LORD my God has given me peace on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor misfortune. So know that I plan to build a house to honor the name of the LORD my God, just as the LORD spoke to my father David, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne after you, shall build a house to honor My name.’
“Now therefore command that cedar trees from Lebanon be cut down for me, and my servants shall be with your servants, and I will pay your servants whatever you command, for you know that there are none among my people who can cut timber like the Sidonians.”
When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord this day, who has given David a wise son over this great people.”
Hiram sent to Solomon, saying,
“I have considered the things which you contacted me about, and I will do all you asked concerning timber of cedar and fir. My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will send them by sea in floats to the place that you shall name and will cause them to be discharged into your care there, and in return you will meet my wishes by giving food for my household.”
So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees as he desired. Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand kors of wheat for his household and twenty baths of pure oil. This is what Solomon gave to Hiram each year. The LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He promised, and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon as they made a treaty together.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 15:1-21
Some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised in the tradition of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Therefore when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain others among them, should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question. So being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles, and they brought great joy to all the brothers. When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared what God had done through them.
Then some believers of the sect of the Pharisees rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the Law of Moses.”
The apostles and elders assembled to consider this matter. After much disputing, Peter rose up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that some time ago God decided among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, approved of them, giving them the Holy Spirit just as He did to us, and made no distinction between them and us, and purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why test God by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.”
The entire assembly remained silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. After they had become silent, James answered, “Brothers, listen to me. Simon has declared how God first visited the Gentiles to take from among them a people for His name. With this the words of the prophets agree. As it is written:
‘After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will set it up;
that the rest of men may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who are called by My name,
says the Lord who does all these things.’
Known to God are all His works since the beginning of the world.
“Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from strangled animals, and from blood. For Moses has had in every city since early generations those who preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”
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:
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
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.