Thu. morning Oct. 15
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
Be Still My Soul
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 113
𝙍: From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised.
Praise the LORD!
Praise, O servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore.
From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the LORD is to be praised.
The LORD is high above all nations,
and His glory above the heavens.
𝙍: From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised.
Who is like the LORD our God,
who dwells on high,
who looks far down
on the heavens and on the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust,
and lifts the needy out of the ash heap,
to seat him with princes,
with the princes of His people.
He gives the barren woman a home,
to be a joyful mother of children.
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: From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised.
Psalm prayer
From the rising of the sun to its setting, we praise your name, Lord; may your promise to raise the poor from the dust and turn the fortunes of the needy upside down be fulfilled in our time also, as it was in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 115
𝙍: The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us.
Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us,
but unto Your name give glory,
for the sake of Your mercy, for the sake of Your truth.
Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
But our God is in the heavens;
He does whatever He pleases.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of men’s hands.
𝙍: The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us.
They have mouths, but they do not speak;
they have eyes, but they do not see;
they have ears, but they do not hear;
they have noses, but they do not smell;
they have hands, but they do not feel;
they have feet, but they do not walk,
nor do they make a sound with their throat.
Those who make them are like them;
so is everyone who trusts in them.
𝙍: The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us.
O Israel, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and their shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and their shield.
You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and their shield.
The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
He will bless those who fear the LORD,
both small and great.
𝙍: The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us.
May the LORD give you increase,
you and your children.
May you be blessed by the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
The heavens are the LORD’s heavens,
but the earth has He given to the sons of men.
The dead do not praise the LORD,
nor do any who go down into silence.
But we will bless the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore.
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: The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us.
Psalm prayer
Living God, defend us from the idols which our hearts enthrone, that we may not go down into silence but be raised to our heaven of heavens in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
2 Kings 19:1-19
When King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD. He sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: This day is a day of distress, chastisement, and disgrace, for children have come to the mouth of the womb, but there is no strength to birth them. Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria, his master, has sent to taunt the living God and will rebuke the words that the LORD your God has heard, and you might lift up a prayer for the remnant that are left.”
When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them, “Thus shall you say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and he will hear a report and return to his own land. Then I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.’ ”
Then the Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he had heard that he had departed from Lachish.
When the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, “Behold, he has come out to fight against you,” he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying: Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by annihilating them. Will you be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Harran, Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were in Tel-assar? Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?”
Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD and spread it before the LORD. Then Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said, “O LORD, God of Israel, who sits on the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the sky and the earth. Incline, O LORD, Your ear and hear. Open, O LORD, Your eyes and see. Hear the words of Sennacherib, which he sent to taunt the living God.
“Surely, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have annihilated the nations and their lands and have put their gods in the fire, for they were no gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone; thus they have been destroyed. So now, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You, O LORD, are God alone.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Philippians 2:14-30
Do all things without murmuring and disputing, that you may be blameless and harmless, sons of God, without fault, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world. Hold forth the word of life that I may rejoice on the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Yes, and even if I am offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I take delight and rejoice with you all. For this reason you also take delight and rejoice with me.
I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy shortly to you, that I also may be of good comfort when I get word concerning you. For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your welfare. For all seek their own, not the things of Christ Jesus. But you know of his proven worth, that as a son with a father, he has served with me in the gospel. Therefore I hope to send him soon after my situation is resolved. But I trust in the Lord that I, myself, shall also come shortly.
Yet I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, who is my brother and companion in labor, fellow soldier, your messenger, and he who ministered to my necessity. For he longed after you all and was filled with heaviness, because you heard that he was sick. Indeed he was sick, near death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him, but also on me, lest I should have had sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I sent him the more eagerly, that when you see him again, you may rejoice and I may be less sorrowful. So receive him in the Lord with all joy. And hold such ones in high regard, because for the work of Christ he was near death, not regarding his life, endeavoring to make up for your lack of service toward me.
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
O God, forasmuch as without you we are not able to please you; mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; 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.