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
Near the Cross
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
Leviticus 9
On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. He said to Aaron, “Take a young calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD. To the Israelites you shall speak, saying, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb for a burnt offering, both one year old without blemish, also an ox and a ram for peace offerings to sacrifice before the LORD, and a grain offering mixed with oil, for today the LORD will appear to you.’ ”
They brought that which Moses commanded before the tent of meeting, and the entire congregation drew near and stood before the LORD. Moses said, “This is the thing which the LORD commanded that you should do; then the glory of the LORD shall appear to you.”
Then Moses said to Aaron, “Go to the altar, and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people, and offer the sacrifice of the people, and make atonement for them, as the LORD commanded.”
Aaron therefore went to the altar and slaughtered the calf of the sin offering which was for himself. The sons of Aaron brought the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it on the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the base of the altar. But the fat, the kidneys, and the appendage above the liver of the sin offering he burned on the altar, as the LORD commanded Moses. The flesh and the hide he burned with fire outside the camp.
He slaughtered the burnt offering, and the sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, which he sprinkled on the sides of the altar. They presented the burnt offering to him, with its pieces, and the head, and he burned them on the altar. He then washed the entrails and the legs and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar.
He brought the people’s offering, and took the goat which was the sin offering for the people, and slaughtered it, and offered it for sin as the first offering.
And he brought the burnt offering and offered it according to its regulation. Then he brought the grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, besides the burnt sacrifice of the morning.
He slaughtered the ox and the ram as a sacrifice of peace offerings for the people, and the sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, which he sprinkled on the sides of the altar, and the fat of the ox and of the ram, the fatty tail, and that which covers the entrails, and the kidneys, and the appendage above the liver. 20They put the fat pieces on the breasts, and he burned the fat on the altar. But the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved for a wave offering before the LORD just as Moses commanded.
Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and peace offerings.
Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. A fire came out from before the LORD, and it consumed the burnt offering and the fat that were on the altar. When all the people saw this, they shouted and fell on their faces.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
2 Timothy 1:15-2:13
You know that all those who are in Asia have turned away from me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.
May the Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. But when he arrived in Rome, he searched me out very diligently and found me. May the Lord grant that he may find mercy from the Lord on that Day. You know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus.
So you, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Share the things that you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses with faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Endure hard times as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No soldier on active duty entangles himself with civilian affairs, that he may please the enlisting officer. Anyone who competes as an athlete is not rewarded without competing legally. The farmer who labors should be first to partake of the crops. Consider what I am saying, and may the Lord grant you understanding in all things.
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David, according to my gospel, in which I suffer trouble like a criminal, even with chains. But the word of God is not bound. Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
This is a faithful saying:
If we die with Him,
we shall also live with Him.
If we endure,
we shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him,
He also will deny us.
If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself.
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
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.