Opening response

Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Your light springs up for the righteous
and all people have seen your glory.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
king of the nations,
to you be praise and glory forever.
From the rising of the sun to its setting
your name is proclaimed in all the world.
As the Sun of Righteousness dawns in our hearts
anoint our lips with the seal of your Spirit
that we may witness to your gospel
and sing your praise in all the earth.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.

Hymn

If Thou Impart Thyself to Me

Charles Wesley

If thou impart thyself to me,
No other good I need:
If thou, the Son, shalt make me free,
I shall be free indeed.

I cannot rest till in thy blood
I full redemption have,
But thou, through whom I come to God,
Canst to the utmost save.

From sin, the guilt, the power, the pain
Thou wilt redeem my soul:
Lord, I believe, and not in vain;
My faith shall make me whole.

I know in thee all fullness dwells,
And all for wretched man:
Fill every want my spirit feels,
And break off every chain!

I too, with thee shall walk in white,
With all thy saints shall prove
What is the length, and breadth, and height,
And depth of perfect love.

Confession of sin

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Silence may be kept.

Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins
through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all
goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in
eternal life.
Amen.

Psalm 98

𝙍: The LORD has proclaimed His salvation.

Sing to the LORD a new song,
for He has done wonders;
His right hand and holy arm
have gained Him the victory.
The LORD has proclaimed His salvation
and revealed His righteousness to the nations.
He has remembered His love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel;
all the ends of the earth
have seen the salvation of our God. 𝙍

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth—let your cry ring out, and sing praises!
Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
in melodious song with the harp.
With trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn
shout for joy before the LORD, the King. 𝙍

Let the sea resound, and all that fills it,
the world, and all who dwell in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy
before the LORD,
for He comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with equity.

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 proclaimed His salvation.

Psalm prayer

Lord God, just and true,
you make your salvation known in the sight of the nations;
tune the song of our hearts to the music of creation
as you come among us to judge the earth;
through our Savior Jesus Christ.

Psalm 150

𝙍: Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!

Hallelujah!

Praise God in His sanctuary.
Praise Him in His mighty heavens.
Praise Him for His mighty acts;
praise Him for His excellent greatness.

Praise Him with the sound of the horn;
praise Him with the harp and lyre.
Praise Him with tambourine and dancing;
praise Him with strings and flute. 𝙍

Praise Him with clashing cymbals;
praise Him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!

Hallelujah!

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: Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!

Psalm prayer

God of life and love,
whose Son was victorious over sin and death,
make us alive with his life,
that the whole world may resound with your praise;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 66:1-11

This is what the LORD says:

“Heaven is My throne,
and earth is My footstool.
What kind of house will you build for Me?
Or where will My place of repose be?
Has not My hand made all these things?
And so they came into being,”
declares the LORD.
“This is the one I will esteem:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit,
who trembles at My word.

Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man;
whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood;
whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol.
Indeed, they have chosen their own ways
and delighted in their abominations.
So I will choose their punishment
and I will bring terror upon them,
because I called and no one answered,
I spoke and no one listened.
But they did evil in My sight
and chose that in which I did not delight.”

You who tremble at His word,
hear the word of the LORD:

“Your brothers who hate you
and exclude you because of My name
have said, ‘Let the LORD be glorified
that we may see your joy!’
But they will be put to shame.”

Hear the uproar from the city;
listen to the voice from the temple!
It is the voice of the LORD,
repaying His enemies what they deserve!

“Before she was in labor, she gave birth;
before she was in pain, she delivered a boy.
Who has heard of such as this?
Who has seen such things?
Can a country be born in a day
or a nation be delivered in an instant?
Yet as soon as Zion was in labor,
she gave birth to her children.
Shall I bring a baby to the point of birth and not deliver it?”
says the LORD.
“Or will I who deliver close the womb?”
says your God.

Be glad for Jerusalem and rejoice over her,
all who love her.
Rejoice greatly with her,
all who mourn over her,
so that you may nurse and be satisfied
at her comforting breasts;
you may drink deeply and delight yourselves
in her glorious abundance.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

1 John 4:7-21

The elder,

To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I alone, but also all who know the truth— because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, will be with us in truth and love.

I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father has commanded us. And now I urge you, dear lady—not as a new commandment to you, but one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the very commandment you have heard from the beginning, that you must walk in love.

For many deceivers have gone out into the world, refusing to confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded. Anyone who runs ahead without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in His teaching has both the Father and the Son.

If anyone comes to you but does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home or even greet him. Whoever greets such a person shares in his evil deeds.

I have many things to write to you, but I would prefer not to do so with paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come and speak with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

The children of your elect sister send you greetings.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

𝙍: This is the Christ, the Chosen of God, the one who will bring healing to the nations.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
because He has visited and redeemed His people.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David,
as He spoke through His holy prophets,
those of ages past,
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us,
to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember His holy covenant,
the oath He swore to our father Abraham,
to grant us deliverance from hostile hands,
that we may serve Him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before Him
all the days of our lives.

And you, child, will be called
a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord
to prepare the way for Him,
to give to His people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,
to shine on those who live in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet
into the path 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.

𝙍: This is the Christ, the Chosen of God, the one who will bring healing to the nations.

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 are offered

for the day and its tasks
for the world and its needs
for the church and her life

The unity of the church
The peace of the world
The healing of the sick
The revelation of Christ to those from whom his glory is hidden
All who travel

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Lord of life
In your mercy, hear us.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

O God,
who by the leading of a star
manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth:
mercifully grant that we,
who know you now by faith,
may at last behold your glory face to face;
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

Believing the promises of God,
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

May Christ, who sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit.
Amen.