Saturday morning January 14
Photo by Magda Ehlers via Pexels.
Opening response
Lord, open our lips.
Our mouth will declare your praise.
Your light springs up for the righteous
and all the peoples 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.
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
Are There Not in the Laborer’s Day
Charles Wesley
Are there not in the laborer’s day
Twelve hours, in which he safely may
His calling’s work pursue?
Though sin and Satan still are near
Nor sin nor Satan can I fear,
With Jesus in my view.
Light of the world, thy beams I bless!
On thee, bright Sun of righteousness,
My faith hath fixed its eye;
Guided by thee through all I go,
Nor fear the ruin spread below,
For thou art always nigh.
Ten thousand snares my path beset,
Yet will I, Lord, the work complete,
Which thou to me hast given,
Regardless of the pains I feel,
Close by the gates of death and hell,
I urge my way to heaven.
Still will I strive, and labor still
With humble zeal to do thy will,
And trust in thy defense.
My soul into thy hands I give,
And if he can obtain thy leave,
Let Satan pluck me thence.
Confession of sin
O King enthroned on high,
filling the earth with your glory:
holy is your name,
Lord God almighty.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
In our sinfulness we cry to you
to take our guilt away,
and to cleanse our lips to speak your word,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
May the God of all healing and forgiveness
draw us to himself,
and cleanse us from all our sins
that we may behold the glory of his Son,
the Word made flesh,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 29
Refrain:
The LORD will bless his people with peace.
Ascribe to the LORD, you sons of the mighty,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to his name.
Worship the LORD in holy array.
The LORD’s voice is on the waters.
The God of glory thunders, even the LORD on many waters.
The LORD’s voice is powerful.
The LORD’s voice is full of majesty.
The LORD’s voice breaks the cedars.
Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes them also to skip like a calf;
Lebanon and Sirion like a young, wild ox.
The LORD’s voice strikes with flashes of lightning.
The LORD’s voice shakes the wilderness.
The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The LORD’s voice makes the deer calve,
and strips the forests bare.
In his temple everything says, “Glory!”
The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood.
Yes, the LORD sits as King forever.
The LORD will give strength to his people.
The LORD will bless his people with 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.
Refrain:
The LORD will bless his people with peace.
Psalm prayer
Open our ears, glorious Lord Christ,
to hear the music of your voice
above the chaos of this world;
open our eyes to see the vision of your glory,
for you are our King, now and forever.
Psalm 33
Refrain:
The earth is full of the loving kindness of the LORD.
Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous!
Praise is fitting for the upright.
Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre.
Sing praises to him with the harp of ten strings.
Sing to him a new song.
Play skillfully with a shout of joy!
For the LORD’s word is right.
All his work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice.
The earth is full of the loving kindness of the LORD.
By the LORD’s word, the heavens were made:
all their army by the breath of his mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap.
He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the LORD.
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
For he spoke, and it was done.
He commanded, and it stood firm.
The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing.
He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect.
The counsel of the LORD stands fast forever,
the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance.
The LORD looks from heaven.
He sees all the sons of men.
From the place of his habitation he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,
he who fashions all of their hearts;
and he considers all of their works.
There is no king saved by the multitude of an army.
A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
A horse is a vain thing for safety,
neither does he deliver any by his great power.
Behold, the LORD’s eye is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his loving kindness,
to deliver their soul from death,
to keep them alive in famine.
Our soul has waited for the LORD.
He is our help and our shield.
For our heart rejoices in him,
because we have trusted in his holy name.
Let your loving kindness be on us, LORD,
since we have hoped in you.
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.
Refrain:
The earth is full of the loving kindness of the LORD.
Psalm prayer
Feed your people, Lord,
with your holy word
and free us from the emptiness of our
wrongful desires,
that we may sing the new song of salvation
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Amos 5:18-27
“Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD!
Why do you long for the day of the LORD?
It is darkness,
and not light.
As if a man fled from a lion,
and a bear met him;
or he went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall,
and a snake bit him.
Won’t the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light?
Even very dark, and no brightness in it?
I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I can’t stand your solemn assemblies.
Yes, though you offer me your burnt offerings and meal offerings,
I will not accept them;
neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat animals.
Take away from me the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
But let justice roll on like rivers,
and righteousness like a mighty stream.
“Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, house of Israel? You also carried the tent of your king and the shrine of your images, the star of your god, which you made for yourselves. Therefore I will cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus,” says the LORD, whose name is the God of Armies.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
1 Corinthians 5
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality amongst you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named amongst the Gentiles, that one has his father’s wife. You are arrogant, and didn’t mourn instead, that he who had done this deed might be removed from amongst you. For I most certainly, as being absent in body but present in spirit, have already, as though I were present, judged him who has done this thing. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together with my spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, you are to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole lump? Purge out the old yeast, that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place. Therefore let’s keep the feast, not with old yeast, neither with the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
I wrote to you in my letter to have no company with sexual sinners; yet not at all meaning with the sexual sinners of this world, or with the covetous and extortionists, or with idolaters, for then you would have to leave the world. But as it is, I wrote to you not to associate with anyone who is called a brother who is a sexual sinner, or covetous, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or an extortionist. Don’t even eat with such a person. For what do I have to do with also judging those who are outside? Don’t you judge those who are within? But those who are outside, God judges. “Put away the wicked man from amongst yourselves.”
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
Refrain:
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,
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 who have been from of old),
salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show mercy toward our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant,
the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
should serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the dawn from on high will visit us,
to shine on those who sit in darkness and 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.
Refrain:
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,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
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,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and 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:
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
In faith we pray
We pray to you, our God.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Eternal Father,
who at the baptism of Jesus
revealed him to be your Son,
anointing him with the Holy Spirit:
grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit,
that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children;
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 in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.
Conclusion
May Christ, who sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit.
Amen.
Friday morning January 13
Photo by João Cabral via Pexels.
Opening response
Lord, open our lips.
Our mouth will declare your praise.
Your light springs up for the righteous
and all the peoples 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.
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
To Thee, Great God of Love, I Bow
Charles Wesley
To thee, great God of love, I bow,
And prostrate in thy sight adore;
By faith I see thee passing now;
I have, but still I ask for more,
A glimpse of love cannot suffice,
My soul for all thy presence cries.
I cannot see thy face and live,
Then let me see thy face and die!
Now, Lord, my gasping spirit receive,
Give me on eagles' wings to fly,
With eagles' eyes on thee to gaze,
And plunge into the glorious blaze.
The fullness of my vast reward
A blest eternity shall be;
But hast thou not on earth prepared
Some better thing than this for me?
What, but one drop! One transient sight!
I want a sun, a sea of light.
Moses thy backward parts might view,
But not a perfect sight obtain;
The gospel doth thy fullness show
To us, by the commandment slain;
The dead to sin shall find the grace,
The pure in heart shall see thy face.
More favored than the saints of old,
Who now by faith approach to thee
Shall all with open face behold
In Christ the glorious Deity;
Shall see, and put the Godhead on,
The nature of thy sinless Son.
This, this is our high calling's prize!
Thine image in thy Son I claim;
And still to higher glories rise,
Till all transformed I know thy name,
And glide to all my heaven above,
My highest heaven in Jesus’ love.
Confession of sin
When we cry out to the LORD in our trouble,
he will save us out of our distresses.
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 praise the LORD for his loving kindness,
and his wondrous deeds for all people.
Let us offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and declare God’s deeds with singing.
cf Psalm 107
Psalm 67
Refrain:
Let the peoples praise you, God.
Let all the peoples praise you.
May God be merciful to us, bless us,
and cause his face to shine on us. Selah.
That your way may be known on earth,
and your salvation amongst all nations,
let the peoples praise you, God.
Let all the peoples praise you.
Oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you will judge the peoples with equity,
and govern the nations on earth. Selah.
Let the peoples praise you, God.
Let all the peoples praise you.
The earth has yielded its increase.
God, even our own God, will bless us.
God will bless us.
All the ends of the earth shall fear him.
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.
Refrain:
Let the peoples praise you, God.
Let all the peoples praise you.
Psalm prayer
In the face of Jesus Christ
your light and glory have blazed forth,
O God of all the nations;
with all your people,
may we make known your grace
and walk in the ways of peace;
for your name’s sake.
Psalm 72
Refrain:
The LORD reigns!
Let the earth rejoice!
God, give the king your justice;
your righteousness to the royal son.
He will judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
The mountains shall bring prosperity to the people.
The hills bring the fruit of righteousness.
He will judge the poor of the people.
He will save the children of the needy,
and will break the oppressor in pieces.
They shall fear you while the sun endures;
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
He will come down like rain on the mown grass,
as showers that water the earth.
In his days, the righteous shall flourish,
and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.
He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
from the River to the ends of the earth.
Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him.
His enemies shall lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring tribute.
The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
Yes, all kings shall fall down before him.
All nations shall serve him.
For he will deliver the needy when he cries;
the poor, who has no helper.
He will have pity on the poor and needy.
He will save the souls of the needy.
He will redeem their soul from oppression and violence.
Their blood will be precious in his sight.
He will live; and Sheba’s gold will be given to him.
Men will pray for him continually.
They will bless him all day long.
Abundance of grain shall be throughout the land.
Its fruit sways like Lebanon.
Let it flourish, thriving like the grass of the field.
His name endures forever.
His name continues as long as the sun.
Men shall be blessed by him.
All nations will call him blessed.
Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous deeds.
Blessed be his glorious name forever!
Let the whole earth be filled with his glory!
Amen and amen.
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.
Refrain:
The LORD reigns!
Let the earth rejoice!
Psalm prayer
God, may your kingdom come,
with deliverance for the needy,
with peace for the righteous,
with overflowing blessing for all nations,
with glory, honor and praise
for Christ, the only Savior.
Old Testament reading
Amos 5:1-17
Listen to this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel:
“The virgin of Israel has fallen;
She shall rise no more.
She is cast down on her land;
there is no one to raise her up.”
For the Lord GOD says:
“The city that went out a thousand shall have a hundred left,
and that which went out one hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel.”
For the LORD says to the house of Israel:
“Seek me, and you will live;
but don’t seek Bethel,
nor enter into Gilgal,
and don’t pass to Beersheba;
for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity,
and Bethel shall come to nothing.
Seek the LORD, and you will live,
lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
and it devour, and there be no one to quench it in Bethel.
You who turn justice to wormwood,
and cast down righteousness to the earth!
Seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion,
and turns the shadow of death into the morning,
and makes the day dark with night;
who calls for the waters of the sea,
and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the LORD is his name,
who brings sudden destruction on the strong,
so that destruction comes on the fortress.
They hate him who reproves in the gate,
and they abhor him who speaks blamelessly.
Therefore, because you trample on the poor and take taxes from him of wheat,
you have built houses of cut stone, but you will not dwell in them.
You have planted pleasant vineyards,
but you shall not drink their wine.
For I know how many are your offences,
and how great are your sins—
you who afflict the just,
who take a bribe,
and who turn away the needy in the courts.
Therefore a prudent person keeps silent in such a time,
for it is an evil time.
Seek good, and not evil,
that you may live;
and so the LORD, the God of Armies, will be with you,
as you say.
Hate evil, love good,
and establish justice in the courts.
It may be that the LORD, the God of Armies, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”
Therefore the LORD, the God of Armies, the Lord, says:
“Wailing will be in all the wide ways.
They will say in all the streets, ‘Alas! Alas!’
They will call the farmer to mourning,
and those who are skillful in lamentation to wailing.
In all vineyards there will be wailing,
for I will pass through the middle of you,” says the LORD.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
1 Corinthians 4
So let a man think of us as Christ’s servants and stewards of God’s mysteries. Here, moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by a human court. Yes, I don’t even judge my own self. For I know nothing against myself. Yet I am not justified by this, but he who judges me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.
Now these things, brothers, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that in us you might learn not to think beyond the things which are written, that none of you be puffed up against one another. For who makes you different? And what do you have that you didn’t receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
You are already filled. You have already become rich. You have come to reign without us. Yes, and I wish that you did reign, that we also might reign with you! For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last of all, like men sentenced to death. For we are made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You have honour, but we have dishonour. Even to this present hour we hunger, thirst, are naked, are beaten, and have no certain dwelling place. We toil, working with our own hands. When people curse us, we bless. Being persecuted, we endure. Being defamed, we entreat. We are made as the filth of the world, the dirt wiped off by all, even until now.
I don’t write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have ten thousand tutors in Christ, you don’t have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the Good News. I beg you therefore, be imitators of me. Because of this I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every assembly. Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing. And I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. For God’s Kingdom is not in word, but in power. What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
Refrain:
Those who are wise will shine as the brightness of the expanse. Those who turn many to righteousness will shine as the stars forever and ever.
Blessed be the Lord, the 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 who have been from of old),
salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show mercy toward our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant,
the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
should serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the dawn from on high will visit us,
to shine on those who sit in darkness and 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.
Refrain:
Those who are wise will shine as the brightness of the expanse. Those who turn many to righteousness will shine as the stars forever and ever.
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,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
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,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and 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:
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, hear your people
and answer our prayers.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Eternal Father,
who at the baptism of Jesus
revealed him to be your Son,
anointing him with the Holy Spirit:
grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit,
that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children;
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 in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.
Conclusion
May Christ, who sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit.
Amen.
Thursday morning January 12
Photo by George Becker via Pexels.
Opening response
Lord, open our lips.
Our mouth will declare your praise.
Your light springs up for the righteous
and all the peoples 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.
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
Being of Beings, God of Love
Charles Wesley
Being of beings, God of love,
To thee our hearts we raise;
Thy all-sustaining power we prove,
And gladly sing thy praise.
Thine, wholly thine, we pant to be;
Our sacrifice receive!
Made, and preserved, and saved by thee,
To thee ourselves we give.
Heavenward our every wish aspires
For all thy mercy’s store,
The sole return thy love requires,
Is that we ask for more.
For more we ask; we open then
Our hearts to embrace thy will,
Turn and revive us, Lord again,
With all thy fullness fill.
Come, Holy Ghost, the Savior’s love
Shed in our hearts abroad:
So shall we ever live and move,
And be with Christ in God.
Confession of sin
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor repaid us for our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his loving kindness towards those who fear him.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Like a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
Praise the LORD, my soul!
All that is within me, praise his holy name!
Praise the LORD, my soul,
and don’t forget all his benefits.
Psalm 21
Refrain:
The king trusts in the LORD.
The king rejoices in your strength, LORD!
How greatly he rejoices in your salvation!
You have given him his heart’s desire,
and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.
For you meet him with the blessings of goodness.
You set a crown of fine gold on his head.
He asked life of you and you gave it to him,
even length of days forever and ever.
His glory is great in your salvation.
You lay honour and majesty on him.
For you make him most blessed forever.
You make him glad with joy in your presence.
For the king trusts in the LORD.
Through the loving kindness of the Most High, he shall not be moved.
Your hand will find out all of your enemies.
Your right hand will find out those who hate you.
You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger.
The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath.
The fire shall devour them.
You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
their posterity from amongst the children of men.
For they intended evil against you.
They plotted evil against you which cannot succeed.
For you will make them turn their back,
when you aim drawn bows at their face.
Be exalted, LORD, in your strength,
so we will sing and praise your power.
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.
Refrain:
The king trusts in the LORD.
Psalm prayer
Crown us, God, but with humility,
and robe us with compassion,
that, as you call us into the kingdom of your Son,
we may strive to overcome all evil
by the power of good
and so walk gently on the earth
with you, our God, forever.
Psalm 24
Refrain:
The LORD of Armies is the King of glory!
The earth is the LORD’s, with its fullness;
the world, and those who dwell in it.
For he has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the floods.
Who may ascend to the LORD’s hill?
Who may stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart;
who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood,
and has not sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is the generation of those who seek Him,
who seek your face—even Jacob. Selah.
Lift up your heads, you gates!
Be lifted up, you everlasting doors,
and the King of glory will come in.
Who is the King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, you gates;
yes, lift them up, you everlasting doors,
and the King of glory will come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of Armies is the King of glory! Selah.
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.
Refrain:
The LORD of Armies is the King of glory!
Psalm prayer
O LORD of Armies,
purify our hearts
that the glorious king may come in,
your Son, Jesus our redeemer.
Old Testament reading
Amos 4
Listen to this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who tell their husbands, “Bring us drinks!”
The Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness,
“Behold, the days shall come on you that they will take you away with hooks,
and the last of you with fish hooks.
You will go out at the breaks in the wall,
everyone straight before her;
and you will cast yourselves into Harmon,” says the LORD.
“Go to Bethel, and sin;
to Gilgal, and sin more.
Bring your sacrifices every morning,
your tithes every three days,
offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened,
and proclaim free will offerings and brag about them;
for this pleases you, you children of Israel,” says the Lord GOD.
“I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities,
and lack of bread in every town;
yet you haven’t returned to me,” says the LORD.
“I also have withheld the rain from you,
when there were yet three months to the harvest;
and I caused it to rain on one city,
and caused it not to rain on another city.
One field was rained on,
and the field where it didn’t rain withered.
So two or three cities staggered to one city to drink water,
and were not satisfied;
yet you haven’t returned to me,” says the LORD.
“I struck you with blight and mildew many times in your gardens and your vineyards,
and the swarming locusts have devoured your fig trees and your olive trees;
yet you haven’t returned to me,” says the LORD.
“I sent plagues amongst you like I did Egypt.
I have slain your young men with the sword,
and have carried away your horses.
I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camp,
yet you haven’t returned to me,” says the LORD.
“I have overthrown some of you,
as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
and you were like a burning stick plucked out of the fire;
yet you haven’t returned to me,” says the LORD.
“Therefore I will do this to you, Israel;
because I will do this to you,
prepare to meet your God, Israel.
For, behold, he who forms the mountains, creates the wind, declares to man what is his thought,
who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the high places of the earth:
The LORD, the God of Armies, is his name.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
1 Corinthians 3
Brothers, I couldn’t speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ. I fed you with milk, not with solid food, for you weren’t yet ready. Indeed, you aren’t ready even now, for you are still fleshly. For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions amongst you, aren’t you fleshly, and don’t you walk in the ways of men? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you fleshly?
Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed, and each as the Lord gave to him? I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are the same, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s farming, God’s building.
According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds on it. But let each man be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ. But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is. If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burnt, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.
Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, which you are.
Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks that he is wise amongst you in this world, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He has taken the wise in their craftiness.” And again, “The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is worthless.” Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
Refrain:
Those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength.
They will mount up with wings like eagles.
Blessed be the Lord, the 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 who have been from of old),
salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show mercy toward our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant,
the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
should serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the dawn from on high will visit us,
to shine on those who sit in darkness and 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.
Refrain:
Those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength.
They will mount up with wings like eagles.
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,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
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,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and 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:
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
Father, hear our prayer,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Eternal Father,
who at the baptism of Jesus
revealed him to be your Son,
anointing him with the Holy Spirit:
grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit,
that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children;
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 in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.
Conclusion
May Christ, who sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit.
Amen.