Tuesday morning January 17
Photo by ZCH 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
The Sovereign Lord of Hosts Is One
Charles Wesley
The sovereign Lord of hosts is One,
Forever glorified,
The first and last is God alone,
There is no God beside:
Worship divine to him is due,
Who doth the title claim,
The Alpha and Omega too,
The first and last I Am.
The King of saints, the Lord of hosts,
Almighty to redeem,
In him his ransomed people trusts
The One great God supreme:
Jesus, thou art to us made known
Fullness of deity:
There is no other God but One,
No other God but thee.
Confession of sin
Seek the LORD while he may be found.
Call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways,
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them return to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them,
to our God, for he will freely pardon.
cf Isaiah 55
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Lord God,
we have sinned against you;
we have committed evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your faithful love.
Wash us completely clean of our guilt; purify us from our sin.
Put a new, faithful spirit deep inside us,
and return the joy of your salvation to us
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
cf Psalm 51
May the Father of all mercies
cleanse us from our sins,
and restore us in his image
to the praise and glory of his name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Blessed be the LORD,
because he has heard the voice of our petitions.
Therefore our hearts greatly rejoice.
With our song we will thank him.
cf Psalm 28:7,9
Psalm 132
LORD, remember David and all his affliction,
how he swore to the LORD,
and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
“Surely I will not come into the structure of my house,
nor go up into my bed;
I will not give sleep to my eyes,
or slumber to my eyelids,
until I find out a place for the LORD,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah.
We found it in the field of Jaar.
“We will go into his dwelling place.
We will worship at his footstool.”
Arise, LORD, into your resting place,
you, and the ark of your strength.
Let your priests be clothed with righteousness.
Let your saints shout for joy!
For your servant David’s sake,
don’t turn away the face of your anointed one.
The LORD has sworn to David in truth.
He will not turn from it:
“I will set the fruit of your body on your throne.
If your children will keep my covenant,
my testimony that I will teach them,
their children also will sit on your throne forever more.”
For the LORD has chosen Zion.
He has desired it for his habitation.
“This is my resting place forever.
I will live here, for I have desired it.
I will abundantly bless her provision.
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
I will also clothe her priests with salvation.
Her saints will shout aloud for joy.
I will make the horn of David to bud there.
I have ordained a lamp for my anointed.
I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but on himself, his crown will shine.”
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.
Psalm prayer
Jesus, Son of David,
make us a priestly people;
clothe us in righteousness,
make us fruitful,
and give us hearts to shout for joy in your salvation;
we pray in the power of the Spirit.
Psalm 147:1-12
Refrain:
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.
Praise the LORD,
for it is good to sing praises to our God;
for it is pleasant and fitting to praise him.
The LORD builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the broken in heart,
and binds up their wounds.
He counts the number of the stars.
He calls them all by their names.
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.
His understanding is infinite.
The LORD upholds the humble.
He brings the wicked down to the ground.
Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving.
Sing praises on the harp to our God,
who covers the sky with clouds,
who prepares rain for the earth,
who makes grass grow on the mountains.
He provides food for the livestock,
and for the young ravens when they call.
He doesn’t delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his loving kindness.
Praise the LORD, Jerusalem!
Praise your God, Zion!
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:
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.
Psalm prayer
Compassionate God,
as you know each star you have created,
so you know the secrets of every heart;
in your loving mercy bring to your table
all who are fearful and broken,
all who are wounded and needy,
that our hungers may be satisfied
in the city of your peace;
through Christ who is our peace.
Old Testament reading
Amos 7
Thus the Lord GOD showed me: behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s harvest. When they finished eating the grass of the land, then I said, “Lord GOD, forgive, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.”
The LORD relented concerning this. “It shall not be,” says the LORD.
Thus the Lord GOD showed me: behold, the Lord GOD called for judgement by fire; and it dried up the great deep, and would have devoured the land. Then I said, “Lord GOD, stop, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.”
The LORD relented concerning this. “This also shall not be,” says the Lord GOD.
Thus he showed me: behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. The LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”
I said, “A plumb line.”
Then the Lord said, “Behold, I will set a plumb line in the middle of my people Israel. I will not again pass by them any more. The high places of Isaac will be desolate, the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the middle of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. For Amos says, ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.’ ”
Amaziah also said to Amos, “You seer, go, flee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there, but don’t prophesy again any more at Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a royal house!”
Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman, and a farmer of sycamore figs; and the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ Now therefore listen to the LORD’s word: ‘You say, Don’t prophesy against Israel, and don’t preach against the house of Isaac.’ Therefore the LORD says: ‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided by line; and you yourself shall die in a land that is unclean, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.’ ”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are expedient. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be brought under the power of anything. “Foods for the belly, and the belly for foods,” but God will bring to nothing both it and them. But the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. Now God raised up the Lord, and will also raise us up by his power. Don’t you know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! Or don’t you know that he who is joined to a prostitute is one body? For, “The two”, he says, “will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin that a man does is outside the body,” but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
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
God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God,
in Christ you make all things new:
transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace,
and in the renewal of our lives
make known your heavenly glory;
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.
Monday morning January 16
Photo by Johannes Plenio 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
Come, O thou greater than our heart
Charles Wesley
Come, O thou greater than our heart,
And make thy faithful mercies known;
The mind which was in thee impart,
Thy constant mind in us be shown.
O let us by thy cross abide,
Thee, only thee, resolved to know,
The Lamb for sinners crucified,
A world to save from endless woe.
Take us into thy people’s rest,
And we from our own works shall cease;
With thy meek Spirit arm our breast,
And keep our minds in perfect peace.
Jesus, for this we calmly wait;
O let our eyes behold thee near!
Hasten to make our heaven complete:
Appear, our glorious God, appear!
Confession of sin
Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Almighty God,
patient and of great goodness:
I confess to you,
I confess with my whole heart
my neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments,
my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking;
the hurts I have done to others,
and the good I have left undone.
O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you;
and raise me to newness of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
May the God of love and power
forgive us and free us from our sins,
heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,
and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Psalm 145
Refrain:
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!
I will exalt you, my God, the King.
I will praise your name forever and ever.
Every day I will praise you.
I will extol your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!
His greatness is unsearchable.
One generation will commend your works to another,
and will declare your mighty acts.
I will meditate on the glorious majesty of your honour,
on your wondrous works.
Men will speak of the might of your awesome acts.
I will declare your greatness.
They will utter the memory of your great goodness,
and will sing of your righteousness.
The LORD is gracious, merciful,
slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.
The LORD is good to all.
His tender mercies are over all his works.
All your works will give thanks to you, LORD.
Your saints will extol you.
They will speak of the glory of your kingdom,
and talk about your power,
to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts,
the glory of the majesty of his kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The LORD is faithful in all his words,
and loving in all his deeds.
The LORD upholds all who fall,
and raises up all those who are bowed down.
The eyes of all wait for you.
You give them their food in due season.
You open your hand,
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all his ways,
and gracious in all his works.
The LORD is near to all those who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him.
He also will hear their cry, and will save them.
The LORD preserves all those who love him,
but he will destroy all the wicked.
My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD.
Let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
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:
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!
Psalm prayer
King of the universe,
you show the bright glory of your reign
in acts of mercy and enduring love;
raise the spirits of the downcast
and restore those who have fallen away,
that we may sing forever of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 146
Refrain:
The LORD will reign forever.
Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, my soul.
While I live, I will praise the LORD.
I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist.
Don’t put your trust in princes,
in a son of man in whom there is no help.
His spirit departs, and he returns to the earth.
In that very day, his thoughts perish.
Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them;
who keeps truth forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.
The LORD frees the prisoners.
The LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD raises up those who are bowed down.
The LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD preserves the foreigners.
He upholds the fatherless and widow,
but he turns the way of the wicked upside down.
The LORD will reign forever;
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
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.
Refrain:
The LORD will reign forever.
Psalm prayer
Lord of all,
our breath and being come from you,
yet our earthly end is dust;
as you loose the bound and feed the hungry,
so bring us in your mercy through the grave and gate of death
to the feast of eternal life,
where you reign forevermore.
Old Testament reading
Amos 6
Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,
and to those who are secure on the mountain of Samaria,
the notable men of the chief of the nations,
to whom the house of Israel come!
Go to Calneh, and see.
From there go to Hamath the great.
Then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
Are they better than these kingdoms?
Is their border greater than your border?
Alas for you who put far away the evil day,
and cause the seat of violence to come near,
who lie on beds of ivory,
and stretch themselves on their couches,
and eat the lambs out of the flock,
and the calves out of the middle of the stall,
who strum on the strings of a harp,
who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;
who drink wine in bowls,
and anoint themselves with the best oils,
but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
Therefore they will now go captive with the first who go captive.
The feasting and lounging will end.
“The Lord GOD has sworn by himself,” says the LORD, the God of Armies:
“I abhor the pride of Jacob,
and detest his fortresses.
Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it.
It will happen that if ten men remain in one house,
they will die.
“When a man’s relative carries him, even he who burns him, to bring bodies out of the house, and asks him who is in the innermost parts of the house, ‘Is there yet any with you?’ And he says, ‘No;’ then he will say, ‘Hush! Indeed we must not mention the LORD’s name.’
“For, behold, the LORD commands, and the great house will be smashed to pieces,
and the little house into bits.
Do horses run on the rocky crags?
Does one plough there with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison,
and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness,
you who rejoice in a thing of nothing, who say,
‘Haven’t we taken for ourselves horns by our own strength?’
For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, house of Israel,”
says the LORD, the God of Armies;
“and they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
1 Corinthians 6:1-11
Dare any of you, having a matter against his neighbour, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Don’t you know that we will judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? If then you have to judge things pertaining to this life, do you set them to judge who are of no account in the assembly? I say this to move you to shame. Isn’t there even one wise man amongst you who would be able to decide between his brothers? But brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers! Therefore it is already altogether a defect in you that you have lawsuits one with another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? No, but you yourselves do wrong and defraud, and that against your brothers.
Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortionists, will inherit God’s Kingdom. Some of you were such, but you were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit of our God.
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
Lord of life
In your mercy, hear us.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God,
in Christ you make all things new:
transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace,
and in the renewal of our lives
make known your heavenly glory;
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.
Sunday morning January 15
Photo by Tyler Lastovich 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
Lo, God Is Here!
Gerhard Tersteegen
Translated by John Wesley
Lo, God is here! let us adore,
And own how dreadful is this place!
Let all within us feel his power,
And silent bow before his face.
Lo, God is here! Whom day and night
United choirs of angels sing;
To him, enthroned above all height,
The hosts of heaven their praises bring.
Being of beings, may our praise
Thy courts with grateful fragrance fill!
Still may we stand before thy face,
Still hear and do thy sovereign will.
As flowers their opening leaves display,
And glad drink in the solar fire,
So may we catch thine every ray,
And thus thy influence inspire.
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 145:1-12
Refrain:
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!
I will exalt you, my God, the King.
I will praise your name forever and ever.
Every day I will praise you.
I will extol your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!
His greatness is unsearchable.
One generation will commend your works to another,
and will declare your mighty acts.
I will meditate on the glorious majesty of your honour,
on your wondrous works.
Men will speak of the might of your awesome acts.
I will declare your greatness.
They will utter the memory of your great goodness,
and will sing of your righteousness.
The LORD is gracious, merciful,
slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.
The LORD is good to all.
His tender mercies are over all his works.
All your works will give thanks to you, LORD.
Your saints will extol you.
They will speak of the glory of your kingdom,
and talk about your power,
to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts,
the glory of the majesty of his kingdom.
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:
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!
Psalm prayer
King of the universe,
you show the bright glory of your reign
in acts of mercy and enduring love;
raise the spirits of the downcast
and restore those who have fallen away,
that we may sing for ever of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Now the LORD’s word came to me, saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.
Before you were born, I sanctified you.
I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I don’t know how to speak; for I am a child.”
But the LORD said to me, “Don’t say, ‘I am a child;’ for you must go to whomever I send you, and you must say whatever I command you. Don’t be afraid because of them, for I am with you to rescue you,” says the LORD.
Then the LORD stretched out his hand and touched my mouth. Then the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. Behold, I have today set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Mark 1:14-20
Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Good News of God’s Kingdom, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and God’s Kingdom is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News.”
Passing along by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you into fishers for men.”
Immediately they left their nets, and followed him.
Going on a little further from there, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them, and they left their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired servants, and went after him.
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
God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God,
in Christ you make all things new:
transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace,
and in the renewal of our lives
make known your heavenly glory;
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.