Sunday morning May 14
Image: Unsplash
Opening response
Lord, open our lips.
Our mouth will declare your praise.
In your resurrection, O Christ,
let heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be praise and glory forever.
As once you ransomed your people from Egypt
and led them to freedom in the promised land,
so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son.
May we, the first fruits of your new creation,
rejoice in this new day you have made,
and praise you for your mighty acts.
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
Hail! Holy, Holy, Holy Lord
Charles Wesley
Hail! Holy, holy, holy Lord,
Whom one in three we know;
By all thy heavenly hosts adored,
By all thy church below.
One undivided Trinity
With triumph we proclaim;
Thy universe is full of thee,
And speaks thy glorious name.
Thee, Holy Father, we confess,
Thee, Holy Son, adore;
And thee, the Holy Ghost, we bless
And worship evermore.
Hail! Holy, holy, holy Lord,
This be our song to thee,
Supreme, essential one, adored
In co-eternal three!
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 73:21-28
Refrain:
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge.
For my soul was grieved.
I was embittered in my heart.
I was so senseless and ignorant.
I was a brute beast before you.
Nevertheless, I am continually with you.
You have held my right hand.
You will guide me with your counsel,
and afterward receive me to glory.
Whom do I have in heaven?
There is no one on earth whom I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart fails,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
For, behold, those who are far from you shall perish.
You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to you.
But it is good for me to come close to God.
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.
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:
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge.
Psalm prayer
Holy God,
may we find wisdom in your presence
and set our hope not on uncertain riches
but on the love that holds us to the end;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Job 14:1-2,7-15; 19:23-27a
“Man, who is born of a woman,
is of few days, and full of trouble.
He grows up like a flower, and is cut down.
He also flees like a shadow, and doesn’t continue.
“For there is hope for a tree if it is cut down,
that it will sprout again,
that the tender branch of it will not cease.
Though its root grows old in the earth,
and its stock dies in the ground,
yet through the scent of water it will bud,
and sprout boughs like a plant.
But man dies, and is laid low.
Yes, man gives up the spirit, and where is he?
As the waters fail from the sea,
and the river wastes and dries up,
so man lies down and doesn’t rise.
Until the heavens are no more, they will not awake,
nor be roused out of their sleep.
“Oh that you would hide me in Sheol,
that you would keep me secret until your wrath is past,
that you would appoint me a set time and remember me!
If a man dies, will he live again?
I would wait all the days of my warfare,
until my release should come.
You would call, and I would answer you.
You would have a desire for the work of your hands.
“Oh that my words were now written!
Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
That with an iron pen and lead
they were engraved in the rock forever!
But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives.
In the end, he will stand upon the earth.
After my skin is destroyed,
then I will see God in my flesh,
whom I, even I, will see on my side.
My eyes will see, and not as a stranger.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
But we don’t want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you don’t grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
Refrain:
The Lord is risen from the tomb
who for our sakes hung upon the tree. Alleluia.
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:
The Lord is risen from the tomb
who for our sakes hung upon the tree. Alleluia.
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 people of God, that they may proclaim the risen Lord
God’s creation, that the peoples of the earth may meet their responsibility to care
Those in despair and darkness, that they may find the hope and light of Christ
Those in fear of death, that they may find faith through the resurrection
Prisoners and captives
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Loving God, we look to you.
Receive our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
God our redeemer,
you have delivered us from the power of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your Son:
grant, that as by his death he has recalled us to life,
so by his continual presence in us he may raise us
to eternal joy;
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
Rejoicing in God’s new creation,
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 the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
Amen.
Saturday morning May 13
Image: Unsplash
Opening response
Lord, open our lips.
Our mouth will declare your praise.
In your resurrection, O Christ,
let heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be praise and glory forever.
As once you ransomed your people from Egypt
and led them to freedom in the promised land,
so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son.
May we, the first fruits of your new creation,
rejoice in this new day you have made,
and praise you for your mighty acts.
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
O thou whom we adore
Charles Wesley
O thou whom we adore!
To bless our earth again,
Assume thine own almighty power,
And over the nations reign.
The world’s desire and hope,
All power to thee is given;
Now set the last great empire up,
Eternal Lord of heaven!
A gracious Savior, thou,
Wilt all thy creatures bless;
And every knee to thee shall bow,
And every tongue confess.
According to thy word;
Now be thy grace revealed;
And with the knowledge of the Lord,
Let all the earth be filled.
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 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.
Psalm 150
Refrain:
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary!
Praise him in his heavens for his acts of power!
Praise him for his mighty acts!
Praise him according to his excellent greatness!
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet!
Praise him with harp and lyre!
Praise him with tambourine and dancing!
Praise him with stringed instruments and flute!
Praise him with loud cymbals!
Praise him with resounding cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
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:
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
Deuteronomy 24:5-22
When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out in the army, neither shall he be assigned any business. He shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer his wife whom he has taken.
No man shall take the mill or the upper millstone as a pledge, for he takes a life in pledge.
If a man is found stealing any of his brothers of the children of Israel, and he deals with him as a slave, or sells him, then that thief shall die. So you shall remove the evil from amongst you.
Be careful in the plague of leprosy, that you observe diligently and do according to all that the Levitical priests teach you. As I commanded them, so you shall observe to do. Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam, by the way as you came out of Egypt.
When you lend your neighbour any kind of loan, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge. You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge outside to you. If he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge. You shall surely restore to him the pledge when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his garment and bless you. It shall be righteousness to you before the LORD your God.
You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the foreigners who are in your land within your gates. In his day you shall give him his wages, neither shall the sun go down on it, for he is poor and sets his heart on it, lest he cry against you to the LORD, and it be sin to you.
The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers. Every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
You shall not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, nor take a widow’s clothing in pledge; but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you there. Therefore I command you to do this thing.
When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to get it. It shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again. It shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
When you harvest your vineyard, you shall not glean it after yourselves. It shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. Therefore I command you to do this thing.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
1 Peter 3:13-22
Now who will harm you if you become imitators of that which is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “Don’t fear what they fear, neither be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear, having a good conscience. Thus, while you are spoken against as evildoers, they may be disappointed who curse your good way of life in Christ. For it is better, if it is God’s will, that you suffer for doing what is right than for doing evil. Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit, in whom he also went and preached to the spirits in prison, who before were disobedient when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ship was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. This is a symbol of baptism, which now saves you—not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience towards God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him.
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
Refrain:
The Lord is risen from the tomb
who for our sakes hung upon the tree. Alleluia.
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:
The Lord is risen from the tomb
who for our sakes hung upon the tree. Alleluia.
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 people of God, that they may proclaim the risen Lord
God’s creation, that the peoples of the earth may meet their responsibility to care
Those in despair and darkness, that they may find the hope and light of Christ
Those in fear of death, that they may find faith through the resurrection
Prisoners and captives
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,
who through your only begotten Son Jesus Christ
have overcome death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life:
grant that, as by your grace going before us
you put into our minds good desires,
so by your continual help
we may bring them to good effect;
through Jesus Christ our risen 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
Rejoicing in God’s new creation,
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 the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
Amen.
Friday morning May 12
Image: Unsplash
Opening response
Lord, open our lips.
Our mouth will declare your praise.
In your resurrection, O Christ,
let heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be praise and glory forever.
As once you ransomed your people from Egypt
and led them to freedom in the promised land,
so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son.
May we, the first fruits of your new creation,
rejoice in this new day you have made,
and praise you for your mighty acts.
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
Angels Your March Oppose
Charles Wesley
Angels your march oppose,
Who still in strength excel,
Your secret, sworn, eternal foes,
Countless, invisible.
With rage that never ends
Their hellish arts they try;
Legions of dire malicious fiends,
And spirits enthroned on high.
From thrones of glory driven
By flaming vengeance hurled
They throng the air, and darken heaven,
And rule this lower world.
But shall believers fear?
But shall believers fly?
Or see the bloody cross appear,
And all their power defy?
Jesus’ tremendous name
Puts all our foes to flight:
Jesus, the meek, the angry Lamb,
A Lion is in fight.
By all hell’s host withstood,
We all hell’s host overthrow;
And conquering them, through Jesus’ blood,
We still to conquer go.
Our Captain leads us on;
He beckons from the skies,
And reaches out a starry crown,
And bids us take the prize:
“Be faithful unto death;
Partake my victory;
And thou shalt wear this glorious wreath.
And thou shalt reign with me.”
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.
Amen.
Psalm 138
Refrain:
Your loving kindness, LORD, endures forever.
I will give you thanks with my whole heart.
Before the gods, I will sing praises to you.
I will bow down towards your holy temple,
and give thanks to your Name for your loving kindness and for your truth;
for you have exalted your Name and your Word above all.
In the day that I called, you answered me.
You encouraged me with strength in my soul.
All the kings of the earth will give you thanks, LORD,
for they have heard the words of your mouth.
Yes, they will sing of the ways of the LORD,
for the LORD’s glory is great!
For though the LORD is high, yet he looks after the lowly;
but he knows the proud from afar.
Though I walk in the middle of trouble, you will revive me.
You will stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies.
Your right hand will save me.
The LORD will fulfill that which concerns me.
Your loving kindness, LORD, endures forever.
Don’t forsake the works of your own hands.
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:
Your loving kindness, LORD, endures forever.
Psalm prayer
Lord our God, supreme over all things,
look upon the humble and lowly
and put new strength into our souls
to complete your purpose for us
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 149
Refrain:
Shout for joy to the LORD, all you lands!
Praise the LORD!
Sing to the LORD a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the saints.
Let Israel rejoice in him who made them.
Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
Let them praise his name in the dance!
Let them sing praises to him with tambourine and harp!
For the LORD takes pleasure in his people.
He crowns the humble with salvation.
Let the saints rejoice in honour.
Let them sing for joy on their beds.
May the high praises of God be in their mouths,
and a two-edged sword in their hand,
to execute vengeance on the nations,
and punishments on the peoples;
to bind their kings with chains,
and their nobles with fetters of iron;
to execute on them the written judgement.
All his saints have this honour.
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:
Shout for joy to the LORD, all you lands!
Psalm prayer
Glorious and redeeming God,
give us hearts to praise you all our days
and wills to reject the world’s deceits,
that we may bind the evils of our age
and proclaim the good news of salvation
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Deuteronomy 21:22-22:8
If a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him the same day; for he who is hanged is accursed of God. Don’t defile your land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance.
You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep go astray and hide yourself from them. You shall surely bring them again to your brother. If your brother isn’t near to you, or if you don’t know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall be with you until your brother comes looking for it, and you shall restore it to him. So you shall do with his donkey. So you shall do with his garment. So you shall do with every lost thing of your brother’s, which he has lost and you have found. You may not hide yourself. You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fallen down by the way, and hide yourself from them. You shall surely help him to lift them up again.
A woman shall not wear men’s clothing, neither shall a man put on women’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.
If you come across a bird’s nest on the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the hen sitting on the young, or on the eggs, you shall not take the hen with the young. You shall surely let the hen go, but the young you may take for yourself, that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days.
When you build a new house, then you shall make a railing around your roof, so that you don’t bring blood on your house if anyone falls from there.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
1 Peter 3:1-12
In the same way, wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, so that, even if any don’t obey the Word, they may be won by the behaviour of their wives without a word, seeing your pure behaviour in fear. Let your beauty come not from the outward adorning of braiding your hair, and of wearing gold ornaments or of putting on fine clothing, but from the hidden person of the heart, in the incorruptible adornment of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in God’s sight. For this is how in the past the holy women who hoped in God also adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own husbands. So Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose children you now are if you do well and are not put in fear by any terror.
You husbands, in the same way, live with your wives according to knowledge, giving honour to the woman as to the weaker vessel, as also being joint heirs of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
Finally, all of you be like-minded, compassionate, loving as brothers, tenderhearted, courteous, not rendering evil for evil or insult for insult; but instead blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For,
“He who would love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit.
Let him turn away from evil and do good.
Let him seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears open to their prayer;
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
Refrain:
The Lord is risen from the tomb
who for our sakes hung upon the tree. Alleluia.
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:
The Lord is risen from the tomb
who for our sakes hung upon the tree. Alleluia.
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 people of God, that they may proclaim the risen Lord
God’s creation, that the peoples of the earth may meet their responsibility to care
Those in despair and darkness, that they may find the hope and light of Christ
Those in fear of death, that they may find faith through the resurrection
Prisoners and captives
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God,
who through your only begotten Son Jesus Christ
have overcome death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life:
grant that, as by your grace going before us
you put into our minds good desires,
so by your continual help
we may bring them to good effect;
through Jesus Christ our risen 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
Rejoicing in God’s new creation,
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 the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
Amen.