Tuesday morning August 29
Image: Unsplash
Opening response
Lord, open our lips.
Our mouth will declare your praise.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of all,
to you be glory and praise forever.
You founded the earth in the beginning
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
In the fullness of time you made us in your image,
and in these last days you have spoken to us
in your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
As we rejoice in the gift of your presence among us
let the light of your love always shine in our hearts,
your Spirit ever renew our lives
and your praises ever be on our lips.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
Abba, Father, Hear Thy Child
Charles Wesley
Abba, Father, hear thy child,
Late in Jesus reconciled;
Hear, and all the graces shower,
All the joy, and peace, and power;
All my Savior asks above,
All the life and heaven of love.
Lord, I will not let thee go
Till the blessing thou bestow:
Hear my Advocate divine;
Lo! To his my suit I join;
Joined to his, it cannot fail;
Bless me; for I will prevail.
Heavenly Father, Life divine,
Change my nature into thine;
Move, and spread throughout my soul,
Actuate, and fill the whole:
Be it I no longer now
Living in the flesh, but thou.
Holy Ghost, no more delay;
Come, and in thy temple stay:
Now thine inward witness bear,
Strong, and permanent, and clear:
Spring of life, thyself impart;
Rise eternal in my heart.
Confession of sin
Come, Holy Spirit of God,
and search our hearts with the light of Christ.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
The first commandment is this:
‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’
No other commandment is greater than these.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.
Amen. Lord, have mercy.
After a period of reflection
Come, let us return to the Lord and say:
Lord our God,
in our sin we have avoided your call.
Our love for you is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that disappears early.
Have mercy on us;
deliver us from judgment;
bind up our wounds and revive us;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
cf Hosea 6
May almighty God,
who sent his Son into the world to save sinners,
bring us his pardon and peace, now and forever.
Amen.
Psalm 106
Refrain:
The Lord remembered his covenant.
Praise the LORD!
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his loving kindness endures forever.
Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD,
or fully declare all his praise?
Blessed are those who keep justice.
Blessed is one who does what is right at all times.
Remember me, LORD, with the favour that you show to your people.
Visit me with your salvation,
that I may see the prosperity of your chosen,
that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
that I may glory with your inheritance.
We have sinned with our fathers.
We have committed iniquity.
We have done wickedly.
Our fathers didn’t understand your wonders in Egypt.
They didn’t remember the multitude of your loving kindnesses,
but were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea.
Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake,
that he might make his mighty power known.
He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up;
so he led them through the depths, as through a desert.
He saved them from the hand of him who hated them,
and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
The waters covered their adversaries.
There was not one of them left.
Then they believed his words.
They sang his praise.
They soon forgot his works.
They didn’t wait for his counsel,
but gave in to craving in the desert,
and tested God in the wasteland.
He gave them their request,
but sent leanness into their soul.
They envied Moses also in the camp,
and Aaron, the LORD’s saint.
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
and covered the company of Abiram.
A fire was kindled in their company.
The flame burnt up the wicked.
They made a calf in Horeb,
and worshipped a molten image.
Thus they exchanged their glory
for an image of a bull that eats grass.
They forgot God, their Saviour,
who had done great things in Egypt,
wondrous works in the land of Ham,
and awesome things by the Red Sea.
Therefore he said that he would destroy them,
had Moses, his chosen, not stood before him in the breach,
to turn away his wrath, so that he wouldn’t destroy them.
Yes, they despised the pleasant land.
They didn’t believe his word,
but murmured in their tents,
and didn’t listen to the LORD’s voice.
Therefore he swore to them
that he would overthrow them in the wilderness,
that he would overthrow their offspring amongst the nations,
and scatter them in the lands.
They joined themselves also to Baal Peor,
and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
Thus they provoked him to anger with their deeds.
The plague broke in on them.
Then Phinehas stood up and executed judgement,
so the plague was stopped.
That was credited to him for righteousness,
for all generations to come.
They angered him also at the waters of Meribah,
so that Moses was troubled for their sakes;
because they were rebellious against his spirit,
he spoke rashly with his lips.
They didn’t destroy the peoples,
as the LORD commanded them,
but mixed themselves with the nations,
and learnt their works.
They served their idols,
which became a snare to them.
Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
They shed innocent blood,
even the blood of their sons and of their daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.
The land was polluted with blood.
Thus they were defiled with their works,
and prostituted themselves in their deeds.
Therefore the LORD burnt with anger against his people.
He abhorred his inheritance.
He gave them into the hand of the nations.
Those who hated them ruled over them.
Their enemies also oppressed them.
They were brought into subjection under their hand.
He rescued them many times,
but they were rebellious in their counsel,
and were brought low in their iniquity.
Nevertheless he regarded their distress,
when he heard their cry.
He remembered for them his covenant,
and repented according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.
He made them also to be pitied
by all those who carried them captive.
Save us, LORD, our God,
gather us from amongst the nations,
to give thanks to your holy name,
to triumph in your praise!
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting even to everlasting!
Let all the people say, “Amen.”
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 remembered his covenant.
Psalm prayer
Holy God,
when our memories blot out your kindness
and we ignore your patient love,
remember us, remake us,
and give to us poor sinners
the rich inheritance of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Micah 7:8-20
Don’t rejoice against me, my enemy.
When I fall, I will arise.
When I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.
I will bear the indignation of the LORD,
because I have sinned against him,
until he pleads my case and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light.
I will see his righteousness.
Then my enemy will see it,
and shame will cover her who said to me,
“Where is the LORD your God?”
My eyes will see her.
Now she will be trodden down like the mire of the streets.
A day to build your walls!
In that day, he will extend your boundary.
In that day they will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt even to the River,
and from sea to sea,
and mountain to mountain.
Yet the land will be desolate because of those who dwell therein,
for the fruit of their doings.
Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your heritage,
who dwell by themselves in a forest.
Let them feed in the middle of fertile pasture land,
in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
“As in the days of your coming out of the land of Egypt,
I will show them marvelous things.”
The nations will see and be ashamed of all their might.
They will lay their hand on their mouth.
Their ears will be deaf.
They will lick the dust like a serpent.
Like crawling things of the earth, they will come trembling out of their dens.
They will come with fear to the LORD our God,
and will be afraid because of you.
Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity,
and passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage?
He doesn’t retain his anger forever,
because he delights in loving kindness.
He will again have compassion on us.
He will tread our iniquities under foot.
You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
You will give truth to Jacob,
and mercy to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Mark 7:1-13
Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered together to him, having come from Jerusalem. Now when they saw some of his disciples eating bread with defiled, that is unwashed, hands, they found fault. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews don’t eat unless they wash their hands and forearms, holding to the tradition of the elders. They don’t eat when they come from the marketplace unless they bathe themselves, and there are many other things which they have received to hold to: washings of cups, pitchers, bronze vessels, and couches.) The Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why don’t your disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unwashed hands?”
He answered them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me.
They worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
“For you set aside the commandment of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and you do many other such things.” He said to them, “Full well do you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. For Moses said, ‘Honour your father and your mother;’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban,” ’ ” that is to say, given to God, “then you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother, making void the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down. You do many things like this.”
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
Refrain:
Because of your tender mercy, O God,
the dawn from on high will visit us.
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:
Because of your tender mercy, O God,
the dawn from on high will visit us.
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:
All who are sick in body, mind or spirit
Those in the midst of famine or disaster
Victims of abuse and violence, intolerance and prejudice
Those who are bereaved
All who work in the medical and healing professions
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty and everlasting God,
you are always more ready to hear than we to pray
and to give more than either we desire or deserve:
pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid
and giving us those good things
which we are not worthy to ask
but through the merits and mediation
of 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
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
The Lord bless us,
preserve us from all evil,
and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.
Monday morning August 28
Image: Unsplash
Opening response
Lord, open our lips.
Our mouth will declare your praise.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of all,
to you be glory and praise forever.
You founded the earth in the beginning
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
In the fullness of time you made us in your image,
and in these last days you have spoken to us
in your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
As we rejoice in the gift of your presence among us
let the light of your love always shine in our hearts,
your Spirit ever renew our lives
and your praises ever be on our lips.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
My soul and all its powers
Charles Wesley
My soul and all its powers
Thine, wholly thine, shall be;
All, all my happy hours
I consecrate to thee:
Me to thine image now restore,
And I shall praise thee evermore.
Long as I live beneath,
To thee O let me live;
To thee my every breath
In thanks and praises give:
Whatever I have, whatever I am
Shall magnify my maker’s name.
I wait thy will to do,
As angels do in heaven;
In Christ a creature new,
Most graciously forgiven;
I wait thy perfect will to prove,
All sanctified by spotless love.
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 98
Refrain:
The LORD has made known his salvation.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
The LORD has made known his salvation.
He has openly shown his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his loving kindness and his faithfulness towards the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
Burst out and sing for joy, yes, sing praises!
Sing praises to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and the voice of melody.
With trumpets and sound of the ram’s horn,
make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD.
Let the sea roar with its fullness;
the world, and those who dwell therein.
Let the rivers clap their hands.
Let the mountains sing for joy together.
Let them sing before the LORD,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.
Refrain:
The LORD has made known his salvation.
Psalm prayer
Lord God, just and true,
you make your salvation known in the sight of the nations;
tune the song of our hearts to the music of creation
as you come among us to judge the earth;
through our Savior Jesus Christ.
Psalm 99
Refrain:
Exalt the LORD our God.
The LORD reigns! Let the peoples tremble.
He sits enthroned amongst the cherubim.
Let the earth be moved.
The LORD is great in Zion.
He is high above all the peoples.
Let them praise your great and awesome name.
He is Holy!
The King’s strength also loves justice.
You establish equity.
You execute justice and righteousness in Jacob.
Exalt the LORD our God.
Worship at his footstool.
He is Holy!
Moses and Aaron were amongst his priests,
Samuel was amongst those who call on his name.
They called on the LORD, and he answered them.
He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud.
They kept his testimonies,
the statute that he gave them.
You answered them, LORD our God.
You are a God who forgave them,
although you took vengeance for their doings.
Exalt the LORD, our God.
Worship at his holy hill,
for the LORD, our God, is holy!
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:
Exalt the LORD our God.
Psalm prayer
Lord God, mighty king,
you love justice and establish equity;
may we love justice more than gain
and mercy more than power;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 101
Refrain:
Blessed be the LORD’s name,
from this time forward and forevermore.
I will sing of loving kindness and justice.
To you, LORD, I will sing praises.
I will be careful to live a blameless life.
When will you come to me?
I will walk within my house with a blameless heart.
I will set no vile thing before my eyes.
I hate the deeds of faithless men.
They will not cling to me.
A perverse heart will be far from me.
I will have nothing to do with evil.
I will silence whoever secretly slanders his neighbour.
I won’t tolerate one who is arrogant and conceited.
My eyes will be on the faithful of the land,
that they may dwell with me.
He who walks in a perfect way,
he will serve me.
He who practices deceit won’t dwell within my house.
He who speaks falsehood won’t be established before my eyes.
Morning by morning, I will destroy all the wicked of the land,
to cut off all the workers of iniquity from the LORD’s city.
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:
Blessed be the LORD’s name,
from this time forward and forevermore.
Psalm prayer
Keep us, Lord,
in purity of heart and faithfulness to your commands,
that your servants may walk before you
in the way that is perfect;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Micah 7:1-7
Misery is mine!
Indeed, I am like one who gathers the summer fruits, as gleanings of the vineyard.
There is no cluster of grapes to eat.
My soul desires to eat the early fig.
The godly man has perished out of the earth,
and there is no one upright amongst men.
They all lie in wait for blood;
every man hunts his brother with a net.
Their hands are on that which is evil to do it diligently.
The ruler and judge ask for a bribe.
The powerful man dictates the evil desire of his soul.
Thus they conspire together.
The best of them is like a brier.
The most upright is worse than a thorn hedge.
The day of your watchmen,
even your visitation, has come;
now is the time of their confusion.
Don’t trust in a neighbor.
Don’t put confidence in a friend.
With the woman lying in your embrace,
be careful of the words of your mouth!
For the son dishonors the father,
the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.
But as for me, I will look to the LORD.
I will wait for the God of my salvation.
My God will hear me.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Mark 6:46-56
Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself sent the multitude away. After he had taken leave of them, he went up the mountain to pray.
When evening had come, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on the land. Seeing them distressed in rowing, for the wind was contrary to them, about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea; and he would have passed by them, but they, when they saw him walking on the sea, supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw him and were troubled. But he immediately spoke with them and said to them, “Cheer up! It is I! Don’t be afraid.” He got into the boat with them; and the wind ceased, and they were very amazed amongst themselves, and marvelled; for they hadn’t understood about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. When they had come out of the boat, immediately the people recognised him, and ran around that whole region, and began to bring those who were sick on their mats to where they heard he was. Wherever he entered—into villages, or into cities, or into the country—they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might just touch the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched him were made well.
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
Refrain:
You have raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of your servant David.
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:
You have raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of your servant David.
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 media and the arts
Farming and fishing
Commerce and industry
Those whose work is unfulfilling, stressful or fraught with danger
All who are unemployed
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
Almighty and everlasting God,
you are always more ready to hear than we to pray
and to give more than either we desire or deserve:
pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid
and giving us those good things
which we are not worthy to ask
but through the merits and mediation
of 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
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
The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.
Sunday morning August 27
Image: Unsplash
Opening response
Lord, open our lips.
Our mouth will declare your praise.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of all,
to you be glory and praise forever.
You founded the earth in the beginning
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
In the fullness of time you made us in your image,
and in these last days you have spoken to us
in your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
As we rejoice in the gift of your presence among us
let the light of your love always shine in our hearts,
your Spirit ever renew our lives
and your praises ever be on our lips.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
Jesus, At Whose Supreme Command
Charles Wesley
Jesus, at whose supreme command,
We now approach to God,
Before us in thy vesture stand,
Thy vesture dipped in blood.
Obedient to thy gracious word,
We break the hallowed bread,
Commemorate thee, our dying Lord,
And trust on thee to feed.
Now Savior, now thyself reveal,
And make thy nature known,
Affix thy blessed Spirit’s seal,
And stamp us for thine own.
The tokens of thy dying love
O let us all receive,
And feel the quickening Spirit move,
And sensibly believe.
The cup of blessing, blest by thee,
Let it thy blood impart;
The bread thy mystic body be,
To cheer each languid heart.
The living bread sent down from heaven,
In us vouchsafe to be,
Thy flesh for all the world is given,
And all may live by thee.
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 104:1-25
Refrain:
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live.
Bless the LORD, my soul.
The LORD, my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with honour and majesty.
He covers himself with light as with a garment.
He stretches out the heavens like a curtain.
He lays the beams of his rooms in the waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot.
He walks on the wings of the wind.
He makes his messengers winds,
and his servants flames of fire.
He laid the foundations of the earth,
that it should not be moved forever.
You covered it with the deep as with a cloak.
The waters stood above the mountains.
At your rebuke they fled.
At the voice of your thunder they hurried away.
The mountains rose,
the valleys sank down,
to the place which you had assigned to them.
You have set a boundary that they may not pass over,
that they don’t turn again to cover the earth.
He sends springs into the valleys.
They run amongst the mountains.
They give drink to every animal of the field.
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
The birds of the sky nest by them.
They sing amongst the branches.
He waters the mountains from his rooms.
The earth is filled with the fruit of your works.
He causes the grass to grow for the livestock,
and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may produce food out of the earth:
wine that makes the heart of man glad,
oil to make his face to shine,
and bread that strengthens man’s heart.
The LORD’s trees are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon, which he has planted,
where the birds make their nests.
The stork makes its home in the cypress trees.
The high mountains are for the wild goats.
The rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
He appointed the moon for seasons.
The sun knows when to set.
You make darkness, and it is night,
in which all the animals of the forest prowl.
The young lions roar after their prey,
and seek their food from God.
The sun rises, and they steal away,
and lie down in their dens.
Man goes out to his work,
to his labor until the evening.
Old Testament reading
Jonah 2
Then Jonah prayed to the LORD, his God, out of the fish’s belly. He said,
“I called because of my affliction to the LORD.
He answered me.
Out of the belly of Sheol I cried.
You heard my voice.
For you threw me into the depths,
in the heart of the seas.
The flood was all around me.
All your waves and your billows passed over me.
I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight;
yet I will look again towards your holy temple.’
The waters surrounded me,
even to the soul.
The deep was around me.
The weeds were wrapped around my head.
I went down to the bottoms of the mountains.
The earth barred me in forever;
yet you have brought my life up from the pit, LORD my God.
“When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD.
My prayer came in to you, into your holy temple.
Those who regard vain idols forsake their own mercy.
But I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving.
I will pay that which I have vowed.
Salvation belongs to the LORD.”
Then the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah on the dry land.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Revelation 1
This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel to his servant, John, who testified to God’s word and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, about everything that he saw.
Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it, for the time is near.
John, to the seven assemblies that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from God, who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood— and he made us to be a Kingdom, priests to his God and Father—to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
I John, your brother and partner with you in the oppression, Kingdom, and perseverance in Christ Jesus, was on the isle that is called Patmos because of God’s Word and the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet saying, “What you see, write in a book and send to the seven assemblies: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. Having turned, I saw seven golden lamp stands. And amongst the lamp stands was one like a son of man, clothed with a robe reaching down to his feet, and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and his hair were white as white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace. His voice was like the voice of many waters. He had seven stars in his right hand. Out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest. When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man.
He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last, and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades. Write therefore the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will happen hereafter. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lamp stands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven assemblies. The seven lamp stands are seven assemblies.
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
Refrain:
You have raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of your servant David.
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:
You have raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of your servant David.
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 universal church
Bishops, superintendents and all who lead the church
The leaders of the nations
The natural world and the resources of the earth
All who are in any kind of need
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
O God, you declare your almighty power
most chiefly in showing mercy and pity:
mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace,
that we, running the way of your commandments,
may receive your gracious promises,
and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure;
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
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
The Lord bless us,
preserve us from all evil,
and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.