Shane Raynor 12/8/25 Shane Raynor 12/8/25

Tue. morning Dec. 9

Opening response

O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

Reveal among us the light of your presence
that we may behold your power and glory.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God of all, to you be praise and glory forever. In your tender compassion, the dawn from on high is breaking upon us to dispel the lingering shadows of light. As we look for your coming among us this day, open our eyes to behold your presence and strengthen our hands to do your will, that the world may rejoice and give you praise. 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 Traveler Unknown

Music by The Hymnodist: Spotify, Apple, Amazon, iHeart, YouTube Music, Pandora, Boomplay, Deezer
Lyrics by Charles Wesley

Verse 1
Come, O thou traveler unknown
Whom still I hold, but cannot see
My company before is gone
And I am left alone with thee
With thee all night I mean to stay
And wrestle till the break of day

Verse 2
I need not tell thee who I am
My misery or sin declare
Thyself hast called me by my name
Look on thy hands and read it there
But who, I ask thee, who art thou
Tell me thy name, and tell me now

Chorus
My strength is gone, my nature dies
I sink beneath thy weighty hand
Faint to revive, and fall to rise
I fall, and yet by faith I stand
I stand, and will not let thee go
Till I thy name, thy nature know

Thy nature know

Verse 3
Yield to me now—for I am weak
But confident in self-despair
Speak to my heart, in blessings speak
Be conquered by my instant prayer
Speak, or thou never hence shalt move
And tell me, if thy name is love

Chorus

Verse 4
’Tis love! ’tis love! Thou died for me
I hear thy whisper in my heart
The morning breaks, the shadows flee
Pure, universal love thou art
To me, to all thy passions move
Thy nature and thy name is love

My strength is gone, my nature dies
Thy nature and thy name is love
My strength is gone, my nature dies
Thy nature and thy name is love

Verse 5
My prayer hath power with God; the grace
Unspeakable I now receive
Through faith I see thee face to face
I see thee face to face and live
In vain I have not wept and strove
Thy nature and thy name is love

Verse 6
I know thee, Savior, who thou art
Jesus, the feeble sinner’s friend
Nor wilt thou with the night depart
But stay and love me to the end
Thy mercies never shall remove
Thy nature and thy name is love

My strength is gone, my nature dies
Thy nature and thy name is love
My strength is gone, my nature dies
Thy nature and thy name is love
Thy nature and thy name is love
Thy nature and thy name is love

Confession of Sin

Come, Holy Spirit of God,
and search our hearts with the light of Christ.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said:

“The first of all the commandments is, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

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 faithfulness is like a morning cloud, and like the early dew, it goes away. 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 56

𝙍: In God have I put my trust; I will not fear.

Be gracious to me, O God, for man would trample on me;
fighting all day long he oppresses me.
My enemies would trample on me all day long,
for there are many who fight against me, O Most High.

When I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God have I put my trust; I will not fear.
What can mere flesh do to me?

𝙍: In God have I put my trust; I will not fear.

All day they twist my words;
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
They stir up strife, they lurk,
they watch my steps,
when they wait for my life.
For their wickedness will they escape?
In Your anger cast down the peoples, O God.

You keep count of my wanderings;
put my tears in Your bottle;
are they not in Your book?

𝙍: In God have I put my trust; I will not fear.

Then my enemies will turn back
in the day when I call;
this I know, that God is for me.

In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise,
in God have I put my trust; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?

My vows to You are binding upon me, O God;
I will render thank offerings to You;
for You have delivered my soul from death,
and kept my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of the living.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be forever. Amen.

𝙍: In God have I put my trust; I will not fear.

Psalm prayer

Faithful God, your deliverance is nearer than we know; free us from fear and help us to find courage in your Word, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 57

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For in You my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of Your wings will I take refuge,
until these calamities pass by.

I will cry out to God Most High,
to God who performs all things for me.
He will send from heaven and save me;
He will reproach him who tramples on me.
God will send forth His mercy and His truth.

My soul is among lions;
I lie among the sons of men who are set on fire,
whose teeth are spears and arrows,
and their tongue a sharp sword.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let Your glory be above all the earth.

They have prepared a net for my steps;
my soul is bowed down;
they have dug a pit before me,
but they have fallen into it themselves.

My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and give praise.
Awake, my glory!
Awake, psaltery and harp!
I will awaken the dawn.

I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing to You among the nations.
For Your mercy is great unto the heavens,
and Your truth unto the clouds.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
Let Your glory be above all the earth.

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

Tender God, gentle protector in time of trouble, pierce the gloom of despair and give us, with all your people, the song of freedom and the shout of praise; in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 30:19-32

O people in Zion, inhabitants in Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry. When He hears it, He will answer you. Though the Lord has given you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet He, your Teacher, will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left. You shall defile also your graven images overlaid with silver, and your molded images ornamented with gold. You shall scatter them as an impure thing, and say to them, “Be gone!”

Then He shall give you rain for the seed which you shall sow in the ground and bread of the increase of the earth. And it shall be rich and plentiful. On that day your cattle shall feed in large pastures. The oxen likewise and the young donkeys that work the ground shall eat cured fodder, which has been winnowed with the shovel and fork. There shall be on every high mountain and on every high hill rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD binds up the breach of His people and heals the wound from His blow.

Behold, the name of the LORD comes from afar,
burning with His anger, and its burden is heavy;
His lips are full of indignation,
and His tongue as a devouring fire.
And His breath is as an overflowing stream
which reaches to the middle of the neck,
to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity;
and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people,
causing them to err.
You shall have songs,
as in the night when a festival is kept,
and gladness of heart,
as when one goes with a flute
to come into the mountain of the LORD,
to the Mighty One of Israel.
The LORD shall cause His glorious voice to be heard,
and shall show the descending of His arm
with the indignation of His anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire,
with scattering, and cloudburst, and hailstones.
For through the voice of the LORD the Assyrian shall be beaten down
when He strikes with a rod.
And every blow of the rod of punishment
which the LORD shall lay on him
shall be with tambourines and harps;
and in battles, brandishing weapons, He will fight them.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Matthew 14:13-36

When Jesus heard this, He departed from there by boat for a deserted place. But when the people heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. Jesus went ashore and saw a great assembly. And He was moved with compassion toward them, and He healed their sick.

When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a lonely place and the day is now over. Send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy themselves food.”

But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to depart. You give them something to eat.”

They said to Him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.”

He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Then He commanded the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to His disciples; and the disciples gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Then Jesus commanded His disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. When He sent the crowds away, He went up into a mountain by Himself to pray. And when evening came, He was there alone. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was turbulent.

During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a spirit.” And they cried out in fear.

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer. It is I. Do not be afraid.”

Peter answered Him, “Lord, if it is You, bid me come to You on the water.”

He said, “Come.”

And when Peter got out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshipped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent word to all the surrounding country and brought to Him all who were sick, and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

Blessed be the Lord 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 of long ago,
that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us,
to perform the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember His holy covenant,
the oath which He swore to our father Abraham,
to grant us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
might serve Him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
for you will go before the presence of the Lord to prepare His ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to His people
by the remission of their sins,
through the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise from on high has visited us;
to give light to those who sit in darkness
and in 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.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God,
the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the
right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge
the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.

Amen.

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers 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 Church, that she may be ready for the coming of Christ
The leaders of the Church
The nations, that they may be subject to the rule of God
Those who are working for justice in the world
The broken, that they may find God’s healing

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

Response

Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

O Lord, raise up, we pray, your power and come among us, and with great might assist us; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness we are grievously hindered in running the race that is set before us, your bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Awaiting his coming in glory, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.

Conclusion

May the Lord, when he comes, find us watching and waiting.
Amen.

Shane Raynor 12/7/25 Shane Raynor 12/7/25

Mon. morning Dec. 8

Opening response

O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

Reveal among us the light of your presence
that we may behold your power and glory.

Prayer of thanksgiving

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

Arm of the Lord, Awake, Awake!

Music by The Hymnodist: Spotify, Apple, Amazon, iHeart, YouTube Music, Pandora, Boomplay, Deezer
Lyrics by Charles Wesley

Chorus
Arm of the Lord, awake, awake
Thine own immortal strength put on
With terror clothed, hell's kingdom shake
And cast thy foes with fury down

Verses 1 & 2
As in the ancient days appear
The sacred annals speak thy fame
Be now omnipotently near
To endless ages still the same

Thy arm, Lord, is not shortened now
It lacks not now the power to save
Still present with thy people, thou
Bearest them through life's disparted wave

Chorus

Verses 3 & 4
By death and hell pursued in vain
To thee the ransomed seed shall come
Shouting their heavenly Zion gain
And pass through death triumphant home

The pain of life shall there be over
The anguish and distracting care
There, sighing grief shall weep no more
And sin shall never enter there

Chorus

Verse 5
Where pure essential joy is found
The Lord's redeemed, their heads shall raise
With everlasting gladness crowned
And filled with love, and lost in praise

Chorus

Confession of Sin

Seek the LORD while He may be found,
call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
and let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him,
and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.

cf Isaiah 55

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

Lord God, I have sinned against you; I have done what is evil in your sight. I am sorry and repent. Have mercy on me according to your lovingkindness. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Renew a right spirit within me, and restore unto me the joy of your salvation, through Jesus Christ my 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 my supplications.
Therefore my heart rejoices,
and with my song I will thank Him.

cf Psalm 28:7,9

Psalm 44

𝙍: Arise, O God, and be our help.

We have heard with our ears, O God;
our fathers have told us
what deeds You performed in their days,
in the days of old:
You drove out the nations with Your hand,
but them You planted;
You afflicted the peoples,
but them You set free.
For they did not take possession of the land by their own sword,
nor did their own arm save them;
but it was Your right hand, and Your arm,
and the light of Your countenance, because You favored them.

𝙍: Arise, O God, and be our help.

You are my King, O God;
command victories for Jacob.
Through You we will push down our enemies;
through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us.
For I will not trust in my bow,
nor can my sword save me.
But You have saved us from our enemies,
and have put to shame those who hate us.
In God we have boasted continually,
and we will give thanks to Your name forever.

𝙍: Arise, O God, and be our help.

But You have rejected us and put us to shame,
and you do not go out with our armies.
You make us turn back from the enemy,
and those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.
You have given us up like sheep for slaughter,
and have scattered us among the nations.
You sell Your people for a low price,
and do not increase Your wealth by their sale.

You make us a reproach to our neighbors,
a scorn and a derision to those around us.
You make us a byword among the nations,
a shaking of the head among the peoples.

𝙍: Arise, O God, and be our help.

My disgrace is continually before me,
and shame has covered my face
at the voice of him who reproaches and reviles,
at the presence of the enemy and avenger.

All this has come upon us;
yet we have not forgotten You,
nor have we dealt falsely with Your covenant.
Our heart has not turned back,
nor have our steps departed from Your way;
Yet You have broken us in the place of jackals
and covered us with the shadow of death.

If we had forgotten the name of our God
or stretched out our hands to a foreign god,
would not God search this out?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.
Yet for Your sake we are killed all day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

𝙍: Arise, O God, and be our help.

Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord?
Arise! Do not cast us off forever!
Why do You hide Your face?
Why do you forget our affliction and our oppression?

For our soul is bowed down to the dust;
our body clings to the ground.
Arise, be our help.
Redeem us for the sake of Your lovingkindness!

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be forever. Amen.

𝙍: Arise, O God, and be our help.

Psalm prayer

In the darkness of unknowing, when your love seems absent, draw near to us, O God, in Christ forsaken, in Christ risen, our Redeemer and our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 30:1-18

Woe to the rebellious children,
says the LORD,
who take counsel, but not from Me,
and make an alliance, but not of My Spirit,
in order to add sin to sin;
they walk down to Egypt
and have not asked from My mouth,
to strengthen themselves in the safety of Pharaoh
and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
Therefore the safety of Pharaoh shall be your shame
and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your humiliation.
For their princes were at Zoan,
and their ambassadors came to Hanes.
They all will be ashamed
of a people who cannot profit them,
who are not a help or profit,
but a shame and also a reproach.

The burden of the beasts of the Negev.

Through a land of trouble and anguish,
from which comes the lioness and lion,
the viper and fiery flying serpent,
they will carry their riches on the shoulders of young donkeys,
and their treasures on the humps of camels,
to a people who shall not profit them.
For the Egyptians shall help in vain and to no purpose.
Therefore, I have called her,
“Rahab who has been exterminated.”

Now go, write it before them on a tablet,
and note it in a book,
that it may serve in the time to come
as a witness forever;
for this is a rebellious people, lying children,
children who refuse to listen to the law of the LORD;
they say to the seers,
“You must not see visions,”
and to the prophets,
“You must not prophesy to us right things;
speak to us pleasant things,
prophesy illusions.
Get out of the way,
turn aside from the path,
let us hear no more
about the Holy One of Israel.”

Therefore, thus says the Holy One of Israel:

Because you despise this word
and trust in oppression and perverseness,
and rely on them,
therefore this iniquity shall be to you
as a breach ready to fall, swelling up in a high wall,
whose collapse comes suddenly, in an instant.
He shall break it as the breaking of the potter’s vessel
that is broken in pieces;
He shall not spare so that there shall not be found in the breaking of it a shard
to take fire from the hearth
or with which to take water out of a cistern.

For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel:

In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.
Yet you were not willing,
and you said, “No, for we will flee on horses”;
therefore you shall flee.
“And we will ride on swift horses”;
therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.
One thousand shall flee
at the threat of one man;
at the threat of five
you shall flee
until you are left
as a flag on the top of a mountain
and as a banner on a hill.
God’s Promise to Zion

Therefore, the LORD longs to be gracious to you,
and therefore, He waits on high to have mercy on you;
for the LORD is a God of justice;
how blessed are all who long for Him.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Matthew 14:1-12

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead. And therefore mighty works are at work in him.”

For Herod had laid hold of John, bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” When Herod would have put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they counted him as a prophet.

But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she would ask. Being previously instructed by her mother, she said, “Give me John the Baptist’s head on a platter.” The king was sorry. Nevertheless, for the oath’s sake and those who sat with him at supper, he commanded it to be given to her. He sent and beheaded John in the prison. His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. His disciples came and took up the body and buried it. And they went and told Jesus.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

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.

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 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 church, that she may be ready for the coming of Christ
The leaders of the Church
The nations, that they may be subject to the rule of God
Those who are working for justice in the world
The broken, that they may find God’s healing

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

The Lord’s Prayer

Awaiting his coming in glory, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Conclusion

May the Lord, when he comes, find us watching and waiting.
Amen.

Shane Raynor 12/6/25 Shane Raynor 12/6/25

Sun. morning Dec. 7

Opening response

O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

Reveal among us the light of your presence
that we may behold your power and glory.

Prayer of thanksgiving

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! He Comes with Clouds Descending

Performed by: The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge
Lyrics: Charles Wesley
Music: Thomas Olivers (He was possibly the first to write it down. He said he heard the tune on the street.)

Lo! he comes with clouds descending,
Once for favored sinners slain!
Thousand, thousand saints attending,
Swell the triumph of his train.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
God appears on Earth to reign.

Ev'ry eye shall now behold him,
Robed in dreadful majesty;
Those who set at naught and sold him,
Pierced and nailed him to a tree,
Deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing,
Shall the true Messiah see.

The dear tokens of his passion
Still his dazzling body bears,
Cause of endless exultation
To his ransomed worshipers;
With what rapture, with what rapture, with what rapture
Gaze we on those glorious scars.

Yea! Amen! let all adore thee
High on thine eternal throne!
Savior, take the pow'r and glory,
Claim the kingdom for thine own.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Everlasting God come down.

Confession of Sin

cf Isaiah 55

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

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 my supplications.
Therefore my heart rejoices,
and with my song I will thank Him.

cf Psalm 28:7,9

Psalm 80

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead Joseph like a flock;
You who are enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth!
Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
stir up Your strength,
and come and save us!

Restore us, O God,
and cause Your face to shine,
and we shall be saved!

O LORD God of Hosts,
how long will You be angry
with the prayers of Your people?
You have fed them with the bread of tears,
and given them tears to drink in great measure.
You have made us a source of contention to our neighbors,
and our enemies laugh among themselves.

Restore us, O God of Hosts,
and cause Your face to shine,
and we shall be saved.

You have brought a vine out of Egypt;
You have cast out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shadow
and the mighty cedars with its branches.
It sent out its branches to the sea
and its shoots to the Euphrates River.

Why have You broken down its walls,
so that all those who pass by the way pluck its fruit?
The boar from the woods ravages it,
and the insects of the field devour it.
Return, we beseech You, O God of Hosts;
look down from heaven and see;
have regard for this vine,
the shoot that Your right hand planted,

and for the son whom You made strong for Yourself.

It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
Then we will not turn back from You;
give us life, and we will call upon Your name.

Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts;
cause Your face to shine,
and we shall be saved!

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

Faithful shepherd of your people, as we look for the light of your countenance, restore in us the image of your glory and graft us into the risen life of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Amos 7

This is what the LORD God showed me: He was forming a plague of locusts when the latter growth was beginning to sprout up, the latter growth after the king’s reaping. When they had finished devouring the foliage of the land, I said, “O Lord GOD, please forgive. How can Jacob survive? For he is small.”

The LORD relented concerning this:

“It shall not be,” said the LORD.

This is what the Lord GOD showed me: The Lord GOD was calling for a judgment by fire. It was consuming the great deep and was devouring the fields. I said, “O Lord GOD, please stop. How can Jacob survive? For he is small.”

The LORD relented concerning this:

“This also shall not be,” said the Lord GOD.

This is what He showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall made using a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. The LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”

And I said, “A plumb line.”

Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am putting a plumb line in the midst of My people Israel. I will forgive them no more.

The high places of Isaac will be destroyed,
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 a message to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you at the very center of the house of Israel. The country cannot endure all his words. For this is what Amos said:

‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and Israel will surely be exiled
away from its land.’ ”

So Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee back to the land of Judah. Earn your sustenance there, and prophesy there. But do not prophesy any more at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.”

But Amos answered Amaziah: “I am no prophet, and I am no prophet’s disciple. Rather, I am a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees. But the LORD took me away from the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’ Now therefore hear the word of the LORD: You say,

‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’

“Therefore thus says the LORD:

‘Your wife will be a prostitute in the city,
your sons and daughters will fall by the sword,
and your land will be divided by measuring line;
you yourself will die in an unclean land;
and Israel will surely go into exile
away from its land.’ ”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Luke 1:5-20

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were now well advanced in years.

Now while he served as priest before God, when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole crowd of people were praying outside at the hour of incense.

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not fear, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. He will turn many of the Israelites to the Lord their God. And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife well advanced in years.”

The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. And I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things happen, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their season.”

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

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.

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 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:

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

The Lord’s Prayer

Awaiting his coming in glory, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Conclusion

May the Lord, when he comes, find us watching and waiting.
Amen.