Shane Raynor 3/12/26 Shane Raynor 3/12/26

Fri. morning Mar. 13

Opening response

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

Hear my voice according to your lovingkindness.
O LORD, give me life according to your judgment.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, God of compassion and mercy, to you be praise and glory forever. In the darkness of our sin, your light breaks forth like the dawn and your healing springs up for deliverance. As we rejoice in the gift of your saving help, sustain us with your bountiful Spirit and open our lips to sing your 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

My Faith Has Found a Resting Place

Words: Lidie H. Edmonds (1891)
Music: Norse melody
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#135)

My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device nor creed.
I trust the ever-living One;
His wounds for me shall plead.

Refrain:
I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that he died for me.

Enough for me that Jesus saves,
This ends my fear and doubt;
A sinful soul, I come to Him,
He’ll never cast me out. [Refrain]

My heart is leaning on the Word,
The written Word of God,
Salvation by my Savior’s name,
Salvation through his blood. [Refrain]

My Great Physician heals the sick,
The lost He came to save;
For me his precious blood he shed,
For me his life he gave. [Refrain]

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 22

𝙍: Be not far from me, O Lord.

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Why are You so far from helping me,
and from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not answer;
and at night, and have no rest.

But You are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
Our fathers trusted in You;
they trusted, and You delivered them.
They cried to You, and were delivered;
they trusted in You, and were not put to shame.

𝙍: Be not far from me, O Lord.

But I am a worm, and not human;
a reproach of men and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they sneer with the lip; they shake the head, saying,
“Trust in the LORD,
let Him rescue him;
let Him deliver him,
since He delights in him.”

But You are He who took me out of the womb;
You kept me safe
on my mother’s breasts.
Upon You was I cast from birth;
from my mother’s womb You have been my God.

Be not far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.

𝙍: Be not far from me, O Lord.

Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
They open wide their mouths at me,
like a raging and roaring lion.
I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue cleaves to my jaws;
You have set me in the dust of death.

𝙍: Be not far from me, O Lord.

For dogs have encompassed me;
the assembly of the wicked has encircled me;
they pierced my hands and my feet;
I can count all my bones;
they look and stare at me.
They divide my garments among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.

But You, O LORD, do not be far from me;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me!
Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dog!
Save me from the lion’s mouth!
From the horns of the wild oxen You have rescued me.

𝙍: Be not far from me, O Lord.

I will declare Your name to my brethren;
in the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
You who fear the LORD, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him;
fear Him, all you descendants of Israel!
For He has not despised nor abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted;
nor has He hidden His face from him;
but heard when he cried to Him.

My praise will be from You in the great congregation;
I will pay my vows before those who fear Him.
The meek will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek Him will praise the LORD.
May your hearts live forever.

𝙍: Be not far from me, O Lord.

All the ends of the world
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will worship before You.
For kingship belongs to the LORD,
and He rules over the nations.

All the prosperous ones of the earth will eat and worship;
all who go down to the dust will bow before Him,
even he who cannot preserve his own life.
Their descendants will serve Him;
the next generation will be told about the Lord;
they will come and declare His righteousness
to a people yet to be born,
saying that He has this.

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: Be not far from me, O Lord.

Psalm prayer

Restless with grief and fear, the abandoned turn to you: in every hour of trial, good Lord, deliver us, O God most holy, God most strong, whose wisdom is the cross of Christ.

Old Testament reading

Exodus 1:1-14

Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, which came into Egypt (each man and his household came with Jacob): Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. All the people who came from the seed of Jacob were seventy people, but Joseph was in Egypt already.

Joseph died, as did all his brothers, and all that generation. Nevertheless, the sons of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them.

Now there rose up a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more numerous and powerful than we. Come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass that when any war breaks out, they also join our enemies, and fight against us, and escape from the land.”

Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their labor. They built for Pharaoh storage cities: Pithom and Rameses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew so that as a result they abhorred the sons of Israel. The Egyptians made the Israelites to serve with rigor, and they made their lives bitter with hard service—in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. In all their service they made them serve with rigor.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Hebrews 7:11-28

If perfection were attained through the Levitical priesthood (for through it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise in the order of Melchizedek, rather than established in the order of Aaron? For a change in the priesthood necessitates a change in the law. For the One concerning whom these things are spoken pertains to another tribe, from which no man served at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord descended from Judah, a tribe concerning which Moses said nothing about priests. This is far more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who becomes a priest not by a law pertaining to ancestry, but by the power of an endless life. For He testifies:

“You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.”

For there is then an annulling of the previous commandment due to its weakness and uselessness. For the law made nothing perfect, but now a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

And He was not made a priest without an oath. (Other priests were made without an oath, but this One with an oath by the One who said to Him:

“The Lord has sworn
and will not relent,
‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.’ ” )

Through this oath Jesus became the guarantor of a better covenant.

And the former priests were numerous, because they were hindered from serving, because of death. But He, because He lives forever, has an everlasting priesthood. Therefore He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, because He at all times lives to make intercession for them.

For such a High Priest was fitting for us, for He is holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners, and is higher than the heavens. Unlike those high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices—first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for He did this once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints men who are weak as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a Son who is made perfect forever.

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:

Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
Those serving through leadership
Those looking for forgiveness
Those misled by the false gods of this present age
All who are hungry

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

Almighty God, whose beloved Son did not ascend to joy without first enduring pain, and did not enter into glory before being crucified: Grant us mercy, that as we follow the way of the cross, we may discover it to be the path of true life and lasting peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Trusting in the compassion of God, 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 God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
Amen.

Shane Raynor 3/11/26 Shane Raynor 3/11/26

Thu morning Mar. 12

Opening response

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

Hear my voice according to your lovingkindness.
O LORD, give me life according to your judgment.

Prayer of thanksgiving

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

Power in the Blood

Words and Music: Lewis E. Jones (1899)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#487)

Would you be free from the burden of sin?
There's power in the blood, power in the blood.
Would you o'er evil a victory win?
There's wonderful power in the blood.

Refrain:
There is power, power, wonder-working power
in the blood of the Lamb;
there is power, power, wonder-working power
in the precious blood of the Lamb.

Would you be free from your passion and pride?
There's power in the blood, power in the blood.
Come for a cleansing to Calvary's tide.
There's wonderful power in the blood. [Refrain]

Would you be whiter, much whiter than snow?
There's power in the blood, power in the blood.
Sin-stains are lost in its life-giving flow;
there's wonderful power in the blood. [Refrain]

Would you do service for Jesus your King?
There's power in the blood, power in the blood.
Would you live daily His praises to sing?
There's wonderful power in the blood. [Refrain]

Confession of Sin

When we cry to the LORD in our trouble,
He will save us from our distress.

God will bring us out of darkness
and out of the shadow of death.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

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

May the Father forgive us by the death of his Son, and strengthen us to live in the power of the Spirit all our days.
Amen.

Let us give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
and for His wonderful works to all people!

Let us offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and declare God’s works with rejoicing.

cf Psalm 107

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

Genesis 49:33-50:26

When Jacob finished instructing his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

Then Joseph fell on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. Forty days were required for him, for such is the time required for those who are embalmed. Then the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

When the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh, saying, ‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die. Bury me in my tomb which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now therefore please let me go up and bury my father, and then I will return.’ ”

Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”

Joseph went up to bury his father, and all the servants of Pharaoh went up with him too, the elders of his household and all the elders of the land of Egypt, all the house of Joseph and his brothers and his father’s household. They left only their little ones and their flocks and their herds in the land of Goshen. Both the chariots and horsemen also went up with him. It was a very great company.

When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they mourned with a great and very sorrowful lamentation. He observed seven days of mourning for his father. When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning for the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

So his sons did with him just as he had commanded them. For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field as a burial site from Ephron the Hittite. After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father.

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us and will certainly pay us back for all the wrong we did to him.” So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ‘Say to Joseph, “I beg you, forgive the transgressions of your brothers and their sin, for they did evil to you.” ’ Now, please forgive the transgressions of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.”

Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many lives. So now, do not fear. I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Joseph stayed in Egypt, he and his father’s household, and Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. Joseph saw Ephraim’s children to the third generation. Also, the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were brought up on Joseph’s knees.

Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. God will surely come to you and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.”

So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years old, and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Hebrews 7:1-10

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him. To him Abraham also gave one-tenth of everything. In the first place, his name is translated “king of righteousness,” and then also he is king of Salem, which means “king of peace.” Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he continually remains a priest. Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave one-tenth of the spoils. Surely the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a command to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, from their brothers, though they also come from the seed of Abraham. But this man, whose descent is not numbered among them, received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. Without question, the inferior is blessed by the superior. In the one case mortal men receive tithes, but in the other he of whom it is witnessed that he is alive receives them. One might say that Levi also, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met Abraham.

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:

Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
Those serving through leadership
Those looking for forgiveness
Those misled by the false gods of this present age
All who are hungry

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

Response

In faith we pray
We pray to you, our God.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

The Lord’s Prayer

Trusting in the compassion of God, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Conclusion

May God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
Amen.

Shane Raynor 3/10/26 Shane Raynor 3/10/26

Wed. morning Mar. 11

Opening response

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

Hear my voice according to your lovingkindness.
O LORD, give me life according to your judgment.

Prayer of thanksgiving

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

Give to Our God Immortal Praise

Words: Isaac Watts (1719)
Music: John Haton (c. 1793)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#13)

Give to our God immortal praise
Mercy and truth are all His ways
Wonders of grace to God belong
Repeat His mercies in your song

He built the earth, He spread the sky
And fixed the starry lights on high
Wonders of grace to God belong
Repeat His mercies in your song

He fills the sun with morning light
He bids the moon direct the night
His mercies ever shall endure
When suns and moons shall shine no more

He sent His Son with pow'r to save
From guilt and darkness and the grave
Wonders of grace to God belong
Repeat His mercies in your song

Through this vast world He guides our feet
And leads us to His heav'nly seat
His mercies ever shall endure
When this our world shall be no more

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 38

𝙍: Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation.

O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your wrath,
nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!
For Your arrows pierce me,
and Your hand presses down on me.
There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation,
nor is there health in my bones because of my sin.
For my iniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

𝙍: Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation.

My wounds grow foul and fester
because of my foolishness.
I am bent down, I am bowed down greatly;
I go around mourning all day long.
For my loins are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
I am feeble and severely broken;
I groan because of the disquietness of my heart.

𝙍: Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation.

O Lord, all my longing is before You,
and my sighing is not hidden from You.
My heart throbs, my strength fails me;
as for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.
My friends and my companions stand aloof from my affliction,
and relatives stand far off.
Those who seek my life lay their snares;
those who seek my harm speak of destruction,
and plan treachery all day long.

𝙍: Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation.

But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
I am like a mute who does not speak.
Thus I am like a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth is no response.
For in You, O LORD, do I hope;
it is You, O Lord my God, who will answer.
For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me,
lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.”

𝙍: Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation.

For I am ready to fall,
and my pain is continually before me.
I confess my iniquity;
I am sorry for my sin.
But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong;
and those who wrongfully hate me are many.
Those who render evil for good attack me
because I pursue good.

Do not forsake me, O LORD;
O my God, do not be far from me.
Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation.

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: Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation.

Psalm prayer

Almighty Lord and Savior, behold with pity the wounds of your people; do not forsake us, sinful as we are, but for the sake of the passion of your Beloved One, Jesus, come quickly to our aid, for his mercy’s sake.

Old Testament reading

Genesis 49:1-32

Jacob called to his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, so that I may tell you what will befall you in the last days.

Gather yourselves together and hear, sons of Jacob,
and listen to your father Israel.

Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might and the beginning of my strength,
the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power.
Unstable as water, you shall not excel,
because you went up to your father’s bed;
then you defiled it—he went up to my couch.

Simeon and Levi are brothers;
weapons of violence are their swords.
Let my soul not enter into their council;
let my glory not be united with their assembly;
for in their anger they killed men
and in their self-will they hamstrung oxen.
Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
and their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will divide them in Jacob

and scatter them in Israel.

Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down before you.
Judah is a lion’s cub;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He crouches and lies down like a lion;
and as a lion, who dares rouse him?
The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
until Shiloh comes;
and to him will be the obedience of the people.
He tethers his foal to the vine,
and his colt to the choicest vine;
he washes his garments in wine,
his clothes in the blood of grapes.
His eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth whiter than milk.

Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea;
and he shall be a haven of ships.
His border shall be at Sidon.

Issachar is a strong donkey,
lying down between two burdens;
he saw that a resting place was good,
and that the land was pleasant;
so he bowed his shoulder to bear the burden
and became a slave to forced labor.

Dan shall judge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan shall be a serpent by the road,
a viper on the path,
that bites the horse’s heels
so that its rider will fall backward.

I wait for Your salvation, O LORD!

Gad shall be attacked by raiding bands,
but he shall raid at their heels.

Asher’s food shall be rich,
and he shall yield royal delicacies.

Naphtali is a doe set loose;
he gives beautiful words.

Joseph is a fruitful bough,
a fruitful bough by a spring,
whose branches run over the wall.
The archers bitterly attacked him,
they shot at him and hated him.
But his bow remained firm.
His arms were agile
because of the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the Shepherd, the rock of Israel,
because of the God of your father who will help you,
and by the Almighty who will bless you
with blessings from heaven above,
blessings from the deep that lies beneath,
the blessings of the breasts and the womb.
The blessings of your father have surpassed
the blessings of my fathers,
up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.
They will be on the head of Joseph,
and on the crown of the head of him who was set apart from his brothers.

Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
in the morning he devours the prey,
and at night he divides the spoil.”

These are all the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, each with the blessing appropriate to him.

Then he charged them and said to them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a burial place. They buried Abraham and Sarah his wife there. They buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife there, and I buried Leah there. The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Hebrews 6:13-20

For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could vow by no one greater, He vowed by Himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you, and surely I will multiply you.” So after Abraham had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

For men indeed swear by a greater authority than themselves, and for them an oath of confirmation ends all dispute. So God, wanting to show more abundantly the immutability of His counsel to the heirs of promise, confirmed it by an oath. So that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this hope as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, which enters the inner sanctuary behind the veil. This is where Jesus has entered for us as a forerunner, since He has become the everlasting High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

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:

Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
Those serving through leadership
Those looking for forgiveness
Those misled by the false gods of this present age
All who are hungry

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

Trusting in the compassion of God, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Conclusion

May God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
Amen.