Thu. morning Apr. 16
Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
In your resurrection, O Christ,
let heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation, to you be praise and glory forever. As once you ransomed your people from Egypt and led them to freedom in the promised land, so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son. May we, the first fruits of your new creation, rejoice in this new day you have made, and praise you for your mighty acts.
Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence, O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you; now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
The Church’s One Foundation
Words: Samuel J. Stone (1866)
Music: Samuel S. Wesley (1864)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#388)
The Church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord;
She is His new creation
By water and the Word:
From heav’n He came and sought her
To be His holy Bride;
With His own blood He bought her,
And for her life He died.
Elect from every nation,
Yet one o’er all the earth,
Her charter of salvation,
One Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy Name she blesses,
Partakes one holy food,
And to one hope she presses,
With every grace endued.
’Mid toil and tribulation,
And tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation
Of peace for evermore;
Till, with the vision glorious,
Her longing eyes are blest,
And the great Church victorious
Shall be the Church at rest.
Yet she on earth hath union
With God the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion
With those whose rest is won:
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we,
Like them, the meek and lowly,
In love may dwell with Thee.
Confession of Sin
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor recompensed us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his mercy toward those who fear Him.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children,
so the LORD pities those who fear Him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits.
Psalm 28
𝙍: The LORD is my strength and my shield.
To You will I cry, O LORD my rock;
do not be silent to me,
lest, if You are silent to me,
I become like those who go down to the pit.
Hear the voice of my supplications
when I cry to You,
when I lift up my hands
toward Your most holy place.
𝙍: The LORD is my strength and my shield.
Do not take me away with the wicked
and with the workers of iniquity,
who speak peace with their neighbors
while mischief is in their hearts.
Repay them according to their deeds,
and according to the wickedness of their endeavors;
repay them according to the work of their hands;
render to them their due reward.
𝙍: The LORD is my strength and my shield.
Because they do not regard the works of the LORD,
nor the work of His hands,
He will destroy them
and not build them up.
Blessed be the LORD,
because He has heard the voice of my supplications.
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusted in Him, and I was helped;
therefore my heart rejoices,
and with my song I will thank Him.
𝙍: The LORD is my strength and my shield.
The LORD is the strength of His people,
and He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
Save Your people
and bless Your inheritance;
shepherd them and bear them up forever.
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: The LORD is my strength and my shield.
Psalm prayer
Hear us, Shepherd of your people, forgive us our sins and, in a world of pretenses, make us true in heart and mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 29
𝙍: The LORD will bless His people with peace.
Ascribe to the LORD, O you mighty ones,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name;
worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders;
the LORD is over many waters.
𝙍: The LORD will bless His people with peace.
The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes them skip like a calf,
Lebanon and Sirion like a wild ox.
𝙍: The LORD will bless His people with peace.
The voice of the LORD divides
the flames of fire.
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth,
and strips the forests bare;
and in His temple everyone says, “Glory!”
The LORD sat enthroned over the flood;
and the LORD sits as King forever.
The LORD will give strength to His people;
the LORD will bless His people with 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.
𝙍: The LORD will bless His people with peace.
Psalm prayer
Open our ears, glorious Lord Christ, to hear the music of your voice above the chaos of this world; open our eyes to see the vision of your glory, for you are our King, now and forever.
Old Testament reading
Exodus 17
All the congregation of the Israelites journeyed from the Wilderness of Sin, from place to place, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people contended with Moses and said, “Give us water so that we may drink.”
And Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you test the LORD?”
But the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses, and said, “Why is it that you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
Then Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do to this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
The LORD said to Moses, “Pass over before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. And take in your hand your rod with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and there water shall come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Then Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the contending of the Israelites, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us, or not?”
Then Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.”
So Joshua did as Moses had said to him and fought against Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Now when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, but when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands became heavy. So they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. So Joshua laid low Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and rehearse it to Joshua, for I will utterly wipe out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”
Then Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner; for he said, “For the LORD has sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Colossians 2:16-3:11
Therefore let no one judge you regarding food, or drink, or in respect of a holy day or new moon or sabbath days. These are shadows of things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Do not let anyone cheat you of your reward by delighting in false humility and the worship of angels, dwelling on those things which he has not seen, vainly arrogant due to his unspiritual mind, and not supporting the head, from which the entire body, nourished and knit together by joints and sinews, grows as God gives the increase.
Therefore, if you died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you subject yourself to legalistic rules? “Do not touch! Do not taste! Do not handle!” These all are to perish with use and are aligned with the commandments and teachings of men. These things have indeed a show of wisdom in self-imposed worship and humility and neglecting of the body, but are worthless against the indulgence of the flesh.
If you then were raised with Christ, desire those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on earth. For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life shall appear, then you also shall appear with Him in glory.
Therefore put to death the parts of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, inordinate affection, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things, the wrath of God comes on the sons of disobedience. You also once walked in these, when you lived in them. But now you must also put away all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, and filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie one to another, since you have put off the old nature with its deeds, and have embraced the new nature, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him who created it, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
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 people of God, that they may proclaim the risen Lord
God’s creation, that the peoples of the earth may meet their responsibility to care
Those in despair and darkness, that they may find the hope and light of Christ
Those in fear of death, that they may find faith through the resurrection
Prisoners and captives
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty Father, you have given your only Son to die for our sins and to rise again for our justification: grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness that we may always serve you in pureness of living and truth; through the merits of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Rejoicing in God’s new creation, as our Savior taught us, so we pray
Our Father, 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 risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
Amen.
Wed. morning Apr. 15
Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
In your resurrection, O Christ,
let heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation, to you be praise and glory forever. As once you ransomed your people from Egypt and led them to freedom in the promised land, so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son. May we, the first fruits of your new creation, rejoice in this new day you have made, and praise you for your mighty acts.
Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence, O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you; now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
Ask Ye What Great Thing I Know
Words: Johann C. Schwedler (1741); trans. Benjamin H. Kennedy (1863)
Music: Henri A. Cesar Malan (1827); harm. Lowell Mason (1841)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#107)
Ask ye what great thing I know
that delights and stirs me so?
What the high reward I win?
Whose the name I glory in?
Jesus Christ, the Crucified.
Who defeats my fiercest foes?
Who consoles my saddest woes?
Who revives my fainting heart,
healing all its hidden smart?
Jesus Christ, the Crucified.
Who is life in life to me?
Who the death of death will be?
Who will place me on His right,
with the countless hosts of light?
Jesus Christ, the Crucified.
This is that great thing I know;
this delights and stirs me so:
faith in Him who died to save,
Him who triumphed o'er the grave:
Jesus Christ, the Crucified.
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 16
𝙍: The LORD is at my right hand; I shall not be moved.
Preserve me, O God,
for in You I take refuge.
I have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
my welfare has no existence outside of You.”
For the holy ones in the land,
they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.
Those who choose another god
multiply their sorrows;
their drink offerings of blood I will not offer
nor take their names upon my lips.
O LORD, you are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You hold my lot.
The boundary lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
yes, I have a goodly inheritance.
𝙍: The LORD is at my right hand; I shall not be moved.
I will bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the LORD always before me;
because He is at my right hand,
I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my flesh also will rest secure.
For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
nor will You allow Your holy one to see corruption.
You will show me the path of life.
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
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: The LORD is at my right hand; I shall not be moved.
Psalm prayer
Give to us, Lord Christ, the fullness of grace, your presence and your very self, for you are our portion and our delight, now and forever.
Psalm 30
𝙍: O LORD my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me.
I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up,
and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
O LORD my God, I cried out to You,
and You healed me.
O LORD, You brought my soul up from Sheol;
You have kept me alive, so that I should not go down to the pit.
Sing to the LORD, you saints of His,
and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
For His anger endures but for a moment;
His favor is for a lifetime;
weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes in the morning.
𝙍: O LORD my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me.
In my prosperity I said,
“I shall never be moved.”
LORD, by Your favor
You made me stand as a strong mountain;
You hid Your face,
and I was dismayed.
I cried to You, O LORD,
and to the LORD I made supplication:
“What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise You?
Will it declare Your faithfulness?
Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me;
LORD, be my helper.”
𝙍: O LORD my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me.
You have turned my mourning into dancing;
You have taken off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,
so that my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
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: O LORD my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me.
Psalm prayer
Lord, you hide your face when we trust in ourselves; strip us of false security and re-clothe us in your praise, that we may know you as the one who raises us from death, as you raised your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.
Old Testament reading
Exodus 16:11-36
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “I have heard the murmurings of the Israelites. Speak to them, saying, ‘In the evening you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’ ”
So in the evening the quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning a layer of dew was surrounding the camp. When the layer of dew evaporated, on the surface of the wilderness there lay a small flaky thing, as fine as the frost on the ground. 1When the Israelites saw it, they said one to another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.
And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded, ‘Every man is to gather of it according to what he will eat, one omer for every man, according to the number of your people. Every man should take for them for whoever lives in his tent.’ ”
The Israelites did so, and gathered, some more, some less. When they measured it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing left over, and he that gathered little had no lack. They gathered every man according what he could eat.
Moses said to them, “Let no man leave any of it until the morning.”
However, they did not listen to Moses, and some of them left part of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank, and Moses was angry with them.
So they gathered it every morning, every man according to what he could eat. And when the sun got hot, it melted. Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers per man, and then all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses. He said to them, “This is what the LORD has said, ‘Tomorrow is the Sabbath, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake that which you will bake today, and boil that you will boil, and all that which remains over lay up for yourselves to be kept until the morning.’ ”
So they laid it up until the morning, just as Moses commanded, and it did not stink, nor was there any worm in it. Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD. Today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”
It happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found nothing. Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions? See, the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Every man remain in his place. Let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” So the people rested on the seventh day.
The house of Israel named it manna, and it was like coriander seed and was white, and its taste was like wafers made with honey. Then Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded, ‘Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations to come, so that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.’ ”
Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot and put an omer full of manna in it, and place it before the LORD, to be kept for generations to come.”
As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the testimony, to be kept. The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.
Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Colossians 2:1-15
I would like you to know what a great struggle I am having for you, and for those at Laodicea, and for everyone who has not seen my face in the body, that their hearts may be comforted, being knit together in love, and receive all the riches and assurance of full understanding, and knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Now this I say lest anyone beguile you with enticing words. For though I am absent in the body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing and seeing your orderliness and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith, just as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Beware lest anyone captivate you through philosophy and vain deceit, in the tradition of men and the elementary principles of the world, and not after Christ.
For in Him lives all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And you are complete in Him, who is the head of all authority and power. In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which also you were raised with Him through the faith of the power of God, who has raised Him from the dead.
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has resurrected together with Him, having forgiven you all sins. He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us and contrary to us, and He took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed authorities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them by the cross.
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 people of God, that they may proclaim the risen Lord
God’s creation, that the peoples of the earth may meet their responsibility to care
Those in despair and darkness, that they may find the hope and light of Christ
Those in fear of death, that they may find faith through the resurrection
Prisoners and captives
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty Father, you have given your only Son to die for our sins and to rise again for our justification: grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness that we may always serve you in pureness of living and truth; through the merits of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Rejoicing in God’s new creation, as our Savior taught us, so we pray
Our Father, 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 risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
Amen.
Tue. morning Apr. 14
Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
In your resurrection, O Christ,
let heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation, to you be praise and glory forever. As once you ransomed your people from Egypt and led them to freedom in the promised land, so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son. May we, the first fruits of your new creation, rejoice in this new day you have made, and praise you for your mighty acts.
Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence, O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you; now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine
Words: Fanny J. Crosby (1873)
Music: Phoebe P. Knapp (1873)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#570)
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending, bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love. [Refrain]
Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with His goodness, lost in His love. [Refrain]
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 8
O LORD, our Lord,
how excellent is Your name in all the earth!
You have set Your glory
above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have ordained strength
because of Your enemies,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider Your heavens,
the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which You have established,
what is man that You are mindful of him,
and the son of man that You attend to him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
and whatever travels the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord,
how excellent is Your name in 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
We bless you, master of the heavens, for the wonderful order which enfolds this world; grant that your whole creation may find fulfillment in the Son of Man, Jesus Christ our Savior.
Psalm 20
𝙍: We trust in the name of the LORD our God.
May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble;
may the name of the God of Jacob defend you;
may He send you help from the sanctuary,
and strengthen you from Zion;
may He remember all your offerings,
and accept your burnt sacrifice.
May He grant you your heart’s desire,
and fulfill all your plans.
We will rejoice in your salvation,
and in the name of our God we will set up our banners!
May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.
𝙍: We trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
with the saving strength of His right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
They have collapsed and fallen,
but we have risen and stand upright.
Save, O LORD!
May the King answer us when we call.
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: We trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Psalm prayer
Merciful God, purify our hearts in the flame of your Spirit and transform our toil into an offering of praise, that we may reject the proud rule of might and trust in Christ alone, for He is our Lord forever and ever.
Psalm 21
𝙍: The king trusts in the LORD.
The king will rejoice in Your strength, O LORD,
and in Your salvation how greatly will he rejoice!
You have given him his heart’s desire,
and have not withheld the request of his lips.
For You meet him with the blessings of goodness;
You set a crown of pure gold on his head.
He asked life of You, and You gave it to him,
length of days forever and ever.
𝙍: The king trusts in the LORD.
His glory is great in Your salvation;
honor and majesty You bestow on him.
For You have made him most blessed forever;
You have made him glad with the joy of Your presence.
For the king trusts in the LORD,
and by the lovingkindness of the Most High
he shall not be moved.
𝙍: The king trusts in the LORD.
Your hand will find out all Your enemies;
Your right hand will find out those who hate You.
You will make them like a fiery furnace
in the time of Your anger;
the LORD will swallow them up in His wrath,
and the fire will consume them.
You will destroy their offspring from the earth,
and their descendants from among the sons of men.
𝙍: The king trusts in the LORD.
For they intended evil against You;
they devised a plot which they are not able to perform.
Therefore You will put them to flight;
You will aim Your bows at their faces.
Be exalted, O LORD, in Your strength!
We will sing and praise Your power.
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: The king trusts in the LORD.
Psalm prayer
Crown us, God, but with humility, and robe us with compassion, that, as you call us into the kingdom of your Son, we may strive to overcome all evil by the power of good, and so walk gently on the earth with you, our God, forever.
Old Testament reading
Exodus 15:22-16:10
Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the Wilderness of Shur, and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore, the name of it was called Marah. So the people murmured against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
And he cried to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he had thrown it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.
There He made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them. He said, “If you diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will not afflict you with any of the diseases with which I have afflicted the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”
Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the waters.
Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the Israelites came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. The whole congregation of the Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. Now the Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full, for you have brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain amount every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. And it shall come to pass that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”
So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “At evening, you shall know that the LORD has brought you out from the land of Egypt. And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because He hears your murmurings against the LORD. And what are we that you murmur against us?” Then Moses said, “This will happen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening and bread in the morning to satisfy, for the LORD hears your murmurings which you murmur against Him. And what are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.”
Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the Israelites, ‘Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your murmurings.’ ”
So as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Colossians 1:15-29
He is the image of the invisible God and the firstborn of every creature. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they are thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers. All things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all fullness should dwell, and to reconcile all things to Himself by Him, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him, I say—whether they are things in earth, or things in heaven.
And you, who were formerly alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and blameless and above reproach in His sight, if you continue in the faith, established and firm, and are not removed from the hope of the gospel, which you have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake and fill up in my flesh that which is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church. I have been made a servant of it according to the commission of God, which has been given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, even the mystery which has been hidden from past ages and generations, but now is revealed to His saints. To them God would make known what is the glorious riches of this mystery among the nations. It is Christ in you, the hope of glory, whom we preach, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present them complete in Christ Jesus. In this I labor, striving according to His power, which effectively works in me.
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 people of God, that they may proclaim the risen Lord
God’s creation, that the peoples of the earth may meet their responsibility to care
Those in despair and darkness, that they may find the hope and light of Christ
Those in fear of death, that they may find faith through the resurrection
Prisoners and captives
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Father, hear our prayer,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty Father, you have given your only Son to die for our sins and to rise again for our justification: grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness that we may always serve you in pureness of living and truth; through the merits of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Rejoicing in God’s new creation, as our Savior taught us, so we pray
Our Father, 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 risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
Amen.