Fri. morning Jun. 26
Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of all, to you be glory and praise forever. You founded the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands. In the fullness of time, you made us in your image, and in these last days you have spoken to us in your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. As we rejoice in the gift of your presence among us, let the light of your love always shine in our hearts, your Spirit ever renew our lives, and your praises ever be on our lips.
Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence, O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you; now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
The Love of God
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 55
𝙍: Cast your burden on the LORD, and He will sustain you.
Give ear to my prayer, O God,
and do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
Attend to me, and answer me;
I am restless in my complaint, and I murmur,
because of the voice of the enemy,
because of the oppression of the wicked;
for they bring down trouble upon me,
and in anger they hate me.
My heart is in anguish within me,
and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
Fear and trembling have come upon me,
and horror has overwhelmed me.
𝙍: Cast your burden on the LORD, and He will sustain you.
I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest.
Indeed, I would wander far off,
and remain in the wilderness.
I would hasten my escape
from the windy storm and tempest.”
Confuse, O Lord, divide their tongues,
for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
Day and night they go around it on its walls;
iniquity and trouble are in its midst.
Destruction is in its midst;
oppression and deceit do not depart from its marketplace.
𝙍: Cast your burden on the LORD, and He will sustain you.
For it is not an enemy who reproaches me;
then I could bear it;
nor is it he who hates me who has exalted himself against me;
then I could hide from him.
But it was you, a man, my equal,
my companion, and my acquaintance.
We took sweet counsel together,
and walked in the house of God in the throng.
Let death seize them,
and let them go down alive to Sheol,
for wickedness is in their dwellings and in their midst.
𝙍: Cast your burden on the LORD, and He will sustain you.
As for me, I will call upon God,
and the LORD will save me.
Evening and morning and at noon
will I reflect and groan,
and He will hear my voice.
He has redeemed my soul in peace
from the battle that was against me,
for there were many against me.
God will hear and afflict them,
even He who sits enthroned from of old.
Because they do not change,
therefore they do not fear God.
𝙍: Cast your burden on the LORD, and He will sustain you.
He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him;
he has violated his covenant.
His speech was smoother than butter,
but war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
yet they were drawn swords.
Cast your burden on the LORD,
and He will sustain you;
He will never permit
the righteous to be moved.
But You, O God, will cast the wicked down
to the pit of destruction;
bloodthirsty and deceitful men
shall not live out half their days.
But I will trust in You.
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: Cast your burden on the LORD, and He will sustain you.
Psalm prayer
Lord, in all times of fear and dread, grant that we may so cast our burdens upon you, that you may bear us on the holy wings of the Spirit to the stronghold of your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Judges 11:29-40
Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Jephthah and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and went on to the Ammonites. Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, “If You will indeed give the Ammonites into my hands, then whatever comes out from the door of my house to meet me, when I return safely from the Ammonites, will surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”
So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to wage war against them, and the LORD gave them into his hands. He struck them down from Aroer to Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel Keramim. The defeat was very severe, and the Ammonites were humbled before the Israelites.
Then Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him, dancing with a tambourine. She was his only child. Other than her, he had neither son nor daughter. When he saw her, he ripped up his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought utter disaster to me. You are my undoing, for I have given my word to the LORD, and I cannot take it back.”
She said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to the LORD. Do to me what has come out of your mouth, because the LORD worked vengeance upon your enemies, the Ammonites.” Then she said to her father, “Let this be done for me: Give me two months, and I and my friends will wander the hill country and mourn over my virginity.”
He said, “Go,” and he sent her away for two months. She and her friends went and mourned over her virginity in the hill country. At the end of two months she returned to her father, and he did to her according to the vow that he had made. She had not ever slept with a man.
So it became a custom in Israel that the women of Israel would commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days each year.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Luke 17:1-10
Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible for offenses not to come, but woe to him through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than to offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves.
“If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. And if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
The Lord said, “If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
“Which of you, having a servant plowing or herding sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come now and sit down for dinner’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare my supper, and dress yourself and serve me until I eat and drink. And afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant, because he did what was commanded? I think not. So you also, when you have done everything commanded you, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done our duty.’ ”
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:
National leaders, public officials, and the armed forces
Peace and justice in the world
Those who work for reconciliation
All whose lives are devastated by war and civil strife
Prisoners, refugees, and homeless people
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God, you have broken the tyranny of sin and have sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts whereby we call you Father: give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service, that we and all creation may be brought to the glorious liberty of the children of God; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
As our Savior taught us, so we pray
Our Father, 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
The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.
Thu. morning June 25
Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of all, to you be glory and praise forever. You founded the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands. In the fullness of time, you made us in your image, and in these last days you have spoken to us in your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. As we rejoice in the gift of your presence among us, let the light of your love always shine in our hearts, your Spirit ever renew our lives, and your praises ever be on our lips.
Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence, O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you; now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
Holy God, We Praise Thy Name
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 78:1-39
𝙍: How awesome are Your works, O Lord!
Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will speak mysteries of old,
which we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,
but tell the generation to come
the praises of the LORD,
and His strength and the wonderful works that He has done.
𝙍: How awesome are Your works, O Lord!
For He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which He commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
that the generation to come might know them,
the children yet to be born,
that they may arise and declare them to their children,
so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep His commandments;
and that they may not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation that did not set its heart aright,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
𝙍: How awesome are Your works, O Lord!
The Ephraimites, being armed with bows,
turned back in the day of battle.
They did not keep the covenant of God
and refused to walk in His law;
they forgot His works
and the wonders that He had shown them.
In the sight of their fathers He performed marvelous wonders
in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
𝙍: How awesome are Your works, O Lord!
He divided the sea and caused them to pass through,
and He made the waters stand up like a heap.
In the daytime He led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a light of fire.
He split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them plenty to drink like the depths.
He brought streams also out of the rock
and caused waters to run down like rivers.
𝙍: How awesome are Your works, O Lord!
But they sinned still more against Him
by rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
They tested God in their heart
by asking for the food they craved.
Then they spoke against God, saying,
“Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
Behold, He struck the rock, so that the waters gushed out
and the streams overflowed.
Can He give bread also?
Will He provide meat for His people?”
𝙍: How awesome are Your works, O Lord!
Therefore the LORD heard this and was full of wrath;
a fire was kindled against Jacob,
and anger also came up against Israel,
because they did not believe in God
and did not trust in His salvation.
Yet He had commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven,
and He rained down manna upon them to eat
and gave them the grain of heaven.
Men ate the bread of angels;
He sent them food in abundance.
𝙍: How awesome are Your works, O Lord!
He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by His power He directed the south wind.
He rained meat on them like dust,
winged birds like the sand of the seas;
then He let them fall in the midst of their camp,
all around their dwellings.
So they ate and were well filled,
for He gave them their own desire.
They were not separated from their desire;
but while their food was still in their mouths,
the wrath of God came upon them,
and He killed the strongest of them
and struck down the young men of Israel.
𝙍: How awesome are Your works, O Lord!
For all this they still sinned,
and did not believe in His wondrous works.
Therefore their days did He consume like a breath,
and their years in terror.
When He killed them, then they sought Him;
they turned back and sought earnestly for God.
They remembered that God was their rock,
and the Most High God their Redeemer.
𝙍: How awesome are Your works, O Lord!
Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouths,
and they lied to Him with their tongues;
for their heart was not steadfast toward Him,
nor were they faithful in His covenant.
But He, being full of compassion,
forgave their iniquity
and did not destroy them.
He often restrained His anger,
and did not stir up all His wrath;
for He remembered that they were but flesh,
a wind that passes away and does not return.
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: How awesome are Your works, O Lord!
Psalm prayer
God our deliverer, as you led our ancestors through the wilderness, so lead us through the wilderness of this world, that we may be saved through Christ forever.
Old Testament reading
Judges 11:1-11
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. Gilead’s wife also bore him sons. His wife’s sons grew up and drove Jephthah away. They said to him, “You will not inherit anything from our father’s house because you are the son of another woman.” So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Men of ill repute gathered around Jephthah and went out with him.
Some time passed, then the Ammonites waged war with Israel. When the Ammonites waged war with Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah back from the land of Tob. They said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader so that we may fight the Ammonites.”
Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father’s house? Why have you come to me now that you are in trouble?”
The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “Even so, we have turned to you. Come with us and fight the Ammonites. You will be ruler over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me back to wage war against the Ammonites, and the LORD gives them to me, then I will be your ruler.”
The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “May the LORD be a witness between us if we do not act according to your word.” So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead. The people set him over them as ruler and leader. And Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD in Mizpah.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Luke 16:19-31
“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. There was also a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores, who had been placed at his gate, desiring to be fed the crumbs falling from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
“It came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s presence. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham from a distance and Lazarus in his presence. So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am tormented in this flame.’
“But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things. But now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who would pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
“He said, ‘Then I pray you, father, to send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, to testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’
“Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them hear them.’
“He said, ‘No, father Abraham. But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
“He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.’ ”
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:
Local government, community leaders
All who provide local services
Those who work with young or elderly people
Schools, colleges, and universities
Emergency and rescue organizations
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
Almighty God, you have broken the tyranny of sin and have sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts whereby we call you Father: give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service, that we and all creation may be brought to the glorious liberty of the children of God; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
As our Savior taught us, so we pray
Our Father, 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
The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.
Wed. morning Jun. 24
Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of all, to you be glory and praise forever. You founded the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands. In the fullness of time, you made us in your image, and in these last days you have spoken to us in your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. As we rejoice in the gift of your presence among us, let the light of your love always shine in our hearts, your Spirit ever renew our lives, and your praises ever be on our lips.
Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence, O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you; now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
Here Is Love Vast as the Ocean
Confession of Sin
Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Almighty God, patient and of great goodness: I confess to you, I confess with my whole heart my neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments, my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking; the hurts I have done to others, and the good I have left undone. O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you; and raise me to newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
May the God of love and power forgive us and free us from our sins, heal and strengthen us by his Spirit, and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Psalm 50
𝙍: Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving.
The Mighty One, God the LORD,
has spoken and summoned the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God has shined forth.
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
a devouring fire shall precede Him,
and it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.
He shall call to the heavens above,
and to the earth, that He may judge His people:
“Gather My faithful ones to Me,
those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
The heavens shall declare His righteousness,
for God Himself is Judge.
𝙍: Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving.
“Hear, O My people, and I will speak,
O Israel, I will testify against you;
I am God, your God.
Not for your sacrifices will I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
I will not accept a young bull from your house,
or goats from your folds.
For every beast of the forest is Mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know all the birds of the mountains,
and the wild beasts of the field are Mine.
If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and all its fullness are Mine.
Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?
“Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and pay your vows to the Most High.
Call on Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me.”
𝙍: Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving.
But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to declare My statutes,
or take My covenant on your lips?
For you hate instruction,
and cast My words behind you.
When you see a thief, you are pleased with him,
and you partake with adulterers.
You give your mouth to evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.
You sit and speak against your brother;
you slander your own mother’s son.
These things have you done, and I kept silent;
you thought that I was indeed like you;
but I will rebuke you
and make a case before your eyes.
“Now consider this, you who forget God,
lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver:
Whoever offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice
glorifies Me;
to him who orders his conduct aright,
I will show the salvation of God.”
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: Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving.
Psalm prayer
Mighty God, dwelling in unapproachable light, forgive our vain attempts to appease you, and show us your full salvation in Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
Psalm 149
𝙍: Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth!
Praise the LORD!
Sing to the LORD a new song,
and His praise in the congregation of the saints.
Let Israel rejoice in his maker;
let the sons of Zion be joyful in their King.
Let them praise His name in the dance;
let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.
For the LORD takes pleasure in His people;
He will beautify the meek with salvation.
𝙍: Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth!
Let the saints be joyful in glory;
let them sing for joy on their beds.
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
and a two-edged sword in their hand,
to execute vengeance on the nations,
and punishment on the peoples;
to bind their kings with chains,
and their nobles with fetters of iron;
to execute on them the judgment written!
This honor have all His saints.
Praise the LORD!
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be forever. Amen.
𝙍: Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth!
Psalm prayer
Glorious and redeeming God, give us hearts to praise you all our days and wills to reject the world’s deceits, that we may bind the evils of our age and proclaim the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Malachi 3:1-6
Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. He is coming, says the LORD of Hosts.
But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites, and refine them like gold and silver, and they will present to the LORD offerings in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.
Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against the perjurers, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who turn aside the stranger, and do not fear Me, says the LORD of Hosts.
For I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Luke 3:1-17
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Caesar Tiberius, Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip was tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Traconitis, and Lysanias was the tetrarch of Abilene. Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He came into the region surrounding the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make His paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be brought low;
and the crooked shall be made straight
and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”
Then he said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is put to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
The people asked him, “What then must we do?”
John answered, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none. And he who has food, let him do likewise.”
Then tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what must we do?”
He said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed you.”
Then the soldiers likewise demanded of him, “And what must we do?”
He said to them, “Do no violence to anyone nor accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages.”
As the people were in expectation, and everyone reflected in their hearts upon John, whether he might be the Christ or not, John answered them all, “I indeed baptize you with water. But One mightier than I is coming, the straps of whose shoes I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly cleanse His threshing floor, and will gather the wheat into His granary. But He will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
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 social services
All who work in the criminal justice system
Victims and perpetrators of crime
The work of aid agencies throughout the world
Those living in poverty or under oppression
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 God, you have broken the tyranny of sin and have sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts whereby we call you Father: give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service, that we and all creation may be brought to the glorious liberty of the children of God; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
As our Savior taught us, so we pray
Our Father, 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
The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.