Mon. morning Jun. 29
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
Near the Cross
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 71
𝙍: O God, be not far from me.
In You, O LORD, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
Deliver me in Your righteousness and rescue me;
incline Your ear to me, and save me.
Be to me a rock of refuge
to which I may continually come;
You have given the commandment to save me,
for You are my rock and my fortress.
Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,
out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
For You are my hope, O Lord GOD;
You are my trust from my youth.
I have leaned on You since my birth;
You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb.
My praise will be continually of You.
𝙍: O God, be not far from me.
I have become a marvel to many,
for You are my strong refuge.
Let my mouth be filled with Your praise
and with Your glory all the day.
Cast me not away in the time of old age;
forsake me not when my strength fails.
For my enemies speak against me,
and those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together,
saying, “God has forsaken him;
pursue and take him,
for there is no one to deliver him.”
O God, be not far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me.
Let them be confounded and consumed
who are adversaries of my soul;
let them be covered with reproach and dishonor
who seek my hurt.
𝙍: O God, be not far from me.
But I will hope continually,
and will praise You yet more and more.
My mouth will tell of Your righteousness
and of Your salvation all the day,
for I do not know their extent.
I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD;
I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.
𝙍: O God, be not far from me.
O God, You have taught me from my youth,
and I still declare Your wondrous works.
Now also when I am old and gray,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I declare Your might to this generation,
and Your power to everyone who is to come.
Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens,
You who have done great things;
O God, who is like You?
You who have shown me many troubles and distresses
will revive me again,
and will bring me up again
from the depths of the earth.
You will increase my greatness
and comfort me on every side.
𝙍: O God, be not far from me.
Also with the harp will I praise You
for Your faithfulness, O my God;
to You will I sing praises with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
My lips will greatly rejoice
when I sing to You,
and my soul, which You have redeemed.
My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness
all the day long,
for they are confounded and brought to shame
who seek my hurt.
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 God, be not far from me.
Psalm prayer
Faithful Lord, living Savior, in youth and old age, from the womb to the grave, may we know your protection and proclaim your great salvation to the glory of God the Father.
Psalm 113
𝙍: From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised.
Praise the LORD!
Praise, O servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore.
From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the LORD is to be praised.
The LORD is high above all nations,
and His glory above the heavens.
𝙍: From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised.
Who is like the LORD our God,
who dwells on high,
who looks far down
on the heavens and on the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust,
and lifts the needy out of the ash heap,
to seat him with princes,
with the princes of His people.
He gives the barren woman a home,
to be a joyful mother of children.
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: From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised.
Psalm prayer
From the rising of the sun to its setting, we praise your name, Lord; may your promise to raise the poor from the dust and turn the fortunes of the needy upside down be fulfilled in our time also, as it was in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Isaiah 49:1-6
Listen to me, O coastlands,
and pay attention, you peoples from afar.
The LORD called me from the womb;
from the body of my mother He named me.
He has made my mouth like a sharp sword;
in the shadow of His hand He has hidden me
and made me a select arrow;
in His quiver He has hidden me.
He said to me, “You are My servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
Then I said, “I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity,
yet surely the justice due to me is with the LORD,
and my reward with my God.”
Now says the LORD,
who formed me from the womb to be His servant,
to bring Jacob back to Him,
so that Israel might be gathered to Him
(yet I am honored in the eyes of the LORD,
and my God is my strength),
He says,
“It is a light thing that you should be My servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also make you a light to the nations
so that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 11:1-18
The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised disputed with him, saying, “You went in and ate with uncircumcised men!”
Peter began explaining it to them in order, saying, “I was in the city of Joppa praying. And in a trance I saw a vision: A vessel like a great sheet was descending, let down from heaven by four corners, and it came to me. I considered what I had observed and saw four-footed creatures and wild beasts and reptiles and birds of the air. Then I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’
“I said, ‘Not at all, Lord. For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth.’
“The voice answered from heaven a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, do not call common.’ This happened three times. And again everything was taken up into heaven.
“And behold, at that very moment three men sent from Caesarea to me came to the house where I was. The Spirit told me to go with them without hesitation. Moreover these six brothers came with me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen an angel in his house, who stood and said to him, ‘Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose name is Peter. He will speak words to you by which you and all your household will be saved.’
“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, as He fell on us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?”
When they heard these things, they were silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then God has granted to the Gentiles also repentance unto life.
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 media and the arts
Farming and fishing
Commerce and industry
Those whose work is unfulfilling, stressful, or fraught with danger
All who are unemployed
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
In faith we pray
We pray to you, our God.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God, whose blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified you in their death as in their life: grant that your church, inspired by their teaching and example, and made one by your Spirit, may ever stand firm upon the one foundation, 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.
Sun. morning Jun. 28
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
I Am Resolved
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 52
𝙍: I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.
Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?
The goodness of God endures continually.
Your tongue devises destruction,
like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.
You love evil more than good,
and lying rather than speaking what is right.
You love all devouring words,
O you deceitful tongue.
But God will break you down forever;
He will snatch you away and pluck you from your home,
and uproot you from the land of the living.
The righteous will see and fear,
and will laugh at him, saying,
“Behold, the man
who did not make God his refuge,
but trusted in the abundance of his riches,
and sought refuge in his wickedness.”
But I am like a green olive tree
in the house of God;
I trust in the mercy of God
forever and ever.
I will give You thanks forever for what You have done.
In the presence of Your saints I will wait on Your name,
for it is good.
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: I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.
Psalm prayer
Faithful and steadfast God, nourish your people in this wicked world, and, through prayer and the Scriptures, give us our daily bread; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 53
𝙍: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
The fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice;
there is none who does good.
God looks down from heaven
on the sons of men
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.
Every one of them has turned aside;
together they have become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
no, not one.
𝙍: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
who eat up my people as they eat bread,
and do not call on God?
There they are, in great fear,
where there is nothing to fear,
for God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you;
you have put them to shame, because God has rejected them.
Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!
When God brings back the captivity of His people,
Jacob will rejoice, and Israel will be glad.
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 fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
Psalm prayer
Without you, God, nothing is real, all things are open to corruption and we are deadened by deceit; do not abandon us to our folly, but give us hearts that seek you and, at the last, joy in your heavenly city; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Deuteronomy 15:1-11
At the end of every seven years you shall grant a relinquishing of debts. This is the manner of the relinquishing: Every creditor that has loaned anything to his neighbor shall relinquish it. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, or of his brother, because it is called the LORD’s relinquishment. You may collect it from a foreigner, but that which your brother has that is yours your hand shall release. However, there will be no poor among you, for the LORD will greatly bless you in the land which the LORD your God has given you for an inheritance to possess, if only you carefully obey the voice of the LORD your God, by carefully observing all these commandments which I command you today. For the LORD your God will bless you, just as He promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. You will reign over many nations, but they will not reign over you.
If there be among you a poor man, one of your brothers within any of your gates in your land which the LORD your God has given you, you must not harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother. But you shall open your hand wide to him and must surely lend him what is sufficient for his need, in that which he lacks. Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, “The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,” and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the LORD against you, and it become sin in you. You must surely give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because in this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works, and in all that you put your hand to do. For the poor will never cease from being in the land. Therefore, I command you, saying, “You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and needy in your land.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 27:13-44
When a south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained the necessary conditions, they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. But soon afterward a tempestuous wind swept through, called the Euraquilo. When the ship was overpowered and could not head into the wind, we let her drift. Drifting under the leeward side of an island called Cauda, we could scarcely secure the rowboat. When they had hoisted it aboard, they used ropes to undergird the ship. And fearing that they might run aground on the sands of Syrtis, they struck sail and so were driven. We were violently tossed by the storm. The next day they threw cargo overboard. On the third day we threw the tackle of the ship overboard with our own hands. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was upon us, all hope that we should be saved was lost.
After they had long abstained from food, Paul stood in their midst and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete, incurring this injury and loss. But now I advise you to take courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has given you all those who sail with you.’ Therefore, men, take courage, for I believe God that it will be exactly as it was told to me. Nevertheless, we must be shipwrecked on a certain island.”
When the fourteenth night came, while we were drifting in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors supposed that they were approaching land. They took soundings and found the water to be one hundred and twenty feet deep. When they had gone a little farther, they took soundings again and found it to be ninety feet deep. Fearing that we might run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. When the sailors strove to abandon ship and lowered the boat into the sea, under the pretext of lowering anchors out of the bow, Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these sailors remain in the ship, you cannot be saved.” Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat and let her fall off.
As day was about to dawn, Paul asked them all to eat, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have waited and continued without food, having eaten nothing. So I urge you to eat. This is for your preservation, for not a hair shall fall from your head.” When he had said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all. And when he had broken it, he began to eat. Then they were all encouraged, and they also ate food themselves. In all we were two hundred and seventy-six persons on the ship. When they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship and threw the wheat into the sea.
When it was day, they did not recognize the land. But they noticed a bay with a shore, into which they were determined to run the ship if possible. Casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea while loosening the ropes that secured the rudders. Then they hoisted the mainsail to the wind and made for shore. But striking a sandbar where two seas met, they ran the ship aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable, but the stern was broken up by the violent surf.
The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim away and escape. But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, prevented them from their intent and ordered those who could swim to abandon ship first and get to land, and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And in this way they all escaped safely to land.
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 universal church
Bishops, superintendents, and all who lead the church
The leaders of the nations
The natural world and the resources of the earth
All who are in any kind of need
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Loving God, we look to you.
Receive our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that with you as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not our hold on things eternal; grant this, heavenly Father, for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake, 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.
Sat. morning Jun. 27
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
At Calvary
Confession of Sin
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Silence may be kept.
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life.
Amen.
Psalm 76
𝙍: The LORD has established His throne for judgment.
In Judah God is known;
His name is great in Israel.
His abode is in Salem,
His dwelling place in Zion.
There He broke the flaming arrows of the bow,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.
𝙍: The LORD has established His throne for judgment.
You are more glorious and excellent
than the mountains of prey.
The stouthearted were plundered;
they sank into sleep;
and none of the mighty men
could use his hands.
At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both the rider and horse lay stunned.
𝙍: The LORD has established His throne for judgment.
But You indeed are to be feared;
who may stand in Your presence once You are angry?
You caused judgment to be heard from heaven;
the earth feared and was still,
when God arose to judgment,
to save all the meek of the earth.
𝙍: The LORD has established His throne for judgment.
Surely the wrath of man shall praise You;
with the remainder of wrath You will gird Yourself.
Make your vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them;
let all who are around Him
bring tribute to Him who is to be feared.
He will cut off the spirit of princes;
He is feared by the kings of 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.
𝙍: The LORD has established His throne for judgment.
Psalm prayer
Majestic and gracious God, more awesome than the agents of war, more powerful than the wrath of nations, restrain the violence of the peoples, and draw the despised of the earth into the joyful life of your kingdom, where you live and reign forever and ever.
Psalm 79
𝙍: Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name.
O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance;
Your holy temple have they defiled;
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
The dead bodies of Your servants
have they given to the birds of the heavens as food,
the flesh of Your faithful to the beasts of the earth.
Their blood have they poured out like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there was no one to bury them.
We have become a reproach to our neighbors,
a scorn and derision to those who are around us.
𝙍: Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name.
How long, O LORD? Will You be angry forever?
Will Your jealousy burn like fire?
Pour out Your wrath
upon the nations that do not know You,
and upon the kingdoms
that do not call upon Your name.
For they have devoured Jacob,
and laid waste his dwelling place.
𝙍: Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name.
Do not remember against us the iniquities of our forefathers;
let Your tender mercies come speedily to us,
for we have been brought very low.
Help us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of Your name;
deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins,
for Your name’s sake!
Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
𝙍: Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name.
Let the avenging of the shed blood of Your servants
be known among the nations before our eyes!
Let the groaning of the prisoners come before You;
according to the greatness of Your power
preserve those who are appointed to die.
And render to our neighbors sevenfold into their lap
the reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.
But we, Your people and the sheep of Your pasture,
will give You thanks forever;
we will declare Your praise
to all generations.
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: Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name.
Psalm prayer
When faith is scorned, and love grows cold, then, God of hosts, rebuild your Church on lives of thankfulness and patient prayer; through Christ your eternal Son.
Old Testament reading
Judges 12:1-7
The men of Ephraim gathered together and crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why did you go to wage war with the Ammonites and not call us to go with you? We will burn down your house right on top of you.”
Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were in a very great conflict with the Ammonites. I called you, but you did not save me from their hands. When I saw that you were not going to save me, I took my life in my own hands and crossed over to the Ammonites. Then the LORD gave them into my hands. Now why have you come up to me today to wage war against me?”
Then Jephthah assembled all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim. The men of Gilead struck Ephraim down, for they had said, “You Gileadites are fugitives in Ephraim, living in Ephraim and Manasseh.” Gilead captured the fords of the Jordan River leading to Ephraim. Whenever an Ephraimite fugitive would say, “Let me cross,” the Gileadite men would say to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” then they would say to him, “Say, ‘Shibboleth’!” Yet he would say, “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it correctly. Then they would grab him and kill him at the Jordan fords. During that time forty-two thousand from Ephraim fell.
Jephthah judged Israel for six years. When Jephthah the Gileadite died, he was buried among the cities of Gilead.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Luke 17:11-19
As Jesus went to Jerusalem, He passed between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood at a distance. They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
When He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
One of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned with a loud voice glorifying God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
Jesus said, “Were not the ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Were there not any found to return and give glory to God except this foreigner?” Then He said to him, “Rise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for He has visited and redeemed His people,
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David,
as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets of long ago,
that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us,
to perform the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember His holy covenant,
the oath which He swore to our father Abraham,
to grant us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
might serve Him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
for you will go before the presence of the Lord to prepare His ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to His people
by the remission of their sins,
through the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise from on high has visited us;
to give light to those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be forever. Amen.
Brief silence.
The Apostle’s Creed
Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:
I believe in God,
the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the
right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge
the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
Intercession and thanksgiving
Prayers may be offered for:
the day and its tasks
the world and its needs
the church and her life
Prayers may include the following concerns:
Our homes, families, friends, and all whom we love
Those whose time is spent caring for others
Those who are close to death
Those who have lost hope
The worship of the church
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Lord of life
In your mercy, hear us.
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.