Mon. morning Sep. 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
Day by Day
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 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.
Old Testament reading
1 Kings 21
Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel right by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And after this Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, so that I can have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it, or if you prefer, I will give you its worth in money.”
Naboth said to Ahab, “The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”
Ahab returned home angry and depressed because of the answer Naboth the Jezreelite had given him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” He lay down on his bed and sulked and would not eat any bread.
But Jezebel his wife came to him and said, “Why is your spirit so sad that you refuse to eat bread?”
And he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’ ”
Jezebel his wife said to him, “Are you not the governor of the kingdom of Israel? Get up and eat bread, and let your heart be happy, for I will get the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you.”
So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles that were in the city where Naboth lived. In the letters she wrote,
“Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people, and set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, ‘You blasphemed God and the king.’ And then carry him out and stone him, so that he will die.”
The men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them, as it was written in the letters that she had sent to them. They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth on high among the people. Two men, sons of Belial, came in and sat in front of him, and the men of Belial witnessed against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth blasphemed God and the king.” Then they carried him out of the city and stoned him to death. Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”
When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, she said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to sell to you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
The word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: Arise, go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who is in Samaria. Behold, he is now in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to possess it. You shall speak to him, saying, “Thus says the LORD: Have you killed and also taken possession?” And you shall speak to him, saying, “Thus says the LORD: In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs will lick your own blood!”
Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, my enemy?”
And he answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to work evil in the sight of the LORD. ‘Behold, I will bring disaster upon you and will take away your posterity and will cut off all your males, both free and slave, who are left in Israel, and will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger and made Israel to sin.’
“The LORD also spoke of Jezebel, saying, ‘The dogs will eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’
“Those from Ahab’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by birds of the air.”
But there were none compared to Ahab, who sold himself to evil deeds in the sight of the LORD, which Jezebel his wife stirred up. He performed the most abominable act in following idols like the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the Israelites.
When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and walked meekly.
The word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “See how Ahab humbles himself before Me? Because he humbles himself before Me, I will not bring the disaster during his lifetime, but during his son’s lifetime I will bring the disaster on his household.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Act 21:37-22:21
As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I speak to you?”
He replied, “Do you know how to speak Greek? Are you not the Egyptian who in past days caused an uproar and led the four thousand men of the Sicarii out into the wilderness?”
Paul said, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus of Cilicia, a citizen of no common city. I beg of you, permit me to speak to the people.”
When he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. When there was great silence, he addressed them in the Aramaic language, saying,
“Brothers and fathers, hear my defense that I now make before you.”
When they heard that he addressed them in the Aramaic language, they became even more quiet.
Then he said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. At the feet of Gamaliel I was trained in the strict tradition of the law of the fathers, being zealous toward God as you all are today. I persecuted this Way to the death, arresting and imprisoning both men and women, as even the high priest and the council of elders bear witness of me. From them I received letters to the brothers in Damascus, where I went to take even those who were there and lead them in chains to Jerusalem to be punished.
“As I journeyed and came near Damascus, about noon suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’
“I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’
“He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ Those who were with me saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who was speaking to me.
“I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’
“The Lord said to me, ‘Rise and go into Damascus. There you will be told what you have been appointed to do.’ Since I was blinded by the glory of that light, those who were with me led me by the hand into Damascus.
“Ananias, a devout man according to the law, who was well spoken of by all the Jews living there, came and stood by me, and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that moment I looked up at him.
“Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Just One and to hear His voice, for you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you wait? Rise, be baptized and wash away your sins, and call on the name of the Lord.’
“When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw Him saying to me, ‘Hurry! Get out of Jerusalem immediately, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’
“I said, ‘Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat those who believed in You in every synagogue. And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I was standing by consenting to his death, guarding the clothes of those who killed him.’
“Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
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
Father, hear our prayer,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you: pour your love into our hearts and draw us to yourself, and so bring us at last to your heavenly city where we shall see you face to face; 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.
Sun. morning Sep. 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 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 125
𝙍: Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God.
Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the LORD surrounds His people,
from this time forth and forevermore.
𝙍: Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God.
For the scepter of the wicked shall not rest
on the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous put forth
their hands to do wrong.
Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,
and to those who are upright in their hearts.
As for those who turn aside to their crooked ways,
the Lord will lead them away with the workers of iniquity.
Peace be upon Israel!
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: Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God.
Psalm prayer
God of power, you are strong to save, and you never fail those who trust in you; keep us under your protection and spread abroad your reign of peace through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 126
𝙍: The LORD has done great things for us.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then was our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with singing;
then said they among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are glad.
𝙍: The LORD has done great things for us.
Bring back our captives, O LORD,
like the streams in the Negev.
Those who sow in tears
shall reap with joy.
He who goes forth weeping,
bearing seed for sowing,
shall come home with rejoicing,
bringing his sheaves with him.
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 done great things for us.
Psalm prayer
Lord, as you send rain and flowers even to the wilderness, renew us by your Holy Spirit, help us to sow good seed in time of adversity and to live to rejoice in your good harvest of all creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Isaiah 48:12-21
Listen to Me, O Jacob
and Israel, whom I called:
I am He;
I am the First, and I am the Last.
My hand also has laid the foundation of the earth,
and My right hand has spanned the heavens;
when I call to them,
they stand up together.
Assemble, all of you, and listen.
Who among them has declared these things?
The LORD has loved him;
he will do His pleasure on Babylon,
and His arm shall be against the Chaldeans.
I, even I, have spoken,
and I have called him;
I have brought him,
and his way will prosper.
Come near to Me, hear this:
I have not spoken in secret from the beginning;
from the time that it was, there I am.
And now the Lord GOD has sent me
and His Spirit.
Thus says the LORD,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
I am the LORD your God,
who teaches you to profit,
who leads you in the way you should go.
Oh, that you had listened to My commandments!
Then your peace would have been as a river
and your righteousness as the waves of the sea.
Your descendants also would have been as the sand
and your offspring like grains of sand;
their name would not have been cut off
nor destroyed from before Me.
Go forth from Babylon!
Flee from the Chaldeans!
With a voice of singing declare,
proclaim this,
utter it even to the ends of the earth;
say, “The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob.”
They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts;
He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them;
He also split the rock,
and the waters gushed out.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Luke 11:37-54
As He spoke, a Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat. When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.
Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish. But inside you are full of extortion and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give alms from what is within, and behold, all things are clean to you.
“Woe to you, Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb and pass over justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
“Woe to you, Pharisees! For you love the prominent seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like unseen graves, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them.”
One of the lawyers answered Him, “Teacher, by saying these things You insult us also.”
He said, “Woe to you also, you lawyers! For you load men with burdens difficult to carry, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
“Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. So you are witnesses and entirely approve the deeds of your fathers, because they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the beginning of the world, may be required from this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it shall be required from this generation.
“Woe to you, lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”
As He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to incite Him vehemently and angrily draw Him out concerning many things, lying in wait for Him and seeking to catch something out of His mouth, that they might accuse Him.
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
Almighty God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you: pour your love into our hearts and draw us to yourself, and so bring us at last to your heavenly city where we shall see you face to face; 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.
Sat. morning Sep. 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
O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing
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;
andall that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits.
Psalm 68
𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.
Let God arise; let His enemies be scattered;
let those who hate Him flee before Him.
As smoke is driven away,
so drive them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
so let the wicked perish before God.
But let the righteous be glad;
let them rejoice before God;
let them rejoice exceedingly.
Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
extol Him who rides upon the clouds;
His name is the LORD;
rejoice before Him.
A father of the fatherless and a protector of the widows
is God in His holy habitation.
God settles the solitary in a home;
He leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.
O God, when You went forth before Your people,
when You marched through the wilderness,
the earth shook;
the heavens also poured down rain
at the presence of God; Sinai itself quaked
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
You, O God, shed abroad a plentiful rain;
You confirmed Your inheritance when it was weary.
Your congregation dwelt in it;
You, O God, provided in Your goodness for the poor.
𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.
The Lord gave the word;
great was the company of the women who proclaimed it:
“Kings of armies flee; they flee!”
Even she who remains at home divides the spoil.
Though you lie down among the sheepfolds,
you will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
and its pinions with yellow gold.
When the Almighty scattered kings in it,
it was white as snow on Mount Zalmon.
𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.
The mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
a mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
Why do you look with envy, you mountain of many peaks,
at the mountain which God desires to dwell in?
Yes, the LORD will dwell in it forever.
The chariots of God are twenty thousand, thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them as at Sinai, in the holy place.
You have ascended on high,
leading captives in your train;
You have received gifts among men,
even from the rebellious,
that the LORD God might dwell there.
𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up,
the God of our salvation.
Our God is the God of salvation;
and to God the Lord belongs escape from death.
But God will wound the heads of His enemies,
the hairy head of him who walks in his guilty ways.
The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan;
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
that you may bathe your foot in blood,
and the tongues of your dogs may have their share from your enemies.”
𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.
They have seen Your processions, O God,
the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
The singers went in front,
the musicians followed behind;
between them were the young women playing tambourines.
Bless God in the congregations,
the LORD, from the fountain of Israel.
There is little Benjamin leading them,
the princes of Judah in their throng,
the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.
𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.
Summon Your might, O God;
show Your strength, O God, which You have done for us before.
Because of Your temple at Jerusalem,
kings will bring gifts to You.
Rebuke the animals that live among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples,
until everyone submits himself with pieces of silver;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
Envoys will come from Egypt;
Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.
𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.
Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth;
oh, sing praises to the Lord,
to Him who rides on the highest heavens, which were of old!
Behold, He sends out His voice, a mighty voice.
Ascribe strength to God;
His excellency is over Israel,
and His strength is in the clouds.
O God, You are awesome in Your sanctuary;
the God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people.
Blessed be 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: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.
Psalm prayer
Blessed are you, gracious God; you make your home among the weak, you deliver us from death, you bring us joy beyond our imagining to the praise of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
1 Kings 19
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”
When he saw that she was serious, he arose and ran for his life to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a juniper tree and asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough! Now, O LORD, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.”
As he lay and slept under the juniper tree, behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” He looked, and behold, there was a cake baked on coals and a jar of water at his head. And he ate and drank and then lay down again.
The angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” He arose and ate and drank and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.
He came to a cave and camped there. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “Why are you here, Elijah?”
And he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, Lord of Hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.”
He said, “Go and stand on the mountain before the LORD.”
And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind split the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake came, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, a fire came, but the LORD was not in the fire, and after the fire, a still, small voice. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood in the entrance to the cave.
And behold, a voice came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?”
And he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, Lord of Hosts, because the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.”
The LORD said to him, “Go, return on the road through the Wilderness of Damascus, and when you arrive, anoint Hazael to be king over Aram. And you shall anoint Jehu, the son of Nimshi, to be king over Israel, and you shall anoint Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah, to be prophet in your place. He who escapes the sword of Hazael will be killed by Jehu, and he who escapes the sword of Jehu will be killed by Elisha. Still, I have preserved seven thousand men in Israel for Myself, all of whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him and he with the twelfth, and Elijah passed by him and threw his cloak on him. He left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother, and then I will follow you.”
And he said to him, “Go back, for what have I done to you?”
So he returned from following him and took a yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes from the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he got up and went after Elijah and ministered to him.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 21:17-36
When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly. 18On the next day Paul went with us to James, and all the elders were present. He greeted them and recounted one by one what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
When they heard this, they glorified the Lord. Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who believe, and they are all zealous for the law. They have been informed concerning you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to observe the customs. What then shall be done? The assembly will certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. Therefore do what we tell you. We have four men who have taken a vow. Take these men and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may have their heads shaved. Then all will know that what they were told concerning you is nothing, but that you yourself live in observance of the law. As for the Gentiles who believe, we have written and concluded that they should observe no such thing, except that they abstain from food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from strangled animals, and from blood.”
Then on the next day, Paul took the men and purified himself with them. And he went into the temple, announcing when the days of purification would be complete and an offering would be given for each one of them.
When the seven days were nearly concluded, the Jews from Asia saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man teaching all men everywhere against the people and the law and this place. He even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, whom they supposed Paul had brought into the temple.
Then the whole city was provoked, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple. And immediately the doors were shut. While they were trying to kill him, news came up to the commander of the battalion of soldiers that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. He at once took soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them. When they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
Then the commander came and arrested him, and ordered that he be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done. Some in the crowd shouted one thing, some another. As he could not learn the truth because of the uproar, he commanded that he be brought into the barracks. When he came onto the stairs, he was carried by the soldiers, because of the violence of the people. For the mob of people followed, crying out, “Away with him!”
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, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
O Lord, we beseech you mercifully to hear the prayers of your people who call upon you; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfill them; 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.