Opening Sentence
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57
Morning Prayer
O God:
Give me strength to live another day;
Let me not turn coward before its difficulties or prove recreant to its duties;
Let me not lose faith in other people;
Keep me sweet and sound of heart, in spite of ingratitude, treachery, or meanness;
Preserve me from minding little stings or giving them;
Help me to keep my heart clean, and to live so honestly and fearlessly that no outward failure can dishearten me or take away the joy of conscious integrity;
Open wide the eyes of my soul that I may see good in all things;
Grant me this day some new vision of thy truth;
Inspire me with the spirit of joy and gladness;
and make me the cup of strength to suffering souls;
in the name of the strong Deliverer, our only Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen
The Old Testament Lesson
The Old Testament Lesson for today is taken from Wisdom 3:1-9
But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be a disaster, and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace. For though in the sight of others they were punished, their hope is full of immortality. Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself; like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them. In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble. They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them forever. Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones, and he watches over his elect.
The Epistle Lesson
The Epistle Lesson for today is taken from Colossians 1:15-23
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers-- all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him-- provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.
The Holy Gospel Lesson
The Holy Gospel is written in Luke 6:12-26
Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them. Then he looked up at his disciples and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. "Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. "Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. "Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
Morning Psalms
Psalm 45 Eructavit cor meum
1 My heart is stirring with a noble song; let me recite what I have fashioned for the king; my tongue shall be the pen of a skilled writer.
2 You are the fairest of men; grace flows from your lips, because God has blessed you for ever.
3 Strap your sword upon your thigh, O mighty warrior, in your pride and in your majesty.
4 Ride out and conquer in the cause of truth and for the sake of justice.
5 Your right hand will show you marvelous things; your arrows are very sharp, O mighty warrior.
6 The peoples are falling at your feet, and the king's enemies are losing heart.
7 Your throne, O God, endures for ever and ever, a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom; you love righteousness and hate iniquity.
8 Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.
9 All your garments are fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia, and the music of strings from ivory palaces makes you glad.
10 Kings' daughters stand among the ladies of the court; on your right hand is the queen, adorned with the gold of Ophir.
11 Hear, O daughter; consider and listen closely; forget your people and your father's house.
12 The king will have pleasure in your beauty; he is your master; therefore do him honor.
13 The people of Tyre are here with a gift; the rich among the people seek your favor."
14 All glorious is the princess as she enters; her gown is cloth-of-gold.
15 In embroidered apparel she is brought to the king; after her the bridesmaids follow in procession.
16 With joy and gladness they are brought, and enter into the palace of the king.
17 In place of fathers, O king, you shall have sons; you shall make them princes over all the earth.
18 I will make your name to be remembered from one generation to another; therefore nations will praise you for ever and ever."
Evening Psalms
Psalm 47 Omnes gentes, plaudite
1 Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with a cry of joy.
2 For the LORD Most High is to be feared; he is the great King over all the earth.
3 He subdues the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet.
4 He chooses our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves.
5 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of the ram's-horn.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7 For God is King of all the earth; sing praises with all your skill.
8 God reigns over the nations; God sits upon his holy throne.
9 The nobles of the peoples have gathered together with the people of the God of Abraham.
10 The rulers of the earth belong to God, and he is highly exalted.
Psalm 48 Magnus Dominus
1 Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised; in the city of our God is his holy hill.
2 Beautiful and lofty, the joy of all the earth, is the hill of Zion, the very center of the world and the city of the great King.
3 God is in her citadels; he is known to be her sure refuge.
4 Behold, the kings of the earth assembled and marched forward together.
5 They looked and were astounded; they retreated and fled in terror.
6 Trembling seized them there; they writhed like a woman in childbirth, like ships of the sea when the east wind shatters them.
7 As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God; God has established her for ever.
8 We have waited in silence on your loving-kindness, O God, in the midst of your temple.
9 Your praise, like your Name, O God, reaches to the world's end; your right hand is full of justice.
10 Let Mount Zion be glad and the cities of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments.
11 Make the circuit of Zion; walk round about her; count the number of her towers.
12 Consider well her bulwarks; examine her strongholds; that you may tell those who come after.
13 This God is our God for ever and ever; he shall be our guide for evermore.
The Apostles' Creed
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 power of 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
Prayer of the Day
Almighty God, you have revealed to your Church your eternal Being of glorious majesty and perfect love as one God in Trinity of Persons: Give us grace that, like your bishop Gregory of Nazianzus, we may continue steadfast in the confession of this faith, and constant in our worship of you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; for you live and reign for ever and ever. Amen
A Prayer for Peace
O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
A Prayer for Mission
Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen
Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia!
Thanks be to God! Alleluia!
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The New Revised Standard Version Bible may be quoted and/or reprinted up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of the publisher, provided the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible or account for fifty percent (50%) of the total work in which they are quoted.
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