Opening Sentence
The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. John 4:23Confession of Sin
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.Morning Prayer
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
O Lord Eternal and Creator of all things, who with your unknowable goodness called me to this life; I have no life, no light, no joy or wisdom, no strength except in you, O God. I entreat you, teach me to pray aright. Purify me from all taint of flesh and spirit. Bless this day which you give to me, your unworthy servant.The Old Testament Lesson
By the power of your blessing enable me, throughout this day, to speak and act to your glory with a pure spirit, with humility, patience, love, gentleness, peace, courage and wisdom. Let me be always aware of your presence. By the power of your love, grant me to hold fast to that which is good. Preserve me from every word or deed that corrupts the soul; from every impulse unpleasing in your sight and hurtful to my fellow man, my brothers and sisters.
This in Christ's name, I pray, Amen
The Old Testament Lesson for today is taken from Ecclesiasticus 45:6-16
He exalted Aaron, a holy man like Moses who was his brother, of the tribe of Levi. He made an everlasting covenant with him, and gave him the priesthood of the people. He blessed him with stateliness, and put a glorious robe on him. He clothed him in perfect splendor, and strengthened him with the symbols of authority, the linen undergarments, the long robe, and the ephod. And he encircled him with pomegranates, with many golden bells all around, to send forth a sound as he walked, to make their ringing heard in the temple as a reminder to his people; with the sacred vestment, of gold and violet and purple, the work of an embroiderer; with the oracle of judgment, Urim and Thummim; with twisted crimson, the work of an artisan; with precious stones engraved like seals, in a setting of gold, the work of a jeweler, to commemorate in engraved letters each of the tribes of Israel; with a gold crown upon his turban, inscribed like a seal with "Holiness," a distinction to be prized, the work of an expert, a delight to the eyes, richly adorned. Before him such beautiful things did not exist. No outsider ever put them on, but only his sons and his descendants in perpetuity. His sacrifices shall be wholly burned twice every day continually. Moses ordained him, and anointed him with holy oil; it was an everlasting covenant for him and for his descendants as long as the heavens endure, to minister to the Lord and serve as priest and bless his people in his name. He chose him out of all the living to offer sacrifice to the Lord, incense and a pleasing odor as a memorial portion, to make atonement for the people.The Epistle Lesson
The Epistle Lesson for today is taken from 2 Corinthians 12:11-21
I have been a fool! You forced me to it. Indeed you should have been the ones commending me, for I am not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing. The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, signs and wonders and mighty works. How have you been worse off than the other churches, except that I myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong! Here I am, ready to come to you this third time. And I will not be a burden, because I do not want what is yours but you; for children ought not to lay up for their parents, but parents for their children. I will most gladly spend and be spent for you. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? Let it be assumed that I did not burden you. Nevertheless (you say) since I was crafty, I took you in by deceit. Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you? I urged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves with the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps? Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves before you? We are speaking in Christ before God. Everything we do, beloved, is for the sake of building you up. For I fear that when I come, I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish; I fear that there may perhaps be quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. I fear that when I come again, my God may humble me before you, and that I may have to mourn over many who previously sinned and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and licentiousness that they have practiced.The Holy Gospel Lesson
The Holy Gospel is written in Luke 19:41-48
As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, "If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God." Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; and he said, "It is written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer' but you have made it a den of robbers." Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.Morning Psalms
Psalm 69 Salvum me fac
1 Save me, O God, for the waters have risen up to my neck.
2 I am sinking in deep mire, and there is no firm ground for my feet.
3 I have come into deep waters, and the torrent washes over me.
4 I have grown weary with my crying; my throat is inflamed; my eyes have failed from looking for my God.
5 Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; my lying foes who would destroy me are mighty. Must I then give back what I never stole?
6 O God, you know my foolishness, and my faults are not hidden from you.
7 Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, Lord GOD of hosts; let not those who seek you be disgraced because of me, O God of Israel.
8 Surely, for your sake have I suffered reproach, and shame has covered my face.
9 I have become a stranger to my own kindred, an alien to my mother's children.
10 Zeal for your house has eaten me up; the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me.
11 I humbled myself with fasting, but that was turned to my reproach.
12 I put on sack-cloth also, and became a byword among them.
13 Those who sit at the gate murmur against me, and the drunkards make songs about me.
14 But as for me, this is my prayer to you, at the time you have set, O LORD:
15 In your great mercy, O God, answer me with your unfailing help.
16 Save me from the mire; do not let me sink; let me be rescued from those who hate me and out of the deep waters.
17 Let not the torrent of waters wash over me, neither let the deep swallow me up; do not let the Pit shut its mouth upon me.
18 Answer me, O LORD, for your love is kind; in your great compassion, turn to me."
19 Hide not your face from your servant; be swift and answer me, for I am in distress.
20 Draw near to me and redeem me; because of my enemies deliver me.
21 You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor; my adversaries are all in your sight."
22 Reproach has broken my heart, and it cannot be healed; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I could find no one.
23 They gave me gall to eat, and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.
24 Let the table before them be a trap and their sacred feasts a snare.
25 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and give them continual trembling in their loins.
26 Pour out your indignation upon them, and let the fierceness of your anger overtake them.
27 Let their camp be desolate, and let there be none to dwell in their tents.
28 For they persecute him whom you have stricken and add to the pain of those whom you have pierced.
29 Lay to their charge guilt upon guilt, and let them not receive your vindication.
30 Let them be wiped out of the book of the living and not be written among the righteous.
31 As for me, I am afflicted and in pain; your help, O God, will lift me up on high.
32 I will praise the Name of God in song; I will proclaim his greatness with thanksgiving.
33 This will please the LORD more than an offering of oxen, more than bullocks with horns and hoofs.
34 The afflicted shall see and be glad; you who seek God, your heart shall live.
35 For the LORD listens to the needy, and his prisoners he does not despise.
36 Let the heavens and the earth praise him, the seas and all that moves in them;
37 For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah; they shall live there and have it in possession.
38 The children of his servants will inherit it, and those who love his Name will dwell therein.
Evening Psalms
Psalm 73 Quam bonus Israel!
1 Truly, God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had nearly slipped; I had almost tripped and fallen;
3 Because I envied the proud and saw the prosperity of the wicked:
4 For they suffer no pain, and their bodies are sleek and sound;
5 In the misfortunes of others they have no share; they are not afflicted as others are;
6 Therefore they wear their pride like a necklace and wrap their violence about them like a cloak.
7 Their iniquity comes from gross minds, and their hearts overflow with wicked thoughts.
8 They scoff and speak maliciously; out of their haughtiness they plan oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens, and their evil speech runs through the world.
10 And so the people turn to them and find in them no fault.
11 They say, "How should God know? is there knowledge in the Most High?"
12 So then, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase their wealth.
13 In vain have I kept my heart clean, and washed my hands in innocence.
14 I have been afflicted all day long, and punished every morning.
15 Had I gone on speaking this way, I should have betrayed the generation of your children.
16 When I tried to understand these things, it was too hard for me;
17 Until I entered the sanctuary of God and discerned the end of the wicked.
18 Surely, you set them in slippery places; you cast them down in ruin.
19 Oh, how suddenly do they come to destruction, come to an end, and perish from terror!
20 Like a dream when one awakens, O Lord, when you arise you will make their image vanish.
21 When my mind became embittered, I was sorely wounded in my heart.
22 I was stupid and had no understanding; I was like a brute beast in your presence.
23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.
24 You will guide me by your counsel, and afterwards receive me with glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? and having you I desire nothing upon earth.
26 Though my flesh and my heart should waste away, God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.
27 Truly, those who forsake you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful.
28 But it is good for me to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge.
29 I will speak of all your works in the gates of the city of Zion.
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.Prayer of the Day
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen
O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength; By the might of your Spirit lift me, I pray, to your presence, where I may be still and know that you are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. AmenA Prayer to Live in Sympathy with Others
Blessed Lord Jesus, who wept with Mary and Martha when their brother Lazarus had died, may I ever take your love and sympathy for humanity into my heart. As Paul prayed in Romans, “May I rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.” Soften my heart towards all, heavenly Lord, my enemies and my friends, my family and those who offend me. May I see the humanity of all my fellow men, rather than their sinfulness, and replace the fist of criticism with the opens arms of Christian love. By your grace, Lord Christ, I dare to ask your help in overcoming my hard heart, AmenA 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
Alleluia! Christ has risen.
Christ has risen indeed. Alleluia!
Christ has risen indeed. Alleluia!
Walk with me, dear Lord, so that I may not be alone as I face this day, but always in your presence. Your joy is a lighthouse in a world often dark with sin, and I pray that I may reflect the light of your truth, to inspire others as I have been inspired. In the name of Christ, bless me this day, and all whom I may meet. 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment