Tuesday morning January 24
Wednesday morning
Monday morning
Preparation
Opening response
Lord, open our lips
and our mouth will proclaim your praise.
Your light springs up for the righteous
and all the peoples have seen your glory.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
king of the nations,
to you be praise and glory forever.
From the rising of the sun to its setting
your name is proclaimed in all the world.
As the Sun of Righteousness dawns in our hearts
anoint our lips with the seal of your Spirit
that we may witness to your gospel
and sing your praise in all the earth.
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
Captain of Israel’s Host
Charles Wesley
Captain of Israel's host, and guide
Of all who seek the land above,
Beneath thy shadow we abide,
The cloud of thy protecting love;
Our strength, thy grace; our rule, thy word;
Our end, the glory of the Lord.
By thine unerring Spirit led,
We shall not in the desert stray;
We shall not full direction need
Nor miss our providential way;
As far from danger as from fear,
While love, almighty love, is near.
Confession of sin
Seek the Lord when he can still be found;
call him while he is yet near.
Let the wicked abandon their ways
and the sinful their schemes.
Let them return to the Lord so that he may have mercy on them,
to our God, because he is generous with forgiveness.
cf Isaiah 55
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Lord God,
we have sinned against you;
we have committed evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your faithful love.
Wash us completely clean of our guilt; purify us from our sin.
Put a new, faithful spirit deep inside us,
and return the joy of your salvation to us
through Jesus Christ our 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.
Bless the Lord,
because he has listened to our request for mercy.
Therefore our hearts will rejoice
and we will thank him with our song.
cf Psalm 28:7,9
The Word of God
Psalm 34
Refrain:
Taste and see how good the Lord is!
I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be in my mouth.
I praise the Lord—
let the suffering listen and rejoice.
Magnify the Lord with me!
Together let us lift his name up high!
I sought the Lord and he answered me.
He delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to God will shine;
their faces are never ashamed.
This suffering person cried out:
the Lord listened and saved him from every trouble.
On every side, the Lord’s messenger protects those who honor God; and he delivers them.
Taste and see how good the Lord is!
The one who takes refuge in him is truly happy!
You who are the Lord’s holy ones, honor him,
because those who honor him don’t lack a thing.
Even strong young lions go without and get hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Come, children, listen to me.
Let me teach you how to honor the Lord:
Do you love life;
do you relish the chance to enjoy good things?
Then you must keep your tongue from evil
and keep your lips from speaking lies!
Turn away from evil! Do good!
Seek peace and go after it!
The Lord’s eyes watch the righteous,
his ears listen to their cries for help.
But the Lord’s face is set against those who do evil,
to eliminate even the memory of them from the earth.
When the righteous cry out, the Lord listens;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he saves those whose spirits are crushed.
The righteous have many problems,
but the Lord delivers them from every one.
He protects all their bones;
not even one will be broken.
But just one problem will kill the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be held responsible.
The Lord saves his servants’ lives;
all those who take refuge in him
won’t be held responsible for anything.
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.
Refrain:
Taste and see how good the Lord is!
Psalm prayer
Send your holy angels
to watch over us, O God,
that on our lips will be found your truth
and in our hearts your love;
so we may ever taste your goodness
in the land of the living;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 36
Refrain:
Within you, O God, is the spring of life.
I know the sinful utterance of the wicked:
No fear of God confronts their own eyes,
because in their own eyes they are slick with talk
about their guilt ever being found out and despised.
The words of their mouths are evil and dishonest.
They have stopped being wise and stopped doing good.
They plot evil even while resting in bed!
They commit themselves to a path that is no good.
They don’t reject what is evil.
But your loyal love, Lord, extends to the skies;
your faithfulness reaches the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the strongest mountains;
your justice is like the deepest sea.
Lord, you save both humans and animals.
Your faithful love is priceless, God!
Humanity finds refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the bounty of your house;
you let them drink from your river of pure joy.
Within you is the spring of life.
In your light, we see light.
Extend your faithful love to those who know you;
extend your righteousness to those whose heart is right.
Don’t let the feet of arrogant people walk all over me;
don’t let the hands of the wicked drive me off.
Look—right there is where the evildoers have fallen,
pushed down, unable to get up!
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.
Refrain:
Within you, O God, is the spring of life.
Psalm prayer
O God, the spring of life,
make us bright with wisdom,
that we may be lightened with the knowledge of your glory
in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Hosea 4:1-16
Hear the Lord’s word,
people of Israel;
for the Lord has a dispute
with the inhabitants of the land.
There’s no faithful love or loyalty,
and no knowledge of God in the land.
Swearing, lying, murder,
together with stealing and adultery are common;
bloody crime followed by bloody crime.
Therefore, the earth itself becomes sick,
and all who live on it grow weak;
together with the wild animals
and the birds in the sky,
even the fish of the sea are dying.
Yet let no one protest,
and let no one complain.
Listen, priest, I am angry with your people.
You will stumble by day;
and at nighttime so will your prophet,
and I will destroy your mother.
My people are destroyed
from lack of knowledge.
Since you have rejected knowledge,
so I will reject you from serving me as a priest.
Since you have forgotten the Instruction of your God,
so also I will forget your children.
The more they increased,
the more they sinned against me;
they exchanged their glory for shame.
They feed on the sin of my people;
they set their hearts on evil things.
The priest will be just like the people;
I will punish them for their ways,
and judge them for their deeds.
They will eat but not be satisfied;
they will have sex like prostitutes,
but they will not have children,
because they have rejected the Lord
to devote themselves to false religious practices.
Wine and new wine
destroy understanding.
My people take advice from a piece of wood,
and their divining rod gives them predictions.
A spirit of prostitution has led them astray;
they have left God to follow other gods.
They offer sacrifices on mountaintops,
and make entirely burned offerings on hills;
they offer sacrifices under various green trees,
because their shade is pleasant.
Therefore, your daughters act like prostitutes,
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
I will not punish your daughters because they act like prostitutes,
nor your daughters-in-law because they commit adultery;
for the men themselves visit prostitutes,
and offer sacrifices with consecrated workers at temples;
so now the people without sense must come to ruin.
Israel, even though you act like a prostitute,
don’t let Judah become guilty.
Don’t enter into Gilgal,
or go up to Beth-aven,
and don’t swear, “As the Lord lives.”
Like a stubborn cow Israel is stubborn.
Now the Lord will tend them,
as the Lord tends a lamb in a pasture.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Brothers and sisters, I want you to be sure of the fact that our ancestors were all under the cloud and they all went through the sea. All were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. However, God was unhappy with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness. These things were examples for us, so we won’t crave evil things like they did. Don’t worship false gods like some of them did, as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink and they got up to play. Let’s not practice sexual immorality, like some of them did, and twenty-three thousand died in one day. Let’s not test Christ, like some of them did, and were killed by the snakes. Let’s not grumble, like some of them did, and were killed by the destroyer. These things happened to them as an example and were written as a warning for us to whom the end of time has come. So those who think they are standing need to watch out or else they may fall. No temptation has seized you that isn’t common for people. But God is faithful. He won’t allow you to be tempted beyond your abilities. Instead, with the temptation, God will also supply a way out so that you will be able to endure it.
Silence may be kept.
Gospel canticle
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Refrain:
This is the Christ, the Chosen of God, the one who will bring healing to the nations.
Bless the Lord God of Israel
because he has come to help and has delivered his people.
He has raised up a mighty savior for us in his servant David’s house,
just as he said through the mouths of his holy prophets long ago.
He has brought salvation from our enemies
and from the power of all those who hate us.
He has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and remembered his holy covenant,
the solemn pledge he made to our ancestor Abraham.
He has granted that we would be rescued
from the power of our enemies
so that we could serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness in God’s eyes,
for as long as we live.
You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
You will tell his people how to be saved
through the forgiveness of their sins.
Because of our God’s deep compassion,
the dawn from heaven will break upon us,
to give light to those who are sitting in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide us on the path of peace.”
Luke 1:68-79
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.
Refrain:
This is the Christ, the Chosen of God, the one who will bring healing to the nations.
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,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
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,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and 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.
Prayers
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 unity of the church
The peace of the world
The healing of the sick
The revelation of Christ to those from whom his glory is hidden
All who travel
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,
whose Son revealed in signs and miracles
the wonder of your saving presence:
renew your people with your heavenly grace,
and in all our weakness
sustain us by your mighty power;
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
Believing the promises of God, as our Savior taught us, so we pray
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.
Conclusion
May Christ, who sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit.
Amen.