Friday morning February 8
Saturday morning
Thursday morning
Preparation
Opening response
Lord, open our lips
and our mouth will proclaim your praise.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, creator of all,
to you be praise and glory forever.
As your dawn renews the face of the earth
bringing light and life to all creation,
may we rejoice in this day you have made;
as we wake refreshed from the depths of sleep,
open our eyes to behold your presence
and strengthen our hands to do your will,
that the world may rejoice and give you praise.
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
Weary of Wandering from My God
Charles Wesley
Weary of wandering from my God,
And now made willing to return,
I hear and bow me to the rod;
For thee, not without hope, I mourn:
I have an Advocate above,
A friend before the throne of love.
O Jesus, full of pardoning grace,
More full of grace than I of sin;
Yet once again I seek thy face:
Open thine arms and take me in;
And freely my backslidings heal,
And love the faithless sinner still.
Thou knowest the way to bring me back,
My fallen spirit to restore;
O, for thy truth and mercy's sake,
Forgive, and bid me sin no more:
The ruins of my soul repair,
And make my heart a house of prayer.
The stone to flesh again convert,
The veil of sin again remove;
Sprinkle thy blood upon my heart,
And melt it by thy dying love;
This rebel heart by love subdue,
And make it soft, and make it new.
Ah! give me, Lord, the tender heart
That trembles at the approach of sin;
A godly fear of sin impart,
Implant, and root it deep within,
That I may dread thy gracious power,
And never dare to offend thee more.
Confession of sin
When we cry out to the Lord in our distress,
he will save us from our desperate circumstances.
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 thank the Lord for his faithful love,
and his wondrous works for all people.
Let us offer thanksgiving sacrifices
and declare what God has done in songs of joy.
cf Psalm 107
The Word of God
Psalm 17
Refrain:
Lord, my justice comes from you.
Listen to what’s right, Lord;
pay attention to my cry!
Listen closely to my prayer;
it’s spoken by lips that don’t lie!
My justice comes from you;
let your eyes see what is right!
You have examined my heart,
testing me at night.
You’ve looked me over closely,
but haven’t found anything wrong.
My mouth doesn’t sin.
But these other people’s deeds?
I have avoided such violent ways
by the command from your lips.
My steps are set firmly on your paths;
my feet haven’t slipped.
I cry out to you because you answer me.
So tilt your ears toward me now—
listen to what I’m saying!
Manifest your faithful love in amazing ways
because you are the one
who saves those who take refuge in you,
saving them from their attackers
by your strong hand.
Watch me with the very pupil of your eye!
Hide me in the protection of your wings,
away from the wicked
who are out to get me,
away from my deadly enemies
who are all around me!
They have no pity;
their mouths speak arrogantly.
They track me down—
suddenly, they surround me!
They make their plans to put me in the dirt.
They are like a lion eager to rip its prey;
they are like a strong young lion lying in wait.
Get up, Lord!
Confront them!
Bring them down!
Rescue my life from the wicked—
use your sword!
Rescue me from these people—
use your own hands, Lord!
Rescue me from these people
whose only possession is their fleeting life.
But fill the stomachs of your cherished ones;
let their children be filled full
so that they have leftovers enough for their babies.
But me? I will see your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I will be filled full by seeing your image.
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:
Lord, my justice comes from you.
Psalm prayer
Generous Lord,
deliver us from all envious thoughts,
and when we are tempted by the desire for wealth,
let us see your face;
for your abundance is enough to clothe our lack;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 19
Refrain:
The Lord’s commands are pure, giving light to the eyes.
Heaven is declaring God’s glory;
the sky is proclaiming his handiwork.
One day gushes the news to the next,
and one night informs another what needs to be known.
Of course, there’s no speech, no words—
their voices can’t be heard—
but their sound extends throughout the world;
their words reach the ends of the earth.
God has made a tent in heaven for the sun.
The sun is like a groom
coming out of his honeymoon suite;
like a warrior, it thrills at running its course.
It rises in one end of the sky;
its circuit is complete at the other.
Nothing escapes its heat.
The Lord’s Instruction is perfect,
reviving one’s very being.
The Lord’s laws are faithful,
making naive people wise.
The Lord’s regulations are right,
gladdening the heart.
The Lord’s commands are pure,
giving light to the eyes.
Honoring the Lord is correct,
lasting forever.
The Lord’s judgments are true.
All of these are righteous!
They are more desirable than gold—
than tons of pure gold!
They are sweeter than honey—
even dripping off the honeycomb!
No doubt about it:
your servant is enlightened by them;
there is great reward in keeping them.
But can anyone know
what they’ve accidentally done wrong?
Clear me of any unknown sin
and save your servant from willful sins.
Don’t let them rule me.
Then I’ll be completely blameless;
I’ll be innocent of great wrongdoing.
Let the words of my mouth
and the meditations of my heart
be pleasing to you,
Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
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:
The Lord’s commands are pure, giving light to the eyes.
Psalm prayer
Christ, the sun of righteousness,
rise in our hearts this day,
enfold us in the brightness of your love
and bear us at the last to heaven’s horizon;
for your love’s sake.
Old Testament reading
1 Chronicles 21:1-22:1
A heavenly Adversary arose against Israel and incited David to count Israel. So David told Joab and the leaders of the people, “Go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and take a census of the people so I know how many people there are.”
But Joab replied, “May the Lord increase his people a hundred times! Sir, aren’t you the king, and aren’t they all your servants? Why do you want to do this? Why bring guilt on Israel?”
But the king overruled Joab, who left and traveled throughout all Israel. When he returned to Jerusalem, he reported to David the total number: there were 1,100,000 men available for military service in all Israel, while Judah alone had 470,000. He didn’t include Levi and Benjamin among them, because Joab disagreed with the king’s order.
God was offended by this census and punished Israel. Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done! Now please take away the guilt of your servant because I have done something very foolish.”
The Lord told Gad, David’s seer: Go and tell David, This is what the Lord says: I’m offering you three punishments. Choose one of them, and that is what I will do to you.
When Gad came to David, he said to him, “This is what the Lord says: Take your choice: three years of famine, three months of fleeing from your enemies while your enemies’ sword overtakes you, or three days of the Lord’s sword, that is, plague in the land and the Lord’s messenger bringing disaster in every part of Israel. Decide now what answer I should take back to the one who sent me.”
“I’m in deep trouble,” David said to Gad. “I’d rather fall into the hands of the Lord, who is very merciful; don’t let me fall into human hands.” So the Lord sent a plague throughout Israel, and seventy thousand Israelites fell dead.
Then God sent a messenger to Jerusalem to destroy it. But just as the messenger was about to destroy it, the Lord looked and changed his mind about the destruction. He said to the messenger who was destroying it, “That’s enough! Withdraw your hand!” At that time the Lord’s messenger was standing near the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
When David looked up, he saw the Lord’s messenger stationed between the earth and the sky with a drawn sword in his hand stretched out against Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, dressed in mourning clothes, fell on their faces; and David said to God, “Wasn’t it I who ordered the numbering of the people? I’m the sinner, the one responsible for this evil. But these sheep—what have they done? Lord, my God, turn your hand against me and my household, but spare your people from the plague.”
The Lord’s messenger ordered Gad to tell David that he should go up to the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite in order to set up an altar for the Lord. So David went up, following the instructions Gad had delivered in the Lord’s name.
Ornan turned around and saw the king. His four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat. When David approached Ornan, Ornan looked up, recognized David, left the threshing floor, and bowed to David with his face to the ground. David said to Ornan, “Give me the site of the threshing floor, charging me full price, so that I may build an altar to the Lord, and the plague among the people may come to an end.”
Ornan replied to David, “Take it for yourself, and may my master the king do what he thinks is best. I’ll even provide the oxen for the entirely burned offerings, the threshing boards for wood, and the wheat for the grain offering—I’ll provide everything!”
But King David said to Ornan, “No, I will buy them from you at a fair price. I won’t offer to the Lord what belongs to you nor offer an entirely burned offering that costs me nothing.” Then David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the site. David built an altar there for the Lord and offered entirely burned offerings and well-being sacrifices. He called on the Lord, who answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of the entirely burned offering, consuming the entirely burned offering. Then the Lord commanded the messenger to return his sword to its sheath.
At that time, after David saw that the Lord had answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there. The Lord’s dwelling that Moses had made in the desert and the altar for entirely burned offerings were then at the shrine in Gibeon, but David couldn’t go there to seek God because he feared the sword of the Lord’s messenger.
Then David said, “This is where the Lord God’s temple will be, along with Israel’s altar for entirely burned offerings.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
John 14:1-14
“Don’t be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me. My Father’s house has room to spare. If that weren’t the case, would I have told you that I’m going to prepare a place for you? When I go to prepare a place for you, I will return and take you to be with me so that where I am you will be too. You know the way to the place I’m going.”
Thomas asked, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you have really known me, you will also know the Father. From now on you know him and have seen him.”
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father; that will be enough for us.”
Jesus replied, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been with you all this time? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I have spoken to you I don’t speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me does his works. Trust me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or at least believe on account of the works themselves. I assure you that whoever believes in me will do the works that I do. They will do even greater works than these because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask for in my name, so that the Father can be glorified in the Son. When you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.
Silence may be kept.
Gospel canticle
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Refrain:
You have raised up a mighty savior for us in your servant David’s house.
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:
You have raised up a mighty savior for us in your servant David’s house.
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:
Political leaders and the armed forces
Peace and justice in the world
Those who work for reconciliation
All whose lives are devastated by war and civil strife
Prisoners, refugees and homeless people
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,
by whose grace alone we are accepted
and called to your service:
strengthen us by your Holy Spirit
and make us worthy of our calling;
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 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
The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.