Wednesday morning December 5

Thursday morning
Tuesday morning

Preparation

Opening response

Lord, open our lips

and our mouth will proclaim your praise.

Reveal among us the light of your presence

that we may behold your power and glory.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God of all,

to you be praise and glory forever.

In your tender compassion

the dawn from on high is breaking upon us

to dispel the lingering shadows of night.

As we look for your coming among us this day,

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

Center of Our Hopes Thou Art

Charles Wesley

Center of our hopes thou art,

End of our enlarged desires;

Stamp thine image on our heart,

Fill us now with holy fires;

Cemented by love divine,

Seal our souls forever thine.

All our works in thee be wrought,

Leveled at one common aim,

Every word and every thought,

Purge in the refining flame,

Lead us through the paths of peace,

On to perfect holiness.

Let us altogether rise,

To thy glorious life restored;

Here regain our paradise,

Here prepare to meet our Lord;

Here enjoy the earnest given

Travel hand in hand to heaven.

Confession of sin

The Lord is compassionate and merciful,

very patient, and full of faithful love.

He doesn’t deal with us according to our sin

or repay us according to our wrongdoing.

Because as high as heaven is above the earth,

that’s how large God’s faithful love is for those who honor him.

Silence is kept for reflection.

Holy God,

Holy and strong,

Holy and immortal,

have mercy upon us.

As far as east is from west—

that’s how far God has removed our sin from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,

that’s how the Lord feels compassion for those who honor him.

Let my whole being bless the Lord.

Let everything inside me bless his holy name.

Let my whole being bless the Lord,

and never forget all his good deeds.

The Word of God

Psalm 5

Refrain:

You, O Lord, will bless the righteous.

Hear my words, Lord!

Consider my groans!

Pay attention to the sound of my cries, my king and my God,

because I am praying to you!

Lord, in the morning you hear my voice.

In the morning I lay it all out before you.

Then I wait expectantly.

Because you aren’t a God

who enjoys wickedness;

evil doesn’t live with you.

Arrogant people won’t last long

in your sight;

you hate all evildoers;

you destroy liars.

The Lord despises people who are violent and dishonest.

But me? I will enter your house

because of your abundant, faithful love;

I will bow down at your holy temple,

honoring you.

Lord, because of many enemies,

please lead me in your righteousness.

Make your way clear,

right in front of me.

Because there’s no truth in my enemies’ mouths,

all they have inside them is destruction.

Their throats are open graves;

their tongues slick with talk.

Condemn them, God!

Let them fail by their own plans.

Throw them out for their many sins

because they’ve rebelled against you.

But let all who take refuge in you celebrate.

Let them sing out loud forever!

Protect them

so that all who love your name

can rejoice in you.

Because you, Lord, bless the righteous.

You cover them with favor like a shield.

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, O Lord, will bless the righteous.

Psalm prayer

Lord, protect us from the deceit

of flattering tongues and lying lips;

give us words of life which speak your truth

and bless your name;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 7

Refrain:

God is my shield; he saves those whose heart is right.

I take refuge in you, Lord, my God.

Save me from all who chase me!

Rescue me!

Otherwise, they will rip me apart,

dragging me off with no chance of rescue.

Lord, my God, if I have done this—

if my hands have done anything wrong,

if I have repaid a friend with evil

or oppressed a foe for no reason—

then let my enemy

not only chase but catch me,

trampling my life into the ground,

laying my reputation in the dirt. Selah

Get up, Lord; get angry!

Stand up against the fury of my foes!

Wake up, my God;

you command that justice be done!

Let the assembled peoples surround you.

Rule them from on high!

The Lord will judge the peoples.

Establish justice for me, Lord,

according to my righteousness

and according to my integrity.

Please let the evil of the wicked be over,

but set the righteous firmly in place

because you, the righteous God,

are the one who examines hearts and minds.

God is my shield;

he saves those whose heart is right.

God is a righteous judge,

a God who is angry at evil every single day.

If someone doesn’t change their ways,

God will sharpen his sword,

will bend his bow,

will string an arrow.

God has deadly weapons in store

for those who won’t change;

he gets his flaming arrows ready!

But look how the wicked hatch evil,

conceive trouble, give birth to lies!

They make a pit, dig it all out,

and then fall right into the hole that they’ve made!

The trouble they cause

will come back on their own heads;

the violence they commit

will come down on their own skulls.

But I will thank the Lord

for his righteousness;

I will sing praises

to the name of the Lord Most High.

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:

God is my shield; he saves those whose heart is right.

Psalm prayer

Lord, your justice turns evil on itself:

move us to examine our hearts

and repent of all duplicity;

for the sake of Jesus Christ,

our judge and righteous Savior.

Old Testament reading
Isaiah 43:14-28

The Lord your redeemer,

the holy one of Israel, says,

For your sake, I have sent an army to Babylon,

and brought down all the bars,

turning the Chaldeans’ singing into a lament.

I am the Lord, your holy one,

Israel’s creator, your king!

The Lord says—who makes a way in the sea

and a path in the mighty waters,

who brings out chariot and horse,

army and battalion;

they will lie down together and will not rise;

they will be extinguished, extinguished like a wick.

Don’t remember the prior things;

don’t ponder ancient history.

Look! I’m doing a new thing;

now it sprouts up; don’t you recognize it?

I’m making a way in the desert,

paths in the wilderness.

The beasts of the field,

the jackals and ostriches, will honor me,

because I have put water in the desert

and streams in the wilderness

to give water to my people,

my chosen ones,

this people whom I formed for myself,

who will recount my praise.

But you didn’t call out to me, Jacob;

you were tired of me, Israel.

You didn’t bring me lambs for your entirely burned offering;

you didn’t honor me with your sacrifices.

I didn’t make you worship with offerings;

I didn’t weary you with frankincense.

You didn’t buy spices for me with your money,

or satisfy me with the fat of your sacrifices.

Instead, you have burdened me with your sins

and wearied me with your evil actions.

I, I am the one who wipes out your rebellious behavior for my sake. I won’t remember your sin.

Summon me, and let’s go to trial together;

you tell your story so that you may be vindicated!

Your first ancestor sinned,

and your officials rebelled against me.

So I made the holy officials impure,

handed over Jacob to destruction and Israel to abuse.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Revelation 21:1-8

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “Look! God’s dwelling is here with humankind. He will dwell with them, and they will be his peoples. God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more. There will be no mourning, crying, or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look! I’m making all things new.” He also said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then he said to me, “All is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will freely give water from the life-giving spring. Those who emerge victorious will inherit these things. I will be their God, and they will be my sons and daughters. But for the cowardly, the faithless, the vile, the murderers, those who commit sexual immorality, those who use drugs and cast spells, the idolaters and all liars—their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticle
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Refrain:

You have shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and remembered your holy covenant.

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 shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and remembered your holy covenant.

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 church, that she may be ready for the coming of Christ

The leaders of the church

The nations, that they may be subject to the rule of God

Those who are working for justice in the world

The broken, that they may find God’s healing

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Lord, hear your people

and answer our prayers.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,

give us grace to cast away the works of darkness

and to put on the armor of light,

now in the time of this mortal life,

in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;

that on the last day,

when he shall come again in his glorious majesty

to judge the living and the dead,

we may rise to the life immortal;

through him who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Awaiting his coming in glory, 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 the Lord, when he comes, find us watching and waiting.

Amen.