Opening Sentence
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Colossians 3:1
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 Deuteronomy 8:1-10
This entire commandment that I command you today you must diligently observe, so that you may live and increase, and go in and occupy the land that the LORD promised on oath to your ancestors. Remember the long way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments. He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. The clothes on your back did not wear out and your feet did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a parent disciplines a child so the LORD your God disciplines you. Therefore keep the commandments of the LORD your God, by walking in his ways and by fearing him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron and from whose hills you may mine copper. You shall eat your fill and bless the LORD your God for the good land that he has given you.
The Epistle Lesson
The Epistle Lesson for today is taken from James 1:1-15
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. It is the same way with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away. Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. No one, when tempted, should say, "I am being tempted by God" for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. But one is tempted by one's own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death.
The Holy Gospel Lesson
The Holy Gospel is written in Luke 9:18-27
Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" They answered, "John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "The Messiah of God." He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, saying, "The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised." Then he said to them all, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God."
Morning Psalms
Psalm 80 Qui regis Israel
1 Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock; shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim.
2 In the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up your strength and come to help us.
3 Restore us, O God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
4 O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angered despite the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have given them bowls of tears to drink.
6 You have made us the derision of our neighbors, and our enemies laugh us to scorn.
7 Restore us, O God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
8 You have brought a vine out of Egypt; you cast out the nations and planted it.
9 You prepared the ground for it; it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered by its shadow and the towering cedar trees by its boughs.
11 You stretched out its tendrils to the Sea and its branches to the River.
12 Why have you broken down its wall, so that all who pass by pluck off its grapes?
13 The wild boar of the forest has ravaged it, and the beasts of the field have grazed upon it.
14 Turn now, O God of hosts, look down from heaven; behold and tend this vine; preserve what your right hand has planted.
15 They burn it with fire like rubbish; at the rebuke of your countenance let them perish.
16 Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, and son of man you have made so strong for yourself.
17 And so will we never turn away from you; give us life, that we may call upon your Name.
18 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
Evening Psalms
Psalm 77 Voce mea ad Dominum
1 I will cry aloud to God; I will cry aloud, and he will hear me.
2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; my hands were stretched out by night and did not tire; I refused to be comforted.
3 I think of God, I am restless, I ponder, and my spirit faints.
4 You will not let my eyelids close; I am troubled and I cannot speak.
5 I consider the days of old; I remember the years long past;
6 I commune with my heart in the night; I ponder and search my mind.
7 Will the Lord cast me off for ever? will he no more show his favor?
8 Has his loving-kindness come to an end for ever? has his promise failed for evermore?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? has he, in his anger, withheld his compassion?
10 And I said, "My grief is this: the right hand of the Most High has lost its power."
11 I will remember the works of the LORD, and call to mind your wonders of old time.
12 I will meditate on all your acts and ponder your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy; who is so great a god as our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders and have declared your power among the peoples.
15 By your strength you have redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph.
16 The waters saw you, O God; the waters saw you and trembled; the very depths were shaken.
17 The clouds poured out water; the skies thundered; your arrows flashed to and fro;
18 The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was in the sea, and your paths in the great waters, yet your footsteps were not seen.
20 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 79 Deus, venerunt
1 O God, the heathen have come into your inheritance; they have profaned your holy temple; they have made Jerusalem a heap of rubble.
2 They have given the bodies of your servants as food for the birds of the air, and the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the field.
3 They have shed their blood like water on every side of Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.
4 We have become a reproach to our neighbors, an object of scorn and derision to those around us.
5 How long will you be angry, O LORD? will your fury blaze like fire for ever?
6 Pour out your wrath upon the heathen who have not known you and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon your Name.
7 For they have devoured Jacob and made his dwelling a ruin.
8 Remember not our past sins; let your compassion be swift to meet us; for we have been brought very low.
9 Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your Name; deliver us and forgive us our sins, for your Name's sake.
10 Why should the heathen say, "Where is their God?" Let it be known among the heathen and in our sight that you avenge the shedding of your servants' blood.
11 Let the sorrowful sighing of the prisoners come before you, and by your great might spare those who are condemned to die.
12 May the revilings with which they reviled you, O Lord, return seven-fold into their bosoms.
13 For we are your people and the sheep of your pasture; we will give you thanks for ever and show forth your praise from age to age.
The Nicene Creed
- We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
- 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
Almighty God, Lord of heaven and earth: We humbly pray that your gracious providence may give and preserve to our use the harvests of the land and of the seas, and may prosper all who labor to gather them, that we, who are constantly receiving good things from your hand, may always give you thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
A Prayer for the Renewal of Life
O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness while it was day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
A Prayer for Mission
O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Alleluia! Christ has risen.
Christ has risen indeed. Alleluia!
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. 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.
