Morning Prayer, 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

Please feel free to pause the service at any point if you would like more time to pray or to reflect.

 

OPENING SENTENCES

O Lord, open our lips.

And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Be willing, O God, to deliver us!

O Lord, come quickly to our help!

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel.  (Mark 1:15)

THE GLORIA PATRI

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. AMEN.

THE MORNING PSALM

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

For the Lord is a great God,

and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the depths of the earth;

the heights of the mountains are his also.

The sea is his, for he made it,

and his hands formed the dry land.

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

For he is our God,

and we are the people of his pasture,

and the sheep of his hand.

Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,

as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

when your fathers put me to the test

and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

For forty years I loathed that generation

and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,

and they have not known my ways.”

Therefore I swore in my wrath,

“They shall not enter my rest.”  (Psalm 95:1-11)

THE PSALTER

Psalm 150

Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens!

Praise him for his mighty deeds;

praise him according to his excellent greatness!

Praise him with trumpet sound;

praise him with lute and harp!

Praise him with tambourine and dance;

praise him with strings and pipe!

Praise him with sounding cymbals;

praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150:1-6)

THE PSALM PRAYER

Most worthy are you, O good and gracious God, of all praise, even for your own sake, surpassing all things in holiness. By you alone are we made holy and sanctified. We praise you for our glorious redemption, purchased for us by your dearly beloved Son, Christ Jesus, as our duty to you continually reminds us. Fill us with your Holy Spirit that we may always walk in your ways. And grant that all things that breathe with life may praise you as the true life of all creatures, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who reigns with you and the Holy Ghost, one God forever and ever. AMEN.

THE OLD TESTAMENT LESSON

A reading from Isaiah, chapter 47:

Come down and sit in the dust,

O virgin daughter of Babylon;

sit on the ground without a throne,

O daughter of the Chaldeans!

For you shall no more be called

tender and delicate.

Take the millstones and grind flour,

put off your veil,

strip off your robe, uncover your legs,

pass through the rivers.

Your nakedness shall be uncovered,

and your disgrace shall be seen.

I will take vengeance,

and I will spare no one.

Our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name—

is the Holy One of Israel.

Sit in silence, and go into darkness,

O daughter of the Chaldeans;

for you shall no more be called

the mistress of kingdoms.

I was angry with my people;

I profaned my heritage;

I gave them into your hand;

you showed them no mercy;

on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.

You said, “I shall be mistress forever,”

so that you did not lay these things to heart

or remember their end.

Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures,

who sit securely,

who say in your heart,

“I am, and there is no one besides me;

I shall not sit as a widow

or know the loss of children”:

These two things shall come to you

in a moment, in one day;

the loss of children and widowhood

shall come upon you in full measure,

in spite of your many sorceries

and the great power of your enchantments.

You felt secure in your wickedness;

you said, “No one sees me”;

your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray,

and you said in your heart,

“I am, and there is no one besides me.”

But evil shall come upon you,

which you will not know how to charm away;

disaster shall fall upon you,

for which you will not be able to atone;

and ruin shall come upon you suddenly,

of which you know nothing.

Stand fast in your enchantments

and your many sorceries,

with which you have labored from your youth;

perhaps you may be able to succeed;

perhaps you may inspire terror.

You are wearied with your many counsels;

let them stand forth and save you,

those who divide the heavens,

who gaze at the stars,

who at the new moons make known

what shall come upon you.

Behold, they are like stubble;

the fire consumes them;

they cannot deliver themselves

from the power of the flame.

No coal for warming oneself is this,

no fire to sit before!

Such to you are those with whom you have labored,

who have done business with you from your youth;

they wander about, each in his own direction;

there is no one to save you.  (Isaiah 47:1-15)

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

THE CANTICLE                                              The Song of Hannah

My heart exults in the Lord;

my horn is exalted in the Lord.

My mouth derides my enemies,

because I rejoice in your salvation.

There is none holy like the Lord:

for there is none besides you;

there is no rock like our God.

Talk no more so very proudly,

let not arrogance come from your mouth;

for the Lord is a God of knowledge,

and by him actions are weighed.

The bows of the mighty are broken,

but the feeble bind on strength.

The Lord kills and brings to life;

he brings down to Sheol and raises up.

The Lord makes poor and makes rich;

he brings low and he exalts.

He raises up the poor from the dust;

he lifts the needy from the ash heap

to make them sit with princes

and inherit a seat of honor.

For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,

and on them he has set the world.

The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;

he will give strength to his king

and exalt the horn of his anointed.

THE EPISTLE LESSON

A reading from Hebrews, chapter 10:

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.  (Hebrews 10:19-31)

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

THE MORNING PRAYERS

The Prayers for Grace

Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray that you will so guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life, we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.

Loving God, through your Son you have called on all people to repent of their sin, to believe in the Gospel, and to celebrate the coming of your Kingdom. Like Jesus’ first disciples, grant that we may we hear his call to follow him, and, forsaking our own way, proclaim the Good News of peace, happiness, and salvation, found in Christ alone, in whose name we pray. AMEN.

Sunday Morning Prayers

Lord, our heavenly father, at the beginning of another week we come to you for help and light. Grant, we beseech you, that we may keep this day of rest holy to your service, and find in you all peace and strength. Quicken our devotion, that we may serve you in spirit and in truth, and lay a good foundation for our coming work. Be with us in all the public services of your day, that we may join in them with heart and soul, and receive the blessing that you have promised to all who sincerely pray to you and faithfully hear your Word. This we ask for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.

Merciful God of might, we pray for this weary world: Hasten the day of your Kingdom’s coming, when all hurts will be healed, all tears wiped away, and death itself will be swallowed up in Christ the Living Lord’s final victory. Especially we pray for:

• those who lead and govern the nations of the world…
• the people in places ravaged by strife or warfare…
• those who work for peace and international cooperation…
• those who seek to husband well the earth and her resources…
• the Church of Jesus Christ in every place…

Personal Thanksgivings and Intercessions

Hear us now, Father, as in the name of Christ, we offer our own thanksgivings and intercessions for those in sickness, grief, persecution, bondage, fear, or loneliness…

Please feel free to pause the service for your personal prayers and thanksgivings for yourself, the Church, your officers, and others.

The Prayers of the Day

O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.

Almighty God, who having made your dear Son Jesus Christ perfect through suffering, has called your people to be his disciples and followers: Fill us, we beseech you, with the same Spirit which was in him, that we, being crucified to the world, may patiently bear the cross. And being renewed in our natures in righteousness and true holiness, and walking in the way of Christ, grant that peace and mercy may be upon us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.

O Merciful God, who according to your divine power has given us all things pertaining to life and godliness: Make us strong in the Lord, in the power of his might; that putting on the whole armor of God, we may be able to resist all the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, praying to you always with fervent prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord, who taught us to pray together:

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. AMEN.

THE DISMISSAL

Go forth into the world in peace; be of good courage; hold fast that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; heal the afflicted; honor all people; love and serve the Lord, rejoicing always in the power of the Holy Ghost. And the blessing of God the Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, preserve and keep you this day and forevermore. AMEN.