Morning Prayer, 5th Sunday in Lent

 

 

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you

~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

THE CALL TO WORSHIP

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble. Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Let us worship God.

OPENING SENTENCES

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

In whose heart are the highways to Zion.

They go from strength to strength;

each one appears before God in Zion.

O Lord God Almighty, hear my prayer;

Give ear, O God of Jacob!

Lord, you alone are God: We exalt you; we praise your Name, for you have done wonderful things. By the stars of heaven you have spoken, and in the heart of humankind your voice is heard. Through your Word you have given light, and in your Son the brightness of your glory is revealed. By the working of your Spirit in us and among us, lift up our hearts unto you, O God our Father, and receive our adoration, through Jesus Christ our Mediator. AMEN.

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 CALL TO CONFESSION

What is the duty that God requires of all people?

The duty that God requires of us is obedience to his revealed will.

What is our Lord Jesus Christ’s understanding of God’s revealed will for all people?

Jesus summed it up by saying, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.

Can you do this perfectly?

No. While God made humankind to love him perfectly, sin has corrupted our nature. This sin leads me to resist him, to ignore his will, and to care more for myself than for my neighbor.

THE PRAYERS OF CONFESSION

Our God is merciful and gracious, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin to all who turn to him in repentance and faith. Let us, then, confess our sins to Almighty God.

Almighty and most merciful God our Father: we acknowledge and confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed. We have not loved you with all our heart and soul, with all our mind and strength. We have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. We beseech you, O God, to forgive what we have been, to help us to amend what we are, and of your mercy to direct what we shall be; so that we may from now on walk in the way of your commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in your sight, through Jesus Christ our Lord…

A time of Silent Confession

Almighty and most merciful God, who has given your Son to die for our sins, and to obtain forgiveness and redemption for us through his own blood: Let the merit of his spotless sacrifice, we beseech you, purge our consciences from dead works, that we may serve you, the living God, and receive the promise of eternal inheritance in Christ Jesus our Lord: to whom, with you and the Holy Ghost, be honor and glory, world without end. AMEN.

THE ASSURANCE OF PARDON

The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

Almighty God, who freely pardons all who repent and turn to him, now fulfill in every humble spirit and contrite heart the promise of his redeeming grace; remitting all your sins, and cleansing you from an evil conscience, through the perfect sacrifice of Christ our Lord; May he keep you evermore in the peace and joy of a holy life, that you may love and serve him always; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. AMEN.

THE MORNING PSALM

Psalm 121

A Song of Ascents.

I lift up my eyes to the hills.

From where does my help come?

My help comes from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;

he who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, he who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;

the Lord is your shade on your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;

he will keep your life.

The Lord will keep

your going out and your coming in

from this time forth and forevermore.

THE PSALM PRAYER

We are anxious and worried, O God the Almighty, as we wait for help in these difficult times; we lift up our eyes to you alone. We know that your power created heaven and earth, and so we also believe that it can rescue us from current dangers. We confess that our sins have been such that we deserve to be disciplined by these afflictions. When you called us to the Gospel, we did not respond with the right sort of worship and honor, but concentrating on our own endeavors, we sadly put your honor and glory in second place. Please do not on that account, O God, examine anew this ingratitude and the sins we have admitted, but rather because of your mercy prevent our steps from slipping, keeping them firm in your instruction and commandments so that they do not turn aside from them. Moreover, do not seem sleepy or drowsy in protecting and guarding your Church which is so gravely afflicted in so many places. If you have been accustomed to defend your people from the sun in daytime and from the coldness of the moon at night, do not despise us, who are suffering from the bitter and repeated fury and rage of the Antichrist. Do not merely save our souls and lives from his schemes, but above all protect the faith once for all delivered to the saints, which he is attacking most powerfully. Direct the beginnings and the ends of our actions in the narrow ways of your words so that we may remain forever steady within the straight path. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.

THE OLD TESTAMENT LESSON

A reading from Isaiah, chapter 11:1-9

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and might,

the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

or decide disputes by what his ears hear,

but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,

and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,

and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,

and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;

and a little child shall lead them.

The cow and the bear shall graze;

their young shall lie down together;

and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,

and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.

They shall not hurt or destroy

in all my holy mountain;

for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

A SONG OF THE MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD

It shall come to pass in the latter days

that the mountain of the house of the Lord

shall be established as the highest of the mountains,

and it shall be lifted up above the hills;

and peoples shall flow to it,

and many nations shall come, and say:

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the house of the God of Jacob,

that he may teach us his ways

and that we may walk in his paths.”

For out of Zion shall go forth the law,

and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He shall judge between many peoples,

and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away;

and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,

and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war anymore;

but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree,

and no one shall make them afraid,

for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

For all the peoples walk each

in the name of its god,

but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God

forever and ever.” (Micah 4:1-5)

THE EPISTLE LESSON

A reading from Ephesians 1:1-14

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

THE PRAYER FOR HOLINESS

O God, who has given us the great and saving truths of your Gospel: Grant us, we ask you, to live amid these things, to meditate on them and to seek them; for one who goes on seeking, finds. Help us, therefore, to learn those things on earth, the knowledge of which shall abide with us in heaven. Grant this for Jesus Christ’s sake. AMEN.

THE GOSPEL LESSON

A reading from John, chapter 14:1-31

Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.

“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.”

THE PRAYER FOR GRACE

Lord Jesus Christ, who has shared the common lot of humankind, enduring our hardships and obeying the law according to the will of the Father: Give us, your servants, power of endurance and of self-denial to take up our cross daily and so to follow you in faith and hope and love. AMEN.

THE MORNING PRAYERS

We praise you, O God; we acknowledge you to be the Lord. We thank you, Father, the Almighty, for you are the fount of every blessing.

We thank you for this good earth that you have made for us, and for all the good things with which the world abounds. We bless you for the kindness that helps to make our rough path of life smoother, for happy voices and laughter and purest mirth that brighten our days, for friends who in wisdom and love are willing and able to speak to our failings and weaknesses, and for every encouragement to live in truth and virtue.

We praise you for the hope of all believing hearts and the prayers of those who wait on you in faith, and for every answer to our prayers.

But above all these things, as good and as helpful as they may be—above all these things, we thank you and bless you and praise you for your glorious Gospel revealed in and through Jesus Christ your Son, and committed to your Church to be proclaimed to every nation for the salvation of your people and the whole world. And we look forward in hope to the perfecting of all things in Christ Jesus the Redeemer and Judge.

Instruct our mouths, Lord, with a new song, and renew our hearts, that we may always rejoice in praising you, O God, our Strength and our Redeemer.

Father, you have committed unto your people the ministry of intercession: Teach us to remember to pray for others. Save us from being self-centered in our prayers. Grant that we may be so bound up in love with those for whom we pray that we may feel their needs as acutely as our own and intercede for them with sensitivity, with understanding, and with imagination. We ask this in Christ’s name.

The Prayers for Grace    

Lord, our heavenly father, at the beginning of another week we come to you for help and light. Grant, we pray, that we may keep this day of rest holy to your service, and find in you alone our peace and strength. Quicken our devotion, that we may serve you in spirit and in truth, and lay a good foundation for our coming daily labors. Let your Spirit rest upon us now, that we may join with all the saints on earth and the host in heaven, 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.

O God, you are the Hope of all the ends of the earth: Remember the whole creation, have mercy on all peoples, and save the world from sin.

Father, you have promised to reveal your glory among all nations: hear us as we pray for your Holy Catholic Church. Bless the ministers of your Word and Sacraments; unite all Christians in the bonds of a holy faith; and let the grace of your Holy Spirit fall like life-giving showers, that your people may bring forth abundantly the fruits of peace and good works. Grant that the Son of Righteousness may arise and shine upon all lands; that the darkness of ignorance, error, and sin may flee away, and that the earth may be filled with knowledge of your glory as the waters cover the sea.

Protect our land from whatever threatens her welfare, Lord, so that the true Faith and virtue may grow and flourish. Give the spirit of wisdom and godly fear to your servant, the President, and all who are in authority over us. Give humility to the wealthy and grace to use their wealth to your glory. Bless the people in all their various callings and families, and be a refuge to the poor in their distress. Make every home a shelter from temptation; take those who are homeless under the shadow of your wings. Cleanse and sanctify the Church in this nation, which you have so blessed with peace and freedom; and reveal the Spirit of your Son through the life and service of your people. Give light to all who are perplexed in faith, support those who are tempted, awaken those who sleep, comfort the afflicted, and encourage those who are ready to faint. Surround with your favor all those who, in Christ, you have bound up with our own, and, when we are wronged by others, remove all bitterness from our hearts while we pray for your blessing on them. O Lord, our hearts long for the end of strife and ugliness and warfare; give peace, O Lord, in our time, and unite all hearts in the love of your dear Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Father, your truth endures from age to age: Direct in these times, we pray, those who speak where many listen and write what many read; that they may speak your truth to make the heart of this people wise, its mind discerning, and its will righteous; to the honor of Jesus Christ our Lord.

O God, you have given to your servants all sorts of gifts by the same Spirit, and have taught us by your holy Apostle that all our doings without love are worthless: Be pleased to bless and prosper all who love and serve their fellow neighbor with a pure heart fervently, remembering the poor, healing the sick, comforting the sorrowful, teaching the ignorant, and lifting up the afflicted; let their prayers and the sharing of their wealth come up for a memorial before you; and reward them plentifully with peace; through the merits of Jesus Christ our only Savior.

Almighty God, our Lord Jesus went about continually doing good, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among people: Continue, we pray, this his gracious work among those who suffer illness in every place. Cheer, heal, and sanctify the sick and the wounded; grant to physicians, surgeons, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, and all the host of dedicated men and women who assist them—grant to them all wisdom and skill, sympathy and patience; and send down your blessing on all who labor to prevent suffering and to forward your purposes of love; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Almighty God, you are a very present help in time of trouble: Do not let the heart of your people fail when fear strikes, but rather sustain and comfort them until these present troubles are past. And since you alone know the cause and reason why this present pestilence has fallen upon the world, we pray that you will bless the means which are used to stay the spread of sickness, heal the hurt and wounded, console the bereaved and afflicted, protect the innocent and helpless, and deliver any who are still in peril, for your great mercy's sake. And to all who are beyond healing in this present life, grant your heavenly consolation and your saving grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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…

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

Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. And gathering all our prayers in to one, hear us as together in faith we pray as our Savior taught us:

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 CONFESSION OF OUR FAITH

I believe in God the Father
                      Almighty,
                      Maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord:
                      Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost;
                      Born of the Virgin Mary;
                      Suffered under Pontius Pilate;
                      Was crucified, dead, and buried;
                      He descended into hell;
                      The third day he rose again from the dead;
                      He ascended into heaven;
                      And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
                      From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
                      The holy catholic Church;
                                              The communion of saints;
                      The forgiveness of sins;
                      The resurrection of the body;
And the life everlasting.
AMEN.

THE DISMISSAL

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

For his steadfast love endures forever!

Almighty God, who sees that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us, both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Father, here and now, we offer and present ourselves to you, body and soul, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice. Grant, Great God our Father, that, by the power of your Spirit in us, all your means of grace may work for us increasing faith and fellowship with Christ and with you and the Spirit, and that we may always walk in your commandments and live to your glory, until that great day when Jesus appears, and we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. Come quickly, Lord Jesus! In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. AMEN.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. And may the God of hope full you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may about in hope, till the day breaks and all these shadows flee away. AMEN.

 

 

GIVE THANKS TO GOD FOR THE CHRIST OF OUR BLESSINGS

GIVE THANKS TO GOD FOR OUR BLESSINGS IN CHRIST

When we see salvation whole,

its every single part

is found in Christ,

And so we must beware

lest we derive the smallest drop

from somewhere else.

For if we seek salvation, the very name of Jesus

teaches us

that he possesses it.

If other Spirit-given gifts are sought –

in his anointing they are found:

strength – in his reign;

and purity – in his conception;

and tenderness – expressed in his nativity,

in which in all respects like us he was,

than he might learn to feel our pain.

Redemption when we seek it, is in his passion found;

acquittal – in his condemnation lies;

and freedom from the curse – in his own cross is given.

If satisfaction for our sins we seek – we’ll find it in his sacrifice’

and cleansing in his blood.

If reconciliation now we need,

for this he descended into hell.

To overcome our sins we need to know

that in his tomb they’re laid.

Then newness of our life – his resurrection brings

and immortality as well comes also with that gift.

And if we also long to find

inheritance in heaven’s reign,

his entry there secures it now

with our protection, safety, too, and blessings that abound

– all flowing from his royal throne.

The sum of all is this:

For those who seek

this treasure-trove of blessings of all kinds,

in no one else can they be found

than him,

for all are given

in Christ alone.

—John Calvin,
adapted by Sinclair Ferguson