A Service of Prayer at Midday
September 21, 2023
Invocation
In the name of the Father, + Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Dialogue
Jesus Christ is the light of the world
The light that shines perpetually.
Be with us Lord, in the tasks of this day.
Your light shines over all.
Let your light scatter any darkness
And illumine your church and its people.
Psalmody
Come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before God’s presence with thanksgiving
and raise a loud shout to the Lord with psalms.
For you, Lord, are a great God,
and a great ruler above all gods.
Come, let us sing to the Lord:
let us shout or joy to the rock of our salvation.
In your hand are the caverns of the earth;
the heights of the hills are also yours.
The sea is yours, for you made it;
and your hands have molded the dry land.
Come, let us sing to the Lord:
let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
Come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
For the Lord is our God,
and we are the people of God’s pasture
and the sheep of God’s hand.
Come, let us sing to the Lord:
Let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
This is the day that the Lord has made
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Collect:
Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, you are with us in this new day. Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor be overcome in adversity. In all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purposes through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Commemoration
Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, martyr, died around 258
Cyprian served as a bishop during a time of great persecution of Christians. He insisted on receiving back those who had left the faith under duress. He also provided medical care during a severe epidemic.
Psalm 145
1I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
2Every day I will bless you,
and praise your name forever and ever.
3Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
4One generation shall laud your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
5On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
and I will declare your greatness.
7They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
8The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9The LORD is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.
10All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,
and all your faithful shall bless you.
11They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
and tell of your power,
12to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The LORD is faithful in all his words,
and gracious in all his deeds.
14The LORD upholds all who are falling,
and raises up all who are bowed down.
15The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
16You open your hand,
satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17The LORD is just in all his ways,
and kind in all his doings.
18The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;
he also hears their cry, and saves them.
20The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.
Gloria Patri
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be. Amen.
Readings
Lamentations 3:25-33
25The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul that seeks him.
26It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
27It is good for one to bear
the yoke in youth,
28to sit alone in silence
when the LORD has imposed it,
29to put one's mouth to the dust
(there may yet be hope),
30to give one's cheek to the smiter,
and be filled with insults.
31For the LORD will not
reject forever.
32Although he causes grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
33for he does not willingly afflict
or grieve anyone.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Jonah 3:!0-4:11
3:10When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.
4:1But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. 2He prayed to the LORD and said, "O LORD! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. 3And now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live." 4And the LORD said, "Is it right for you to be angry?" 5Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.
6The Lord GOD appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. 7But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. 8When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, "It is better for me to die than to live."
9But God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?" And he said, "Yes, angry enough to die." 10Then the LORD said, "You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?"
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Reflection
Veni Creator
Come Lord, come down,
Come in, come among us.
Come as the wind to move us;
Come as the light to prove us;
Come as the night to rest us;
Come as the storm to test us;
Come as the sun to warm us;
Come as the stillness to calm us;
Come Lord, come down,
Come in, come among us.
To God the Father, who created the world;
To God the Son, who redeemed the world:
To God the Holy Spirit, who sustains the world
Be all praise and glory, now and forever. Amen.
Expression of Faith
Lord, you have always given
Bread for the coming day;
And though I am poor,
Today, I believe
Lord, you have always given
Strength for the coming day;
And though I am weak,
Today I believe.
Lord, you have always given
Peace for the coming day;
And though of anxious heart,
Today I believe.
Lord, you have always kept
Me safe in trials;
And now, tried as I am,
Today I believe.
Lord, you have always marked
The road for the coming day;
And though it may be hidden,
Today I believe.
Lord, you have always lightened
This darkness of mine;
And though shadows are here,
Today I believe.
Lord, you have always spoken
When the time was ripe;
And though I don’t hear your voice
Today I believe.
Prayers
In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
or the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the church of God, and for the unity of all, let u pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For this holy house, and for all who offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the health of the creation, for abundant harvests that all may share, and for peaceful times, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For public servants, the government, and those who protect us; for those who work to bring peace, justice, healing, and protection in this and every place, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those who travel, for those who are sick and suffering, and for those who are in captivity, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For deliverance in the time of affliction, wrath, danger, and need, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For all servants of the church, for this assembly, and for all people who await from the Lord great and abundant mercy, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
A brief silence may follow.
Giving thanks for all who have gone before us and are at rest, rejoicing in the communion of all the saints, we commend ourselves, one another, and our whole life to you, through Christ our Lord.
To you, O Lord.
O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
Blessing
Go in peace
for you cannot go where God is not.
Go in love
for only love endures.
Go with conviction
and God will honor your dedication.
The blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit
be with us and remain with us forever.
Let us go then in peace
Amen
Liturgical Text from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, © 2006, 2020, 2022 Augsburg Fortress. Reprinted and/or streamed with permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies License #SAS016761. All rights reserved.
"Veni Creator" and "Expression of Faith", The Northumbria Community, Celtic Daily Prayer, Book One, Andy Raine, compiler, HarperCollins, 2002.
