A Service of Prayer at Midday
November 9, 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.
Commemorations
Martin, Bishop of Tours, died 397. Martin's pagan father enlisted him in the Roman army. Approached by a beggar, Martin cut his cloak in half and gave part to the man, whom he later understood as representing Christ. He asked to leave the army, but was jailed instead. After his release, he became a preacher, and later a bishop.
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard, teacher, died 1855. Kierkegaard was a Danish theologian whose writings also gave rise to the modern philosophy of existentialism. He frequently attacked the complacency of the state church of his day, as well as its desire to be accepted by polite society rather than be a stumbling block.
Psalm 70
1Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
2but their delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
3They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
4The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6for the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 71
1In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
2In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me and save me.
3Be to me a rock of refuge,
a strong fortress, to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
4Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
5For you, O LORD, are my hope,
my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
6Upon you I have leaned from my birth;
it was you who took me from my mother's womb.
My praise is continually of you.
7I have been like a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.
8My mouth is filled with your praise,
and with your glory all day long.
9Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
do not forsake me when my strength is spent.
10For my enemies speak concerning me,
and those who watch for my life consult together.
11They say, "Pursue and seize that person
whom God has forsaken,
for there is no one to deliver."
12O God, do not be far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me!
13Let my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
let those who seek to hurt me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.
14But I will hope continually,
and will praise you yet more and more.
15My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
of your deeds of salvation all day long,
though their number is past my knowledge.
16I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD,
I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.
17O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18So even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might
to all the generations to come.
Your power 19and your righteousness, O God,
reach the high heavens.
You who have done great things,
O God, who is like you?
20You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.
21You will increase my honor,
and comfort me once again.
22I will also praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
23My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have rescued.
24All day long my tongue will talk of your righteous help,
for those who tried to do me harm
have been put to shame, and disgraced.
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.
Reading
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
13But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. 15For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. 16For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.
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.
