Through Christ let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God,
the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
Hebrews 13.15
Glory to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as in the beginning, so now, and for ever. Amen.
A poem: Te Deum Laudamus
We praise you, O God:
we acclaim you as Lord;
All creation worships you:
the Father everlasting.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven:
the cherubim and seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might:
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you:
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you:
Throughout the world, the holy Church acclaims you:
Father, of majesty unbounded:
your true and only Son, worthy of all praise,
the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the King of glory:
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you took our flesh to set us free:
you humbly chose the virgin’s womb.
You overcame the sting of death:
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God’s right hand in glory:
We believe that you will come to be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood:
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.
The opening prayer
By night and by day we worship the Lord; let us pray with one heart and mind.
We remember God’s presence and pause in silence.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence, O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you; now and for ever. Amen.
The readings
2 Kings 17.5-8, 13-15, 18
Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land and came to Samaria; for three years he besieged it. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria; he carried the Israelites away to Assyria. He placed them in Halah, on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
This occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They had worshipped other gods and walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had introduced.
Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, ‘Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the law that I commanded your ancestors and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.’ They would not listen but were stubborn, as their ancestors had been, who did not believe in the LORD their God. They despised his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their ancestors, and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false; they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them that they should not do as they did.
Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight; none was left but the tribe of Judah alone.
Psalm 60.1-5, 11-end
O God, you have cast us off and broken us;
you have been angry; restore us to yourself again.
You have shaken the earth and torn it apart;
heal its wounds, for it trembles.
You have made your people drink bitter things;
we reel from the deadly wine you have given us.
You have made those who fear you to flee,
to escape from the range of the bow.
That your beloved may be delivered,
save us by your right hand and answer us.
Grant us your help against the enemy,
for earthly help is in vain.
Through God will we do great acts,
for it is he that shall tread down our enemies.
Matthew 7.1-5
‘Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgement you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbour, “Let me take the speck out of your eye”, while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye.
The Prayers
The Lord’s Prayer
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.
This week’s prayer:
Almighty and everlasting God,
you are always more ready to hear than we to pray,
and give more than either we desire or deserve:
pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid,
and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask,
save through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ,
your Son our Lord. Amen.
We thank God for what we have and pray for what we need.
Today we pray for ourselves, that God would increase our faith. In our local church, we ask God to be good managers of the resources given to our parish by previous generations. In our world, we pray for the leader of the government in our nation and all who serve to make laws for our country. We remember before God those who have asked for our prayers, or who are in need of them.
A prayer for the day
Lord, our God, our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier: we ask you to cleanse us from all hypocrisy, to unite us to our fellow men and women by the bonds of peace and love, and to confirm us in holiness; now and for ever. Amen.
The Lord be with us
now and forever.
Let us praise the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. May we rekindle the gift of God within us. Amen.
see 2 Timothy 1.6-7