This is the message we have heard from Christ:
that God is light, in whom there is no darkness at all.
1 John 1.5
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
Psalm 49.1-2, 5-10
Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all you that dwell in the world,
You of low or high degree,
both rich and poor together.
Why should I fear in evil days,
when the malice of my foes surrounds me,
Such as trust in their goods
and glory in the abundance of their riches?
For no one can indeed ransom another
or pay to God the price of deliverance.
To ransom a soul is too costly;
there is no price one could pay for it,
So that they might live for ever,
and never see the grave.
For we see that the wise die also; with the foolish and ignorant they perish
and leave their riches to others.
James 4.13-end
Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.’ Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.
Mark 9.38-40
John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’ But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us.
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 God,
you have taught us through your Son
that love is the fulfilling of the law:
grant that we may love you with our whole heart,
and our neighbours as ourselves;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
We thank God for what we have and pray for what we need.
Today we pray for ourselves, that God would help us find a way to play an active part in the work of his Kingdom. In our local church, we ask God to bless the priests and other ministers who lead in our parish. In our world, we pray for a just and compassionate response to people coming to our country as refugees. We remember before God those who have asked for our prayers, or who are in need of them.
A prayer for the day
Eternal light, shine into our hearts,
eternal goodness, deliver us from evil,
eternal power, be our support,
eternal wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance,
eternal pity, have mercy upon us;
that with all our heart and mind and soul and strength
we may seek your face and be brought by your infinite mercy
to your holy presence; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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