Morning Prayer

Epiphany
I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. Isaiah 49:6b

Confession of Sin
Most merciful God,
I confess that I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart; I have not loved my neighbors as myself. I am truly sorry and I humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on me and forgive me; that I may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen

The Invitatory and Psalter

Lord, open our lips. And our mouth shall proclaim your praise
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen   Alleluia

Venite
The Antiphon:

ⓘ   A short, reflective sentence recited alongside a psalm to deepen our understanding of the readings.

The Lord has shown forth his glory: Come let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 71

⁽¹⁾ In You, O LORD, I put my trust; Let me never be put to shame. ⁽²⁾ Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape; Incline Your ear to me, and save me. ⁽³⁾ Be my strong refuge, To which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, For You are my rock and my fortress. ⁽⁴⁾ Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

⁽⁵⁾ For You are my hope, O Lord GOD; You are my trust from my youth. ⁽⁶⁾ By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother's womb. My praise shall be continually of You. ⁽⁷⁾ I have become as a wonder to many, But You are my strong refuge. ⁽⁸⁾ Let my mouth be filled with Your praise And with Your glory all the day.

⁽⁹⁾ Do not cast me off in the time of old age; Do not forsake me when my strength fails. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For my enemies speak against me; And those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together, ⁽¹¹⁾ Saying, 'God has forsaken him; Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.' ⁽¹²⁾ O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!

⁽¹³⁾ Let them be confounded and consumed Who are adversaries of my life; Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor Who seek my hurt. ⁽¹⁴⁾ But I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more. ⁽¹⁵⁾ My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And Your salvation all the day, For I do not know their limits. ⁽¹⁶⁾ I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.

⁽¹⁷⁾ O God, You have taught me from my youth; And to this day I declare Your wondrous works. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You? ⁽²⁰⁾ You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, Shall revive me again, And bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

⁽²¹⁾ You shall increase my greatness, And comfort me on every side. ⁽²²⁾ Also with the lute I will praise you -- And Your faithfulness, O my God! To You I will sing with the harp, O Holy One of Israel. ⁽²³⁾ My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You, And my soul, which You have redeemed. ⁽²⁴⁾ My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long; For they are confounded, For they are brought to shame Who seek my hurt.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Isaiah Chapter 55

⁽¹⁾ Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. ⁽²⁾ Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. ⁽³⁾ Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you -- The sure mercies of David. ⁽⁴⁾ Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people, A leader and commander for the people.

⁽⁵⁾ Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, And nations who do not know you shall run to you, Because of the LORD your God, And the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified you.' ⁽⁶⁾ Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. ⁽⁷⁾ Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. ⁽⁸⁾ For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,' says the LORD.

⁽⁹⁾ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. ⁽¹⁰⁾ For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, ⁽¹¹⁾ So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. ⁽¹²⁾ For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

⁽¹³⁾ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the LORD for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Galatians Chapter 5

⁽¹⁾ Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. ⁽²⁾ Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. ⁽³⁾ And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. ⁽⁴⁾ You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

⁽⁵⁾ For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. ⁽⁶⁾ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. ⁽⁷⁾ You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? ⁽⁸⁾ This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you.

⁽⁹⁾ A little leaven leavens the whole lump. ⁽¹⁰⁾ I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is. ⁽¹¹⁾ And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased. ⁽¹²⁾ I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off!

⁽¹³⁾ For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. ⁽¹⁴⁾ For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' ⁽¹⁵⁾ But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Mark Chapter 8

⁽²⁷⁾ Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, 'Who do men say that I am?' ⁽²⁸⁾ So they answered, 'John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.' ⁽²⁹⁾ He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Peter answered and said to Him, 'You are the Christ.' ⁽³⁰⁾ Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.

⁽³¹⁾ And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. ⁽³²⁾ He spoke this word openly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. ⁽³³⁾ But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, 'Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.' ⁽³⁴⁾ When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, 'Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

⁽³⁵⁾ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. ⁽³⁶⁾ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? ⁽³⁷⁾ Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ⁽³⁸⁾ For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.'

⁽¹⁾ And He said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.'

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.


The Song of Moses    Exodus 15:1 to 6, 11 to 13, 17 to 18

I will sing to the Lord, for he is lofty and uplifted;
the horse and its rider has he hurled into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my refuge;
the Lord has become my Savior.
This is my God and I will praise him,
the God of my people and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a mighty warrior;
Yahweh is his Name.
The chariots of Pharoah and his army has he hurled into the sea;
the finest of those who bear armor have been drowned in the Red Sea.
The fathomless deep has overwhelmed them;
they sank into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in might;
your right hand, O Lord, has overthrown the enemy.
Who can be compared with you, O Lord, among the gods?
who is like you, glorious in holiness,
awesome in renown, and worker of wonders?
You stretched forth your right hand;
the earth swallowed them up.
With your constant love you led the people you redeemed;
with your might you brought them in safety to
your holy dwelling.
You will bring them in and plant them
on the mount of your possession,
The resting-place you have made for yourself, O Lord,
the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hand has established.
The Lord shall reign forever and forever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.


The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord.
  He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
  He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
  He descended to the dead.
  On the third day he rose again.
  He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
  He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
  the holy catholic Church,
  the communion of saints,
  the forgiveness of sins,
  the resurrection of the body,
  and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Prayers

The Lord's Prayer   Traditional
Suffrages A

Seasonal Collect:  Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission: Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Personal Prayers and Reflection

This is a time to pause, consider and listen. Pray for yourself and others. When you lack the words


Closing Prayers   Thanksgiving

Conclude with the following
Let Us Bless the Lord, Thanks be to God

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14