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 24

⁽¹⁾ The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. ⁽²⁾ For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters. ⁽³⁾ Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? ⁽⁴⁾ He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.

⁽⁵⁾ He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation. ⁽⁶⁾ This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face. Selah ⁽⁷⁾ Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. ⁽⁸⁾ Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle.

⁽⁹⁾ Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah

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.

Psalm 29

⁽¹⁾ Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones, Give unto the LORD glory and strength. ⁽²⁾ Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. ⁽³⁾ The voice of the LORD is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The LORD is over many waters. ⁽⁴⁾ The voice of the LORD is powerful; The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

⁽⁵⁾ The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars, Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon. ⁽⁶⁾ He makes them also skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox. ⁽⁷⁾ The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire. ⁽⁸⁾ The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.

⁽⁹⁾ The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth, And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everyone says, 'Glory!' ⁽¹⁰⁾ The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood, And the LORD sits as King forever. ⁽¹¹⁾ The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.

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.

Genesis Chapter 18

⁽¹⁶⁾ Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. ⁽¹⁷⁾ And the LORD said, 'Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, ⁽¹⁸⁾ since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? ⁽¹⁹⁾ For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.'

⁽²⁰⁾ And the LORD said, 'Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, ⁽²¹⁾ I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.' ⁽²²⁾ Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. ⁽²³⁾ And Abraham came near and said, 'Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

⁽²⁴⁾ Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? ⁽²⁵⁾ Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?' ⁽²⁶⁾ So the LORD said, 'If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.' ⁽²⁷⁾ Then Abraham answered and said, 'Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord:

⁽²⁸⁾ Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?' So He said, 'If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.' ⁽²⁹⁾ And he spoke to Him yet again and said, 'Suppose there should be forty found there?' So He said, 'I will not do it for the sake of forty.' ⁽³⁰⁾ Then he said, 'Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?' So He said, 'I will not do it if I find thirty there.' ⁽³¹⁾ And he said, 'Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?' So He said, 'I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.'

⁽³²⁾ Then he said, 'Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?' And He said, 'I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.' ⁽³³⁾ So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Galatians Chapter 5

⁽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! ⁽¹⁶⁾ I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

⁽¹⁷⁾ For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. ⁽¹⁸⁾ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, ⁽²⁰⁾ idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,

⁽²¹⁾ envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ⁽²²⁾ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ⁽²³⁾ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ⁽²⁴⁾ And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

⁽²⁵⁾ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Mark Chapter 8

⁽²²⁾ Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. ⁽²³⁾ So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. ⁽²⁴⁾ And he looked up and said, 'I see men like trees, walking.' ⁽²⁵⁾ Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.

⁽²⁶⁾ Then He sent him away to his house, saying, 'Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.' ⁽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.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.


The Song of Zechariah Luke 1: 68 to 79
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham,
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
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.

You are God        
You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord; we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
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 worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free
you did not shun 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 and 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 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: O God, you make us glad with the weekly remembrance of the glorious resurrection of your Son our Lord: Give us this day such blessing through our worship of you, that the week to come may be spent in your favor; 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