Morning Prayer - April 24, 2026

Today's Readings

Psalm 105:1-22

Exodus 24:1-18

Colossians 2:8-23

Matthew 4:12-17

Easter
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57

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

From Easter to Pentecost, Christ the Passover can be used in place of the Venite or Jubilate.

Christ the Passover 1 Corinthians 5:7 to 8; Romans 6:9 to 11; 1 Corinthians 15:20 to 22
Alleluia.
Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us;
therefore let us keep the feast,
Not with old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Alleluia.

Christ being raised from the dead will never die again;
death no longer has dominion over him.
The death that he died, he died to sin, once for all;
but the life he lives, he lives to God.
So also consider yourselves dead to sin,
and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Alleluia.

the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since by a man came death,
by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die,
so in Christ shall all be made alive. Alleluia.

Venite

ⓘ 'Venite' is Latin for 'O Come,' the opening word of Psalm 95: Venite exultemus Domino ('O Come, let us sing to the LORD').

Psalm 95:1 to 7
Come, let us sing to the Lord;
   let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving
   and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God,
   and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth,
   and the heights of the hills are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
   and his hands have molded the dry land.

Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee,
   and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
    Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!

The Antiphon:

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

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Colossian 3:1

The Lessons

Psalm 105

⁽¹⁾ Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples!⁽²⁾ Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works!⁽³⁾ Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD!⁽⁴⁾ Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore!

⁽⁵⁾ Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,⁽⁶⁾ O seed of Abraham His servant, You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!⁽⁷⁾ He is the LORD our God; His judgments are in all the earth.⁽⁸⁾ He remembers His covenant forever, The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations,

⁽⁹⁾ The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac,⁽¹⁰⁾ And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant,⁽¹¹⁾ Saying, 'To you I will give the land of Canaan As the allotment of your inheritance,'⁽¹²⁾ When they were few in number, Indeed very few, and strangers in it.

⁽¹³⁾ When they went from one nation to another, From one kingdom to another people,⁽¹⁴⁾ He permitted no one to do them wrong; Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes,⁽¹⁵⁾ Saying, 'Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.'⁽¹⁶⁾ Moreover He called for a famine in the land; He destroyed all the provision of bread.

⁽¹⁷⁾ He sent a man before them -- Joseph -- who was sold as a slave.⁽¹⁸⁾ They hurt his feet with fetters, He was laid in irons.⁽¹⁹⁾ Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the LORD tested him.⁽²⁰⁾ The king sent and released him, The ruler of the people let him go free.

⁽²¹⁾ He made him lord of his house, And ruler of all his possessions,⁽²²⁾ To bind his princes at his pleasure, And teach his elders wisdom.

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.

Exodus Chapter 24

⁽¹⁾ Now He said to Moses, 'Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar.⁽²⁾ And Moses alone shall come near the LORD, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.'⁽³⁾ So Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, 'All the words which the LORD has said we will do.'⁽⁴⁾ And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

⁽⁵⁾ Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD.⁽⁶⁾ And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar.⁽⁷⁾ Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, 'All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.'⁽⁸⁾ And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, 'This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.'

⁽⁹⁾ Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,⁽¹⁰⁾ and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity.⁽¹¹⁾ But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank.⁽¹²⁾ Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.'

⁽¹³⁾ So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God.⁽¹⁴⁾ And he said to the elders, 'Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed Aaron and Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.'⁽¹⁵⁾ Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain.⁽¹⁶⁾ Now the glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

⁽¹⁷⁾ The sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.⁽¹⁸⁾ So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Colossians Chapter 2

⁽⁸⁾ Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.⁽⁹⁾ For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;⁽¹⁰⁾ and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.⁽¹¹⁾ In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

⁽¹²⁾ buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.⁽¹³⁾ And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,⁽¹⁴⁾ having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.⁽¹⁵⁾ Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

⁽¹⁶⁾ So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,⁽¹⁷⁾ which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.⁽¹⁸⁾ Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,⁽¹⁹⁾ and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.

⁽²⁰⁾ Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations --⁽²¹⁾ Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,'⁽²²⁾ which all concern things which perish with the using -- according to the commandments and doctrines of men?⁽²³⁾ These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Matthew Chapter 4

⁽¹²⁾ Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.⁽¹³⁾ And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali,⁽¹⁴⁾ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:⁽¹⁵⁾ The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles:

⁽¹⁶⁾ The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.'⁽¹⁷⁾ From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The Second Song of Isaiah Isaiah 55:6 to 11

Seek the Lord while he wills to be found;
call upon him when he draws near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the evil ones their thoughts;
And let them turn to the Lord, and he will have compassion,
and to our God, for he will richly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as rain and snow fall from the heavens
and return not again, but water the earth,
Bringing forth life and giving growth,
seed for sowing and bread for eating,
So is my word that goes forth from my mouth;
it will not return to me empty;
But it will accomplish that which I have purposed,
and prosper in that for which I sent it.
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

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.

Suffrages

ⓘ A simple prayer to God for help, mercy, or intercession, rooted in the Latin word for support.

Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us by your Holy Spirit.

Seasonal Collect: Third Sunday of Easter
O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission: O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Personal Prayers and Reflection

This is a time to pause, consider and listen. Pray for yourself and others.

Closing Prayers

Thanksgiving
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory, and, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

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

May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Romans 15:13