Morning Prayer

Easter
You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8

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
The Antiphon:

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

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

The Lessons

Psalm 97

⁽¹⁾ The LORD reigns; Let the earth rejoice; Let the multitude of isles be glad! ⁽²⁾ Clouds and darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. ⁽³⁾ A fire goes before Him, And burns up His enemies round about. ⁽⁴⁾ His lightnings light the world; The earth sees and trembles.

⁽⁵⁾ The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. ⁽⁶⁾ The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples see His glory. ⁽⁷⁾ Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, Who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods. ⁽⁸⁾ Zion hears and is glad, And the daughters of Judah rejoice Because of Your judgments, O LORD.

⁽⁹⁾ For You, LORD, are most high above all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods. ⁽¹⁰⁾ You who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked. ⁽¹¹⁾ Light is sown for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart. ⁽¹²⁾ Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

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 99

⁽¹⁾ The LORD reigns; Let the peoples tremble! He dwells between the cherubim; Let the earth be moved! ⁽²⁾ The LORD is great in Zion, And He is high above all the peoples. ⁽³⁾ Let them praise Your great and awesome name -- He is holy. ⁽⁴⁾ The King's strength also loves justice; You have established equity; You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.

⁽⁵⁾ Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His footstool -- He is holy. ⁽⁶⁾ Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called upon His name; They called upon the LORD, and He answered them. ⁽⁷⁾ He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar; They kept His testimonies and the ordinance He gave them. ⁽⁸⁾ You answered them, O LORD our God; You were to them God-Who-Forgives, Though You took vengeance on their deeds.

⁽⁹⁾ Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the LORD our God is holy.

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 100

⁽¹⁾ Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! ⁽²⁾ Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. ⁽³⁾ Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. ⁽⁴⁾ Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

⁽⁵⁾ For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.

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.

1 Samuel Chapter 16

⁽¹⁾ Now the LORD said to Samuel, 'How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.' ⁽²⁾ And Samuel said, 'How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.' And the LORD said, 'Take a heifer with you, and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' ⁽³⁾ Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.' ⁽⁴⁾ So Samuel did what the LORD said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, 'Do you come peaceably?'

⁽⁵⁾ And he said, 'Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.' Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice. ⁽⁶⁾ So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, 'Surely the LORD's anointed is before Him.' ⁽⁷⁾ But the LORD said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.' ⁽⁸⁾ So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, 'Neither has the LORD chosen this one.'

⁽⁹⁾ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, 'Neither has the LORD chosen this one.' ⁽¹⁰⁾ Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, 'The LORD has not chosen these.' ⁽¹¹⁾ And Samuel said to Jesse, 'Are all the young men here?' Then he said, 'There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.' And Samuel said to Jesse, 'Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.' ⁽¹²⁾ So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the LORD said, 'Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!'

⁽¹³⁾ Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Ephesians Chapter 3

⁽¹⁴⁾ For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁽¹⁵⁾ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, ⁽¹⁶⁾ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ⁽¹⁷⁾ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

⁽¹⁸⁾ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height -- ⁽¹⁹⁾ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. ⁽²⁰⁾ Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, ⁽²¹⁾ to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Matthew Chapter 8

⁽¹⁸⁾ And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, 'Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.' ⁽²⁰⁾ And Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.' ⁽²¹⁾ Then another of His disciples said to Him, 'Lord, let me first go and bury my father.'

⁽²²⁾ But Jesus said to him, 'Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.' ⁽²³⁾ Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. ⁽²⁴⁾ And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. ⁽²⁵⁾ Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, 'Lord, save us! We are perishing!'

⁽²⁶⁾ But He said to them, 'Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?' Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. ⁽²⁷⁾ So the men marveled, saying, 'Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?'

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

A Song to the Lamb       Revelation 4:11, 5:9 to 10, 13

Splendor and honor and kingly power
are yours by right, O Lord our God,
For you created everything that is,
and by your will they were created
  and have their being;
And yours by right, O Lamb that was slain,
for with your blood you have redeemed for God,
From every family, language, people, and nation,
a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
And so, to him who sits upon the throne,
and to Christ the Lamb,
Be worship and praise, dominion and splendor,
forever and forevermore.

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.


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:  Seventh Sunday of Easter: The Sunday after Ascension Day
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Collect of the Day: O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of 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. When you lack the words


Closing Prayers   Thanksgiving

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