Morning Prayer - December 30, 2025

Today's Readings

Psalm 20:1-9

Psalm 21:1-7

1 Kings 17:17-24

3 John 1:1-14

John 4:46-54

Today is the Sixth day of Christmas
Behold, the dwelling of God is with mankind. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them, and be their God. Revelation 21:3

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

ⓘ '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.

Alleluia. To us a child is born: O come, let us adore him. Alleluia.

The Lessons

Psalm 20

⁽¹⁾ May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you;⁽²⁾ May He send you help from the sanctuary, And strengthen you out of Zion;⁽³⁾ May He remember all your offerings, And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah⁽⁴⁾ May He grant you according to your heart's desire, And fulfill all your purpose.

⁽⁵⁾ We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.⁽⁶⁾ Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand.⁽⁷⁾ Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.⁽⁸⁾ They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stand upright.

⁽⁹⁾ Save, LORD! May the King answer us when we call.

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 21

⁽¹⁾ The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!⁽²⁾ You have given him his heart's desire, And have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah⁽³⁾ For You meet him with the blessings of goodness; You set a crown of pure gold upon his head.⁽⁴⁾ He asked life from You, and You gave it to him -- Length of days forever and ever.

⁽⁵⁾ His glory is great in Your salvation; Honor and majesty You have placed upon him.⁽⁶⁾ For You have made him most blessed forever; You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence.⁽⁷⁾ For the king trusts in the LORD, And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.

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 Kings Chapter 17

⁽¹⁷⁾ Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him.⁽¹⁸⁾ So she said to Elijah, 'What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?'⁽¹⁹⁾ And he said to her, 'Give me your son.' So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.⁽²⁰⁾ Then he cried out to the LORD and said, 'O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?'

⁽²¹⁾ And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the LORD and said, 'O LORD my God, I pray, let this child's soul come back to him.'⁽²²⁾ Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.⁽²³⁾ And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, 'See, your son lives!'⁽²⁴⁾ Then the woman said to Elijah, 'Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

3 John Chapter 1

⁽¹⁾ THE ELDER, To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth:⁽²⁾ Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.⁽³⁾ For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth.⁽⁴⁾ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

⁽⁵⁾ Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers,⁽⁶⁾ who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well,⁽⁷⁾ because they went forth for His name's sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles.⁽⁸⁾ We therefore ought to receive such, that we may become fellow workers for the truth.

⁽⁹⁾ I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us.⁽¹⁰⁾ Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.⁽¹¹⁾ Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.⁽¹²⁾ Demetrius has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself. And we also bear witness, and you know that our testimony is true.

⁽¹³⁾ I had many things to write, but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink;⁽¹⁴⁾ but I hope to see you shortly, and we shall speak face to face. Peace to you. Our friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 4

⁽⁴⁶⁾ So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.⁽⁴⁷⁾ When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.⁽⁴⁸⁾ Then Jesus said to him, 'Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.'⁽⁴⁹⁾ The nobleman said to Him, 'Sir, come down before my child dies!'

⁽⁵⁰⁾ Jesus said to him, 'Go your way; your son lives.' So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.⁽⁵¹⁾ And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, 'Your son lives!'⁽⁵²⁾ Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, 'Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.'⁽⁵³⁾ So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, 'Your son lives.' And he himself believed, and his whole household.

⁽⁵⁴⁾ This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The First Song of Isaiah Isaiah 12:2 to 6

Surely, it is God who saves me;
I will trust in him and not be afraid.
For the Lord is my stronghold
and my sure defense,
and he will be my Savior.
Therefore you shall draw water with rejoicing
from the springs of salvation.
And on that day you shall say,
Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name;
Make his deeds known among the peoples;
see that they remember that his Name is exalted.
Sing the praises of the Lord,
for he has done great things,
and this is known in all the world.
Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy,
for the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.
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 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

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: The Nativity of Our Lord
O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

--or this--

O God, you have caused this holy night to shine with the brightness of the true Light: Grant that we, who have known the mystery of that Light on earth, may also enjoy him perfectly in heaven; where with you and the Holy Spirit he lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

--or this--

Almighty God, you have given your only begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and to be born [this day] of a pure virgin: Grant that we, who have been born again and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and forever. 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.

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