Their sound has gone out into all lands, and their message to the ends of the world.
Psalm 19:4
Officiant Lord,
open our lips.
People 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 for ever. Amen.
Alleluia.
Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; *
serve the
Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.
Know this: The Lord himself is God; *
he himself has
made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his
pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts
with praise; *
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.
For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting; *
and
his faithfulness endures from age to age.
O LORD, I call to you;
my Rock, do not be deaf to my
cry; *
lest, if you do not hear me,
I become like those who go
down to the Pit.
Hear the voice of my prayer when I cry out to you,
*
when I lift up my hands to your holy of holies.
Do not snatch me away with the wicked or with the
evildoers, *
who speak peaceably with their neighbors,
while
strife is in their hearts.
Repay them according to their deeds, *
and according
to the wickedness of their actions.
According to the work of their hands repay them, *
and
give them their just deserts.
They have no understanding of the LORD’S
doings,
nor of the works of his hands; *
therefore he will
break them down and not build them up.
Blessed is the LORD! *
for he has heard the voice of
my prayer.
The LORD is my strength and my shield; *
my heart
trusts in him, and I have been helped;
Therefore my heart dances for joy, *
and in my song
will I praise him.
The LORD is the strength of his people, *
a safe
refuge for his anointed.
Save your people and bless your inheritance; *
shepherd
them and carry them for ever.
I will exalt you, O LORD,
because you have lifted me
up *
and have not let my enemies triumph over me.
O LORD my God, I cried out to you, *
and you restored
me to health.
You brought me up, O LORD, from the dead; *
you
restored my life as I was going down to the grave.
Sing to the LORD, you servants of his; *
give thanks
for the remembrance of his holiness.
For his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye, *
his
favor for a lifetime.
Weeping may spend the night, *
but joy comes in the
morning.
While I felt secure, I said,
“I shall never be
disturbed. *
You, LORD, with your favor, made me as strong as the
mountains.”
Then you hid your face, *
and I was filled with fear.
I cried to you, O LORD; *
I pleaded with the Lord,
saying,
“What profit is there in my blood, if I go down to
the Pit? *
will the dust praise you or declare your faithfulness?
Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me; *
O LORD, be my
helper.”
You have turned my wailing into dancing; *
you have
put off my sack-cloth and clothed me with joy.
Therefore my heart sings to you without ceasing; *
O
LORD my God, I will give you thanks for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
A Reading from the Second Book of Chronicles.
Now after the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and did obeisance to the king; then the king listened to them. They abandoned the house of the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and served the sacred poles and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the LORD; they testified against them, but they would not listen. Then the spirit of God took possession of Zechariah son of the priest Jehoiada; he stood above the people and said to them, “Thus says God: Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has also forsaken you.” But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him to death in the court of the house of the LORD. King Joash did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him, but killed his son. As he was dying, he said, “May the LORD see and avenge!”
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
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 for ever. Amen.
A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.” What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to 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.
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 power of
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.
Officiant The
Lord be with you.
People And
also with you.
Officiant Let
us pray.
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,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
V. Save
your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance;
R. Govern
and uphold them, now and always.
V. Day
by day we bless you;
R. We
praise your name for ever.
V. Lord,
keep us from all sin today;
R. Have
mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
V. Lord,
show us your love and mercy;
R. For
we put our trust in you.
V. In
you, Lord, is our hope;
R. And
we shall never hope in vain.
We give you thanks, O Lord of glory, for the example of the first martyr Stephen, who looked up to heaven and prayed for his persecutors to your Son Jesus Christ, who stands at your right hand; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
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.
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.
Let us pray now for our own needs and those of others.
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 our selves 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.
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