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.
Happy are they whose
way is blameless, *
who walk in the law of the LORD!
Happy are they who
observe his decrees *
and seek him with all their hearts!
Who never do any
wrong, *
but always walk in his ways.
You laid down your
commandments, *
that we should fully keep them.
Oh, that my ways
were made so direct *
that I might keep your statutes!
Then I should not be
put to shame, *
when I regard all your commandments.
I will thank you
with an unfeigned heart, *
when I have learned your righteous
judgments.
I will keep your
statutes; *
do not utterly forsake me.
How shall a young
man cleanse his way? *
By keeping to your words.
With my whole heart
I seek you; *
let me not stray from your commandments.
I treasure your
promise in my heart, *
that I may not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O
LORD; *
instruct me in your statutes.
With my lips will I
recite *
all the judgments of your mouth.
I have taken greater
delight in the way of your decrees *
than in all manner of riches.
I will meditate on
your commandments *
and give attention to your ways.
My delight is in
your statutes; *
I will not forget your word.
Deal bountifully
with your servant, *
that I may live and keep your word.
Open my eyes, that I
may see *
the wonders of your law.
I am a stranger here
on earth; *
do not hide your commandments from me.
My soul is consumed
at all times *
with longing for your judgments.
You have rebuked the
insolent; *
cursed are they who stray from your commandments!
Turn from me shame
and rebuke, *
for I have kept your decrees.
Even though rulers
sit and plot against me, *
I will meditate on your statutes.
For your decrees are
my delight, *
and they are my counselors.
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 Book of Genesis.
Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have produced a man with the help of the LORD.” Next she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground.
In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him.
Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And the LORD said, “What have you done? Listen; your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”
Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.” Then the LORD said to him, “Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.” And the LORD put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him.
Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
The
Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Arise, shine, for
your light has come, *
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon
you.
For behold, darkness
covers the land; *
deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.
But over you the
Lord will rise, *
and his glory will appear upon you.
Nations will stream
to your light, *
and kings to the brightness of your dawning.
Your gates will
always be open; *
by day or night they will never be shut.
They will call you,
The City of the Lord, *
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Violence will no
more be heard in your land, *
ruin or destruction within your
borders.
You will call your
walls, Salvation, *
and all your portals, Praise.
The sun will no more
be your light by day; *
by night you will not need the brightness
of the moon.
The Lord will be
your everlasting light, *
and your God will be your glory.
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 Gospel According to John.
[
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”] The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!”
The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
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.
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 in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom
come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us
today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive
those
who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
and
deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the
glory are yours,
now and for 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.
Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, 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.
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