If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Colossians 3:1
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.
Alleluia.
Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for
us; *
therefore let us keep the feast,
Not with the 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.
Christ has been raised from the dead, *
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 also in Christ shall all
be made alive. Alleluia.
Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; *
do not
be jealous of those who do wrong.
For they shall soon wither like the grass, *
and like
the green grass fade away.
Put your trust in the LORD and do good; *
dwell in
the land and feed on its riches.
Take delight in the LORD, *
and he shall give you
your heart’s desire.
Commit your way to the LORD and put your trust in him,
*
and he will bring it to pass.
He will make your righteousness as clear as the light
*
and your just dealing as the noonday.
Be still before the LORD *
and wait patiently for
him.
Do not fret yourself over the one who prospers, *
the
one who succeeds in evil schemes.
Refrain from anger, leave rage alone; *
do not fret
yourself; it leads only to evil.
For evildoers shall be cut off, *
but those who wait
upon the LORD shall possess the land.
In a little while the wicked shall be no more; *
you
shall search out their place, but they will not be there.
But the lowly shall possess the land; *
they will
delight in abundance of peace.
The wicked plot against the righteous *
and gnash at
them with their teeth.
The Lord laughs at the wicked, *
because he sees that
their day will come.
The wicked draw their sword and bend their bow
to
strike down the poor and needy, *
to slaughter those who are
upright in their ways.
Their sword shall go through their own heart, *
and
their bow shall be broken.
The little that the righteous has *
is better than
great riches of the wicked.
For the power of the wicked shall be broken, *
but
the LORD upholds the righteous.
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 Daniel.
Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, “So you are Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? I have heard of you that a spirit of the gods is in you, and that enlightenment, understanding, and excellent wisdom are found in you. Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and tell me its interpretation, but they were not able to give the interpretation of the matter. But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you are able to read the writing and tell me its interpretation, you shall be clothed in purple, have a chain of gold around your neck, and rank third in the kingdom.” Then Daniel answered in the presence of the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, or give your rewards to someone else! Nevertheless I will read the writing to the king and let him know the interpretation. O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar kingship, greatness, glory, and majesty. And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. He killed those he wanted to kill, kept alive those he wanted to keep alive, honored those he wanted to honor, and degraded those he wanted to degrade. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he acted proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and his glory was stripped from him. He was driven from human society, and his mind was made like that of an animal. His dwelling was with the wild asses, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until he learned that the Most High God has sovereignty over the kingdom of mortals, and sets over it whomever he will. And you, Belshazzar his son, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this! You have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven! The vessels of his temple have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know; but the God in whose power is your very breath, and to whom belong all your ways, you have not honored. “So from his presence the hand was sent and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed in purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made concerning him that he should rank third in the kingdom.
That very night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
I will sing to the Lord, for he is lofty and uplifted;
*
the horse and its rider has he hurled into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my refuge; *
the Lord has
become my Savior.
This is my God and I will praise him, *
the God of my
people and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a mighty warrior; *
Yahweh is his Name.
The chariots of Pharaoh and his army has he hurled into
the sea; *
the finest of those who bear armor have been drowned in
the Red Sea.
The fathomless deep has overwhelmed them; *
they sank
into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in might; *
your
right hand, O Lord, has overthrown the enemy.
Who can be compared with you, O Lord, among the gods?
*
who is like you, glorious in holiness,
awesome in renown, and
worker of wonders?
You stretched forth your right hand; *
the earth
swallowed them up.
With your constant love you led the people you redeemed;
*
with your might you brought them in safety to your holy
dwelling.
You will bring them in and plant them *
on the mount
of your possession,
The resting-place you have made for yourself, O Lord,
*
the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hand has established.
The Lord shall reign *
for ever and 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 First Letter of John.
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him. If you see your brother or sister committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask, and God will give life to such a one—to those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin that is mortal; I do not say that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not mortal.
We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them. We know that we are God’s children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.[ Little children, keep yourselves from idols.]
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people
on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we
worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God,
Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on
us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive
our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the
Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the
Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. 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, 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.
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 for ever. 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.
Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. 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.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20,21