OPENING SENTENCES
From the rising of the sun to its setting my Name shall be great among the nations, and in every place incense shall be offered to my Name, and a pure offering: for my Name shall be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 1:11
CONFESSION OF SIN
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Silence for reflection
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.
Lord, open our lips. *
And our mouths shall proclaim your praise!
The Lord has shown forth his glory: Come let us adore him.
MORNING PSALM
Psalm 37:1-18
Part I
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.
Lord Jesus, you bless the poor with the kingdom of heaven. Teach us to put our trust in the Father and to seek his kingdom rather than to imitate the powerful or envy the rich; so may we serve you now and forever.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit; *
as it was in the beginning
is now and shall be for ever. Amen.
MORNING SONG
But for You Who Fear My Name - The Welcome Wagon
MORNING LESSONS
For those not receiving Evening Prayer emails, the lectionary OT & NT Lessons for today are Isaiah 45:5-17; Ephesians 5:15-33.
Mark 4:21-34
He said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand? For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”
He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”
He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.
Silence for reflection
CONCLUDING PRAYER
In the morning, pray for:
the day and its tasks
the world and its needs
the Church and her life
Conclude with the Lord's Prayer and/or the following Collect for Epiphany:
Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord. *
Thanks be to God!