OPENING SENTENCES
I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. Isaiah 49:6b
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 83
O God, do not be silent; *
do not keep still nor hold your peace, O God;
For your enemies are in tumult, *
and those who hate you have lifted up their heads.
They take secret counsel against your people *
and plot against those whom you protect.
They have said, "Come, let us wipe them out from among
the nations; *
let the name of Israel be remembered no more."
They have conspired together; *
they have made an alliance against you:
The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; *
the Moabites and the Hagarenes;
Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; *
the Philistines and those who dwell in Tyre.
The Assyrians also have joined them, *
and have come to help the people of Lot.
Do to them as you did to Midian, *
to Sisera, and to Jabin at the river of Kishon:
They were destroyed at Endor; *
they became like dung upon the ground.
Make their leaders like Oreb and Zeëb, *
and all their commanders like Zebah and Zalmunna,
Who said, "Let us take for ourselves *
the fields of God as our possession."
O my God, make them like whirling dust *
and like chaff before the wind;
Like fire that burns down a forest, *
like the flame that sets mountains ablaze.
Drive them with your tempest *
and terrify them with your storm;
Cover their faces with shame, O LORD, *
that they may seek your Name.
Let them be disgraced and terrified for ever; *
let them be put to confusion and perish.
Let them know that you, whose Name is YAHWEH, *
you alone are the Most High over all the earth.
Lord, dispel from us the error of pride and illusions of greatness, and help us to abandon every vice and stand in awe of you, for you alone are the Most High over all the world 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
Lord, I Believe - Bifrost Arts
MORNING LESSONS
For those not receiving Evening Prayer emails, the lectionary OT & NT Lessons for today are Isaiah 60:1-17; 2 Timothy 2:14-26.
Mark 10:17-31
As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
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:
Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord. *
Thanks be to God!