OPENING SENTENCES
Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. Psalm 43:3
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
Come now, let us argue it out, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. Amen.
Lord, open our lips. *
And our mouths shall proclaim your praise!
MORNING PSALM
Psalm 18:1-20
Part I
I love you, O LORD my strength, *
O LORD my stronghold, my crag, and my haven.
My God, my rock in whom I put my trust, *
my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my refuge;
you are worthy of praise.
I will call upon the LORD, *
and so shall I be saved from my enemies.
The breakers of death rolled over me, *
and the torrents of oblivion made me afraid.
The cords of hell entangled me, *
and the snares of death were set for me.
I called upon the LORD in my distress *
and cried out to my God for help.
He heard my voice from his heavenly dwelling; *
my cry of anguish came to his ears.
The earth reeled and rocked; *
the roots of the mountains shook;
they reeled because of his anger.
Smoke rose from his nostrils
and a consuming fire out of his mouth; *
hot burning coals blazed forth from him.
He parted the heavens and came down *
with a storm cloud under his feet.
He mounted on cherubim and flew; *
he swooped on the wings of the wind.
He wrapped darkness about him; *
he made dark waters and thick clouds his pavilion.
From the brightness of his presence, through the clouds, *
burst hailstones and coals of fire.
The LORD thundered out of heaven; *
the Most High uttered his voice.
He loosed his arrows and scattered them; *
he hurled thunderbolts and routed them.
The beds of the seas were uncovered,
and the foundations of the world laid bare, *
at your battle cry, O LORD,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
He reached down from on high and grasped me; *
he drew me out of great waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemies
and from those who hated me; *
for they were too mighty for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster; *
but the LORD was my support.
He brought me out into an open place; *
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
Lord God, our stronghold and our salvation, give us such strength of love that we may reach out to our neighbor without counting the cost, for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
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 1 Kings 3:16-28; Acts 27:27-44.
Mark 14:12-26
On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.” So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.
When it was evening, he came with the twelve. And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, “Surely, not I?” He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.”
While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
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:
Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord. *
Thanks be to God!