A Service of Prayer at Midday
March 21, 2024
Lent Six
CALL TO WORSHIP
It is good Lord to be in your holy house.
We come with joy.
We stand secure within.
Here we find peace and security and security
Because of your saving hand and strong right arm.
Always Lord we seek your goodness.
INVOCATION AND DIALOGUE
Behold, now is the acceptable time;
Now is the day of salvation.
Turn us again, O God of our salvation.
That the light of your face may shine on us.
May your justice shine like the sun;
And may the poor be lifted up.
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.
Holy and gracious God,
I confess that I have sinned against you this day.
Some of my sin I know – the thoughts and words and deeds
of which I am ashamed – but some is known only to you.
In the name of Jesus Christ I ask forgiveness.
Deliver and restore me, that I may rest in peace.
By the mercy of God we are united with Jesus Christ, in whom we are forgiven +. We rest now during this time of prayer that we may continue to serve in the peace of Christ throughout the day. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Everlasting God, in your endless love for the human race you sent our Lord Jesus Christ to take on our nature and to suffer death on the cross. In your mercy enable us to share in his obedience to your will and in the glorious victory of his resurrection, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
PSALM 31:1, 9-16, 19, 23-24
1In you, O LORD, I seek refuge;
do not let me ever be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me.
9Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my eye wastes away from grief,
my soul and body also.
10For my life is spent with sorrow,
and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my misery,
and my bones waste away.
11I am the scorn of all my adversaries,
a horror to my neighbors,
an object of dread to my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street flee from me.
12I have passed out of mind like one who is dead;
I have become like a broken vessel.
13For I hear the whispering of many —
terror all around! —
as they scheme together against me,
as they plot to take my life.
14But I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God."
15My times are in your hand;
deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.
16Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your steadfast love.
19O how abundant is your goodness
that you have laid up for those who fear you,
and accomplished for those who take refuge in you,
in the sight of everyone!
23Love the LORD, all you his saints.
The LORD preserves the faithful,
but abundantly repays the one who acts haughtily.
24Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the LORD.
PSALM 32:1-2, 5-7
1Blessed are those whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2Blessed are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
5Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,"
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
6Therefore let all who are faithful
offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
shall not reach them.
7You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.
Gloria Patri
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be. Amen.
READING: Isaiah 50:4-9a
4The Lord GOD has given me
the tongue of a teacher,
that I may know how to sustain
the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens —
wakens my ear
to listen as those who are taught.
5The Lord GOD has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious,
I did not turn backward.
6I gave my back to those who struck me,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face
from insult and spitting.
7The Lord GOD helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
8he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
Let them confront me.
9It is the Lord GOD who helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
All of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.
REFLECTION
DIALOGUE
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
Into your hands I commend my spirit.
You have redeemed me, O Lord, God of truth.
Into your hands I commend my spirit.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Into your hands I commend my spirit.
A prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi
Lord make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine master grant that I may
Not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
To be understood, as to understand.
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
And it is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Make me an instrument of your peace.
Amen.
PRAYERS
In peace let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the peace from above and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the church of God and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For this holy hours, and for all who offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
Help, save, comfort and defend us gracious Lord.
Amen.
Gathered together across the miles, we as a community of faith offer our prayers this evening
for the peace of the whole world…
for this holy assembly and all the faithful everywhere who worship and pray…
for God’s good creation …
for those who are suffering or grieving…
for those in need of deliverance from hardship and oppression…
Gracious God, grant peace among the nations. War and conflicts abound in the world you have created and we are particularly mindful this day of the conflict and danger in Ukraine and Israel and Gaza and the Red Sea. Stir the hearts and minds and wills of all people and leaders that peaceful solutions may be found and further violence averted. Grow in all people and nations an awareness of and a care for the common good above individual desires, a common good that is so strong that it cannot be torn by the evils of war. Help us all to be people who seek peace and pursue. We trust you O Lord, because of your love for us poured out in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus who is our peace. Amen.
Magnificat
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my savior,
for you, Lord, have looked with favor on your lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
you, the Almighty have done great things for me
and holy is your name.
You have mercy on those who fear you,
from generation to generation.
You have shown strength with your arm
and scattered the proud in their conceit,
casting down the mighty from their thrones
and lifting up the lowly.
You have filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.
You have come to the aid of your servant Israel,
to remember the promise of mercy,
the promise made to our forebears,
to Abraham and his children forever.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
Lord’s Prayer
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 forever. Amen.
BENEDICTION
Portions from Sundays&Seasons.com under license # SAS016761 and from the Book of Common Prayer, public domain.
