Wednesday, December 27, 2023

Dec 27

Opening Prayer:

O Lord, God of my salvation, every day I call upon you, in the morning my prayer comes before you. Incline your ear to my cry! For my soul is full of troubles, and my strength fails. Renew me each morning with your steadfast love, that I may rejoice and be glad all my days.

Confession of Sin & Prayer for Grace

Holy God: Dust I am, and to dust I shall return. I am like a flower of the field, that appears for a little while and then vanishes. But I confess my tendency to live days, weeks, even months at a time with little thought for my mortality, and little consideration for eternity. Forgive my presumption and self-reliance. Humble me to the dust, that I might be ever-mindful of my frailty, and freshly awed by your eternal, infinite beauty. Through Christ, our Lord: Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Proverbs 13

The Lord’s Prayer

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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

New Testament Reading: Luke 2:22-40

Prayer of Adoration:

Lord Jesus: like your servant Simeon, I exalt you as creation’s long-awaited salvation. You are the light of God revealed; you are the glory of your people Israel. Having seen you and experienced your salvation, I thank you that I now have peace with you.

Psalm Reading: Psalm 102

Prayer of Consecration

Of old, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth. Long before you made us, you planned your entrance into our world, to restore and return us to yourself. You knew us and called us to be your own. This time of year is loaded with contradictions, for we celebrate your birth with joy, even as our lives are marked by the emergence of old difficulties and disappointments. This psalm gives voice to our feelings of isolation and sorrow, with its images of birds on lonely rooftops and hearts withered like dry grass. Even as you help us express our darker feelings, you’re reaching for us with gentle compassion. You’re enthroned forever, and you arise to have pity on Zion. You promise that your beloved ones will rest secure… so I rest in that promise today, and I look for good things from your hand.

BENEDICTION

And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and always, until the day of Christ's return.