Web - Morning Prayer 3/29/2020

This version of the Morning Prayer is adapted from the Episcopal Book of Prayer and the Ionia Prayerbook.

This is the same text, absent the lectionary reading, I use when I lead Morning Services at a Convention. 

There are references to "reader," "leader," and " people" within the text    this is for when the services are done "in person."   You are invited to read aloud those portions if you wish.
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Fifth Sunday of Lent

(OPENING RESPONSES)

leader: The world belongs to God

all:      The earth and all its people

leader: How good it is, how wonderful,

all:      To live together in unity

leader: Love and faith come together,

all:      Justice and peace join hands

leader: If Christ's disciples keep silent

all:      These stones would shout aloud

leader: Open our lips, O God,

all:      And our mouths shall proclaim your praise

Leader: Holy God, Maker of all

all:      Have mercy on us

Leader: Jesus Christ, Servant of the poor

all:      Have mercy on us

leader: Holy Spirit, Breath of life

all:      Have Mercy on us

leader: Let us in silence confess our faults and admit our frailty

(A BRIEF PERIOD OF SILENCE IS KEPT)

Leader: Before God, with the people of God,

            I confess to my brokenness:

            to the ways I wound my life,

            the lives of others,

            and the life of the world.

ALL:    May God forgive you, Christ renew you,

            and the Spirit enable you to grow in love

Leader: Amen.

All:      Before God, with the people of God,

            we confess to our brokenness:

            to the ways we wound our lives,

            the lives of others,

            and the life of the world

Leader: May God forgive us, Christ Renew us,

            and the Spirit enable us to grow in love.

All:      Amen

(PRAYER FOR GOD'S HELP)

Leader: Move among us, O God; give us life:

All:      Let your people rejoice in you

Leader: Make our hearts clean within us:

All:      Renew us in mind and spirit.

Leader: Give us again the joy of your help:

All:      With your spirit of freedom sustain us.

Leader: And now, as Jesus taught us, we say:

ALL:    Our Father in heaven,

            Hallowed by 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 in the time of trial

            And deliver us from evil,

            For the kingdom, the power

            And the glory are yours,

            Now and for ever. Amen.

(AFFIRMATION)

Leader: With the whole church

All:      We affirm

            That we are made in God's image,

            befriended by Christ, empowered by the Spirit.

Leader: With people everywhere

All:      We affirm

            God's goodness at the heart of humanity,

            Planted more deeply than all that is wrong.

Leader: With all creation

All:      We celebrate

            The miracle and wonder of life;

            The unfolding purposes of God,

            Forever at work in ourselves and the world.

(PSALM: said responsively - by one of the worshipers)

118 Confitemini Domino

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; *
his mercy endures for ever.

2 Let Israel now proclaim, *
"His mercy endures for ever."

3 Let the house of Aaron now proclaim, *
"His mercy endures for ever."

4 Let those who fear the Lord now proclaim, *
"His mercy endures for ever."

5 I called to the Lord in my distress; *
the Lord answered by setting me free.

6 The Lord is at my side, therefore I will not fear; *
what can anyone do to me?

7 The Lord is at my side to help me; *
I will triumph over those who hate me.

8 It is better to rely on the Lord *
than to put any trust in flesh.

9 It is better to rely on the Lord *
than to put any trust in rulers.

10 All the ungodly encompass me; *
in the name of the Lord I will repel them.

11 They hem me in, they hem me in on every side; *
in the name of the Lord I will repel them.

12 They swarm about me like bees;
they blaze like a fire of thorns; *
in the name of the Lord I will repel them.

13 I was pressed so hard that I almost fell, *
but the Lord came to my help.

14 The Lord is my strength and my song, *
and he has become my salvation.

15 There is a sound of exultation and victory *
in the tents of the righteous:

16 "The right hand of the Lord has triumphed! *
the right hand of the Lord is exalted!
the right hand of the Lord has triumphed!"

17 I shall not die, but live, *
and declare the works of the Lord.

18 The Lord has punished me sorely, *
but he did not hand me over to death.
 
19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; *
I will enter them;
I will offer thanks to the Lord.

20 "This is the gate of the Lord; *
he who is righteous may enter."

21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me *
and have become my salvation.

22 The same stone which the builders rejected *
has become the chief cornerstone.

23 This is the Lord's doing, *
and it is marvelous in our eyes.

24 On this day the Lord has acted; *
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
 
25 Hosannah, Lord, hosannah! *
Lord, send us now success.

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; *
we bless you from the house of the Lord.

27 God is the Lord; he has shined upon us; *
form a procession with branches up to the horns of the altar.

28 "You are my God, and I will thank you; *
you are my God, and I will exalt you."

29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; *
his mercy endures for ever.

(Old Testament: Read by one of the worshipers)

Exodus 3:16-4:12

¹⁶Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and say to them, “The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying: I have given heed to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt. ¹⁷I declare that I will bring you up out of the misery of Egypt, to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.” ¹⁸They will listen to your voice; and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; let us now go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.” ¹⁹I know, however, that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand.^{* 20}So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will perform in it; after that he will let you go. ²¹I will bring this people into such favour with the Egyptians that, when you go, you will not go empty-handed; ²²each woman shall ask her neighbour and any woman living in the neighbour’s house for jewellery of silver and of gold, and clothing, and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters; and so you shall plunder the Egyptians.’
4Then Moses answered, ‘But suppose they do not believe me or listen to me, but say, “The Lord did not appear to you.” ’ ²The Lord said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ He said, ‘A staff.’ ³And he said, ‘Throw it on the ground.’ So he threw the staff on the ground, and it became a snake; and Moses drew back from it. ⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Reach out your hand, and seize it by the tail’—so he reached out his hand and grasped it, and it became a staff in his hand— ⁵‘so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.’
6 Again, the Lord said to him, ‘Put your hand inside your cloak.’ He put his hand into his cloak; and when he took it out, his hand was leprous,^* as white as snow. ⁷Then God said, ‘Put your hand back into your cloak’—so he put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored like the rest of his body— ⁸‘If they will not believe you or heed the first sign, they may believe the second sign. ⁹If they will not believe even these two signs or heed you, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.’
10 But Moses said to the Lord, ‘O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.’ ¹¹Then the Lord said to him, ‘Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹²Now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak.’ 

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Epistle 

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Romans 12:1-21

12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters,^* by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual^* worship. ²Do not be conformed to this world,^* but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.^*
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. ⁶We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ⁷ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; ⁸the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; ¹⁰love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. ¹¹Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.^{* 12}Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. ¹³Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;^* do not claim to be wiser than you are. ¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. ¹⁸If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God;^* for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ ²⁰No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God. 

 (READING FOR THE DAY)

Leader: This morning's  reading comes from the Gospel of John.

            Listen now for the Word of God.

John 8:46-59

⁴⁶Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? ⁴⁷Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God.’
48 The Jews answered him, ‘Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?’ ⁴⁹Jesus answered, ‘I do not have a demon; but I honour my Father, and you dishonour me. ⁵⁰Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and he is the judge. ⁵¹Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.’ ⁵²The Jews said to him, ‘Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, “Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.” ⁵³Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?’ ⁵⁴Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, “He is our God”, ⁵⁵though you do not know him. But I know him; if I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word. ⁵⁶Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.’ ⁵⁷Then the Jews said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’^{* 58}Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.’ ⁵⁹So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

(a period of silence is kept)

Leader: For the Word of God in Scripture,

            for the Word of God among us,

            for the Word of God within us

ALL:    Thanks be to God.

(Homily by leader)

(PRAYERS OF GRATITUDE AND CONCERN)

Leader. Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;

All:      Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.

Leader: Create in us clean hearts, O God;

All:      And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.

Leader: For each of our prayers, please add, aloud or silently,

             your own concerns

Leader: Give guidance and care for the needs of the world at large,

            and for the life of Your church

            God, in your mercy,

All:      Hear our prayer

Leader: For the concerns of our cities, towns and nations,

            give guidance to our leaders and care for their people

            God, in Your mercy,

All:      Hear our prayer

Leader: For the concerns and comfort of those of us here, our families,

            for those absent or those who are ill,

            and in remembrance of those who are gone,

            God in your mercy,

All:      Hear our prayer.

Leader: Remember all those the world has forgotten,

            Those without family, or those on the streets,

            Those who are damaged by drugs, alcohol or their own minds.

            Remember the unemployed, the widow, the orphan,

            and the prisoner.

            God in your mercy,

All:      Hear our prayer.

Leader: Living God, may we not fail you,

All:      Nor we fail them

Leader: O God, set Your blessing on us

            as we begin this day together.

            Confirm us in the truth by which we rightly live;

            confront us with the truth from which we wrongly turn.

            We ask not for what we want,

            but for what You know we need,

            as we offer this day and ourselves for You and to You,

            Through Jesus Christ, our Savior.

ALL:    Amen

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

(CLOSING)

Leader: This is the day that God has made;

All:      We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Leader: We will not offer to God

All:      Offerings that cost us nothing.

Leader: Go in peace to love and to serve;

All:      We will seek peace and pursue it.

Leader: In the name of the Trinity of Love,

All:      God in community, holy and One.

            Amen