❖ Praise

Glory be to God the Father;

Glory be to God the Son;

Glory be to God the Spirit, ever three and ever one:

As it was in the beginning, now and evermore shall be.

[Gloria Patri]

❖ Athanasian Creed, Part 1

Whoever desires to be saved should above all hold to the catholic faith. Anyone who does not keep it whole and unbroken will doubtless perish eternally. Now this is the catholic faith:

that we worship one God in Trinity and the Trinity in unity, neither confounding their persons nor dividing the essence.

For the person of the Father is a distinct person,

the person of the Son is another,

and that of the Holy Spirit still another.

But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.

Such as the Father is, such is the Son and such is the Holy Spirit.

The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, the Holy Spirit is uncreated.

The Father is immeasurable, the Son is immeasurable, the Holy Spirit is immeasurable.

The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, the Holy Spirit is eternal.

And yet there are not three eternal beings; there is but one eternal being.

So too there are not three uncreated or immeasurable beings;

there is but one uncreated and immeasurable being.

Similarly, the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, the Holy Spirit is almighty.

Yet there are not three almighty beings; there is but one almighty being.

Thus, the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God.

Yet there are not three gods; there is but one God.

Thus, the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord.

Yet there are not three lords; there is but one Lord.

Just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually as both God and Lord,

so catholic religion forbids us to say that there are three gods or lords.

❖ Assurance of Pardon

He will not always chide,

nor will he keep his anger forever.

He does not deal with us according to our sins,

nor repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,

so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

As a father shows compassion to his children,

so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

For he knows our frame;

he remembers that we are dust.

[Psalm 103:9–14]

❖ Confession of Sin

Lord God, eternal and Almighty Father, we confess and acknowledge without pretense before your holy Majesty, that we are poor sinners, conceived and born in iniquity and corruption; prone to do what is evil, incapable of any good; and that in our depravity, we endlessly transgress your holy commandments. And so, in your just judgment, we deserve ruin and damnation. But Lord, we are displeased with ourselves for having offended you, and we condemn ourselves and our vices with true repentance, longing for your grace to relieve our distress. May you, therefore, have mercy upon us, most gentle and merciful God and Father, in the name of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. And as you blot out our vices and blemishes, extend and increase the graces of your Holy Spirit to us day by day, so that as we acknowledge our unrighteousness with all our heart, we might feel the sorrow that gives birth to true penitence, which as we mortify our sins may produce fruits of righteousness and innocence pleasing to you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

[John Calvin]

❖ Reading of the Law

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they shall receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

[Matthew 5:3–10]

❖ Adoration

Almighty God, you are the foundation and fountain of all being and all beauty, from you all is perfectly derived, upon you all is most absolutely and perfectly dependent; from you and through you and to you is all being and all perfection; your being and beauty is as it were the sum and comprehension of all existence and excellence, much more than the sun is the fountain and summary comprehension of all light and brightness of the day—to you, O God, be all praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength forever and ever. Amen.

[Jonathan Edwards]

❖ Call to Worship

O, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

[Romans 11:33–36]

❖ Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name;

your kingdom come;

your 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 yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.

Amen.

❖ Prayer of Intercession

Almighty Lord, our God, whose eyes are in every place beholding the evil and the good, and who sees not only our outward actions, but all our most secret thoughts—we pray you to maintain in us this day a constant sense of your presence, and to preserve us from sinning against you. We are exposed to dangers by night and by day; our lives are in your hands, and unto you do we look for preservation from every evil. O Lord, teach us to be ever mindful of you. When we go out and come in, and when we are alone and in company, may we bear in mind that you are continually with us, and that you take account of all we think, and speak, and do. Amen.

[Henry Thornton]

❖ Scripture Reading

• Genesis 43

• Mark 13

• Job 9

• Romans 13

❖ Prayer for Illumination

Blessed Lord, you have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning—grant us that we may in such a way hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them; that by patience and comfort of your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

[Book of Common Prayer]

❖ Catechism

Westminster Shorter Catechism

Question 8

❖ Praise

Glory be to God the Father;

Glory be to God the Son;

Glory be to God the Spirit, ever three and ever one:

As it was in the beginning, now and evermore shall be.

[Gloria Patri]

❖ Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty,

Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God;

begotten of the Father before all worlds;

God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God;

begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father;

by whom all things were made.

Who, for us men and for our salvation,

came down from heaven

and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary,

and was made man;

and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered and was buried;

and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures;

and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father;

and he shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead;

whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life;

who proceeds from the Father and the Son;

who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified;

who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.

I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins;

and I look for the resurrection of the dead,

and the life of the world to come.

Amen.

❖ Assurance of Pardon

In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.

[Ephesians 1:4–7]

❖ Confession of Sin

O Lord, as long as I am apart from you, I am self-satisfied, because I have no standard by which to measure my low stature. But when I come near to you, there for the first time I see myself. In your light I behold my darkness. In your purity I behold my corruption. My very confession of sin is the fruit of holiness. Oh! Divine Man, let me gaze on you more and more until, in the vision of your brightness, I loathe the sight of my impurity; until, in the blaze of that glory which human eye has not seen, I fall prostrate, blinded, broken, to rise again a new man in you. Amen.

[George Matheson]

❖ Reading of the Law

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

You shall teach them diligently to your children,

and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,

and when you walk by the way,

and when you lie down,

and when you rise.

You shall bind them as a sign on your hand,

and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

[Deuteronomy 6:4–9]