THE Fourth SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Sunday, December 20 at 9:30 am | Morning Prayer, Rite I
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The order of this service can also be found in The Book of Common Prayer, page 42. Spoken responses are in bold typeface.
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Welcome & Greeting
Opening Sentence
The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. Isaiah 40:5
Confession of Sin
Officiant
Dearly beloved, we have come together in the presence of Almighty God our heavenly Father, to render thanks for the great benefits that we have received at his hands, to set forth his most worthy praise, to hear his holy Word, and to ask, for ourselves and on behalf of others, those things that are necessary for our life and our salvation. And so that we may prepare ourselves in heart and mind to worship him, let us kneel in silence, and with penitent and obedient hearts confess our sins, that we may obtain forgiveness by his infinite goodness and mercy.
Silence is kept.
Officiant and People
Almighty and most merciful Father,
we have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep,
we have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts,
we have offended against thy holy laws,
we have left undone those things which we ought to have done,
and we have done those things which we ought not to have done.
But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
spare thou those who confess their faults,
restore thou those who are penitent,
according to thy promises declared unto mankind
in Christ Jesus our Lord;
and grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake,
that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life,
to the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.
The Priest stands and says
The Almighty and merciful Lord grant you ✠ absolution and remission of all your sins, true repentance, amendment of life, and the grace and consolation of his Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Invitatory and Psalter
Officiant ✠ O Lord, open thou our lips.
People And our mouth shall show forth thy praise.
Officiant Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
People As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Officiant Praise ye the Lord.
People The Lord’s Name be praised.
Antiphon
Officiant Our King and Savior draweth nigh:
People O come, let us adore him.
Psalm 100 Jubilate Deo
Officiant and People
Be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands; *
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.
Be ye sure that the Lord he is God;
it is he that hath made us and not we ourselves; *
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving
and into his courts with praise; *
be thankful unto him and speak good of his Name.
For the Lord is gracious;
his mercy is everlasting; *
and his truth endureth from generation to generation.
Antiphon
Officiant Our King and Savior draweth nigh:
People O come, let us adore him.
Then follows the psalm or psalms appointed.
Psalm 24 Domini est terra
Officiant and People
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and all that therein is; *
the compass of the world, and they that dwell therein.
2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, *
and stablished it upon the floods.
3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? *
or who shall rise up in his holy place?
4 Even he that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; *
and that hath not lift up his mind unto vanity, nor sworn to deceive his neighbour.
5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, *
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is the generation of them that seek him; *
even of them that seek thy face, O God of Jacob.
7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; *
and the King of glory shall come in.
8 Who is this King of glory? *
It is the Lord strong and mighty, even the Lord mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; *
and the King of glory shall come in.
10 Who is this King of glory? *
Even the Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Psalm 29 Afferte Domino
Officiant and People
1 Ascribe unto the Lord, O ye mighty, *
ascribe unto the Lord worship and strength.
2 Ascribe unto the Lord the honour due unto his Name; *
worship the Lord with holy worship.
3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; *
it is the glorious God that maketh the thunder.
4 It is the Lord that ruleth the sea; the voice of the Lord is mighty in operation; *
the voice of the Lord is a glorious voice.
5 The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedar-trees; *
yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; *
Lebanon also, and Sirion, like a young unicorn.
7 The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire; the voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; *
yea, the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
8 The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to bring forth young, and strippeth bare the forests: *
in his temple doth every thing speak of his honour.
9 The Lord sitteth above the water-flood, *
and the Lord remaineth a King for ever.
10 The Lord shall give strength unto his people; *
the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
The Lesson
A Lesson from the Book of Isaiah: 42:1-12
Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching. Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them. Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth! Let the sea roar and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants. Let the desert and its towns lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the tops of the mountains. Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare his praise in the coastlands.
Lector Here endeth the Lesson.
Canticle: The Song of Mary Magnificat
Officiant and People
My soul doth magnify the Lord, *
and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.
For he hath regarded *
the lowliness of his handmaiden.
For behold from henceforth *
all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath magnified me, *
and holy is his Name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him *
throughout all generations.
He hath showed strength with his arm; *
he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat, *
and hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel, *
as he promised to our forefathers,
Abraham and his seed for ever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Ghost:
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, *
world without end. Amen.
The Apostles’ Creed
Officiant and People
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
✠ and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Prayers
Officiant The Lord be with you.
People And with thy spirit.
Officiant Let us pray.
Officiant and People
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 trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
V. O Lord, save thy people and bless thine heritage;
R. Govern them and lift them up for ever.
V. Day by day we magnify thee;
R. And we worship thy Name ever, world without end.
V. Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin;
R. O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.
V. O Lord, let thy mercy be upon us;
R. As our trust is in thee.
V. O Lord, in thee have I trusted;
R. Let me never be confounded.
A Collect for Grace
O Lord, our heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God, who hast safely brought us to the beginning of this day: Defend us in the same with thy mighty power; and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all our doings, being ordered by thy governance, may be righteous in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Collect for Sundays
O God, who makest us glad with the weekly remembrance of the glorious resurrection of thy Son our Lord: Grant us this day such blessing through our worship of thee, that the days to come may be spent in thy favor; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Prayer for Mission
Lord Jesus Christ, who didst stretch out thine arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of thy saving embrace: so clothe us in thy Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know thee to the knowledge and love of thee; for the honor of thy Name. Amen.
Silence.
The People may offer additional intercessions and thanksgivings at this time.
A Prayer of St. Chrysostom
Almighty God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication unto thee, and hast promised through thy well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name thou wilt be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen.
Officiant Let us bless the Lord.
People Thanks be to God.
The Office concludes as follows
May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Romans 15:3
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Proceed to the online bulletin for The Holy Eucharist on the 4th Sunday of Advent