Wednesday Morning Prayer – 03 January 2024

Wednesday Morning Prayer – 03 January 2024

Readings: Psalm 9; Isaiah 65.1-16; Ephesians 2.11-22.

 

Led by Felicity Scott, Liturgical Assistant at St John the Baptist Anglican Church Bulimba, QLD, Australia.

The full prayer transcript is available by going to this episode on the Podcast website.

https://dailyprayeranglicanprayerbookforaustralia.podbean.com

Welcome to Wednesday Morning prayer from the Anglican ‘A prayer book for Australia’.

We proclaim the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ:

GOD in his infinite mercy, forgives all sins, and through our baptism in the name of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, we are given a rebirth into new life, free from the burden of all sin. ALLELUIA

Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Blessed be God forever.

Let us Pray.

 

1

Rejoice always pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks;

For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus. 

  

 

Glory to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit: 

as in the beginning, so now, and for ever. Amen. 

  

 

2 The Opening Canticle, A Song of God’s Grace

Blessed are you,

 the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ:

For you have blessed us in Christ Jesus

with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 

You chose us to be yours in Christ,

before the foundation of the world:

That we should be holy and blameless before you. 

In love you destined us to be your children,

through Jesus Christ:

according to the purpose of your will, 

to the praise of your glorious grace:

which you freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1.3-6  

 

3 The Opening Prayer

The night has now passed and the day lies open before us; 

let us pray with one heart and mind. 

  

Silence may be kept.

As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, 
so may the light of your presence, O God, 
set our hearts on fire with love for you; 
now and for ever. 

Amen.

  

4 The Psalms as appointed. A pause is observed after each.

Psalm 9

¹ I will give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart:

I will tell of all the wonders you have done.

² I will rejoice and be glad in you:

I will make my songs to your name, O Most High.

³ For my enemies are driven back:

they stumble and perish at your presence.

⁴ You have maintained my cause and my right:

you sat enthroned as a righteous judge.

⁵ You rebuked the heathen nations,

you brought the wicked to destruction:

you blotted out their name for ever and ever.

⁶ The strongholds of the enemy are made a perpetual desolation:

you plucked up their cities, and even their memory has perished.

⁷ The Lord confounds them; but the Lord endures

for ever:

he has set up his throne for judgement.

⁸ He shall judge the world with righteousness:

and deal true justice to the peoples.

⁹ The Lord is a strong tower to those that are oppressed:

he is a tower of strength in time of need.

¹⁰ All who heed your name will trust in you:

for you have never forsaken those that seek you.

¹¹ O sing praises to the Lord who dwells in Zion:

tell among the peoples what great things he has done.

¹² For he that avenges blood has remembered the poor:

he has not forgotten their cry.

¹³ The Lord has been merciful toward me,

he saw what I suffered from my foes:

he raised me up again from the gates of death,

¹⁴ That I might tell all your praises in the gates of Zion:

that I might rejoice in your deliverance.

¹⁵ The nations have sunk into the pit they dug for others:

in the very snare they laid is their foot taken;

¹⁶ The Lord has declared himself and upheld the right:

the wicked are trapped in the work of their own hands.

¹⁷ The wicked shall be given over to death:

and all the nations that forget God.

¹⁸ For the needy shall not always be forgotten:

nor shall the hope of the poor perish for ever.

¹⁹ Arise, Lord, let no human power prevail:

let the nations be judged before you.

²⁰ Put them in fear, O Lord:

and let the nations know they are but human.

 

5 At the end of the (last) pause there may follow

We consecrate this day to your service, O Lord; may all our thoughts, words, and actions be well-pleasing to you and serve the good of our brothers and sisters; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 

Amen.

 

6 One or two Readings from the Bible as appointed.

 

The 1st Reading is from

Isaiah 65.1-16

¹ I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask,
     to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am’,
     to a nation that did not call on my name. 
² I held out my hands all day long
     to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way that is not good,
     following their own devices; 
³ a people who provoke me
     to my face continually,
sacrificing in gardens
     and offering incense on bricks; 
⁴ who sit inside tombs,
     and spend the night in secret places;
who eat swine’s flesh,
     with broth of abominable things in their vessels; 
⁵ who say, ‘Keep to yourself,
     do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.’
These are a smoke in my nostrils,
     a fire that burns all day long. 
⁶ See, it is written before me:
     I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will indeed repay into their laps 
⁷ their iniquities and their ancestors’ iniquities together,

says the Lord ;
because they offered incense on the mountains
     and reviled me on the hills,
I will measure into their laps
     full payment for their actions. 
⁸ Thus says the Lord :
As the wine is found in the cluster,
     and they say, ‘Do not destroy it,
     for there is a blessing in it’,
so I will do for my servants’ sake,
     and not destroy them all. 
⁹ I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
     and from Judah inheritors of my mountains;
my chosen shall inherit it,
     and my servants shall settle there. 
¹⁰ Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks,
     and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
     for my people who have sought me. 
¹¹ But you who forsake the Lord ,
     who forget my holy mountain,
who set a table for Fortune
     and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny, 
¹² I will destine you to the sword,
     and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter;
because, when I called, you did not answer,
     when I spoke, you did not listen,
but you did what was evil in my sight,
     and chose what I did not delight in. 
¹³ Therefore thus says the Lord God :
My servants shall eat,
     but you shall be hungry;
my servants shall drink,
     but you shall be thirsty;
my servants shall rejoice,
     but you shall be put to shame; 
¹⁴ my servants shall sing for gladness of heart,
     but you shall cry out for pain of heart,
     and shall wail for anguish of spirit. 
¹⁵ You shall leave your name to my chosen to use as a curse,
     and the Lord God will put you to death;
     but to his servants he will give a different name. 
¹⁶ Then whoever invokes a blessing in the land
     shall bless by the God of faithfulness,
and whoever takes an oath in the land
     shall swear by the God of faithfulness;
because the former troubles are forgotten
     and are hidden from my sight. 

2nd Reading

Ephesians 2.11-22

¹¹ So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by those who are called ‘the circumcision’—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands— ¹² remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. ¹⁵ He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, so that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. ¹⁷ So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; ¹⁸ for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, ²⁰ built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; ²² in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling-place for God.

 

 

The readings may be followed by a period of silence for reflection, a hymn or

May your word live in us 

and bear much fruit to your glory.

 

 

7 The Canticle,

We praise you O God:

we claim you as Lord.

All creation worships you:

The Father everlasting.

To you all angels, all the powers of heaven:

The cherubim and serafim sing in endless praise:

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of power and might:

Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

The glorious company of apostles praise you:

The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.

The white robed army of martyrs praise you:

Throughout the world the holy church acclaims you;

Father of majesty unbounded:

Your true and only son, worthy of all praise,

the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.

You, Christ, are the king of glory,

the eternal son of the father.

When you took our flesh to set us free:

You humbly chose the virgin's womb.

You overcame the sting of death:

And opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.

You are seated at God's right hand in glory:

We believe that you will come to be our judge.

Come then, Lord, and help your people,

bought with the price of your own blood:

And bring us with your Saints to glory everlasting.

 

8 The Apostles’ Creed may be said.

I believe in God, the Father almighty, 
creator of heaven and earth. 
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, 
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, 
born of the virgin Mary, 
suffered under Pontius Pilate, 
was crucified, died, and was buried; 
he descended to the dead. 
On the third day he rose from the dead; 
he ascended into heaven, 
and is seated at the right hand of the Father; 
from there he will come to judge 
the living and the dead. 
I believe in the Holy Spirit, 
the holy catholic Church, 
the communion of saints, 
the forgiveness of sins, 
the resurrection of the body, 

and the life everlasting. Amen. 

  

 

9 The Prayers

Lord have mercy. 

Christ have mercy. 

Lord have mercy. 

  

 

10 The Lord’s Prayer and the Collect of the Day

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 for ever. Amen. 

 

 

Prayer of the Week

Almighty God,

you have shed upon us the light of your incarnate Word:

may this light, kindled in our hearts,

shine forth in our lives;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever. Amen.

 

11 Intercessions and Thanksgivings may be made according to local custom and need.

Let us pray

Loving God We give you thanks, that through your son Jesus Christ, you have shown us the way to live in your righteousness. We ask you to give us strength to remain in your presence in all we do.

God of grace; Hear our prayer.

 

Saviour God, we thank you for the faithfully departed and your servants in every age. We ask that our ancestors and all your saints may be brought to a joyful resurrection and the fulfilment of your kingdom.

God of grace; Hear our prayer.

 

Almighty God, we ask for your mercy to be given to the country of Japan experiencing earthquakes and Australia experiencing floods and heat waves, and all countries that are experiencing natural disasters at this time.

We ask for your intervention to bring calm to their weather systems and so calm their hearts and minds.

God of grace. Hear our Prayer.

 

Loving God, we ask your blessing for those listed on the Anglican cycle of prayer:

• The Diocese of Brandon – The Anglican Church of Canada
• The Diocese of Armidale:
• The Lakes Anglican Church:
• Anglicare SQ Community Aged & Disability, West (St George)
• Cannon Hill Anglican College, Cannon Hill
• All Parishes seeking new incumbents.
• All Anglican schools seeking new chaplains.
• All Prison ministry chaplaincy teams

God of Grace; Hear our prayer.

 

 

12 The Morning Collect

Eternal God and Father, 

by whose power we are created 

and by whose love we are redeemed: 

guide and strengthen us by your Spirit, 

that we may give ourselves to your service, 

and live this day in love to one another and to you; 

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

  

 

13

The Lord be with you.

And also with you. 

Let us praise the Lord. 

Thanks be to God. 

 

May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant us to live in such harmony with one another in accord with Christ Jesus, that we may with one voice glorify our God and Father. 

Amen.

Romans 15.5-6