Friday Morning – 8th December 2023
Friday Morning Prayer 8th December 2023 – Readings. Psalm 89. 1-18; Isaiah 42. 1 – 17; 1 Thessalonians 4. 1-12
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 Friday 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
Through Christ let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God,
the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
Hebrews 13.15
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
We have complete freedom:
to go into the most holy place by means of the death of Jesus.
He opened for us a new way, a living way:
through the curtain, through his own body.
Since we have a great high priest
set over the household of God:
let us draw near with a sincere heart and a sure faith,
With hearts that have been made clean
from a guilty conscience:
and bodies washed with pure water.
Hebrews 10.19–22
3 The Opening Prayer
The night has 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 89.1-18
1 Lord, I will sing for ever of your loving-kindnesses:
my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness
throughout all generations.
2 I have said of your loving-kindness
that it is built for ever:
you have established your faithfulness in the heavens.
3 The Lord said ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen:
I have sworn an oath to my servant David.
4 ‘I will establish your line for ever:
and build up your throne for all generations.’
5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord:
and let your faithfulness be sung
in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who amidst the clouds can be compared to the Lord:
or who is like the Lord amongst the gods?
7 —A God to be feared in the council of the holy ones:
great and terrible above all that are around him.
8 O Lord God of hosts, who is like you?:
your power and your faithfulness are all about you.
9 You rule the raging of the sea:
when its waves surge, you still them.
10 You crushed Rahab like a carcase:
you scattered your enemies by your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are yours, so also is the earth:
you founded the world and all that is in it.
12 You created the north and the south:
Tabor and Mount Hermon shall sing of your name.
13 Mighty is your arm:
strong is your hand,
and your right hand is lifted high.
14 Righteousness and justice
are the foundation of your throne:
loving-kindness and faithfulness attend your presence.
15 Happy the people who know the triumphal shout:
who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance.
16 They rejoice all the day long because of your name:
because of your righteousness they are exalted.
17 For you are their glory and their strength:
and our heads are uplifted by your favour.
18 Our king belongs to the Lord:
5 At the end of the (last) pause there may follow
Holy God, through your beloved Son you reconciled all things to yourself, making peace by the blood of his cross: fill us and those for whom we pray with your peace and joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
6 One or two Readings from the Bible as appointed.
1st Reading
Isaiah 42.1–17
1 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.
2 He will not cry or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
3 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not grow faint or be crushed
until he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
5 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:
6 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,
7 to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
8 I am the Lord , that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to idols.
9 See, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth,
I tell you of them.
10 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.
11 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.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord ,
and declare his praise in the coastlands.
13 The Lord goes forth like a soldier,
like a warrior he stirs up his fury;
he cries out, he shouts aloud,
he shows himself mighty against his foes.
14 For a long time I have held my peace,
I have kept still and restrained myself;
now I will cry out like a woman in labour,
I will gasp and pant.
15 I will lay waste mountains and hills,
and dry up all their herbage;
I will turn the rivers into islands,
and dry up the pools.
16 I will lead the blind
by a road they do not know,
by paths they have not known
I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I will do,
and I will not forsake them.
17 They shall be turned back and utterly put to shame—
those who trust in carved images,
who say to cast images,
‘You are our gods.’
2nd Reading
1 Thessalonians 4.1–12
1 Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; 4 that each one of you knows how to control your own body in holiness and honour, 5 not with lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one wrongs or exploits a brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you. 9 Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anyone write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another; 10 and indeed you do love all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, beloved, to do so more and more, 11 to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we directed you, 12 so that you may behave properly towards outsiders and be dependent on no one.
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, Saviour of the World
Jesus, Saviour of the world,
come to us in your mercy:
we look to you to save and help us.
By your cross and your life laid down,
you set your people free:
we look to you to save and help us.
When they were ready to perish,
you saved your disciples:
we look to you to come to our help.
In the greatness of your mercy,
loose us from our chains:
forgive the sins of all your people.
Make yourself known as our saviour
and mighty deliverer:
save and help us that we may praise you.
Come now and dwell with us, Lord Christ Jesus:
hear our prayer and be with us always.
And when you come in your glory:
make us to be one with you
and to share the life of your kingdom.
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.
The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Loving God,
who chose the blessed virgin Mary
to be the mother of your incarnate Son:
grant that we, who are redeemed by his blood,
may share with her in the glory of your eternal kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Richard Baxter, pastor and spiritual writer (d. 1691) W
[A Pastor]
Heavenly Father,
loving shepherd of your people,
we thank you for your servant N,
who was faithful in the care and nurture of your flock;
and we pray that we may follow the good of his example
and grow into the fullness of the stature
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Prayer of the Week
Almighty God,
give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness
and put on the armour of light,
now in the time of this mortal life
in which your Son
Jesus Christ came among us in great humility,
that on the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
10 Intercessions and Thanksgivings may be made according to local custom and need.
God of all, we Thank you God of all loveliness,
For the beauty of earth and sky and sea;
For the richness of mountains, deserts and rivers;
For the songs of birds and the beauty of flowers.
We praise you for these good gifts,
and pray that we may guard our heritage to honour and glory your name.
God of Grace; Hear our prayer
Merciful God, we ask for your mercy to be given to all countries experiencing war. We ask for your intervention, to impart peace as an initiative in the minds of all those at war across the world. We ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.
God of grace; Hear our prayer.
Blessed God, we ask your blessing for those listed on the Anglican cycle of prayer:
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.
Peace be to us all, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Ephesians 6.23