Invocation
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Pause for reflection
Good morning, heavenly Father.
We worship you, the creator and sustainer of the universe.
Good morning, Lord Jesus.
We worship you, Saviour and Lord of the world.
Good morning, Holy Spirit.
We worship you, sanctifier of the people of God.
Opening sentences
One thing I have asked of the Lord,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life;
to behold the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
Who is it that you seek?
We seek the Lord our God.
Do you seek him with all your heart?
Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Do you seek him with all your soul?
Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Do you seek him with all your mind?
Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Do you seek him with all your strength?
Amen. Christ, have mercy.
Declaration of faith
To whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life,
and we have believed and have come to know
that you are the Holy One of God.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ,
King of endless glory.
Hebrew Bible reading
Exodus 1:8-2:10
8 A new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. 9 He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and powerful than we are. 10 Come, let’s deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply further, and when war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.” 11 So the Egyptians assigned taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. 13 They worked the Israelites ruthlessly 14 and made their lives bitter with difficult labor in brick and mortar and in all kinds of fieldwork. They ruthlessly imposed all this work on them.
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives—the first, whose name was Shiphrah, and the second, whose name was Puah— 16 “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them as they deliver. If the child is a son, kill him, but if it’s a daughter, she may live.” 17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live. 18 So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this and let the boys live?”
19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them.”
20 So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very numerous. 21 Since the midwives feared God, he gave them families.22 Pharaoh then commanded all his people, “You must throw every son born to the Hebrews into the Nile, but let every daughter live.”
2 Now a man from the family of Levi married a Levite woman. 2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son; when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with asphalt and pitch. She placed the child in it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. 4 Then his sister stood at a distance in order to see what would happen to him.
5 Pharaoh’s daughter went down to bathe at the Nile while her servant girls walked along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds, sent her slave girl, took it, 6 opened it, and saw him, the child—and there he was, a little boy, crying. She felt sorry for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew boys.”
7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Should I go and call a Hebrew woman who is nursing to nurse the boy for you?”
8 “Go,” Pharaoh’s daughter told her. So the girl went and called the boy’s mother. 9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages.” So the woman took the boy and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”
New Testament Reading
Romans 12:1-8
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
3 For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. 4 Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. 6 According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith; 7 if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching; 8 if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.
Pause for reflection
Prayer of Confession
Faithful God, this life is filled with more than enough trouble and tears
to dominate my vision and distract me from seeing you.
When captured by anxiety, I turn defensive and hostile,
of no use to you or others.
Take the blinders of fear away and turn my eyes to heaven,
to see you and be confident of your goodness,
so that I can once again serve you here on earth. Amen.
– Heidelberg Catechism
Prayers of Intercession
Today, we are praying for Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger.
We are thankful for:
- the heritage of ancient trade routes, rich oral traditions and nomadic practices of people in the lands these countries now occupy
- humanitarian work to improve food security and livelihoods, especially for women
- pro-active efforts to preserve the environment in these desert lands
- welcome and provision for those who often must flee across borders.
We pray for:
- those impoverished who lack basic needs and rights, that these will be met
- desperate children and others who turn to crime or begging or become enslaved
- effective response to the frequent droughts and hunger in this area
- more stable political rule in these countries to stem violence and provide for all.
In our own place in the world, we pray for:
- all whose decisions involve questions of justice, mercy and peace
- our federal, state and local politicians
- all the churches of our city and those who lead them
- our local community, businesses, and schools
- our congregation and its ministries
- opportunities for meaningful worship and fellowship
- opportunities for practicing the way of Jesus
- opportunities for outreach and service to others
- the needs of our families and friends
- our personal needs
Pause for reflection
Classic Prayer
O Lord our God, give me by your Holy Spirit,
a willing heart and a ready hand to use all your gifts
to your praise and glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
– Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556)
Contemporary Prayer
As a part of nature’s wondrous cycle
Of new birth, growth, fruitfulness and death
We rejoice in the creation of new life,
For parenthood, the passing on of knowledge,
For understanding and the wisdom of years.
We are grateful for those who have gone before
Passing on to us our spiritual heritage.
May our lives blossom as the apple tree in Spring
May we become fruitful in thought and deed
And may the seed of love that falls to the ground
Linger beyond our time on this earth.
– John Birch (Faith & Worship)
The Lord’s Prayer
Matthew 6:9-13
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven 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.
Pause for reflection
Sending Prayer
Heavenly Father, we pray
that we may live this day in your presence
and please you more and more.
Lord Jesus, we pray that this day
we may take up our cross and follow you.
Holy Spirit, we pray that this day
you will fill us with yourself
and cause your fruit to ripen in our lives:
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity,
three persons in one God,
have mercy upon us. Amen.
Canticle
Christ, as a light,
illumine and guide me.
Christ, as a shield,
overshadow me.
Christ under me;
Christ over me;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Be in the heart of each to whom I speak;
in the mouth of each who speaks unto me.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Christ as a light;
Christ as a shield;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.
Blessing
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you,
wherever he may send you.
May he guide you through the wilderness,
protect you through the storm.
May he bring you home rejoicing
at the wonders he has shown you.
May he bring you home rejoicing
once again into our doors.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
All Told 