The Officiant begins the service with one or more of these sentences of Scripture.
Epiphany
I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.
Isaiah 49:6b Confession of Sin Dearly beloved, we have come together in the presence of Almighty God our heavenly Father, to set forth his 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.
or this
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
*A deacon or lay person using the preceding form remains kneeling, and substitutes 'us' for 'you' and 'our' for 'your.'Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen
The Invitatory and Psalter Officiant: Lord, open our lips.
People: And our mouth shall proclaim your praise
Officiant and People: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen
Except in Lent, add Alleluia
Then follows one of the Invitatory Psalm, Venite, or Jubilate
Venite Psalm 95:1-7 Come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving
and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth,
and the heights of the hills are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands have molded the dry land.
Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee,
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!
The following Antiphon may be sung or said with the Invitatory PsalmThe Lord has shown forth his glory: Come let us adore him.
The Lessons
*At the end of the Psalms is sung or said Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: * as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
*After each Lesson the Reader may say Officiant : The Word of the Lord.
Response : Thanks be to God.
Psalm
93
(1) The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength. Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved.
(2) Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.
(3) The floods have lifted up, O LORD, The floods have lifted up their voice; The floods lift up their waves.
(4) The LORD on high is mightier Than the noise of many waters, Than the mighty waves of the sea.
(5) Your testimonies are very sure; Holiness adorns Your house, O LORD, forever.
Psalm
96
(1) Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth.
(2) Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
(3) Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.
(4) For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.
(5) For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens. (6) Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. (7) Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Give to the LORD glory and strength. (8) Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts.
(9) Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. (10) Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns; The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously." (11) Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; (12) Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD.
(13) For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth.
Isaiah
57
(14) And one shall say, "Heap it up! Heap it up! Prepare the way, Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people."
(15) For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
(16) For I will not contend forever, Nor will I always be angry; For the spirit would fail before Me, And the souls which I have made.
(17) For the iniquity of his covetousness I was angry and struck him; I hid and was angry, And he went on backsliding in the way of his heart.
(18) I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will also lead him, And restore comforts to him And to his mourners. (19) "I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near," Says the LORD, "And I will heal him." (20) But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt. (21) "There is no peace," Says my God, "for the wicked."
Hebrews
12
(1) Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
(2) looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
(3) For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
(4) You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.
(5) And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; (6) For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives."
John
7
(37) On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
(38) "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
(39) But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
(40) Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."
(41) Others said, "This is the Christ." But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee? (42) "Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" (43) So there was a division among the people because of Him. (44) Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
(45) Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?" (46) The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.CanticlesCanticles can be prayed or sung after each reading or after all readings.After the Old Testament a Canticle may be read or Silence may be kept after each Reading. One of the following Canticles can be sung or said after each reading.
16 The Song of Zechariah       Benedictus Dominus Deus Luke 1: 68-79
Can be read after the Old Testament Reading
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; *