Morning Prayer
Advent Sunday
30th November 30th 2025
Preparation
O Lord, open our lips
All and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Reveal among us the light of your presence
All that we may behold your power and glory.
Blessed are you, Sovereign God of all,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
In your tender compassion
the dawn from on high is breaking upon us
to dispel the lingering shadows of night.
As we look for your coming among us this day,
open our eyes to behold your presence
and strengthen our hands to do your will,
that the world may rejoice and give you praise.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
All Blessed be God for ever.
A Song of the King’s Glory
1 The earth is the Lord’s and all that fills it, ♦
the compass of the world and all who dwell therein.
2 For he has founded it upon the seas ♦
and set it firm upon the rivers of the deep.
3 ‘Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord, ♦
or who can rise up in his holy place?’
4 ‘Those who have clean hands and a pure heart, ♦
who have not lifted up their soul to an idol,
nor sworn an oath to a lie;
5 ‘They shall receive a blessing from the Lord, ♦
a just reward from the God of their salvation.’
6 Such is the company of those who seek him, ♦
of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
7 Lift up your heads, O gates;
be lifted up, you everlasting doors; ♦
and the King of glory shall come in.
8 ‘Who is the King of glory?’ ♦
‘The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord who is mighty in battle.’
9 Lift up your heads, O gates;
be lifted up, you everlasting doors; ♦
and the King of glory shall come in.
10 ‘Who is this King of glory?’ ♦
‘The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory.’
All Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
Opening Prayer
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is 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.
All Amen.
The Word of God
Psalm 122
Song of Praise and Prayer for Jerusalem
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 I was glad when they said to me,
‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’
2 Our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem—built as a city
that is bound firmly together.
4 To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For there the thrones for judgement were set up,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
‘May they prosper who love you.
7 Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers.’
8 For the sake of my relatives and friends
I will say, ‘Peace be within you.’
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.
All Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
Old Testament Reading
Isaiah 2:1-5
The Future House of God
2 The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
3 Many peoples shall come and say,
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.’
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
Judgement Pronounced on Arrogance
5 O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!
Canticle
A Song of the Wilderness
Refrain:
All Lift up your voice with strength,
O herald of good tidings.
1 The wilderness and the dry land shall rejoice, ♦
the desert shall blossom and burst into song.
2 They shall see the glory of the Lord, ♦
the majesty of our God.
3 Strengthen the weary hands, ♦
and make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to the anxious, ‘Be strong, fear not,
your God is coming with judgement, ♦
coming with judgement to save you.’
5 Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, ♦
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 Then shall the lame leap like a hart, ♦
and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy.
7 For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, ♦
and streams in the desert;
8 The ransomed of the Lord shall return with singing, ♦
with everlasting joy upon their heads.
9 Joy and gladness shall be theirs, ♦
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Isaiah 35.1,2b-4a,4c-6,10
All Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
All Lift up your voice with strength,
O herald of good tidings.
New Testament Reading
Romans 13:11-14
An Urgent Appeal
11 Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; 12 the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; 13 let us live honourably as in the day, not in revelling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy. 14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Gospel Reading
Matthew 24:36-44
The Necessity for Watchfulness
36 ‘But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 39 and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. 42 Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.
Now it is time to awake out of sleep,
All for the night is far spent and the day is at hand.
Now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed,
All for the night is far spent.
Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness
and put on the armour of light,
All for the day is at hand.
Put on the Lord Jesus Christ
and make no provision for the flesh,
All for the night is far spent and the day is at hand.
from Romans 13
Gospel Canticle
Refrain:
All Look towards the east, O Jerusalem,
and see the glory that is coming from God.
1 Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, ♦
who has come to his people and set them free.
2 He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, ♦
born of the house of his servant David.
3 Through his holy prophets God promised of old ♦
to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us,
4 To show mercy to our ancestors, ♦
and to remember his holy covenant.
5 This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham: ♦
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
6 Free to worship him without fear, ♦
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
7 And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, ♦
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
8 To give his people knowledge of salvation ♦
by the forgiveness of all their sins.
9 In the tender compassion of our God ♦
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
10 To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, ♦
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luke 1.68-79
All Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
All Look towards the east, O Jerusalem,
and see the glory that is coming from God.
Prayers
Silence may be kept.
The Collect of the day
Almighty God,
give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armour of light,
now in the time of this mortal life,
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to 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 is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
All Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Awaiting his coming in glory,
let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
All Our Father, who art in heaven …
The Conclusion
May the Lord, when he comes,
find us watching and waiting.
All Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
All Thanks be to God.