Morning Prayer
Epiphany Season
Sunday, 12th January 2025
The Baptism of Christ
Preparation
O Lord, open our lips
Alland our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Your light springs up for the righteous
Alland all the peoples have seen your glory.
Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
king of the nations,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
From the rising of the sun to its setting
your name is proclaimed in all the world.
As the Sun of Righteousness dawns in our hearts
anoint our lips with the seal of your Spirit
that we may witness to your gospel
and sing your praise in all the earth.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.
A Song of Joy
1O be joyful in the Lord, all the earth; ♦
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.
2Know that the Lord is God; ♦
it is he that has made us and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
3Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise; ♦
give thanks to him and bless his name.
4For the Lord is gracious; his steadfast love is everlasting, ♦
and his faithfulness endures from generation to generation.
Psalm 100
AllGlory 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.
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.
AllAmen.
The Word of God
Psalmody
Psalm 29
The Voice of God in a Great Storm
A Psalm of David.
1 Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
worship the Lord in holy splendour.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl,
and strips the forest bare;
and in his temple all say, ‘Glory!’
10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king for ever.
11 May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with pea
AllGlory 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 43:1-7
Restoration and Protection Promised
43 But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Because you are precious in my sight,
and honoured, and I love you,
I give people in return for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you;
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up’,
and to the south, ‘Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away
and my daughters from the end of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.’
Canticle
Refrain:
AllThe Spirit of God fills the whole world.
1I will take you from the nations, ♦
and gather you from all the countries.
2I will sprinkle clean water upon you, ♦
and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses.
3A new heart I will give you, ♦
and put a new spirit within you,
4And I will remove from your body the heart of stone ♦
and give you a heart of flesh.
5You shall be my people, ♦
and I will be your God.
Ezekiel 36.24-26, 28b
AllGlory 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.
AllThe Spirit of God fills the whole world.
New Testament Reading
Acts 8:14-17
14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit 16 (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). 17 Then Peter and John[b] laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Gospel Reading
Luke 3:15-17
15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness;
Alllet the whole earth tremble before him.
Tell it out among the nations that the Lord is King.
AllO worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
Tell out his salvation from day to day.
AllLet the whole earth tremble before him.
Declare his glory among the nations
and his wonders among all peoples.
AllO worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness;
let the whole earth tremble before him.
from Psalm 96
Gospel Canticle
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Refrain:
AllJesus is baptized and the whole world is made holy;
Christ washes away our sins and purifies us with the Holy Spirit.
1Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, ♦
who has come to his people and set them free.
2He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, ♦
born of the house of his servant David.
3Through his holy prophets God promised of old ♦
to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us,
4To show mercy to our ancestors, ♦
and to remember his holy covenant.
5This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham: ♦
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
6Free to worship him without fear, ♦
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
7And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, ♦
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
8To give his people knowledge of salvation ♦
by the forgiveness of all their sins.
9In the tender compassion of our God ♦
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
10To 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
AllGlory 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.
Refrain:
AllJesus is baptized and the whole world is made holy;
Christ washes away our sins and purifies us with the Holy Spirit.
Prayers
Silence may be kept.
The Collect of the day is said
Eternal Father,
who at the baptism of Jesus
revealed him to be your Son,
anointing him with the Holy Spirit:
grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit,
that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
AllAmen.
The Lord’s Prayer is said
Believing the promises of God,
let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
AllOur Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Conclusion
May Christ, who sends us to the nations,
give us the power of his Spirit.
AllAmen.
Let us bless the Lord.
AllThanks be to God.