We hear God's CALL TO WORSHIP in Hosea 6:1,3
Come, and let us return to the Lord, for he will heal us.
As surely as the sun rises,
the Lord will appear.
He will come to us like the rain,
like the spring rain that waters the earth.
We listen in silence for God's still small voice, CENTERING ourselves, becoming aware of God's presence within us and around us
We respond to God with ADORATION using the words of the Gregory of Nyssa
Lord, you are the pure and eternal fount of goodness, who justly turned away from us, and in loving kindness had mercy upon us. You hated, and were reconciled; you cursed, and blessed; you banished us from Paradise, and called us back; you stripped off the fig leaves, an unseemly covering, and clothed us in a costly garment; you opened the prison, and released the condemned; you sprinkled us with clean water, and cleansed us from our uncleanness.
No longer will Adam be ashamed when called by you, nor hide himself, convicted by his conscience, cowering in the thicket of Paradise. No longer will the flaming sword encircle Paradise and bar the entrance to those who draw near; but all is turned to joy for us who were the heirs of sin. Paradise, yes, heaven itself, is opened to humankind; and creation, in the world and above the world, once at variance with itself, is knit together in friendship; and we are made to join in the angels' song, offering to God the worship of their praise.
For all these things, then, let us sing to God that hymn of joy which lips touched by the Spirit long ago sang aloud:
Let my soul rejoice in the Lord,
for he has clothed me with a garment of salvation,
and put upon me a robe of gladness;
as on a bridegroom he has set a crown upon me,
and as a bride he has adorned me with beauty.
And truly the Adorner of the bride is Christ, who is, and was, and shall be, blessed now and for evermore.
Amen.
We hear God’s CALL TO REPENTANCE in Lamentations 3:22-23, 31, 33, 40
It is because of the Lord’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed,
because his compassion doesn’t fail.
They are new every morning.
Great is your faithfulness.
For the Lord will not cast off forever.
For he does not afflict willingly,
nor grieve the children of men.
Let us search and try our ways,
and turn again to the Lord.
We respond with CONFESSION using the words of George Matheson
As long as I am apart from you I am self-satisfied, because I have no standard by which to measure my low stature. But when I come near to you, then for the first time I see myself. In your light I behold my darkness. In your majesty I behold my meanness. In your purity I behold my corruption. In your wealth I behold my poverty of spirit.
Amen.
We hear God’s teaching for our lives in THE READING OF THE LAW in Philippians 2:3-4
Nothing should be done out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility lift others up above yourselves, considering not only your own interests but also the interests of others.
We PRAISE God in the INVITATORY PSALM, the VenitePsalm 95:1-7 · Venite, exultemus
1O come, let us sing to the Lord; *
let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
2Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, *
and show ourselves glad in him with psalms.
3For the Lord is a great God, *
and a great King above all gods.
4In his hand are all the corners of the earth, *
and the strength of the hills is his also.
5The sea is his, and he made it; *
and his hands prepared the dry land.
6O come, let us worship and bow down, *
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7For he is the Lord our God, *
and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
We PRAISE God in THE PSALM OF THE DAYPsalm 33:4–12 · Exultate, justi
4For the word of the Lord is right, *
and all his works are sure.
5He loves righteousness and justice; *
the loving-kindness of the Lord fills the whole earth.
6By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, *
by the breath of his mouth all the heavenly hosts.
7He gathers up the waters of the ocean as in a water-skin *
and stores up the depths of the sea.
8Let all the earth fear the Lord; *
let all who dwell in the world stand in awe of him.
9For he spoke, and it came to pass; *
he commanded, and it stood fast.
10The Lord brings the will of the nations to naught; *
he thwarts the designs of the peoples.
11But the Lord’s will stands fast for ever, *
and the designs of his heart from age to age.
12Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord! *
happy the people he has chosen to be his own!
We pray a PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION in the words of George Matheson
Divine Spirit,
illumine to me the words of the Lord.
Show me the wealth of glory
that lies beneath the old familiar stories.
Teach me the depths of meaning
hidden in the songs of Zion.
Raise me to the heights of aspiration
that is reached by the wings of the prophet.
Lift me to the summit of faith
that is trod by the feet of the apostle.
Open my eyes,
that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.
Amen.
We hear God speaking to us in THE READING for the dayGenesis 1:1–2:3
Sunday, 11 January 2026 · Ordinary Time
1:1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 1:2The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.
1:3God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 1:4God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. 1:5God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day.
1:6God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 1:7God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 1:8God called the expanse “sky”. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.
1:9God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;” and it was so. 1:10God called the dry land “earth”, and the gathering together of the waters he called “seas”. God saw that it was good. 1:11God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the earth;” and it was so. 1:12The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. 1:13There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
1:14God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs to mark seasons, days, and years; 1:15and let them be for lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth;” and it was so. 1:16God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. 1:17God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth, 1:18and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. 1:19There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
1:20God said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” 1:21God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good. 1:22God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 1:23There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
1:24God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind;” and it was so. 1:25God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good.
1:26God said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 1:27God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. 1:28God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 1:29God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food. 1:30To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so.
1:31God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
2:1The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished. 2:2On the seventh day God finished his work which he had done; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. 2:3God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because he rested in it from all his work of creation which he had done.
World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: Genesis 1:1–2:3 · the short form, Genesis 1:1–5.
We REFLECT in silence
We greet the day with THE SONG OF ZECHARIAH, the Benedictus Luke 1:68-79
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham,
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
We pray the LORD'S PRAYER as Jesus taught his disciples, in those words which are most meaningful to us
Our [ Father / Mother / Creator ] in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our [ trespasses / sins ]
as we forgive those who [ trespass / sin ] against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
We pray a PRAYER OF INTERCESSION in the words of Augustus Toplady
Open our eyes, Lord, that we may see the wonders of your law, and gladden our hearts with the knowledge of your love. Take away our sins and receive us graciously. Be light to our darkness, wisdom to our folly, and show your strength in our weakness. Remember us with the favour you show to your own people; stir us up to seek your face and lay hold of your covenant; and let us find that it is indeed good for us to draw near to you and to wait on you, in and through the name and merits of Jesus Christ, our only mediator and advocate. Amen.
We silently pray PERSONAL PRAYER
Followed by
Amen
We pray a PRAYER FOR UNITY OF ALL PEOPLE
God, you have made of one blood all nations of the earth, and your will is that all your children should be gathered into one family of love: break down, we pray you, the walls that divide us; deliver us from hardness of heart and from contempt for those who differ from us; and hasten the time when all shall dwell together in that peace which passes understanding, knowing you as Father and one another as brothers and sisters; through Jesus Christ our Lord, in whom there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but all are one. Amen.
We pray a PRAYER OF GENERAL THANKSGIVING in the words of Hubert Louis Simpson
We thank you for the good things of this life: for food and clothing and shelter; for work to do and zest in the doing of it. We thank you for the perpetual touch of the divine in life, for the image of yourself in the human soul; for the vigor of youth, the wisdom of age, and for all the lessons of experience; the steps by which we climb to higher things; for the courage of the brave, the indignation of the righteous, the kindness of the thoughtful, and all that makes us human and keeps us Godlike.
Amen.
A concluding BENEDICTION or blessing Numbers 6:24-26
The Lord bless us and keep us;
the Lord make his face to shine upon us,
and be gracious to us;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon us,
and give us peace.
Amen.