We hear God's CALL TO WORSHIP in Psalm 150
Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his holy place.
Praise him in the sky, his stronghold.
Praise him for his deeds of power.
Praise him for his boundless greatness.
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 Jonathan Edwards
Almighty God, all true virtue consists, at its root and in its essence, in you. For you are not only infinitely greater and more excellent than all other being, but you are the head of the whole system of existence; the foundation and fountain of all being and all beauty; the one from whom everything is perfectly derived, and on whom everything is most absolutely and perfectly dependent; the one from whom, through whom, and to whom belongs all being and all perfection; whose own being and beauty is the sum and fullness of all existence and excellence — far more than the sun is the source and fullness of all the light and brightness of the day. 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 John Hunter
Almighty God, Spirit of purity and grace, whose salvation is never far from the contrite heart, listen to our confessions of sin, and have mercy upon us.
For our many refusals of your call;
for all our forgotten vows;
for the better purposes which we have suffered to grow weak;
for the excuses we have fashioned to hide from ourselves our unfaithful lives;
for the vindictive passions we have cherished;
for our readiness to blame, and our want of thoughtfulness, patience, kindness, and sympathy;
for all the goodness of life which we have received thanklessly;
for the strength which we have wasted;
for the opportunities which we have neglected;
for all the beauty of this fair world and the love of human hearts which have passed before us and which in our thoughtlessness and care and passion we have not appreciated;
for our selfish comfort amid the wrongs, oppressions, and sorrows of life;
for the counsels of your Word which have spoken to us vainly;
for the grace and truth of your beloved Son which we have slighted;
for the pleadings of your Spirit to which we have not listened;
have mercy upon us, O God.
Amen.
We hear God’s teaching for our lives in THE READING OF THE LAW in Leviticus 19:13
You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him.
The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.
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 33:13–22 · Exultate, justi
13The Lord looks down from heaven, *
and beholds all the people in the world.
14From where he sits enthroned he turns his gaze *
on all who dwell on the earth.
15He fashions all the hearts of them *
and understands all their works.
16There is no king that can be saved by a mighty army; *
a strong man is not delivered by his great strength.
17The horse is a vain hope for deliverance; *
for all its strength it cannot save.
18Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear him, *
on those who wait upon his love,
19To pluck their lives from death, *
and to feed them in time of famine.
20Our soul waits for the Lord; *
he is our help and our shield.
21Indeed, our heart rejoices in him, *
for in his holy Name we put our trust.
22Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, *
as we have put our trust in you.
We pray a PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION in words from the Universalist "Gospel Liturgy"
Father of all, through your holy word you granted us the light of life. May the Scriptures be opened to our thoughts so our hearts may burn within us, and when it is towards evening and the time of day is far spent, may Christ continue to abide with us by faith, so that the night may be radiant with the promise of a morning without clouds.
We hear God speaking to us in THE READING for the dayGenesis 15:1–21
Monday, 19 January 2026 · Ordinary Time
1After these things the LORD’s word came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
2Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will you give me, since I go childless, and he who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3Abram said, “Behold, you have given no children to me: and, behold, one born in my house is my heir.”
4Behold, the LORD’s word came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir, but he who will come out of your own body will be your heir.” 5The LORD brought him outside, and said, “Look now towards the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “So your offspring will be.” 6He believed in the LORD, who credited it to him for righteousness. 7He said to Abram, “I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.”
8He said, “Lord GOD, how will I know that I will inherit it?”
9He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10He brought him all these, and divided them in the middle, and laid each half opposite the other; but he didn’t divide the birds. 11The birds of prey came down on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
12When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. Now terror and great darkness fell on him. 13He said to Abram, “Know for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years. 14I will also judge that nation, whom they will serve. Afterward they will come out with great wealth; 15but you will go to your fathers in peace. You will be buried at a good old age. 16In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.” 17It came to pass that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18In that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I have given this land to your offspring, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates: 19the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: Genesis 15:1–21 · the short form, Genesis 15:1–6.
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 Henry Thornton
Almighty Lord, our God, whose eyes are in every place beholding the evil and the good, and who sees not only our outward actions, but all our most secret thoughts — we pray you to maintain in us this day a constant sense of your presence, and to preserve us from sinning against you. We are exposed to dangers by night and by day; our lives are in your hands, and unto you do we look for preservation from every evil. O Lord, teach us to be ever mindful of you. When we go out and come in, and when we are alone and in company, may we bear in mind that you are continually with us, and that you take account of all we think, and speak, and do. 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.