We hear God’s CALL TO WORSHIP in Psalm 66:7–8
Bless our God, you peoples;
make the voice of his praise to be heard;
who holds our souls in life,
and will not allow our feet to slip.
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 Anselm of Canterbury
O God, you are life, wisdom, truth, bounty, and blessedness, the eternal, the only true good; our God and our Lord, you are our hope and our heart’s joy. We acknowledge with thanksgiving that you have made us in your image, and that we may direct our thoughts to you. Lord, make us know you aright, that we may love, enjoy, and possess you more and more, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
We hear God’s CALL TO REPENTANCE in Revelation 3:17, 20
You say ‘I am rich and have grown rich, and I want for nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked!
I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will go in, and will feast with them, and they will feast with me.
We respond with CONFESSION using the words of W E Orchard
How often we have prayed for the coming of your Kingdom, yet when it has sought to come through us we have sometimes barred the way. We have wanted it without in others, but not in our own hearts. We feel it is we who stand between people's need and you; between ourselves and what we might be; and we have no trust in our own strength, or loyalty, or courage. Give us to love your will, and seek your Kingdom first of all.
We hear God’s teaching for our lives in THE READING OF THE LAW in 2 Corinthians 9:7
Let each person give according as they have determined in their hearts, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
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 48:1–9 · Magnus Dominus
1Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised; *
in the city of our God is his holy hill.
2Beautiful and lofty, the joy of all the earth, is the hill of Zion, *
the very center of the world and the city of the great King.
3God is in her citadels; *
he is known to be her sure refuge.
4Behold, the kings of the earth assembled *
and marched forward together.
5They looked and were astounded; *
they retreated and fled in terror.
6Trembling seized them there; *
they writhed like a woman in childbirth, *
like ships of the sea when the east wind shatters them.
7As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God; *
God has established her for ever.
8We have waited in silence on your loving-kindness, O God, *
in the midst of your temple.
9Your praise, like your Name, O God, reaches to the world’s end; *
your right hand is full of justice.
We pray a PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION in the words of Lancelot Andrewes
O God, you send forth the light, create the morning, and make the sun rise on the good and the evil alike. Enlighten the blindness of our minds with the knowledge of your truth. Lift up the light of your face upon us, that in your light we may see light, and that at the last, through the light of grace, we may come to the light of glory. Amen.
We hear God speaking to us in THE READING for the dayMatthew 5:1–16
Friday, 11 September 2026 · Ordinary Time
1Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 2He opened his mouth and taught them, saying,
3“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
5Blessed are the gentle,
for they shall inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.
10Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
11“Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13“You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavour, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men.
14“You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden. 15Neither do you light a lamp and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house. 16Even so, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: Matthew 5:1–16 · the short form, Matthew 5:1–6.
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 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 Hugh Cameron
For the life which you have given and preserved,
the world in which we dwell,
and the hope of everlasting blessedness,
we thank you, O God.
For the pains and distresses which have moulded us as clay is moulded by the potter,
and for the consolations which so often like springs in the desert have refreshed our weariness,
we thank you, O God.
For comfort and help in sorrow,
in pain,
in bereavement,
and when flesh and heart failed,
we thank you, O God.
For the warnings of your spirit speaking to our spirits when the sky was bright and all people spoke well of us,
we thank you, O God.
For the life and doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ,
for his love and sacrifice,
for his boundless compassion,
and for the glorious company of those who have followed him in weakness unto victory,
we thank you, O God.
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.