We hear God’s CALL TO WORSHIP in Revelation 19:6–7
I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of mighty thunders, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns! Let us rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let us give the glory to him.”
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 Augustine of Hippo
Great are you, Lord,
and greatly to be praised;
great is your power,
and of your wisdom there is no end.
We, being a part of your creation,
desire to praise you.
We, who bear about with us our mortality,
the witness of our sin,
the witness that you resist the proud,
yet we, part of your creation,
desire to praise you.
You move us to delight in praising you,
for you have formed us for yourself,
and our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.
We hear God’s CALL TO REPENTANCE in Colossians 3:1–2
If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth.
We respond with CONFESSION using the words of Alcuin of York
Almighty and merciful God, the fountain of all goodness, you know the thoughts of our hearts. We confess to you that we have sinned against you and done evil in your sight. Wash us, we pray, from the stains of our past sins, and give us grace and strength to put away all that is harmful; so that, set free from the bondage of sin, we may bring forth worthy fruits of repentance.
Eternal Light, shine into our hearts.
Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil.
Eternal Power, be our support.
Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance.
Eternal Mercy, have mercy on us;
so that with all our heart, and mind, and strength, we may seek your face, and be brought by your infinite mercy into your holy presence; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
We hear God’s teaching for our lives in THE READING OF THE LAW in Colossians 3:12–17
Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if anyone has a complaint against anyone else; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do.
Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.
Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him.
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 35:9–18 · Judica, Domine
9Then I will be joyful in the Lord; *
I will glory in his victory.
10My very bones will say, “Lord, who is like you? *
You deliver the poor from those who are too strong for them, *
the poor and needy from those who rob them.”
11Malicious witnesses rise up against me; *
they charge me with matters I know nothing about.
12They pay me evil in exchange for good; *
my soul is full of despair.
13But when they were sick I dressed in sack-cloth *
and humbled myself by fasting;
14I prayed with my whole heart, as one would for a friend or a brother; *
I behaved like one who mourns for his mother, *
bowed down and grieving.
15But when I stumbled, they were glad and gathered together; they gathered against me; *
strangers whom I did not know tore me to pieces and would not stop.
16They put me to the test and mocked me; *
they gnashed at me with their teeth.
17O Lord, how long will you look on? *
rescue me from the roaring beasts, *
and my life from the young lions.
18I will give you thanks in the great congregation; *
I will praise you in the mighty throng.
We pray a PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION in the words of Augustine
Lord, let your Scriptures be my chaste delight. Let me neither be deceived in them, nor deceive out of them. Lord, hear and have mercy, O Lord my God, light of the blind and strength of the weak, light also of those who see and strength of the strong; listen to my soul and hear it crying out of the depths.
Amen.
We hear God speaking to us in THE READING for the dayMatthew 5:17–48
Saturday, 12 September 2026 · Ordinary Time
17“Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished. 19Therefore, whoever shall break one of these least commandments and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
21“You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’ and ‘Whoever murders will be in danger of the judgement.’ 22But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgement. Whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council. Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.
23“If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25Agree with your adversary quickly while you are with him on the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison. 26Most certainly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there until you have paid the last penny.
27“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery;’ 28but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna. 30If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.
31“It was also said, ‘Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,’ 32but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery.
33“Again you have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,’ 34but I tell you, don’t swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; 35nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can’t make one hair white or black. 37But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ Whatever is more than these is of the evil one.
38“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39But I tell you, don’t resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. 41Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42Give to him who asks you, and don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you.
43“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, 45that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. 46For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 47If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 48Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: Matthew 5:17–48 · the short form, Matthew 5:43–48.
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 Zacharias Ursinus, Heidelberg Catechism
Almighty God, heavenly Father, grant us first rightly to know you, and to sanctify, glorify and praise you in all your works, in which your power, wisdom, goodness, justice, mercy and truth are clearly displayed; and further, that we may so order and direct our whole lives, our thoughts, words and actions, that your name may never be blasphemed, but rather honored and praised on our account. 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.