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 Thomas Cranmer in the Book of Common Prayer (1552)
Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against your holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done, and there is no health in us. But you, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare those, O God, who confess their faults. Restore those who are repentant, according to your promises declared to mankind, in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of your holy name. 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 56:1–10 · Miserere mei, Deus
1Have mercy on me, O God, for my enemies are hounding me; *
all day long they assault and oppress me.
2They hound me all the day long; *
truly there are many who fight against me, O Most High.
3Whenever I am afraid, *
I will put my trust in you.
4In God, whose word I praise, In God I trust and will not be afraid, *
for what can flesh do to me?
5All day long they damage my cause; *
their only thought is to do me evil.
6They band together; they lie in wait; *
they spy upon my footsteps; *
because they seek my life.
7Shall they escape despite their wickedness? *
O God, in your anger, cast down the peoples.
8You have noted my lamentation; put my tears into your bottle; *
are they not recorded in your book?
9Whenever I call upon you, my enemies will be put to flight; *
this I know, for God is on my side.
10In God the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust and will not be afraid, *
for what can mortals do to me?
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 dayMatthew 10:24–42
Wednesday, 16 September 2026 · Ordinary Time
24“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his lord. 25It is enough for the disciple that he be like his teacher, and the servant like his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household! 26Therefore don’t be afraid of them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim on the housetops. 28Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
29“Aren’t two sparrows sold for an assarion coin? Not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31Therefore don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows. 32Everyone therefore who confesses me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. 33But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven.
34“Don’t think that I came to send peace on the earth. I didn’t come to send peace, but a sword. 35For I came to set a man at odds against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36A man’s foes will be those of his own household. 37He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of me. 38He who doesn’t take his cross and follow after me isn’t worthy of me. 39He who seeks his life will lose it; and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.
40“He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me. 41He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. He who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42Whoever gives one of these little ones just a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, most certainly I tell you, he will in no way lose his reward.”
World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: Matthew 10:24–42 · the short form, Matthew 10:28–31.
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 the Book of Common Prayer
God, the protector of all those who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy — increase and multiply on us your mercy; that you being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal. Grant this, heavenly Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. 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.