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 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 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 Ambrose of Milan
O Lord, you have mercy upon all — take away from me my sins, and mercifully kindle in me the fire of your Holy Spirit. Take away from me the heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh, a heart to love and adore you, a heart to delight in you, to follow and to enjoy you, for Christ’s sake. 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 18:21–29 · Diligam te, Domine
21The Lord rewarded me because of my righteous dealing; *
because my hands were clean he rewarded me;
22For I have kept the ways of the Lord *
and have not offended against my God;
23For all his judgments are before my eyes, *
and his decrees I have not put away from me;
24For I have been blameless with him *
and have kept myself from iniquity;
25Therefore the Lord rewarded me according to my righteous dealing, *
because of the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
26With the faithful you show yourself faithful, O God; *
with the forthright you show yourself forthright.
27With the pure you show yourself pure, *
but with the crooked you are wily.
28You will save a lowly people, *
but you will humble the haughty eyes.
29You, O Lord, are my lamp; *
my God, you make my darkness bright.
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 day2 Corinthians 4:1–18
Saturday, 7 November 2026 · Ordinary Time
1Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we don’t faint. 2But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3Even if our Good News is veiled, it is veiled in those who are dying, 4in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them. 5For we don’t preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake, 6seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7But we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves. 8We are pressed on every side, yet not crushed; perplexed, yet not to despair; 9pursued, yet not forsaken; struck down, yet not destroyed; 10always carrying in the body the putting to death of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus may be revealed in our mortal flesh. 12So then death works in us, but life in you.
13But having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, “I believed, and therefore I spoke.” We also believe, and therefore we also speak, 14knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also through Jesus, and will present us with you. 15For all things are for your sakes, that the grace, being multiplied through the many, may cause the thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.
16Therefore we don’t faint, but though our outward person is decaying, yet our inward person is renewed day by day. 17For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory, 18while we don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: 2 Corinthians 4:1–18 · the short form, 2 Corinthians 4:6–10.
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 Richard Baxter
As a reconciled Father, take me to be your child; and give me your renewing Spirit, to be in me a principle of holy life, and light, and love, and your seal and witness that I am yours. Let him quicken my dead and hardened heart. Let him enlighten my dark unbelieving mind, by clearer knowledge and firm belief. Let him turn my will to the ready obedience of your holy will. Let him reveal to my soul the wonders of your love in Christ, and fill it with love to you and my Redeemer, and to all your holy Word and works. 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.