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 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 Augustine of Hippo
Cleanse me from my secret faults, O Lord, and spare your servant from the power of the enemy. I contend not in judgment with you, who are the truth; I fear to deceive myself, lest my iniquity lie to itself. Therefore I contend not in judgment with you; for if you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall abide it? 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 99 · Dominus regnavit
1The Lord is King; let the people tremble; *
he is enthroned upon the cherubim; *
let the earth shake.
2The Lord is great in Zion; *
he is high above all peoples.
3Let them confess his Name, which is great and awesome; *
he is the Holy One.
4“O mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; *
you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.”
5Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our God and fall down before his footstool; *
he is the Holy One.
6Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among those who call upon his Name, *
they called upon the Lord, and he answered them.
7He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; *
they kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them.
8“O Lord our God, you answered them indeed; *
you were a God who forgave them, *
yet punished them for their evil deeds.”
9Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our God and worship him upon his holy hill; *
for the Lord our God is the Holy One.
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 dayIsaiah 6:1–13
Tuesday, 1 December 2026 · Advent
1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. 2Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face. With two he covered his feet. With two he flew. 3One called to another, and said,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of Armies!
The whole earth is full of his glory!”
4The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5Then I said, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips and I live amongst a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Armies!”
6Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. 7He touched my mouth with it, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven.”
8I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”
Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!”
9He said, “Go, and tell this people,
‘You hear indeed,
but don’t understand.
You see indeed,
but don’t perceive.’
10Make the heart of this people fat.
Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and turn again, and be healed.”
11Then I said, “Lord, how long?”
He answered,
“Until cities are waste without inhabitant,
houses without man,
the land becomes utterly waste,
12and the LORD has removed men far away,
and the forsaken places are many within the land.
13If there is a tenth left in it,
that also will in turn be consumed,
as a terebinth, and as an oak whose stump remains when they are cut down,
so the holy seed is its stump.”
World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: Isaiah 6:1–13 · the short form, Isaiah 6:1–3, 8.
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 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.