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 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 the Leonine Sacramentary
Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and always give more than either we desire or deserve, pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things that our conscience is afraid of, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, your Son, 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 57:1–9 · Miserere mei, Deus
1Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful, for I have taken refuge in you; *
in the shadow of your wings will I take refuge *
until this time of trouble has gone by.
2I will call upon the Most High God, *
the God who maintains my cause.
3He will send from heaven and save me; he will confound those who trample upon me; *
God will send forth his love and his faithfulness.
4I lie in the midst of lions that devour the people; *
their teeth are spears and arrows, *
their tongue a sharp sword.
5They have laid a net for my feet, and I am bowed low; *
they have dug a pit before me, *
but have fallen into it themselves.
6Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
and your glory over all the earth.
7My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; *
I will sing and make melody.
8Wake up, my spirit; awake, lute and harp; *
I myself will waken the dawn.
9I will confess you among the peoples, O Lord; *
I will sing praise to you among the nations.
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 day1 Samuel 24:1–22
Sunday, 30 May 2027 · Ordinary Time
1When Saul had returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi.” 2Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the rocks of the wild goats. 3He came to the sheep pens by the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were staying in the innermost parts of the cave. 4David’s men said to him, “Behold, the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’ ” Then David arose and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe secretly. 5Afterward, David’s heart struck him because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. 6He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the LORD’s anointed.” 7So David checked his men with these words, and didn’t allow them to rise against Saul. Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way. 8David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave and cried after Saul, saying, “My lord the king!”
When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth, and showed respect. 9David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to men’s words, saying, ‘Behold, David seeks to harm you’? 10Behold, today your eyes have seen how the LORD had delivered you today into my hand in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’s anointed.’ 11Moreover, my father, behold, yes, see the skirt of your robe in my hand; for in that I cut off the skirt of your robe and didn’t kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor disobedience in my hand. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt for my life to take it. 12May the LORD judge between me and you, and may the LORD avenge me of you; but my hand will not be on you. 13As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness;’ but my hand will not be on you. 14Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea? 15May the LORD therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and you, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of your hand.”
16It came to pass, when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, “Is that your voice, my son David?” Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17He said to David, “You are more righteous than I; for you have done good to me, whereas I have done evil to you. 18You have declared today how you have dealt well with me, because when the LORD had delivered me up into your hand, you didn’t kill me. 19For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away unharmed? Therefore may the LORD reward you good for that which you have done to me today. 20Now, behold, I know that you will surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. 21Swear now therefore to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father’s house.”
22David swore to Saul. Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: 1 Samuel 24:1–22 · the short form, 1 Samuel 24:8–12.
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.