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 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 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 Wilhelm Löhe
Lord Jesus Christ,
you carry the lost sheep back into the fold in your arms,
and you graciously hear the confession of the tax collector;
mercifully forgive all my guilt and sin.
Lord, you hear the penitent thief,
you have prepared an inheritance of mercy for your people,
and have not withheld pardon from the sinner;
hear the prayers of your servants according to your mercy.
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 102:1–7 · Domine, exaudi
1Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come before you; *
hide not your face from me in the day of my trouble.
2Incline your ear to me; *
when I call, make haste to answer me,
3For my days drift away like smoke, *
and my bones are hot as burning coals.
4My heart is smitten like grass and withered, *
so that I forget to eat my bread.
5Because of the voice of my groaning *
I am but skin and bones.
6I have become like a vulture in the wilderness, *
like an owl among the ruins.
7I lie awake and groan; *
I am like a sparrow, lonely on a house-top.
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 dayLamentations 1:1–12
Sunday, 25 July 2027 · Ordinary Time
1How the city sits solitary,
that was full of people!
She has become as a widow,
who was great amongst the nations!
She who was a princess amongst the provinces
has become a slave!
2She weeps bitterly in the night.
Her tears are on her cheeks.
Amongst all her lovers
she has no one to comfort her.
All her friends have dealt treacherously with her.
They have become her enemies.
3Judah has gone into captivity because of affliction
and because of great servitude.
She dwells amongst the nations.
She finds no rest.
All her persecutors overtook her in her distress.
4The roads to Zion mourn,
because no one comes to the solemn assembly.
All her gates are desolate.
Her priests sigh.
Her virgins are afflicted,
and she herself is in bitterness.
5Her adversaries have become the head.
Her enemies prosper;
for the LORD has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions.
Her young children have gone into captivity before the adversary.
6All majesty has departed from the daughter of Zion.
Her princes have become like deer that find no pasture.
They have gone without strength before the pursuer.
7Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and of her miseries
all her pleasant things that were from the days of old;
when her people fell into the hand of the adversary,
and no one helped her.
The adversaries saw her.
They mocked at her desolations.
8Jerusalem has grievously sinned.
Therefore she has become unclean.
All who honoured her despise her,
because they have seen her nakedness.
Yes, she sighs and turns backward.
9Her filthiness was in her skirts.
She didn’t remember her latter end.
Therefore she has come down astoundingly.
She has no comforter.
“See, LORD, my affliction;
for the enemy has magnified himself.”
10The adversary has spread out his hand on all her pleasant things;
for she has seen that the nations have entered into her sanctuary,
concerning whom you commanded that they should not enter into your assembly.
11All her people sigh.
They seek bread.
They have given their pleasant things for food to refresh their soul.
“Look, LORD, and see,
for I have become despised.”
12“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?
Look, and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
which is brought on me,
with which the LORD has afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.
World English Bible. Or read it at Bible Gateway in the NRSV: Lamentations 1:1–12 · the short form, Lamentations 1:1–3.
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 Thomas à Kempis
Grant me, most loving Lord, to rest in you above every creature; above all health and beauty; above all glory and honor; above all power and dignity; above all knowledge and skill; above all riches and arts; above all joy and exultation; above all fame and praise; above all sweetness and consolation; above all hope and promise; above all merit and desire; above all gifts and rewards which you can give and pour forth; above all joy and jubilation which the mind is able to receive and feel; in a word, above angels and archangels and all the army of heaven; above all things visible and invisible; and above everything which you, my God, are not. 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.