Opening sentence
Jesus unrolled the scroll
and found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.”
Call to praise
Lord, open our lips
and our mouths will proclaim your praise.
You are good to those who wait for you,
to all who seek you.
Glory …
Glory to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm 127
1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain.
2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.
3 Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their opponents in court.
Thanksgiving
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High.
We declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night.
Amen
Call to discipleship
Jesus said, Let anyone with ears to hear listen.
You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your strength,
and with all your mind;
and your neighbor as yourself.
Do this, and you will live.
Lord Jesus, you have the words of eternal life.
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.