MP 18 January 2024

The transcription includes a religious service with prayers, hymns, and readings from the Bible. It emphasizes praising and worshiping God, confessing sins, and seeking forgiveness. It also includes a call to spread the message of Jesus Christ and the importance of faith. The prayers ask for blessings, peace, justice, and protection. The service concludes with a prayer for a new day and a final blessing. In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen. God feeds His people with the bread of life. Let us worship and praise Him. Lord, open our lips, that we may glorify and praise Your name. 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. Praise the Lord. Alleluia. O shout to the Lord, and triumph all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness, and come before His face with songs of joy. Know that the Lord, He is God. It is He who has made us, and we are His. We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Come into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, and bless His holy name. For the Lord is good, His loving mercy is forever, His faithfulness throughout all generations. 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. Let us call to mind and confess our sins. Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, in penitence we confess that we have sinned against You through our own fault, in thought, word, and deed, and in what we have left undone. For the sake of Your Son, Christ our Lord, forgive us all that has passed, and grant that we may serve You in newness of life, to the glory of Your name. Almighty God, have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and keep us in eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Shout for joy to God, all the earth. Sing the glory of His name. Make His praise glorious. Say to God, How awesome are Your deeds! So great is Your power, that Your enemies cringe before You. All the earth bows down to You. They sing praise to You. They sing the praises of Your name. Come and see what God has done, His awesome deeds for mankind. He turned the sea into dry land. They pass through the waters on foot. Come, let us rejoice in Him. He rules forever by His power. His eyes watch the nations. Let not the rebellious rise up against Him. Praise our God, all peoples. Let the sound of His praise be heard. He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For You, God tested us. You refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let people ride over our heads. We went through fire and water. But You brought us to a place of abundance. I will come to Your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill My vows to You. Vows My lips promised and My mouth spoke when I was in trouble. I will sacrifice fat animals to You and an offering of rams. I will offer bulls and goats. Come and hear, all you who fear God. Let Me tell you what He has done for Me. I cried out to Him with My mouth. His praise was on My tongue. If I had cherished sin in My heart, the Lord would not have listened. But God has surely listened and heard My prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected My prayer or withheld His love from Me. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen. Our first reading is written in Ezekiel chapter 2, beginning at the first verse. He said to Me, Son of Man, stand up on your feet, and I will speak to you. As He spoke, the Spirit came into Me and raised Me to My feet, and I heard Him speaking to Me. He said, Son of Man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me. They and their ancestors have been in revolt against Me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, This is what the Sovereign Lord says, and whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are a rebellious people, they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, Son of Man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid through briars and thorns all around you, and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people. You must speak My words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. Here ends the first lesson. Jesus be the Lord, the God of Israel, for He has come to His people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, 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 that hate us. He promised to show mercy to our forebears 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 upon those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace. 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. Our second lesson is written in Acts chapter 10, beginning at the thirty-fourth verse. Then Peter began to speak. I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism, but accepts from every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil because God was with Him? We are all witnesses of everything He did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed Him by hanging Him on a cross, but God raised Him from the dead on the third day and caused Him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen, by us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the One whom God appointed as Judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about Him, that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. Here ends the second lesson. We praise You, O God, we acclaim You as Lord. All creation worships You, the Father everlasting. To You, all angels, all the powers of heaven, cherubim and seraphim sing in endless praise. Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of Your glory. The glorious company of apostles praise You, the noble fellowship of prophets praise You, the white-robed army of martyrs praise You. Throughout the world the Holy Church acclaims You, Father of majesty unbounded. The true and only Son worthy of worship, and the Holy Spirit advocate and guide. You Christ are the King of glory, the eternal Son of the Father. When You became man to set us free, You humbly chose the virgin's womb. You overcame the sting of death and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. You are seated at God's right hand in glory. We believe that You will come to be our Judge. Heavenly Lord, and help Your people, bought with the price of Your own blood, and bring us with Your saints to glory everlasting. I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again, He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Let us pray. Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours, now and forever. Amen. Lord God, we ask You to give us Your blessing, to Your Church holiness, to the world peace, to this nation justice, and to all people knowledge of Your law. Keep safe our families, protect the weak, heal the sick, comfort the dying, and bring us all to a joyful resurrection. We ask these things through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Almighty Father, You inspired Saint Peter, first among the apostles, to confess Jesus as the Messiah and Son of the living God. Keep Your Church steadfast on the rock of His faith, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Almighty and everlasting Father, You have safely brought us to the beginning of another day. Defend us by Your mighty power, that we may be kept free from all sin and safe from every danger, and enable us this day to do only what is right in Your eyes, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all forever. Amen.