Collect

Almighty God,
your Son has opened for us
a new and living way into your presence.
Give us pure hearts and constant wills
to worship you in spirit and in truth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.  AMEN

A Reading from the Second Book of Samuel

Now when the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent." Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you." But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. 2 SAMUEL 7:1-14A

Reader: The Word of the Lord
People: Thanks be to God

Psalm

I have found David my servant;
with my holy oil have I anointed him.

My hand will hold him fast
and my arm will make him strong. 

No enemy shall deceive him,
nor any wicked man bring him down.

I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.  

My faithfulness and love shall be with him,
and he shall be victorious through my name.

I shall make his dominion extend
from the Great Sea to the River.  

He will say to me, 'You are my Father,
my God, and the rock of my salvation.'

I will make him my firstborn
and higher than the kings of the earth.  

I will keep my love for him for ever,
and my covenant will stand firm for him.

I will establish his line for ever
and his throne as the days of heaven.  

If his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my judgements;

If they break my statutes
and do not keep my commandments;

I will punish their transgressions with a rod
and their iniquities with the lash;  

But I will not take my love from him,
nor let my faithfulness prove false.

I will not break my covenant,
nor change what has gone out of my lips.

Once for all I have sworn by my holiness:
'I will not lie to David.  

His line shall endure for ever
and his throne as the sun before me;

It shall stand fast for evermore like the moon,
the abiding witness in the sky.'"

Remember us, gracious God, when we cannot see your way and purpose, and renew in us the joy of your kingdom of light and life. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.  PSALM 89:20-37

Reader:  The Lord be with you
People:  And also with you

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark

People: Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ

The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.   MARK 6:30-34, 53-56

Reader:  The Gospel of Christ
People:  Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

Prayer over the Gifts

O God, accept our praise and thanksgiving.
Help us in all we do
to offer ourselves as a true and living sacrifice;
through Jesus Christ the Lord.   AMEN

Prayer after Communion

O God, as we are strengthened in these holy mysteries,
may our lives be a continual offering,
holy and acceptable in your sight;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN

• Eucharist