Opening Prayer

 Our loving and gracious Lord, we join with the psalmist and proclaim: ‘I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together.’

 Lord, please accept our worship, that we will not boast in anything of this world, but realise we are feeble and sinners and find eternal peace and joy through Your death on the Cross and the glory of Your greatness. Through Him who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Scripture Readings
The Way of the Righteous
I Samuel 8:4–9
Always Seek the Will of God

 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, ‘You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.’ But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to govern us.’ Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. Now then, listen to their voice; only—you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.’
Psalm 34:15–22
The Lord Will Save the Righteous

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
 and his ears are open to their cry.
The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
 to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,
 and rescues them from all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the broken-hearted,
 and saves the crushed in spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
 but the Lord rescues them from them all.
He keeps all their bones;
 not one of them will be broken.
Evil brings death to the wicked,
 and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
 none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
Ephesians 6:10–17
Put on the Full Armour of God

 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
St. Luke 6:39–45
Bear Good Fruit

He also told them a parable: ‘Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbour, “Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye”, when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye.

‘No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.
Great Thanksgiving Prayer

 All powerful God, it is truly right and just, and our duty, always everywhere and in everything to give You thanks. O Lord, Holy Father, You spoke and light shattered darkness, order arose from chaos. You breathed into the dust of the earth, and we were formed into Your image.

 Through Christ’s death on the Cross, He bore our sins and through His resurrection we are saved. Therefore, with angels and archangels and Christian ancestors in heaven, we proclaim Your great and glorious name, forever praising You and saying:

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,
heaven and earth are full of His glory,
hosanna in the highest;
blessed is He who has come,
and is to come
in the name of the Lord,
hosanna in the highest.
Post Communion Prayer

O Lord our God, heaven and earth bow before You. We praise You for Your mercy and grace in making us worthy to adore You and to partake of this Holy Table. O Lord God, grant that the Holy Body and the Holy Blood that we partook may not bring us to condemnation, but to life and salvation for all of us. Help us to meditate on Your cross and the promise You gave us to participate in the wedding supper of the Lamb along with hosts of all tribes, tongues and peoples at Your glorious appearance of Your second coming. And we thank You for bestowing Your abundant grace and mercy upon us. We give all the glory and honour to You, to the only begotten Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and always forever will be, world without end. Amen.