Morning Prayer Epiphany Season Sunday,
25 January 2026
The Third Sunday of Epiphany
The Conversion of St Paul
Preparation
O Lord, open our lips
All and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Your light springs up for the righteous
All and all the peoples have seen your glory.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God, king of the nations,
to you be praise and glory for ever. From the rising of the sun to its setting your name is proclaimed in all the world.
As the Sun of Righteousness dawns in our hearts anoint our lips with the seal of your Spirit
that we may witness to your gospel and sing your praise in all the earth.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
All Blessed be God for ever.
as it was in the beginning is now and shall be for ever. Amen.
This opening prayer may be said
The night has passed, and the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence,
O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you; now and for ever.
All Amen.
The Word of God
Psalmody
Psalm 67
The Nations Called to Praise God
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,Selah
2 that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.Selah
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
6 The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.
7 May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him.
All Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
Old Testament Reading
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Jeremiah’s Call and Commission
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
5 ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’
6 Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ 7 But the Lord said to me,
‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.
8 Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
says the Lord.’
9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,
‘Now I have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.’
Canticle
Refrain:
All Above you the Holy One arises,
and above you God’s glory appears.
1Arise, shine out, for your light has come, ♦
the glory of the Lord is rising upon you.
2Though night still covers the earth, ♦
and darkness the peoples;
3Above you the Holy One arises, ♦
and above you God’s glory appears.
4The nations will come to your light, ♦
and kings to your dawning brightness.
5Your gates will lie open continually, ♦
shut neither by day nor by night.
6The sound of violence shall be heard no longer in your land, ♦
or ruin and devastation within your borders.
7You will call your walls, Salvation, ♦
and your gates, Praise.
8No more will the sun give you daylight, ♦
nor moonlight shine upon you;
9But the Lord will be your everlasting light, ♦
your God will be your splendour.
10For you shall be called the city of God, ♦
the dwelling of the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 60.1-3, 11a, 18, 19, 14b
New Testament Reading
Acts 9:1-22
The Conversion of Saul
9 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ 5 He asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’ 7 The men who were travelling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ He answered, ‘Here I am, Lord.’ 11 The Lord said to him, ‘Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.’ 13 But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.’ 15 But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; 16 I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.’ 17 So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Saul Preaches in Damascus
For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’ 21 All who heard him were amazed and said, ‘Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?’ 22 Saul became increasingly more powerful and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah.
Gospel Reading
Matthew 19:27-30
27 Then Peter said in reply, ‘Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?’ 28 Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold,[a] and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness;
All let the whole earth tremble before him.
Tell it out among the nations that the Lord is King.
All O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
Tell out his salvation from day to day.
All Let the whole earth tremble before him.
Declare his glory among the nations and his wonders among all peoples.
All O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness;
let the whole earth tremble before him. from Psalm 96
Gospel Canticle
Refrain:
All This is the Christ, the Chosen of God,
the one who will bring healing to the nations.
1Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, ♦
who has come to his people and set them free.
2He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, ♦
born of the house of his servant David.
3Through his holy prophets God promised of old ♦
to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all that hate us,
4To show mercy to our ancestors, ♦
and to remember his holy covenant.
5This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham: ♦
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
6Free to worship him without fear, ♦
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
7And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, ♦
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
8To give his people knowledge of salvation ♦
by the forgiveness of all their sins.
9In the tender compassion of our God ♦
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
10To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, ♦
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luke 1.68-79
Collect of the day
God of all mercy,
your Son proclaimed good news to the poor,
release to the captives,
and freedom to the oppressed:
anoint us with your Holy Spirit
and set all your people free
to praise you in Christ our Lord.
All Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer is said
The Conclusion
May Christ, who sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit.
All Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
All Thanks be to God.