Tuesday evening November 17
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Preparation
Opening response
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
All your faithful ones bless you
They speak of the glory of your kingdom.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
our light and our salvation,
to you be glory and praise forever.
Now, as darkness is falling,
wash away our transgressions,
cleanse us by your refining fire
and make us temples of your Holy Spirit.
By the light of Christ,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
and make us ready to enter your kingdom,
where songs of praise forever sound.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
Hymn
O That the Comforter Would Come
Charles Wesley
O that the Comforter would come!
Nor visit as a transient guest,
But fix in me his constant home,
And keep possession of my breast.
And make my soul his loved abode,
The temple of indwelling God!
Come Holy Ghost, my heart inspire!
Attest that I am born again;
Come, and baptize me now with fire,
Nor let thy former gifts be vain:
I cannot rest in sins forgiven,
Where is the earnest of my heaven?
Grant me the indisputable seal,
That ascertains the kingdom mine,
That powerful stamp I long to feel,
The signature of love divine,
O shed it in my heart abroad,
Fullness of love, of heaven, of God!
Confession of sin
Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Almighty God,
patient and of great goodness:
I confess to you,
I confess with my whole heart
my neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments,
my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking;
the hurts I have done to others,
and the good I have left undone.
O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you;
and raise me to newness of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
May the God of love and power
forgive us and free us from our sins,
heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,
and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Word of God
Psalm 67
Let God grant us grace and bless us;
let God make his face shine on us,
so that your way becomes known on earth,
so that your salvation becomes known among all the nations.
Let the people thank you, God!
Let all the people thank you!
Let the people celebrate
and shout with joy
because you judge the nations fairly
and guide all nations on the earth.
Let the people thank you, God!
Let all the people thank you!
The earth has yielded its harvest.
God blesses us—our God blesses us!
Let God continue to bless us;
let the far ends of the earth honor him.
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.
Psalm prayer
In the face of Jesus Christ
your light and glory have blazed forth,
O God of all the nations;
with all your people,
may we make known your grace
and walk in the ways of peace;
for your name’s sake.
Psalm 72
Refrain:
The Lord rules! Let the earth rejoice!
God, give your judgments to the king.
Give your righteousness to the king’s son.
Let him judge your people with righteousness
and your poor ones with justice.
Let the mountains bring peace to the people;
let the hills bring righteousness.
Let the king bring justice to people who are poor;
let him save the children of those who are needy,
but let him crush oppressors!
Let the king live as long as the sun,
as long as the moon,
generation to generation.
Let him fall like rain upon fresh-cut grass,
like showers that water the earth.
Let the righteous flourish throughout their lives,
and let peace prosper until the moon is no more.
Let the king rule from sea to sea,
from the river to the ends of the earth.
Let the desert dwellers bow low before him;
let his enemies lick the dust.
Let the kings of Tarshish and the islands bring tribute;
let the kings of Sheba and Seba present gifts.
Let all the kings bow down before him;
let all the nations serve him.
Let it be so, because he delivers the needy who cry out,
the poor, and those who have no helper.
He has compassion on the weak and the needy;
he saves the lives of those who are in need.
He redeems their lives from oppression and violence;
their blood is precious in his eyes.
Let the king live long!
Let Sheba’s gold be given to him!
Let him be prayed for always!
Let him be blessed all day long!
Let there be abundant grain in the land.
Let it wave on the mountaintops.
Let its fruit flourish like Lebanon.
Let it thrive like grass on the land.
Let the king’s name last forever.
Let his name endure as long as the sun.
Let all the nations be blessed through him and call him happy.
Bless the Lord God, the God of Israel—
the only one who does wondrous things!
Bless God’s glorious name forever;
let his glory fill all the earth!
Amen and Amen!
The prayers of David, Jesse’s son, are ended.
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.
Refrain:
The Lord rules! Let the earth rejoice!
Psalm prayer
May your kingdom come, O God,
with deliverance for the needy,
with peace for the righteous,
with overflowing blessing for all nations,
with glory, honor and praise
for Christ, the only Savior.
Old Testament reading
Daniel 8:15-27
Now I, Daniel, needed help understanding the vision I saw. Suddenly standing in front of me was someone who looked like a man. I then heard a human voice coming out of the center of the Ulai canal. It called out: “Gabriel, help this person understand what he has seen.”
Gabriel approached me, and I was terrified when he came. I fell with my face to the ground. Gabriel said to me, “Know this, human one: the vision is for the end time.” As soon as he said this to me, I fell into a trance. My face was still on the ground. Then Gabriel touched me and set me up on my feet.
He said, “Now, I am going to tell you what will happen during the time of doom that is coming, because at the appointed time there will be an end. The two-horned ram you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. The long-haired he-goat is the king of Greece, and the big horn between its eyes is the first king. The horn that snapped so that four came up in its place means that four kingdoms will come from one nation, but these four won’t have the strength of the first one.
When their kingship nears its end
and their sins are almost complete,
a king will step forward.
He will be stern and a master of deception.
At the height of his power,
he will wreak unbelievable destructions.
He will succeed in all he does.
He will destroy both the mighty
and the people of the holy ones.
Along with his cunning,
he will succeed by using deceit.
In his own mind, he will be great.
In a time of peace,
he will bring destruction on many,
opposing even the supreme leader.
But he will be broken—
and not by a human hand.
Now this vision of evening and morning, which has been announced, is true. But you must seal it up, because it is for days far in the future.”
Then I, Daniel, was overwhelmed and felt sick for days. When I finally got up and went about the king’s business, I remained troubled by the vision and couldn’t understand it.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Revelation 11:1-14
Then I was given a measuring rod, which was like a pole. And I was told, “Get up and measure God’s temple, the altar, and those who worship there. But don’t measure the court outside the temple. Leave that out, because it has been given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.
“And I will allow my two witnesses to prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days, wearing mourning clothes. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone wants to hurt them, fire comes out of their mouth and burns up their enemies. So if anyone wants to hurt them, they have to be killed in this way. They have the power to close up the sky so that no rain will fall for as long as they prophesy. They also have power over the waters, to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with any plague, as often as they wish.
“When they have finished their witnessing, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war on them, gain victory over them, and kill them. Their dead bodies will lie on the street of the great city that is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. And for three and a half days, members of the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will look at their dead bodies, but they won’t let their dead bodies be put in a tomb. Those who live on earth will rejoice over them. They will celebrate and give each other gifts, because these two prophets had brought such pain to those who live on earth.
“But after three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet. Great fear came over those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, ‘Come up here.’ And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched them. At that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed by the earthquake, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.”
The second horror is over. The third horror is coming soon.
Silence may be kept.
Gospel canticle
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Refrain:
Well done! You are a good and faithful servant. You’ve been faithful over a little. I’ll put you in charge of much.
With all my heart I glorify the Lord!
In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.
Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored
because the mighty one has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
He shows mercy to everyone,
from one generation to the next,
who honors him as God.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.
He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty-handed.
He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,
remembering his mercy,
just as he promised to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.
Luke 1:46-55
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.
Refrain:
Well done! You are a good and faithful servant. You’ve been faithful over a little. I’ll put you in charge of much.
The Apostle’s Creed
Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
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,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again 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.
Prayers
Thanksgiving and intercession
Thanksgiving may be made for the day.
Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs
Response
God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Heavenly Father,
whose blessed Son was revealed
to destroy the works of the devil
and to make us the children of God and heirs of eternal life:
grant that we, having this hope,
may purify ourselves even as he is pure;
that when he shall appear in power and great glory
we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom;
where he is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Uniting our prayers with the whole company of heaven,
as our Savior taught us, so we pray
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.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.
Conclusion
May Christ, who has opened the kingdom of heaven,
bring us to reign with him in glory.
Amen.