Tuesday evening October 25
Wednesday evening
Monday evening
Preparation
Opening response
Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.
Lord, come quickly and help us.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night:
to you be praise and glory forever.
As darkness falls you renew your promise
to reveal among us the light of your presence.
By the light of Christ, your living Word,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
that we may walk as children of light
and sing your praise throughout the world.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
Blessed be God forever.
That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and forever.
Amen.
Hymn
But, Above All, Lay Hold
Charles Wesley
But, above all, lay hold
On faith's victorious shield;
Armed with that adamant and gold,
Be sure to win the field:
If faith surround your heart,
Satan shall be subdued,
Repelled his every fiery dart,
And quenched with Jesus’ blood.
Jesus hath died for you!
What can his love withstand?
Believe, hold fast your shield, and who
Shall pluck you from his hand?
Believe that Jesus reigns,
All power to him is given;
Believe, till freed from sin's remains,
Believe yourselves to heaven!
To keep your armor bright,
Attend with constant care,
Still walking in your Captain's sight,
And watching unto prayer.
Ready for all alarms,
Steadfastly set your face,
And always exercise your arms,
And use your every grace.
Pray, without ceasing pray,
Your Captain gives the word;
His summons cheerfully obey,
And call upon the Lord;
To God your every want
In instant prayer display;
Pray always; pray, and never faint;
Pray, without ceasing pray!
Confession of sin
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Silence may be kept.
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins
through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all
goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in
eternal life.
Amen.
The Word of God
Psalm 33
Refrain:
The Lord’s faithful love fills the whole earth.
All you who are righteous,
shout joyfully to the Lord!
It’s right for those who do right to praise God.
Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre!
Sing praises to him with the ten-stringed harp!
Sing to him a new song!
Play your best with joyful shouts!
Because the Lord’s word is right,
his every act is done in good faith.
He loves righteousness and justice;
the Lord’s faithful love fills the whole earth.
The skies were made by the Lord’s word,
all their starry multitude by the breath of his mouth.
He gathered the ocean waters into a heap;
he put the deep seas into storerooms.
All the earth honors the Lord;
all the earth’s inhabitants stand in awe of him.
Because when he spoke, it happened!
When he commanded, there it was!
The Lord overrules what the nations plan;
he frustrates what the peoples intend to do.
But the Lord’s plan stands forever;
what he intends to do lasts from one generation to the next.
The nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom God has chosen as his possession,
is truly happy!
The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees every human being.
From his dwelling place God observes
all who live on earth.
God is the one who made all their hearts,
the one who knows everything they do.
Kings aren’t saved by the strength of their armies;
warriors aren’t rescued by how much power they have.
A warhorse is a bad bet for victory;
it can’t save despite its great strength.
But look here: the Lord’s eyes watch all who honor him,
all who wait for his faithful love,
to deliver their lives from death
and keep them alive during a famine.
We put our hope in the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.
Our heart rejoices in God
because we trust his holy name.
Lord, let your faithful love surround us
because we wait for you.
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’s faithful love fills the whole earth.
Psalm prayer
Feed your people, Lord,
with your holy word
and free us from the emptiness of our
wrongful desires,
that we may sing the new song of salvation
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Micah 7:8-20
Do not rejoice over me, my enemy,
because when I fall, I will rise;
if I sit in darkness, the Lord is my light.
I must bear the raging of the Lord,
for I have sinned against him,
until he decides my case and provides justice for me.
He will bring me out into the light;
I will see by means of his righteousness.
Then my enemy will see;
shame will cover her who said to me:
“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will see her ruin;
now she will become something to be trampled,
like mud in the streets.
A day for the building of your walls!
On that day, the boundary will be distant.
On that day, they will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
from Egypt to the River,
from sea to sea,
and from mountain to mountain.
And the earth will become desolate because of her inhabitants,
because of the fruit of their actions.
Shepherd your people with your staff,
the sheep of your inheritance,
those dwelling alone in a forest in the midst of Carmel.
Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead, as a long time ago.
As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
I will show Israel wonderful things.
Nations will see and be ashamed of all their strength;
they will cover their mouths;
their ears will be deaf.
They will lick dust like the snake,
like things that crawl on the ground.
They will come trembling from their strongholds to the Lord our God;
they will dread and fear you!
Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity,
overlooking the sin of the few remaining for his inheritance?
He doesn’t hold on to his anger forever;
he delights in faithful love.
He will once again have compassion on us;
he will tread down our iniquities.
You will hurl all our sins into the depths of the sea.
You will provide faithfulness to Jacob, faithful love to Abraham,
as you swore to our ancestors a long time ago.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
John 19:17-30
Carrying his cross by himself, he went out to a place called Skull Place (in Aramaic, Golgotha). That’s where they crucified him—and two others with him, one on each side and Jesus in the middle. Pilate had a public notice written and posted on the cross. It read “Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city and it was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. Therefore, the Jewish chief priests complained to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The king of the Jews’ but ‘This man said, “I am the king of the Jews.”’”
Pilate answered, “What I’ve written, I’ve written.”
When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and his sandals, and divided them into four shares, one for each soldier. His shirt was seamless, woven as one piece from the top to the bottom. They said to each other, “Let’s not tear it. Let’s cast lots to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill the scripture,
They divided my clothes among themselves,
and they cast lots for my clothing.
That’s what the soldiers did.
Jesus’ mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene stood near the cross. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
After this, knowing that everything was already completed, in order to fulfill the scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was nearby, so the soldiers soaked a sponge in it, placed it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. When he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is completed.” Bowing his head, he gave up his life.
Silence may be kept.
Gospel canticle
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Refrain:
God, you have done great things, and holy is your name.
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:
God, you have done great things, and holy is your name.
Brief silence.
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
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Blessed Lord,
who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
help us so to hear them,
to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them
that, through patience, and the comfort of your holy word,
we may embrace and forever hold fast
the hope of everlasting life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
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
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore.
Amen.