Tuesday evening February 16
View Wednesday evening
View Monday evening
Preparation
Opening response
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Hear our voice, O Lord, according to your faithful love,
according to your judgment give us life.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be glory and praise forever.
In the darkness of our sin you have shone in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ.
Open our eyes to acknowledge your presence,
that freed from the misery of sin and shame
we may grow into your likeness from glory to glory.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.
Hymn
Gracious Redeemer, Shake This Slumber
Charles Wesley
Gracious Redeemer, shake
This slumber from my soul!
Say to me now, "Awake, awake!
And Christ shall make thee whole."
Lay to thy mighty hand!
Alarm me in this hour,
And make me fully understand
The thunder of thy power.
Give me on thee to call,
Always to watch and pray,
Lest I into temptation fall,
And cast my shield away;
For each assault prepared
And ready may I be,
Forever standing on my guard,
And looking up to thee.
O do thou always warn
My soul of evil near!
When to the right or left I turn,
Thy voice still let me hear;
"Come back! this is the way,
Come back, and walk herein!"
O may I hearken and obey,
And shun the paths of sin!
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 46
Refrain:
The Lord of heavenly forces is with us! The God of Jacob is our place of safety.
God is our refuge and strength,
a help always near in times of great trouble.
That’s why we won’t be afraid when the world falls apart,
when the mountains crumble into the center of the sea,
when its waters roar and rage,
when the mountains shake because of its surging waves.
There is a river whose streams gladden God’s city,
the holiest dwelling of the Most High.
God is in that city. It will never crumble.
God will help it when morning dawns.
Nations roar; kingdoms crumble.
God utters his voice; the earth melts.
The Lord of heavenly forces is with us!
The God of Jacob is our place of safety.
Come, see the Lord’s deeds,
what devastation he has imposed on the earth—
bringing wars to an end in every corner of the world,
breaking the bow and shattering the spear,
burning chariots with fire.
“That’s enough! Now know that I am God!
I am exalted among all nations; I am exalted throughout the world!”
The Lord of heavenly forces is with us!
The God of Jacob is our place of safety.
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 of heavenly forces is with us! The God of Jacob is our place of safety.
Psalm prayer
God of Jacob,
when the earth shakes
and the nations are in uproar,
speak, and let the storm be still;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 49
Refrain:
Happy are those who trust in the Lord, who rely on the Lord.
Listen to this, all you people!
Listen closely, all you citizens of the world—
people of every kind,
rich and poor alike!
My mouth speaks wisdom;
my heart’s meditation is full of insight.
I will pay close attention to a proverb;
I will explain my riddle on the lyre.
Why should I be afraid in times of trouble,
when the wrongdoing of my bullies engulfs me—
those people who trust in their fortunes
and boast of their fantastic wealth?
Wealth? It can’t save a single person!
It can’t pay a life’s ransom-price to God.
The price to save someone’s life is too high—
wealth will never be enough—
no one can live forever
without experiencing the pit.
Everyone knows that the wise die too,
just like foolish and stupid people do,
all of them leaving their fortunes to others.
Their graves are their eternal homes,
the place they live for all generations,
even if they had counties named after them!
People won’t live any longer because of wealth;
they’re just like the animals that pass away.
That’s how it goes for those who are foolish,
as well as for those who follow their lead, pleased with their talk.
Like sheep, they’re headed straight for the grave.
Death will be their shepherd—
but those who do right in their hearts will rule over them come morning!—
their forms wasting away in the grave
rather than having some dignified residence.
But God will save my life from the power of the grave,
because he will take me.
Don’t be overly impressed when someone becomes rich,
their house swelling to fantastic proportions,
because when they die, they won’t take any of it with them.
Their fantastic things won’t accompany them down under.
Though they consider themselves blessed during their lives,
and even thank you when you deal well with them,
they too will join the ancestors who’ve gone ahead;
they too will never see the light again.
Wealthy people? They just don’t understand;
they’re just like the animals
that pass away.
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:
Happy are those who trust in the Lord, who rely on the Lord.
Psalm prayer
Save us from envy, God our Redeemer,
and deliver us from the chains of wealth,
that, ransomed through your Son,
we may inherit the crown of everlasting life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Jeremiah 5:1-19
Search every street in Jerusalem,
comb the squares,
look far and wide
for one person,
even one who acts justly
and seeks truth that I may pardon her!
Even when making a pledge—“As the Lord lives”—
they swear falsely.
Lord, don’t you look for integrity?
You have struck them down,
but they didn’t even cringe.
You have crushed them,
but they have ignored your discipline.
They make their faces harder than rock
and refuse to return.
Then I thought to myself,
These are the poor who don’t know better!
They don’t understand the Lord’s way
or the justice of their God.
Let me go and speak to the powerful people,
for they will surely know the Lord’s way
and the justice of their God.
But they too have broken their yoke
and shattered the chains.
Therefore, a lion from the forest will attack them;
a wolf from the desert will destroy them;
a leopard prowling around their towns
will tear to pieces anyone venturing out—
because of their many crimes
and countless acts of unfaithfulness.
How can I pardon you?
Your children have forsaken me
and swear by gods that are not gods.
Although I could have satisfied them,
they committed adultery,
dashing off to the prostitution house.
They are lusty stallions roving about,
snorting for another’s wife.
The Lord declares:
Shouldn’t I confront these acts?
Shouldn’t I take revenge on such a nation?
Climb through her vineyards and ravage them,
although not completely.
Prune back her branches,
because they aren’t the Lord’s.
The people of Israel and Judah
have been utterly faithless to me,
declares the Lord.
They have lied about the Lord
and said, “He’ll do nothing!
Disaster won’t come upon us;
we won’t see war or famine.”
The prophets are so much wind;
the word isn’t in them.
Thus and so may it be done to them.
Therefore, the Lord God of heavenly forces proclaims:
Because you have spoken this way,
I will put my words
in your mouth as a fire;
it will consume the people,
who are but kindling.
I am about to bring a distant nation against you,
people of Israel,
declares the Lord.
It is an established nation,
an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you don’t know,
whose speech you won’t understand.
Its weapons are deadly;
its warriors are many.
It will devour your harvest and food;
it will devour your sons and daughters;
it will devour your flocks and herds;
it will devour your vines and fig trees;
it will shatter your fortified towns in which you trust—
with the sword!
Yet even in those days, declares the Lord, I won’t completely destroy you. And when they ask, “Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?” you must reply, “Just as you have abandoned me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land not your own.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
John 5:19-29
Jesus responded to the Jewish leaders, “I assure you that the Son can’t do anything by himself except what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he does. He will show him greater works than these so that you will marvel. As the Father raises the dead and gives life, so too does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. The Father doesn’t judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son so that everyone will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.
“I assure you that whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and won’t come under judgment but has passed from death into life.
“I assure you that the time is coming—and is here!—when the dead will hear the voice of God’s Son, and those who hear it will live. Just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. He gives the Son authority to judge, because he is the Human One. Don’t be surprised by this, because the time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice. Those who did good things will come out into the resurrection of life, and those who did wicked things into the resurrection of judgment.
Silence may be kept.
Gospel canticle
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Refrain:
Come, let us return to the Lord, for our God will richly pardon.
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:
Come, let us return to the Lord, for our God will richly pardon.
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
Response
God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness,
and was tempted as we are, yet without sin:
give us grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit;
and, as you know our weakness,
so may we know your power to save;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Trusting in the compassion of God,
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 God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
Amen.