Sunday evening November 19
Monday evening
Saturday evening
Preparation
Opening response
Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.
Lord, come quickly and 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.
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
With Solemn Faith We Offer Up
Charles Wesley
With solemn faith we offer up
And spread, O God, before thine eyes
That only ground of all our hope,
That precious, once-made sacrifice,
Which brings thy grace on sinners down,
And perfects all our souls in one.
Acceptance through his holy name,
Forgiveness in his blood we have;
But more abundant life we claim
Through him who died our souls to save,
To sanctify us by his blood
And fill with all the life of God.
As it were slain behold thy Son,
And hear his blood that speaks above;
Oh let us all thy grace be shown,
Peace, righteousness, and joy, and love:
Thy kingdom come to every heart,
And all thou hast, and all thou art.
Confession of sin
When we cry out to the Lord in our distress,
he will save us from our desperate circumstances.
God will bring us out of darkness
and out of the shadow of death.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
May the Father forgive us
by the death of his Son
and strengthen us
to live in the power of the Spirit
all our days.
Amen.
Let us thank the Lord for his faithful love,
and his wondrous works for all people.
Let us offer thanksgiving sacrifices
and declare what God has done in songs of joy.
cf Psalm 107
The Word of God
Psalm 89:19-37
Refrain:
The Lord swore to David a true promise that he won’t take back.
Once you spoke in a vision
to your faithful servants:
I placed a crown on a strong man.
I raised up someone specially chosen from the people.
I discovered my servant David.
I anointed him with my holy oil.
My hand will sustain him—
yes, my arm will strengthen him!
No enemy will oppress him;
no wicked person will make him suffer.
I will crush all his foes in front of him.
I will strike down all those who hate him.
My faithfulness and my loyal love will be with him.
He will be strengthened by my name.
I will set his hand on the sea.
I will set his strong hand on the rivers.
He will cry out to me:
“You are my father,
my God, the rock of my salvation.”
Yes, I’ll make him the one born first—
I’ll make him the high king of all earth’s kings.
I will always guard my loyal love toward him.
My covenant with him will last forever.
I will establish his dynasty for all time.
His throne will last as long as heaven does.
But if his children ever abandon my Instruction,
stop following my rules—
if they treat my statutes like dirt,
stop keeping my commandments—
then I will punish their sin with a stick,
and I will punish their wrongdoing with a severe beating.
But even then I won’t withdraw my loyal love from him.
I won’t betray my faithfulness.
I won’t break my covenant.
I won’t renege on what crossed my lips.
By my own holiness I’ve sworn one thing:
I will not lie to David.
His dynasty will last forever.
His throne will be like the sun, always before me.
It will be securely established forever;
like the moon, a faithful witness in the sky.
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 swore to David a true promise that he won’t take back.
Psalm prayer
Faithful God,
remember your promise
fulfilled in your anointed Son Jesus Christ,
in whose strength alone we stand,
now and forever.
Old Testament reading
1 Kings 1:15-30
So Bathsheba went to the king in his bedroom. The king was very old, and Abishag from Shunem was serving the king. Bathsheba bowed down on her face before the king.
The king asked, “What do you want?”
She said to him, “Your Majesty, you swore by the Lord your God to your servant, ‘Your son Solomon will certainly rule after me. He will sit on my throne.’ But now, look, Adonijah has become king, and my master the king doesn’t know about it. He has prepared large quantities of oxen, fattened cattle, and lamb. He has invited all the royal princes as well as Abiathar the priest and Joab the general. However, he didn’t invite your servant Solomon. As for you, my master the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you to tell them who will follow you on the throne of my master the king. When my master the king lies down with his ancestors, then I and my son Solomon will become outlaws.”
While she was still speaking with the king, the prophet Nathan arrived. The king was informed, “The prophet Nathan is here.” Then Nathan came in before the king and bowed his face to the ground. He said, “My master the king, you must have said, ‘Adonijah will become king after me and will sit on my throne.’ Indeed, today he went down and prepared oxen, fattened cattle, and lamb in large numbers. He invited all the royal princes, the generals, and Abiathar the priest. They are eating and drinking with him, and they said, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ Adonijah didn’t invite me, your servant, Zadok the priest, Jehoiada’s son Benaiah, or your servant Solomon. If this message was from my master the king, you didn’t make it known to your servant. Who should follow you on the throne of my master the king?”
King David answered, “Bring me Bathsheba.” She came and stood before the king. The king made a solemn pledge and said, “As surely as the Lord lives, who rescued me from every trouble, regarding what I swore to you by the Lord, Israel’s God, ‘Your son Solomon will certainly succeed me; he will sit on the throne after me’—I’ll see that it happens today.”
Bathsheba bowed down with her face to the ground. She honored the king and said, “May my master King David live forever!”
King David said, “Bring me Zadok the priest, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah, Jehoiada’s son.” They came to the king, who said to them, “Take with you the servants of your masters. Put my son Solomon on my mule and bring him down to Gihon. There Zadok the priest and the prophet Nathan will anoint him king over Israel. Blow the ram’s horn and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ You will follow him. He will enter and sit on my throne, and so he will succeed me as king. I have appointed him to become ruler over Israel and Judah.”
Benaiah, Jehoiada’s son, responded to the king, “Yes, may it happen as the Lord, the God of my king, says. Just as the Lord was with my master the king, so may he be with Solomon. May his throne be even greater than the throne of my master King David.” Zadok the priest, the prophet Nathan, Jehoiada’s son Benaiah, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites went down and put Solomon on King David’s mule. They led him to Gihon. Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. They blew the ram’s horn, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!” All the people followed him playing flutes and celebrating. The ground shook at their noise.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Revelation 1:4-18
John, to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace and peace to you from the one who is and was and is coming, and from the seven spirits that are before God’s throne, and from Jesus Christ—the faithful witness, the firstborn from among the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To the one who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, who made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father—to him be glory and power forever and always. Amen.
Look, he is coming with the clouds! Every eye will see him, including those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. This is so. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the one who is and was and is coming, the Almighty.”
I, John, your brother who shares with you in the hardship, kingdom, and endurance that we have in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and my witness about Jesus. I was in a Spirit-inspired trance on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice that sounded like a trumpet. It said, “Write down on a scroll whatever you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
I turned to see who was speaking to me, and when I turned, I saw seven oil lamps burning on top of seven gold stands. In the middle of the lampstands I saw someone who looked like the Human One. He wore a robe that stretched down to his feet, and he had a gold sash around his chest. His head and hair were white as white wool—like snow—and his eyes were like a fiery flame. His feet were like fine brass that has been purified in a furnace, and his voice sounded like rushing water. He held seven stars in his right hand, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword. His appearance was like the sun shining with all its power.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. But he put his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m the first and the last, and the living one. I was dead, but look! Now I’m alive forever and always. I have the keys of Death and the Grave.
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
Prayers may include the following concerns:
The saints on earth, that they may live as citizens of heaven
All people, that they may hear and believe the word of God
All who fear the winter months
All sovereigns and political leaders, that they may imitate the righteous rule of Christ
All who grieve or wait with the dying
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
In faith we pray
We pray to you, our God.
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
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.