“Christ Among Children” by Adam van Noort (1562-1641). Wikimedia Commons

Opening response

Hurry, God, to deliver us.
LORD, come quickly to help us.

Reveal among us the light of your presence
that we may behold your power and glory.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
creator of light and darkness,
to you be glory and praise forever.
As evening falls, you renew your promise
to reveal among us the light of your presence.
May your word be a lantern to our feet
and a light upon our path
that we may behold your coming among us.
Strengthen us in our stumbling weakness
and free our tongues to sing your praise.
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

When Christ Doth in My Heart Appear

Charles Wesley

When Christ dost in my heart appear,
And love erects its throne,
I then enjoy salvation here,
And heaven on earth begun.

When God is mine, and I am his,
Of paradise possessed,
I taste unutterable bliss,
And everlasting rest.

The bliss of those that fully dwell,
Fully in thee believe,
‘Tis more than angel tongues can tell,
Or angel minds conceive.

Thou only knowest who did obtain,
And die to make it known:
The great salvation now explain,
And perfect us in one.

May I, may all who humbly wait,
The glorious joy receive —
Joy above all conception great,
Worthy of God to give.

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.

Psalm 4

Refrain:
In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep.

Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness.
    Give me relief from my distress.
    Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
You sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor?
    Will you love vanity and seek after falsehood? Selah.
But know that Yahweh has set apart for himself him who is godly:
    Yahweh will hear when I call to him.
Stand in awe, and don’t sin.
    Search your own heart on your bed, and be still. Selah.
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness.
    Put your trust in Yahweh.
Many say, “Who will show us any good?”
    Yahweh, let the light of your face shine on us.
You have put gladness in my heart,
    more than when their grain and their new wine are increased.
In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep,
    for you, Yahweh alone, make me live in 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:
In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep.

Psalm prayer

Give us today, O God,
a glad heart and a clear conscience,
that when we come to this day’s end
we may rest in peace with Christ our Lord.

Psalm 9

Refrain:
The Lord rules forever and always!

I will give thanks to Yahweh with my whole heart.
    I will tell of all your marvelous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in you.
    I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
When my enemies turn back,
    they stumble and perish in your presence.
For you have maintained my just cause.
    You sit on the throne judging righteously.
You have rebuked the nations.
    You have destroyed the wicked.
    You have blotted out their name forever and ever.
The enemy is overtaken by endless ruin.
    The very memory of the cities which you have overthrown has perished.
But Yahweh reigns forever.
    He has prepared his throne for judgment.
He will judge the world in righteousness.
    He will administer judgment to the peoples in uprightness.
Yahweh will also be a high tower for the oppressed;
    a high tower in times of trouble.
Those who know your name will put their trust in you,
    for you, Yahweh, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Sing praises to Yahweh, who dwells in Zion,
    and declare among the people what he has done.
For he who avenges blood remembers them.
    He doesn’t forget the cry of the afflicted.
Have mercy on me, Yahweh.
    See my affliction by those who hate me,
and lift me up from the gates of death,
    that I may show all of your praise.
    I will rejoice in your salvation in the gates of the daughter of Zion.
The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made.
    In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken.
Yahweh has made himself known.
    He has executed judgment.
    The wicked is snared by the work of his own hands. Meditation. Selah.
The wicked shall be turned back to Sheol,
    even all the nations that forget God.
For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
    nor the hope of the poor perish forever.
Arise, Yahweh! Don’t let man prevail.
    Let the nations be judged in your sight.
Put them in fear, Yahweh.
    Let the nations know that they are only men. Selah.

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 forever and always!

Psalm prayer

Remember, Lord, all who cry to you
from death’s dark gates;
do not forget those whom the world forgets,
but raise your faithful ones to Zion’s gate,
with your all-conquering Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Malachi 2:1-16

“Now, you priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not listen, and if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to my name,” says Yahweh of Armies, “then I will send the curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have cursed them already, because you do not take it to heart. Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and will spread dung on your faces, even the dung of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it. You will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that my covenant may be with Levi,” says Yahweh of Armies. “My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him that he might be reverent toward me; and he was reverent toward me, and stood in awe of my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many away from iniquity. For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of Yahweh of Armies. But you have turned away from the path. You have caused many to stumble in the law. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,” says Yahweh of Armies. “Therefore I have also made you contemptible and wicked before all the people, according to the way you have not kept my ways, but have had respect for persons in the law. Don’t we all have one father? Hasn’t one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers? Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the holiness of Yahweh which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. Yahweh will cut off, to the man who does this, him who wakes and him who answers, out of the tents of Jacob, and him who offers an offering to Yahweh of Armies. This again you do: you cover Yahweh’s altar with tears, with weeping, and with sighing, because he doesn’t regard the offering any more, neither receives it with good will at your hand. Yet you say, ‘Why?’ Because Yahweh has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion, and the wife of your covenant. Did he not make you one, although he had the residue of the Spirit? Why one? He sought godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. One who hates and divorces,” says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “covers his garment with violence!” says Yahweh of Armies. “Therefore pay attention to your spirit, that you don’t be unfaithful.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Matthew 19:13-15

Then little children were brought to him that he should lay his hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Allow the little children, and don’t forbid them to come to me; for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to ones like these.” He laid his hands on them, and departed from there.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

Refrain:
Lord Jesus, you are the one who is to come, the one whom we await with longing hearts.

My soul magnifies the Lord.
My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
for he has looked at the humble state of his servant.
For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
For he who is mighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
His mercy is for generations and generations on those who fear him.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down princes from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things.
He has sent the rich away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and his offspring forever.

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:
Lord Jesus, you are the one who is to come, the one whom we await with longing hearts.

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.

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 church, that she may be ready for the coming of Christ
The leaders of the church
The nations, that they may be subject to the rule of God
Those who are working for justice in the world
The broken, that they may find God’s healing

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

God our redeemer,
who prepared the Blessed Virgin Mary
to be the mother of your Son:
grant that, as she looked for his coming as our savior,
so we may be ready to greet him
when he comes again as our judge;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Awaiting his coming in glory, 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 the Lord, when he comes, find us watching and waiting.
Amen.