Opening response

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night:
to you be praise and glory for ever.
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.

Hymn

Out of the Iron Furnace, Lord

Charles Wesley

Out of the iron furnace, Lord,
To thee for help I cry,
I listen to thy warning word,
And would from Egypt fly.

Long have I bowed to sin’s command,
But now I would be free,
Escape from the dire oppressor’s land,
And live, O God, to thee.

Hast thou not surely seen my grief?
Hast thou not heard me groan?
O hasten then to my relief,
In pitying love come down.

From Pharaoh, and the Egyptian’s power
Redeem a wretched slave;
Thou canst redeem me in this hour,
Thou wilt the sinner save.

Now, Lord, relieve my misery,
Stretch out thy mighty hand,
Drown all my sins in the Red Sea,
And bring me safe to land.

Strength in the Lord my righteousness,
And pardon I receive,
And holy joy, and quiet peace
The moment I believe.

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.

Psalm 72

𝙍: The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice.

Endow the king with Your justice, O God,
and the son of the king with Your righteousness.
May he judge Your people with righteousness
and Your afflicted with justice.

May the mountains bring peace to the people,
and the hills bring righteousness.
May he vindicate the afflicted among the people;
may he save the children of the needy
and crush the oppressor. 𝙍

May they fear him as long as the sun shines,
as long as the moon remains,
through all generations.
May he be like rain that falls on freshly cut grass,
like spring showers that water the earth.
May the righteous flourish in his days
and prosperity abound,
until the moon is no more. 𝙍

May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
May the nomads bow before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
May the kings of Tarshish and distant shores bring tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
May all kings bow down to him
and all nations serve him. 𝙍

For he will deliver the needy who cry out
and the afflicted who have no helper.
He will take pity on the poor and needy
and save the lives of the oppressed.
He will redeem them from oppression and violence,
for their blood is precious in his sight. 𝙍

Long may he live!
May gold from Sheba be given him.
May people ever pray for him;
may they bless him all day long.
May there be an abundance of grain in the land;
may it sway atop the hills.
May its fruit trees flourish like the forests of Lebanon,
and its people like the grass of the field.
May his name endure forever;
may his name continue as long as the sun shines.
In him may all nations be blessed;
may they call him blessed. 𝙍

Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous deeds.
And blessed be His glorious name forever;
may all the earth be filled with His glory.

Amen and amen.

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.

𝙍: The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice.

Psalm prayer

O God, may your kingdom come,
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.

Psalm 75

𝙍: It is God who judges.

We give thanks to You, O God;
we give thanks, for Your Name is near.
The people declare Your wondrous works.

“When I choose a time,
I will judge fairly.
When the earth and all its dwellers quake,
it is I who bear up its pillars.

I say to the proud, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn.
Do not lift up your horn against heaven
or speak with an outstretched neck.’ ” 𝙍

For exaltation comes neither from east nor west,
nor out of the desert,
but it is God who judges;
He brings down one and exalts another.
For a cup is in the hand of the LORD,
full of foaming wine mixed with spices.
He pours from His cup,
and all the wicked of the earth
drink it down to the dregs. 𝙍

But I will proclaim Him forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.

“All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous will be exalted.”

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.

𝙍: It is God who judges.

Psalm prayer

Judge of all the earth,
restrain the ambition of the proud
and establish among us the reign of the Messiah,
who drained for us the cup of judgment
and is alive with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.

Old Testament reading

Proverbs 1:1-19

These are the proverbs of Solomon son of David,
king of Israel,
for gaining wisdom and discipline,
for comprehending words of insight,
and for receiving instruction in wise living
and in righteousness, justice, and equity.
To impart prudence to the simple
and knowledge and discretion to the young,
let the wise listen and gain instruction,
and the discerning acquire wise counsel
by understanding the proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction,
and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.
For they are a garland of grace on your head
and a pendant around your neck.

My son, if sinners entice you,
do not yield to them.
If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood,
let us ambush the innocent without cause,
let us swallow them alive like Sheol,
and whole like those descending into the Pit.
We will find all manner of precious goods;
we will fill our houses with plunder.
Throw in your lot with us;
let us all share one purse”—
my son, do not walk the road with them
or set foot upon their path.
For their feet run to evil,
and they are swift to shed blood.
How futile it is to spread the net
where any bird can see it!
But they lie in wait for their own blood;
they ambush their own lives.
Such is the fate of all who are greedy,
whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Mark 2:23-3:6

One Sabbath Jesus was passing through the grainfields, and His disciples began to pick the heads of grain as they walked along. So the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

Jesus replied, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? During the high priesthood of Abiathar, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which was lawful only for the priests. And he gave some to his companions as well.”

Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Once again Jesus entered the synagogue, and a man with a withered hand was there. In order to accuse Jesus, they were watching to see if He would heal on the Sabbath.

Then Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, “Stand up among us.” And He asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

But they were silent.

Jesus looked around at them with anger and sorrow at their hardness of heart. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored.

At this, the Pharisees went out and began plotting with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

𝙍: My spirit rejoices in you, O God; my soul proclaims your greatness.

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One has done great things for me.
Holy is His name.
His mercy extends to those who fear Him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who are proud
in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
but has exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful,
as He promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and his descendants 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.

𝙍: My spirit rejoices in you, O God; my soul proclaims your greatness.

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.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He 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,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He 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 media and the arts
Farming and fishing
Commerce and industry
Those whose work is unfulfilling, stressful or fraught with danger
All who are unemployed

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Lord of life
In your mercy, hear us.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Let your merciful ears, Lord,
be open to the prayers of your humble servants;
and that they may obtain their petitions
make them to ask such things as shall please you;
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

As our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
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.