Saturday evening March 4
Preparation
Opening response
Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.
Lord, come quickly and help us.
Hear our voice, 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.
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
Into a World of Ruffians Sent
Charles Wesley
Into a world of ruffians sent,
I walk on hostile ground,
Wild human bears on slaughter bent,
And ravening wolves, surround.
The lion seeks my soul to slay,
In some unguarded hour,
And waits to tear his sleeping prey,
And watches to devour.
But worse than all my foes I find
The enemy within,
The evil heart, the carnal mind,
My own insidious sin.
My nature every moment waits
To render me secure,
And all my paths with ease besets,
To make my ruin sure.
But thou hast given a loud alarm;
And thou shalt still prepare
My soul for all assaults, and arm
With never-ceasing prayer.
O do not suffer me to sleep,
Who on thy love depend;
But still thy faithful servant keep,
And save me to the end!
Confession of sin
Let us confess our sins to God.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
My God, for love of you
I desire to hate and forsake all sins
by which I have ever displeased you;
and I resolve by the help of your grace
to commit them no more;
and to avoid all opportunities of sin.
Help me to do this,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Lord enrich us with his grace,
and nourish us with his blessing;
the Lord defend us in trouble and keep us from all evil;
the Lord accept our prayers,
and absolve us from our offenses,
for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen.
The Word of God
Psalm 73
Refrain:
I have taken my refuge in you, my Lord God.
Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are have a pure heart.
But me? My feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped
because I envied the arrogant;
I observed how the wicked are well off:
They suffer no pain;
their bodies are fit and strong.
They are never in trouble;
they aren’t weighed down like other people.
That’s why they wear arrogance like a necklace,
why violence covers them like clothes.
Their eyes bulge out from eating so well;
their hearts overflow with delusions.
They scoff and talk so cruel;
from their privileged positions
they plan oppression.
Their mouths dare to speak against heaven!
Their tongues roam the earth!
That’s why people keep going back to them,
keep approving what they say.
And what they say is this: “How could God possibly know!
Does the Most High know anything at all!”
Look at these wicked ones,
always relaxed, piling up the wealth!
Meanwhile, I’ve kept my heart pure for no good reason;
I’ve washed my hands to stay innocent for nothing.
I’m weighed down all day long.
I’m punished every morning.
If I said, “I will talk about all this,”
I would have been unfaithful to your children.
But when I tried to understand these things,
it just seemed like hard work
until I entered God’s sanctuary
and understood what would happen to the wicked.
You will definitely put them on a slippery path;
you will make them fall into ruin!
How quickly they are devastated,
utterly destroyed by terrors!
As quickly as a dream departs from someone waking up, my Lord,
when you are stirred up, you make them disappear.
When my heart was bitter,
when I was all cut up inside,
I was stupid and ignorant.
I acted like nothing but an animal toward you.
But I was still always with you!
You held my strong hand!
You have guided me with your advice;
later you will receive me with glory.
Do I have anyone else in heaven?
There’s nothing on earth I desire except you.
My body and my heart fail,
but God is my heart’s rock and my share forever.
Look! Those far from you die;
you annihilate all those who are unfaithful to you.
But me? It’s good for me to be near God.
I have taken my refuge in you, my Lord God,
so I can talk all about your works!
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:
I have taken my refuge in you, my Lord God.
Psalm prayer
Holy God,
may we find wisdom in your presence
and set our hope not on uncertain riches
but on the love that holds us to the end;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Genesis 41:1-24
Two years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing near the Nile. In front of him, seven healthy-looking, fattened cows climbed up out of the Nile and grazed on the reeds. Just then, seven other cows, terrible-looking and scrawny, climbed up out of the Nile after them and stood beside them on the bank of the Nile. The terrible-looking, scrawny cows devoured the seven healthy-looking, fattened cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. He went back to sleep and had a second dream, in which seven ears of grain, full and healthy, grew on a single stalk. Just then, seven ears of grain, scrawny and scorched by the east wind, sprouted after them, and the scrawny ears swallowed up the full and well-formed ears. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it was a dream. In the morning, he was disturbed and summoned all of Egypt’s religious experts and all of its advisors. Pharaoh described his dreams to them, but they couldn’t interpret them for Pharaoh.
Then the chief wine steward spoke to Pharaoh: “Today I’ve just remembered my mistake. Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me and the chief baker under arrest with the commander of the royal guard. We both dreamed one night, he and I, and each of our dreams had its own interpretation. A young Hebrew man, a servant of the commander of the royal guard, was with us. We described our dreams to him, and he interpreted our dreams for us, giving us an interpretation for each dream. His interpretations came true exactly: Pharaoh restored me to my position but hanged him.”
So Pharaoh summoned Joseph, and they quickly brought him from the dungeon. He shaved, changed clothes, and appeared before Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, but no one could interpret it. Then I heard that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it.”
Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It’s not me. God will give Pharaoh a favorable response.”
So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile. In front of me, seven fattened, stout cows climbed up out of the Nile and grazed on the reeds. Just then, seven other cows, weak and frail and thin, climbed up after them. I’ve never seen such awful cows in all the land of Egypt. Then the thin, frail cows devoured the first seven, fattened cows. But after they swallowed them whole, no one would have known it. They looked just as bad as they had before. Then I woke up. I went to sleep again and saw in my dream seven full and healthy ears of grain growing on one stalk. Just then, seven hard and thin ears of grain, scorched by the east wind, sprouted after them, and the thin ears swallowed up the healthy ears. I told the religious experts, but they couldn’t explain it to me.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Galatians 3:15-22
Brothers and sisters, I’ll use an example from human experience. No one ignores or makes additions to a validated will. The promises were made to Abraham and to his descendant. It doesn’t say, “and to the descendants,” as if referring to many rather than just one. It says, “and to your descendant,” who is Christ. I’m saying this: the Law, which came four hundred thirty years later, doesn’t invalidate the agreement that was previously validated by God so that it cancels the promise. If the inheritance were based upon the Law, it would no longer be from the promise. But God has given it graciously to Abraham through a promise.
So why was the Law given? It was added because of offenses, until the descendant would come to whom the promise had been made. It was put in place through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now the mediator does not take one side; but God is one. So, is the Law against the promises of God? Absolutely not! If a Law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would in fact have come from the Law. But scripture locked up all things under sin, so that the promise based on the faithfulness of Jesus Christ might be given to those who have faith.
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:
Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
Those serving through leadership
Those looking for forgiveness
Those misled by the false gods of this present age
All who are hungry
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.
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.