Opening response

Make haste, O God, to deliver us.
Hurry, O LORD, to help us.

You laid the foundation of the earth
and the heavens are the work of your hands.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
our light and our salvation,
to you be glory and praise forever.
To dispel the darkness of our night
you sent forth your Son, the firstborn of all creation,
to be the Christ, the light of the world.
Rejoicing in the mystery of the Word made flesh,
we acclaim him Emmanuel, as all creation sings to you:
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

Drooping Soul, Shake Off Thy Fears

Charles Wesley

Drooping soul, shake off thy fears,
Fearful soul be strong, be bold;
Tarry till the Lord appears.
Never, never quit thy hold!
Murmur not at his delay,
Dare not set thy God a time,
Calmly for his coming stay,
Leave it, leave it all to him.

Fainting soul, be bold, be strong
Wait the leisure of thy Lord;
Though it seem to tarry long,
True and faithful is his word;
On his word my soul I cast
(He cannot himself deny)
Surely it shall speak at last;
It shall speak, and shall not lie.

Everyone that seeks shall find,
Everyone that asks shall have,
Christ, the Savior of mankind,
Willing, able, all to save;
I shall his salvation see,
I in faith on Jesus call,
I from sin shall he set free,
Perfectly set free from all.

Lord, my time is in thine hand,
Weak and helpless as I am,
Surely thou canst make me stand;
l believe in Jesus’ name:
Savior in temptation thou;
Thou hast saved me heretofore,
Thou from sin dost save me now,
Thou shalt save me evermore.

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 2

𝙍: The LORD is the strength of His people, a stronghold of salvation for His anointed.

Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together,
against the LORD
and against His Anointed One:
“Let us break Their chains
and cast away Their cords.” 𝙍

The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord taunts them.
Then He rebukes them in His anger,
and terrifies them in His fury:
“I have installed My King on Zion,
upon My holy mountain.” 𝙍

I will proclaim the decree
spoken to Me by the LORD:
“You are My Son;
today I have become Your Father.
Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance,
the ends of the earth Your possession.
You will break them with an iron scepter;
You will shatter them like pottery.” 𝙍

Therefore be wise, O kings;
be admonished, O judges of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry
and you perish in your rebellion,
when His wrath ignites in an instant.

Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.

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 is the strength of His people, a stronghold of salvation for His anointed.

Psalm prayer

Most high and holy God,
lift our eyes to your Son
enthroned on Calvary;
and as we behold his meekness,
shatter our earthly pride;
for he is Lord forever and ever.

Psalm 110

𝙍: You, O LORD, sit enthroned forever.

The LORD said to my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand
until I make Your enemies
a footstool for Your feet.”

The LORD extends Your mighty scepter from Zion:
“Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
Your people shall be willing
on Your day of battle.
Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn,
to You belongs the dew of Your youth. 𝙍

The LORD has sworn
and will not change His mind:
“You are a priest forever
in the order of Melchizedek.”

The Lord is at Your right hand;
He will crush kings in the day of His wrath. 𝙍

He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead;
He will crush the leaders far and wide.
He will drink from the brook by the road;
therefore He will lift up His head.

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: You, O LORD, sit enthroned forever.

Psalm prayer

Lord Jesus, divine Son and eternal priest,
inspire us with the confidence of your final conquest of evil,
and grant that daily on our way
we may drink of the brook of your eternal life
and so find courage against all adversities;
for your mercy’s sake.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 60:13-22

The glory of Lebanon will come to you—
its cypress, elm, and boxwood together—
to adorn the place of My sanctuary,
and I will glorify the place of My feet.
The sons of your oppressors
will come and bow down to you;
all who reviled you
will fall facedown at your feet
and call you the City of the LORD,
Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

Whereas you have been forsaken and despised,
with no one passing through,
I will make you an everlasting pride,
a joy from age to age.
You will drink the milk of nations
and nurse at the breasts of royalty;
you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Instead of bronze I will bring you gold;
I will bring silver in place of iron,
bronze instead of wood,
and iron instead of stones.
I will appoint peace as your governor
and righteousness as your ruler.
No longer will violence be heard in your land,
nor ruin or destruction within your borders.
But you will name your walls Salvation
and your gates Praise.

No longer will the sun be your light by day,
nor the brightness of the moon shine on your night;
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your splendor.
Your sun will no longer set,
and your moon will not wane;
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and the days of your sorrow will cease.

Then all your people will be righteous;
they will possess the land forever;
they are the branch of My planting,
the work of My hands,
so that I may be glorified.
The least of you will become a thousand,
and the smallest a mighty nation.
I am the LORD;
in its time I will accomplish it quickly.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

John 1:43-51

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” And when the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.

Jesus turned and saw them following. “What do you want?” He asked.

They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are You staying?”

“Come and see,” He replied. So they went and saw where He was staying, and spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour.

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s testimony and followed Jesus. He first found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated as Christ).

Andrew brought him to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated as Peter).

The next day Jesus decided to set out for Galilee. Finding Philip, He told him, “Follow Me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter.

Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

“Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.”

“How do You know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

“Rabbi,” Nathanael answered, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

Jesus said to him, “Do you believe just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” Then He declared, “Truly, truly, I tell you, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

𝙍: You have done great things, O God, and holy is your name.

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: You have done great things, O God, 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.

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, especially in places of conflict
The Holy Land, for peace with justice, and reconciliation
Refugees and asylum seekers
Homeless people
Families with young children

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

Almighty God,
who wonderfully created us in your own image
and yet more wonderfully restored us
through your Son Jesus Christ:
grant that, as he came to share in our humanity,
so we may share the life of his divinity;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Rejoicing in the presence of God here among us, 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, who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light, bless us and fill us with peace.
Amen.