Wednesday evening November 21

Thursday evening
Tuesday 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

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 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.

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 pure of 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
Isaiah 10:20-32

On that day, what’s left of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer depend on the one who beat them. Instead, they will faithfully depend on the Lord, the holy one of Israel. A few will return, what’s left of Jacob, to the mighty God. Although your people, Israel, were like the sand of the sea, only a few survivors will return. The end is announced, overflowing with justice. Yes, destruction has been announced; the Lord God of heavenly forces will carry it out against the entire land.

Therefore, the Lord God of heavenly forces says: My people who live in Zion, don’t fear Assyria, which strikes you with the rod and raises its staff against you as Egypt did. In a very short time my fury will end, and my anger at the world will be finished.

Therefore, the Lord of heavenly forces will crack a whip against Assyria,

as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb.

He will raise a rod over the sea,

as he did in Egypt.

On that day, God will remove the burden from your shoulder

and destroy the yoke on your neck.

He has gone up from Samaria,

come against Aiath,

passed to Migron.

At Michmash he stored his equipment.

They crossed at the pass: “We’ll camp at Geba!”

Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul has fled.

Cry aloud, Daughter Gallim!

Listen, Laishah! Answer her, Anathoth!

Madmenah has flown.

Gebim’s inhabitants sought refuge.

This very day he will stand at Nob

and shake his fist at Daughter Zion’s mountain,

the hill of Jerusalem!

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Matthew 8:1-13

Now when Jesus had come down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. A man with a skin disease came, kneeled before him, and said, “Lord, if you want, you can make me clean.”

Jesus reached out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do want to. Become clean.” Instantly his skin disease was cleansed. Jesus said to him, “Don’t say anything to anyone. Instead, go and show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded. This will be a testimony to them.”

When Jesus went to Capernaum, a centurion approached, pleading with him, “Lord, my servant is flat on his back at home, paralyzed, and his suffering is awful.”

Jesus responded, “I’ll come and heal him.”

But the centurion replied, “Lord, I don’t deserve to have you come under my roof. Just say the word and my servant will be healed. I’m a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and the servant does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was impressed and said to the people following him, “I say to you with all seriousness that even in Israel I haven’t found faith like this. I say to you that there are many who will come from east and west and sit down to eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom will be thrown outside into the darkness. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.” Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it will be done for you just as you have believed.” And his servant was healed that very moment.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticle
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Refrain:

You show mercy to everyone, from one generation to the next, who honors you as God.

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:

You show mercy to everyone, from one generation to the next, who honors you as God.

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

God of grace,

hear our prayer.

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.