Opening response

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

Come, Thou Omniscient Son of Man

Charles Wesley

Come, thou omniscient Son of man,
Display thy sifting power;
Come with thy Spirit's winnowing fan,
And throughly purge thy floor.

The chaff of sin, the accursed thing,
Far from our souls be driven!
The wheat into thy garner bring,
And lay us up for heaven.

Look through us with thine eyes of flame,
The clouds and darkness chase;
And tell me what by sin I am,
And what I am by grace.

Whatever offends thy glorious eyes,
Far from our hearts remove;
As dust before the whirlwind flies,
Disperse it by thy love.

Then let us all thy fullness know,
From every sin set free;
Saved, to the utmost saved below,
And perfected by thee

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 76

𝙍: The LORD has established His throne for judgment.

God is known in Judah;
His name is great in Israel.
His tent is in Salem,
His dwelling place in Zion.
There He shattered the flaming arrows,
the shield and sword and weapons of war. 𝙍

You are resplendent with light,
more majestic than mountains filled with game.
The valiant lie plundered; they sleep their last sleep.
No men of might could lift a hand.
At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both horse and rider lie stunned. 𝙍

You alone are to be feared.
When You are angry, who can stand before You?
From heaven You pronounced judgment,
and the earth feared and was still
when God rose up to judge,
to save all the lowly of the earth. 𝙍

Even the wrath of man shall praise You;
with the survivors of wrath You will clothe Yourself.

Make and fulfill your vows to the LORD your God;
let all the neighboring lands bring tribute
to Him who is to be feared.
He breaks the spirits of princes;
He is feared by the kings of the earth.

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 has established His throne for judgment.

Psalm prayer

Majestic and gracious God,
more awesome than the agents of war,
more powerful than the wrath of nations,
restrain the violence of the peoples
and draw the despised of the earth
into the joyful life of your kingdom,
where you live and reign forever and ever.

Psalm 77

𝙍: In the day of trouble I sought the Lord.

I cried out to God;
I cried aloud to God to hear me.
In the day of trouble I sought the Lord;
through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary;
my soul refused to be comforted.
I remembered You, O God, and I groaned;
I mused and my spirit grew faint.

You have kept my eyes from closing;
I am too troubled to speak. 𝙍

I considered the days of old,
the years long in the past.
At night I remembered my song;
in my heart I mused, and my spirit pondered:

“Will the Lord spurn us forever
and never show His favor again?
Is His loving devotion gone forever?
Has His promise failed for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has His anger shut off His compassion?”

So I said, “I am grieved
that the right hand of the Most High has changed.” 𝙍

I will remember the works of the LORD;
yes, I will remember Your wonders of old.
I will reflect on all You have done
and ponder Your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is so great as our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
You display Your strength among the peoples.
With power You redeemed Your people,
the sons of Jacob and Joseph. 𝙍

The waters saw You, O God;
the waters saw You and swirled;
even the depths were shaken.
The clouds poured down water;
the skies resounded with thunder;
Your arrows flashed back and forth.
Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind;
the lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.

Your path led through the sea,
Your way through the mighty waters,
but Your footprints were not to be found.
You led Your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

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: In the day of trouble I sought the Lord.

Psalm prayer

God our shepherd,
you led us and saved us in times of old;
do not forget your people in their troubles,
but raise up your power
to sustain the poor and helpless;
for the honor of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 28:1-13

Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards,
to the fading flower of his glorious splendor,
set on the summit above the fertile valley,
the pride of those overcome by wine.
Behold, the Lord has one
who is strong and mighty.
Like a hailstorm or destructive tempest,
like a driving rain or flooding downpour,
he will smash that crown to the ground.
The majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards
will be trampled underfoot.
The fading flower of his beautiful splendor,
set on the summit above the fertile valley,
will be like a ripe fig before the summer harvest:
Whoever sees it will take it in his hand and swallow it.

On that day the LORD of Hosts will be a crown of glory,
a diadem of splendor to the remnant of His people,
a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
and a strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate.

These also stagger from wine
and stumble from strong drink:
Priests and prophets reel from strong drink
and are befuddled by wine.
They stumble because of strong drink,
muddled in their visions and stumbling in their judgments.
For all their tables are covered with vomit;
there is not a place without filth.

Whom is He trying to teach?
To whom is He explaining His message?
To infants just weaned from milk?
To babies removed from the breast?
For they hear:
“Order on order, order on order,
line on line, line on line;
a little here, a little there.”
Indeed, with mocking lips and foreign tongues,
He will speak to this people to whom He has said:
“This is the place of rest, let the weary rest;
this is the place of repose.”

But they would not listen.

Then the word of the LORD to them will become:
“Order on order, order on order,
line on line, line on line;
a little here, a little there,”
so that they will go stumbling backward
and will be injured, ensnared, and captured.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Matthew 12:38-50

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

Jesus replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One greater than Solomon is here.

When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ On its return, it finds the house vacant, swept clean, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there; and the final plight of that man is worse than the first. So will it be with this wicked generation.”

While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to Him. Someone told Him, “Look, Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to You.”

But Jesus replied, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” Pointing to His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

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 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

Almighty God,
give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armor of light,
now in the time of this mortal life,
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;
that on the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him 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, 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

May the Lord, when he comes, find us watching and waiting.
Amen.