Opening response

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

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

When we cry out to the LORD in our trouble,
he will bring us out of our distress.

God will bring us out of darkness
and out of the shadow of death.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

May the Father forgive us
by the death of his Son
and strengthen us
to live in the power of the Spirit
all our days.
Amen.

Let us give thanks to the LORD for his loving devotion,
and his wonders to the sons of men.

Let us offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
and declare God’s works with rejoicing.

cf Psalm 107

Psalm 6

𝙍: Turn, O LORD, and deliver my soul.

O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger
or discipline me in Your wrath.
Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am frail;
heal me, O LORD, for my bones are in agony.
My soul is deeply distressed.
How long, O LORD, how long?
Turn, O LORD, and deliver my soul;
save me because of Your loving devotion.
For there is no mention of You in death;
who can praise You from Sheol?

I am weary from groaning;
all night I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.
My eyes fail from grief;
they grow dim because of all my foes. 𝙍

Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity,
for the LORD has heard my weeping.
The LORD has heard my cry for mercy;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed;
they will turn back in sudden disgrace.

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: Turn, O LORD, and deliver my soul.

Psalm prayer

Lord Jesus Christ,
may the tears shed in your earthly life
be a balm for all who weep,
and may the prayers of your pilgrimage
give strength to all who suffer;
for your mercy’s sake.

Psalm 38

𝙍: Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior.

O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger
or discipline me in Your wrath.
For Your arrows have pierced me deeply,
and Your hand has pressed down on me.

There is no soundness in my body
because of Your anger;
there is no rest in my bones
because of my sin.
For my iniquities have overwhelmed me;
they are a burden too heavy to bear.
My wounds are foul and festering
because of my sinful folly.
I am bent and brought low;
all day long I go about mourning.
For my loins are full of burning pain,
and no soundness remains in my body.
I am numb and badly crushed;
I groan in anguish of heart.

O Lord, my every desire is before You;
my groaning is not hidden from You.
My heart pounds, my strength fails,
and even the light of my eyes has faded.
My beloved and friends shun my disease,
and my kinsmen stand at a distance.
Those who seek my life lay snares;
those who wish me harm speak destruction,
plotting deceit all day long.

But like a deaf man, I do not hear;
and like a mute man, I do not open my mouth.
I am like a man who cannot hear,
whose mouth offers no reply.
I wait for You, O LORD;
You will answer, O Lord my God.
For I said, “Let them not gloat over me—
those who taunt me when my foot slips.”

For I am ready to fall,
and my pain is ever with me.
Yes, I confess my iniquity;
I am troubled by my sin.
Many are my enemies without cause,
and many hate me without reason.
Those who repay my good with evil
attack me for pursuing the good.

Do not forsake me, O LORD;
be not far from me, O my God.
Come quickly to help me,
O Lord my Savior.

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: Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior.

Psalm prayer

Almighty Lord and Savior,
behold with pity the wounds of your people;
do not forsake us, sinful as we are,
but for the sake of the passion of your
Beloved One, Jesus,
come quickly to our aid,
for his mercy’s sake.

Old Testament reading

Jeremiah 10:1-16

Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. This is what the LORD says:

“Do not learn the ways of the nations
or be terrified by the signs in the heavens,
though the nations themselves are terrified by them.
For the customs of the peoples are worthless;
they cut down a tree from the forest;
it is shaped with a chisel
by the hands of a craftsman.
They adorn it with silver and gold
and fasten it with hammer and nails,
so that it will not totter.

Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch,
their idols cannot speak.
They must be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them, for they can do no harm,
and neither can they do any good.”

There is none like You, O LORD.
You are great, and Your name is mighty in power.
Who would not fear You, O King of nations?
This is Your due.
For among all the wise men of the nations,
and in all their kingdoms,
there is none like You.

But they are altogether senseless and foolish,
instructed by worthless idols made of wood!
Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish,
and gold from Uphaz—
the work of a craftsman
from the hands of a goldsmith.
Their clothes are blue and purple,
all fashioned by skilled workers.
But the LORD is the true God;
He is the living God and eternal King.
The earth quakes at His wrath,
and the nations cannot endure His indignation.

Thus you are to tell them: “These gods, who have made neither the heavens nor the earth, will perish from this earth and from under these heavens.”

The LORD made the earth by His power;
He established the world by His wisdom
and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
When He thunders,
the waters in the heavens roar;
He causes the clouds to rise
from the ends of the earth.
He generates the lightning with the rain
and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.

Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge;
every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols.
For his molten images are a fraud,
and there is no breath in them.
They are worthless, a work to be mocked.
In the time of their punishment they will perish.

The Portion of Jacob is not like these,
for He is the Maker of all things,
and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance—
the LORD of Hosts is His name.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

John 7:14-24

About halfway through the feast, Jesus went up to the temple courts and began to teach. The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man attain such learning without having studied?”

“My teaching is not My own,” Jesus replied. “It comes from Him who sent Me. If anyone desires to do His will, he will know whether My teaching is from God or whether I speak on My own. He who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory, but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is a man of truth; in Him there is no falsehood. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps it. Why are you trying to kill Me?”

“You have a demon,” the crowd replied. “Who is trying to kill You?”

Jesus answered them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. But because Moses gave you circumcision, you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath (not that it is from Moses, but from the patriarchs.) If a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses will not be broken, why are you angry with Me for making the whole man well on the Sabbath? Stop judging by outward appearances, and start judging justly.”

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

𝙍: Come, let us return to the Lord, for our God will freely pardon.

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: Come, let us return to the Lord, for our God will freely pardon.

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:

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

In faith we pray
We pray to you, our God.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,
you show to those who are in error the light of your truth,
that they may return to the way of righteousness:
grant to all those who are admitted
into the fellowship of Christ's religion,
that they may reject those things
that are contrary to their profession,
and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same;
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
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.