Wednesday evening January 27

Thursday evening
Tuesday evening

Preparation

Opening response

Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.
Lord, come quickly and help us.

From the rising of the sun to its setting
your glory is proclaimed in all the world.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
our light and our salvation,
to you be glory and praise forever.
You gave your Christ as a light to the nations,
and through the anointing of the Spirit
you established us as a royal priesthood.
As you call us into your marvelous light,
may our lives bear witness to your truth
and our lips never cease to proclaim 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

Jesus, Thou Sovereign Lord of All

Charles Wesley

Jesus, thou sovereign Lord of all,
The same through one eternal day,
Attend thy feeblest follower’s call,
And O, instruct us how to pray!
Pour out the supplicating grace,
And stir us up to seek thy face.

We cannot think a gracious thought,
We cannot feel a good desire,
Till thou, who callest worlds from nought,
The power into our hearts inspire;
And then we in the Spirit groan,
And then we give thee back thine own.

Jesus, regard the joint complaint
Of all thy tempted followers here,
And now supply the common want,
And send us down the Comforter,
The spirit of ceaseless prayer impart,
And fix thy Agent in our heart.

Come in thy pleading Spirit down
To us who for thy coming stay;
Of all thy gifts we ask but one,
We ask the constant power to pray;
Indulge us, Lord, in this request,
Thou canst not then deny the rest.

Confession of sin

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Silence may be kept.

Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins
through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all
goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in
eternal life.
Amen.

The Word of God

Psalm 21

Refrain: 
Be exalted, Lord, in your strength!

The king celebrates your strength, Lord;
    look how happy he is about your saving help!
You’ve given him what his heart desires;
    you haven’t denied what his lips requested. 
You bring rich blessings right to him;
    you put a crown of pure gold on his head.
He asked you for life,
    and you gave it to him, all right—
    long days, forever and always!
The king’s reputation is great
    because of your saving help;
    you’ve conferred on him glory and grandeur.
You grant him blessings forever;
    you make him happy
        with the joy of your presence.
    Because the king trusts the Lord,
    and because of the Most High’s faithful love,
        he will not stumble.
Your hand will catch all your enemies;
    your strong hand will catch all who hate you.
When you appear, Lord,
    you will light them up like an oven on fire.
        God will eat them whole in his anger;
        fire will devour them.
You will destroy their offspring from the land;
    destroy their descendants from the human race.
Because they sought to do you harm,
    they devised a wicked plan—but they will fail!
Because you will make them turn and run
    when you aim your bow straight at their faces!
Be exalted, Lord, in your strength!
    We will sing and praise your power!

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: 
Be exalted, Lord, in your strength!

Psalm prayer

Crown us, O God, but with humility,
and robe us with compassion,
that, as you call us into the kingdom of your Son,
we may strive to overcome all evil
by the power of good
and so walk gently on the earth
with you, our God, forever.

Psalm 29

Refrain: 
Let the Lord bless his people with peace!

You, divine beings! Give to the Lord—
    give to the Lord glory and power!
Give to the Lord the glory due his name!
    Bow down to the Lord in holy splendor!
The Lord’s voice is over the waters;
    the glorious God thunders;
        the Lord is over the mighty waters.
The Lord’s voice is strong;
    the Lord’s voice is majestic.
The Lord’s voice breaks cedar trees—
    yes, the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon jump around like a young bull,
    makes Sirion jump around like a young wild ox.
The Lord’s voice unleashes fiery flames;
    the Lord’s voice shakes the wilderness—
        yes, the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The Lord’s voice convulses the oaks,
    strips the forests bare,
        but in his temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”
The Lord sits enthroned over the floodwaters;
    the Lord sits enthroned—king forever!
Let the Lord give strength to his people!
    Let the Lord bless his people with peace!

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: 
Let the Lord bless his people with peace!

Psalm prayer

Open our ears, glorious Lord Christ,
to hear the music of your voice
above the chaos of this world;
open our eyes to see the vision of your glory,
for you are our King, now and forever.

Old Testament reading
Genesis 14

While Amraphel was king of Shinar, Ellasar’s King Arioch, Elam’s King Chedorlaomer, and Goiim’s King Tidal declared war on Sodom’s King Bera, Gomorrah’s King Birsha, Admah’s King Shinab, Zeboiim’s King Shemeber, and the king of Bela, that is, Zoar. These latter kings formed an alliance in the Siddim Valley (that is, the Dead Sea). For twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they revolted. In the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the kings of his alliance came and attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites in the mountains of Seir as far as El-paran near the desert. Then they turned back, came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.

Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bera (that is, Zoar) took up battle positions in the Siddim Valley against King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Shinar, and King Arioch of Ellasar, four kings against five.

Now the Siddim Valley was filled with tar pits. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah retreated, they fell into them; and the rest fled to the mountains. They took everything from Sodom and Gomorrah, including its food supplies, and left. They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew who lived in Sodom, and everything he owned, and took off. When a survivor arrived, he told Abram the Hebrew, who lived near the oaks of the Amorite Mamre, who was the brother of Eshcol and Aner, Abram’s treaty partners.

When Abram heard that his relative had been captured, he took all of the loyal men born in his household, three hundred eighteen, and went after them as far as Dan. During the night, he and his servants divided themselves up against them, attacked, and chased them to Hobah, north of Damascus. He brought back all of the looted property, together with his relative Lot and Lot’s property, wives, and people.

After Abram returned from his attack on Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom came out to the Shaveh Valley (that is, the King’s Valley) to meet him. Now Melchizedek the king of Salem and the priest of El Elyon had brought bread and wine, and he blessed him,

“Bless Abram by El Elyon,
        creator of heaven and earth;
bless El Elyon,
        who gave you the victory over your enemies.”
Abram gave Melchizedek one-tenth of everything. Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and take the property for yourself.”

But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I promised the Lord, El Elyon, creator of heaven and earth, that I wouldn’t take even a thread or a sandal strap from anything that was yours so that you couldn’t say, ‘I’m the one who made Abram rich.’ The only exception is that the young men may keep whatever they have taken to eat, and the men who went with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre—may keep their share.”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Matthew 26:36-46

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane. He said to the disciples, “Stay here while I go and pray over there.” When he took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, he began to feel sad and anxious. Then he said to them, “I’m very sad. It’s as if I’m dying. Stay here and keep alert with me.” Then he went a short distance farther and fell on his face and prayed, “My Father, if it’s possible, take this cup of suffering away from me. However—not what I want but what you want.”

He came back to the disciples and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you stay alert one hour with me? Stay alert and pray so that you won’t give in to temptation. The spirit is eager, but the flesh is weak.” A second time he went away and prayed, “My Father, if it’s not possible that this cup be taken away unless I drink it, then let it be what you want.”

Again he came and found them sleeping. Their eyes were heavy with sleep. But he left them and again went and prayed the same words for the third time. Then he came to his disciples and said to them, “Will you sleep and rest all night? Look, the time has come for the Human One to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up. Let’s go. Look, here comes my betrayer.”

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticle
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Refrain:
Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; the anointed one on whom my Spirit rests.

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:
Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; the anointed one on whom my Spirit rests.

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 unity of the church
The peace of the world
The healing of the sick
The revelation of Christ to those from whom his glory is hidden
All who travel

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,
in Christ you make all things new:
transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace,
and in the renewal of our lives
make known your heavenly glory;
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

Believing the promises 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 Christ, who sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit.
Amen.