Opening response

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

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night:
to you be praise and glory forever.
As darkness falls you renew your promise
to reveal among us the light of your presence.
By the light of Christ, your living Word,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
that we may walk as children of light
and sing your praise throughout the world.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.

Hymn

Father, Hear the Blood of Jesus

Charles Wesley

Father, hear the blood of Jesus,
Speaking in thine ears above;
From impending wrath release us,
Manifest thy pardoning love.

Oh, receive us to thy favor,
For his only sake, receive;
Give to us the bleeding Savior,
Let us by his dying live.

“To thy pardoning grace receive them,”
Once he prayed upon the tree;
Still his blood cries out “Forgive them;
All their sins were laid on me.”

Still our Advocate in heaven
Prays the prayer on earth begun,
“Father show their sins forgiven;
Father, glorify thy Son!”

Confession of sin

Let us confess our sins to God.

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

My God, for love of you
I desire to hate and forsake all sins
by which I have ever displeased you;
and I resolve by the help of your grace
to commit them no more;
and to avoid all opportunities of sin.
Help me to do this,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Lord enrich us with his grace,
and nourish us with his blessing;
the Lord defend us in trouble and keep us from all evil;
the Lord accept our prayers,
and absolve us from our offenses,
for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen.

Psalm 108

𝙍: Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.

My heart is steadfast, O God;
I will sing and make music with all my being.
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations;
I will sing Your praises among the peoples. 𝙍

For Your loving devotion extends beyond the heavens,
and Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
may Your glory cover all the earth.
Respond and save us with Your right hand,
that Your beloved may be delivered. 𝙍

God has spoken from His sanctuary:
“I will triumph!
I will parcel out Shechem
and apportion the Valley of Succoth.
Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim is My helmet, Judah is My scepter.
Moab is My washbasin;
upon Edom I toss My sandal;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.” 𝙍

Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
Have You not rejected us, O God?
Will You no longer march out, O God, with our armies?
Give us aid against the enemy,
for the help of man is worthless.
With God we will perform with valor,
and He will trample our enemies.

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: Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.

Psalm prayer

In times of terror, God,
give us boldness
to act with courage, yet with mercy,
for you rule the nations with the
sword of truth;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 116

𝙍: The LORD is gracious and righteous.

I love the LORD, for He has heard my voice—
my appeal for mercy.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
I will call on Him as long as I live.

The ropes of death entangled me;
the anguish of Sheol overcame me;
I was confronted by trouble and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of the LORD:
“O LORD, deliver my soul!”

The LORD is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion. 𝙍

The LORD preserves the simplehearted;
I was helpless, and He saved me.
Return to your rest, O my soul,
for the LORD has been good to you.
For You have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.

I will walk before the LORD
in the land of the living. 𝙍

I believed, therefore I said,
“I am greatly afflicted.”
In my alarm I said,
“All men are liars!”

How can I repay the LORD
for all His goodness to me?
I will lift the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD.
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all His people. 𝙍

Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of His saints.
Truly, O LORD, I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant;
You have broken my bonds.

I will offer to You a sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call on the name of the LORD.
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all His people,
in the courts of the LORD’s house,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.

Hallelujah!

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 gracious and righteous.

Psalm prayer

As we walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
may we call upon your name,
raise the cup of salvation,
and so proclaim your death, Lord,
until you come in glory.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 11:10-12:6

On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious. On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

He will raise a banner for the nations
and gather the exiles of Israel;
He will collect the scattered of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.
Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart,
and the adversaries of Judah will be cut off.
Ephraim will no longer envy Judah,
nor will Judah harass Ephraim.

They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines to the west;
together they will plunder the sons of the east.
They will lay their hands on Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites will be subject to them.
The LORD will devote to destruction
the gulf of the Sea of Egypt;
with a scorching wind He will sweep His hand
over the Euphrates.
He will split it into seven streams
for men to cross with dry sandals.
There will be a highway for the remnant of His people
who remain from Assyria,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from the land of Egypt.

In that day you will say:

“O LORD, I will praise You.
Although You were angry with me,
Your anger has turned away,
and You have comforted me.
Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song,
and He also has become my salvation.”

With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation, and on that day you will say:

“Give praise to the LORD;
proclaim His name!
Make His works known among the peoples;
declare that His name is exalted.
Sing to the LORD, for He has done glorious things.
Let this be known in all the earth.
Cry out and sing, O citizen of Zion,
for great among you is the Holy One of Israel.”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

2 Corinthians 1:1-22

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which accomplishes in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we experience. And our hope for you is sure, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you will share in our comfort.

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead.

He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the favor shown us in answer to their prayers.

And this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God. For we do not write you anything that is beyond your ability to read and understand. And I hope that you will understand us completely, as you have already understood us in part, so that you may boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of our Lord Jesus.

Confident of this, I planned to visit you first, so that you might receive a double blessing. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to return to you from Macedonia, and then to have you help me on my way to Judea.

When I planned this, did I do it carelessly? Or do I make my plans by human standards, so as to say “Yes, yes” when I really mean “No, no”? But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed among you by me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in Him it has always been “Yes.” For all the promises of God are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him, our “Amen” is spoken to the glory of God.

Now it is God who establishes both us and you in Christ. He anointed us, placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.

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,
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 universal church
Bishops, superintendents, and all who lead the church
The leaders of the nations
The natural world and the resources of the earth
All who are in any kind of need

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty Lord and everlasting God,
we beseech you to direct, sanctify, and govern
both our hearts and bodies
in the ways of your laws
and the works of your commandments;
that through your most mighty protection, both here and ever,
we may be preserved in body and soul;
through our Lord and Saviour 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

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

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore.
Amen.