Sun. evening Mar. 15
Opening response
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
Hear my voice according to your lovingkindness.
O LORD, give me life according to your judgment.
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
Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven
Words: Henry F. Lyte (1834)
Music: John Goss (1869)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#22)
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
to his feet your tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
evermore his praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King!
Praise him for his grace and favor
to his people in distress.
Praise him, still the same as ever,
slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glorious in his faithfulness!
Fatherlike he tends and spares us;
well our feeble frame he knows.
In his hand he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Widely yet his mercy flows!
Angels, help us to adore him;
you behold him face to face.
Sun and moon, bow down before him,
dwellers all in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise with us the God of grace!
Confession of Sin
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor recompensed us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his mercy toward those who fear Him.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children,
so the LORD pities those who fear Him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
andall that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits.
Psalm 31:1-16
𝙍: Into Your hand I commit my spirit.
In You, O LORD, do I seek refuge;
let me never be ashamed;
deliver me in Your righteousness.
Incline Your ear to me;
deliver me speedily;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.
For You are my rock and my fortress;
for Your name’s sake, lead me and guide me.
Pull me out of the net that they have hidden for me,
for You are my strength.
Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O LORD, God of truth.
𝙍: Into Your hand I commit my spirit.
I have hated those who regard worthless idols,
but I trust in the LORD.
I will be glad and rejoice in Your lovingkindness,
for You have seen my trouble;
You have known my soul in adversities,
and have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a broad place.
𝙍: Into Your hand I commit my spirit.
Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my eye wastes away from grief,
yes, my soul and my body.
For my life is spent with grief,
and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my iniquity,
and my bones waste away.
I have become a reproach among all my enemies,
but especially among my neighbors,
and an object of dread to my acquaintances;
those who see me outside flee from me.
I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
For I hear the slander of many;
fear is on every side;
while they take counsel together against me,
they plot to take away my life.
𝙍: Into Your hand I commit my spirit.
But I trust in You, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in Your hand;
deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
and from those who persecute me.
Make Your face shine upon Your servant;
save me by Your lovingkindness.
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: Into Your hand I commit my spirit.
Psalm prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, when scorn and shame besiege us, and hope is veiled in grief, hold us in your wounded hands and make your face shine on us again, for you are our Lord and God.
Old Testament reading
Micah 7
Woe is me!
Because I am as the gathering of summer fruit,
as the gleaning of grapes;
there is no cluster to eat,
no early fig that my soul desires.
The godly has perished from the earth,
and no one is upright among men.
All of them lie in wait for bloodshed;
each hunts his brother with a net.
Both hands are upon evil, to do it well.
The prince and the judge request the bribe,
the powerful asserts the craving of his very soul—
they intertwine together.
The best among them is like a brier,
the most upright among them a bramble;
the day of your watchmen,
of your punishment, has come;
now their confusion is at hand.
Do not trust in a companion,
do not rely on a friend;
from her who lies in your embrace,
guard the doors of your mouth.
For the son dishonors the father,
the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
the enemies of a man are members of his own household.
But as for me, I watch for the LORD;
I await the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.
Do not rejoice over me, my enemy!
Although I have fallen, I will rise;
although I dwell in darkness,
the LORD is my light.
I will endure the rage of the LORD,
because I have sinned against Him,
until the time when He pleads my case
and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out into the light;
I will look upon His vindication.
Then my enemy will see,
and shame will cover her
who said to me,
“Where is the LORD your God?”
My eyes will look upon her;
now she will be trampled
like muck in the streets.
A day for building your walls,
in that day the boundary will be extended.
In that day they will come to you
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt to the Euphrates River,
from sea to sea,
and from mountain to mountain.
The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants,
from the fruit of their deeds.
Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
which live alone in a forest,
in the midst of a fertile land;
let them graze in Bashan and Gilead,
as in the days of old.
As in the days when you came out of Egypt,
I will display wonders.
Nations will see and be ashamed,
despite all their might;
they will put their hand on their mouth,
and their ears will be deaf.
They will lick dust like the serpent,
like crawling creatures of the earth;
they will come shuddering from their lairs.
They will turn in dread to the LORD our God,
and they will be afraid of You.
Who is a God like You,
bearing iniquity and passing over transgression
for the remnant of His inheritance?
He does not remain angry forever,
because He delights in benevolence.
He will again have compassion upon us.
He will tread down our iniquities,
and cast all of our sins into the depths of the sea.
You will give faithfulness to Jacob
and benevolence to Abraham,
which You swore to our fathers
from the days of old.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
James 5
Come now, you rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasures for the last days. Behold, the wages that you kept back by fraud from the laborers who harvested your fields are crying, and the cries of those who harvested have entered into the ears of the Lord of Hosts. You have lived in pleasure on the earth and have been wayward. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and killed the righteous man who does not resist you.
Therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Notice how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until he receives the early and late rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is drawing near. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door.
My brothers, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Behold, we consider them blessed who endure. You have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the purpose of the Lord, that the Lord is very gracious and merciful.
But above all things, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by the earth or by any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes” and your “No” be “No,” that you do not fall into condemnation.
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone merry? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your faults to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much.
Elijah was a man subject to natural passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit.
Brothers, if any one of you strays from the truth and someone corrects him, let him know that he who converts the sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
Silence may be kept.
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Luke 1:46-55
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded
the low estate of His servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name.
His mercy is on those who fear Him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has pulled down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
in remembrance of His mercy,
as He spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to 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.
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:
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
Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Merciful Lord, absolve your people from their offenses, that through your bountiful goodness we may all be delivered from the chains of those sins which by our frailty we have committed; grant this, heavenly Father, for Jesus Christ's sake, our blessed Lord and Savior, 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, 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 God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
Amen.
Sat. evening Mar. 14
Opening response
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
Hear my voice according to your lovingkindness.
O LORD, give me life according to your judgment.
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.
Worship Song
10,000 Reasons
Confession of Sin
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor recompensed us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his mercy toward those who fear Him.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children,
so the LORD pities those who fear Him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits.
Psalm 116
𝙍: Gracious is the LORD, and righteous.
I love the LORD, because He has heard my voice
and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live.
The cords of death encompassed me,
and the pangs of Sheol took hold of me;
I found trouble and sorrow.
Then I called upon the name of the LORD:
“O LORD, I beseech You, deliver my soul.”
Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
yes, our God is merciful.
𝙍: Gracious is the LORD, and righteous.
The LORD preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
Return to your rest, O my soul,
for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
For You have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
and my feet from stumbling.
I will walk before the LORD
in the land of the living.
𝙍: Gracious is the LORD, and righteous.
I believed, even when I said:
“I am greatly afflicted.”
I said in my alarm,
“All men are liars.”
What shall I render unto the LORD
for all His benefits to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call upon the name of the LORD.
I will pay my vows to the LORD,
now in the presence of all His people.
𝙍: Gracious is the LORD, and righteous.
Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of His saints.
O LORD, truly I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant;
You have loosed my bonds.
I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and will call upon the name of the LORD.
I will pay my vows to the LORD,
now in the presence of all His people,
in the courts of the house of the LORD,
in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD!
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: Gracious is the LORD, 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, O Lord, until you come in glory.
Psalm 130
𝙍: My soul waits for the Lord.
Out of the depths have I cried unto You, O LORD.
Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
If you, LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with You,
so that You may be feared.
𝙍: My soul waits for the Lord.
I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait,
and in His word do I hope.
My soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning;
indeed, more than those who watch for the morning.
𝙍: My soul waits for the Lord.
O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the Lord there is mercy,
and with Him is abundant redemption.
And He will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.
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 soul waits for the Lord.
Psalm prayer
Father, we commend to your faithful love those who are crying from the depths; help them to watch and pray through their time of darkness, in sure hope of the dawn of your forgiveness and redemption; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Jeremiah 16:10-17:4
And when you tell this people all these words, and they say to you, “Why has the LORD pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?” then you shall say to them: Because your fathers have forsaken Me, says the LORD, and have walked after other gods and have served them and have worshipped them, but have forsaken Me and have not kept My law. And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, you each walk after the imaginations of his evil heart, so that they do not listen to Me. Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will serve other gods day and night because I will not show you favor.
Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that it will no longer be said, “As the LORD lives, who brought up the Israelites out of the land of Egypt,” but, “As the LORD lives, who brought up the Israelites from the land of the north and from all the lands wherever He had driven them.” And I will bring them again into their land that I gave to their fathers.
Behold, I will send for many fishermen, says the LORD, and they shall fish for them; and afterwards I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain and from every hill and out of the holes of the rocks. For My eyes are upon all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes. First I will doubly recompense their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable things.
O LORD, my strength and my fortress,
and my refuge in the day of affliction,
the nations will come to You
from the remote parts of the earth, and will say:
Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity,
and things in which there is no profit.
Shall a man make gods for himself,
which are not gods?
“Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know,
I will cause them to know
My hand and My might;
and they shall know
that My name is the LORD.”
The sin of Judah is written with an iron pen
and with a diamond point;
it is engraved on the tablet of their heart
and on the horns of their altars;
as they remember their children,
so they remember their altars
and their groves by the green trees
on the high hills.
O My mountain in the field,
I will give your wealth
and all your treasures to the destroyer,
and your high places
for sin throughout all your borders.
You, even yourself, will discontinue
from your inheritance that I gave you;
and I will cause you to serve your enemies
in the land which you do not know;
for you have kindled a fire in My anger
which will burn forever.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
John 9:1-17
As Jesus passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. But it happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. I must do the works of Him who sent Me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
When He had said this, He spit on the ground and made clay with the saliva. He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So he went away and washed, and returned seeing.
The neighbors and those who had previously seen that he was blind said, “Is this not he who sat and begged?” Some said, “This is he.”
Others said, “He is like him.”
But he said, “I am he.”
So they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”
He answered, “A Man called Jesus made clay, anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went away and washed, and I received my sight.”
They said to him, “Where is He?”
He said, “I do not know.”
They brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
Some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath day.”
Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” So there was division among them.
Then they said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?”
He said, “He is a prophet.”
Silence may be kept.
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Luke 1:46-55
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded
the low estate of His servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name.
His mercy is on those who fear Him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has pulled down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
in remembrance of His mercy,
as He spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to 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.
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:
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
Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Merciful Lord, absolve your people from their offenses, that through your bountiful goodness we may all be delivered from the chains of those sins which by our frailty we have committed; grant this, heavenly Father, for Jesus Christ's sake, our blessed Lord and Savior, 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, 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 God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
Amen.
Fri. evening Mar. 13
Opening response
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
Hear my voice according to your lovingkindness.
O LORD, give me life according to your judgment.
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.
Worship Song
Gratitude
Confession of Sin
Come, Holy Spirit of God,
and search our hearts with the light of Christ.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
“The first of all the commandments is, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Amen. Lord, have mercy.
After a period of reflection
Come, let us return to the Lord and say:
Lord our God, in our sin, we have avoided your call. Our faithfulness is like a morning cloud, and like the early dew, it goes away. Have mercy on us; deliver us from judgment; bind up our wounds and revive us; in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
cf Hosea 6
May Almighty God, who sent his Son into the world to save sinners, bring us his pardon and peace, now and forever.
Amen.
Psalm 69
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
Save me, O God!
For the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in deep mire,
where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
and the flood overflows me.
I am weary with my crying;
my throat is parched;
my eyes grow dim
while I wait for my God.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
Those who hate me without cause
are more than the hairs of my head;
they are mighty
who would destroy me, being my enemies wrongfully;
what I did not steal,
I must now restore.
O God, You know my folly,
and my sins are not hidden from You.
Let not those who wait on You,
O Lord GOD of Hosts,
be ashamed because of me;
let not those who seek You
be dishonored because of me,
O God of Israel,
because for Your sake I have borne reproach;
shame has covered my face.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
I have become a stranger to my brothers,
and an alien to my mother’s children;
for zeal for Your house has consumed me,
and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen upon me.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting,
it became my reproach.
When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a proverb to them.
Those who sit in the gate speak against me,
and I am the song of the drunkards.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD,
at an acceptable time; O God,
in the abundance of Your mercy,
answer me in the truth of Your salvation.
Deliver me out of the mire
and let me not sink;
let me be delivered from those who hate me,
and out of the deep waters.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
Let not the flood overflow me,
nor let the deep swallow me up;
and let not the pit close its mouth on me.
Hear me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good;
turn to me according to the abundance of Your tender mercies.
Hide not Your face from Your servant,
for I am in trouble; answer me quickly.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
Draw near to my soul, and redeem it;
deliver me because of my enemies.
You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor;
my adversaries are all known to You.
Reproach has broken my heart,
and I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none,
and for comforters, but I found none.
They also gave me poison in my food,
and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
Let their table become a snare before them,
and let their peace be a trap.
Let their eyes be darkened so they do not see,
and make their loins tremble continually.
Pour out Your indignation upon them,
and let Your wrathful anger overtake them.
Let their camp be desolate,
and let no one dwell in their tents.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
For they persecute him whom You have struck,
and they recount the pain of those whom You have wounded.
Add guilt to their iniquity,
and let them not come into Your righteousness.
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living,
and let them not be recorded with the righteous.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
But I am afflicted and in pain;
let Your salvation, O God, set me safely on high.
I will praise the name of God with a song,
and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
This will please the LORD
more than an ox or bull with horns and hoofs.
The humble shall see this and be glad;
and you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
For the LORD hears the poor,
and does not despise His prisoners.
Let heaven and earth praise Him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.
For God will save Zion,
and will build the cities of Judah,
that they may dwell there and possess it.
The descendants of His servants shall inherit it,
and those who love His name shall dwell in it.
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: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
Psalm prayer
Thirsting on the cross, your Son shared the reproach of the oppressed and carried the sins of all; in him, O God, may the despairing find you, the afflicted gain life and the whole creation know its true king, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Jeremiah 15:10-21
Woe is me, my mother, that you have borne me
as a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!
I have not lent with usury, nor have men lent to me on usury,
yet every one of them curses me!
The LORD said:
Truly I will set you free for good purposes.
Truly I will cause the enemy to entreat you
in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.
Can anyone break the northern iron
or the bronze?
Your wealth and your treasures
I will give to the destroyer without price,
and that for all your sins,
even within all your borders.
I will make you to pass with your enemies
into a land which you do not know;
for a fire is kindled in My anger,
which shall burn upon you.
O LORD, You who know, remember me,
and take notice of me,
and take vengeance on my persecutors.
Because of your longsuffering, do not take me away.
Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.
Your words were found and I ate them.
And Your word became to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart,
for I am called by Your name,
O LORD God of Hosts.
I did not sit in the assembly of mockers,
nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone because of Your hand,
for You have filled me with indignation.
Why is my pain perpetual
and my wound incurable, which refuses to be healed?
Shall You be altogether to me as a deceptive stream
and as waters that fail?
Therefore thus says the LORD:
If you return, then I will bring you back,
and you shall stand before Me;
and if you take out the precious from the worthless,
you will be My spokesman.
Let them return to you,
but do not return to them.
I will make you to this people
a fortified bronze wall;
and they shall fight against you,
but they shall not prevail against you;
for I am with you
to save you and to deliver you,
says the LORD.
I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,
and I will redeem you out of the hand of the violent.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
John 8:48-59
The Jews answered Him, “Do we not rightly say that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon. But I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. I do not seek glory for Myself. There is One who seeks it and judges. Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he shall never see death.”
Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham and the prophets died, and You say, ‘If a man keeps My word, he shall never taste death.’ Are You greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets are dead! Who do You make Yourself out to be?”
Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing. It is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. If I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you. But I know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day. He saw it and was glad.”
Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old. Have You seen Abraham?”
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.” Then they took up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple. Going through their midst, He passed by.
Silence may be kept.
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Luke 1:46-55
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded
the low estate of His servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name.
His mercy is on those who fear Him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has pulled down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
in remembrance of His mercy,
as He spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to 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.
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:
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
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God, whose beloved Son did not ascend to joy without first enduring pain, and did not enter into glory before being crucified: Grant us mercy, that as we follow the way of the cross, we may discover it to be the path of true life and lasting peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives 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, 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 God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
Amen.