Fri. evening Jan. 16
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Opening response
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
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
I Must Tell Jesus
Words and Music: Elisha A. Hoffman (1839-1929)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#383)
I must tell Jesus all of my trials;
I cannot bear these burdens alone;
In my distress He kindly will help me;
He ever loves and cares for His own.
Refrain:
I must tell Jesus!
I must tell Jesus!
I cannot bear my burdens alone;
I must tell Jesus!
I must tell Jesus!
Jesus can help me, Jesus alone.
I must tell Jesus all of my troubles;
He is a kind, compassionate friend;
If I but ask Him, He will deliver,
Make of my troubles quickly an end. [Refrain]
Tempted and tried, I need a great Savior,
One who can help my burdens to bear;
I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus;
He all my cares and sorrows will share. [Refrain]
O how the world to evil allures me!
O how my heart is tempted to sin!
I must tell Jesus, and He will help me
Over the world the vict'ry to win. [Refrain]
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 68
𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.
Let God arise; let His enemies be scattered;
let those who hate Him flee before Him.
As smoke is driven away,
so drive them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
so let the wicked perish before God.
But let the righteous be glad;
let them rejoice before God;
let them rejoice exceedingly.
Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
extol Him who rides upon the clouds;
His name is the LORD;
rejoice before Him.
A father of the fatherless and a protector of the widows
is God in His holy habitation.
God settles the solitary in a home;
He leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.
O God, when You went forth before Your people,
when You marched through the wilderness,
the earth shook;
the heavens also poured down rain
at the presence of God; Sinai itself quaked
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
You, O God, shed abroad a plentiful rain;
You confirmed Your inheritance when it was weary.
Your congregation dwelt in it;
You, O God, provided in Your goodness for the poor.
𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.
The Lord gave the word;
great was the company of the women who proclaimed it:
“Kings of armies flee; they flee!”
Even she who remains at home divides the spoil.
Though you lie down among the sheepfolds,
you will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
and its pinions with yellow gold.
When the Almighty scattered kings in it,
it was white as snow on Mount Zalmon.
𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.
The mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
a mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
Why do you look with envy, you mountain of many peaks,
at the mountain which God desires to dwell in?
Yes, the LORD will dwell in it forever.
The chariots of God are twenty thousand, thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them as at Sinai, in the holy place.
You have ascended on high,
leading captives in your train;
You have received gifts among men,
even from the rebellious,
that the LORD God might dwell there.
𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up,
the God of our salvation.
Our God is the God of salvation;
and to God the Lord belongs escape from death.
But God will wound the heads of His enemies,
the hairy head of him who walks in his guilty ways.
The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan;
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
that you may bathe your foot in blood,
and the tongues of your dogs may have their share from your enemies.”
𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.
They have seen Your processions, O God,
the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
The singers went in front,
the musicians followed behind;
between them were the young women playing tambourines.
Bless God in the congregations,
the LORD, from the fountain of Israel.
There is little Benjamin leading them,
the princes of Judah in their throng,
the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.
𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.
Summon Your might, O God;
show Your strength, O God, which You have done for us before.
Because of Your temple at Jerusalem,
kings will bring gifts to You.
Rebuke the animals that live among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples,
until everyone submits himself with pieces of silver;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
Envoys will come from Egypt;
Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.
𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.
Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth;
oh, sing praises to the Lord,
to Him who rides on the highest heavens, which were of old!
Behold, He sends out His voice, a mighty voice.
Ascribe strength to God;
His excellency is over Israel,
and His strength is in the clouds.
O God, You are awesome in Your sanctuary;
the God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people.
Blessed be God!
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: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.
Psalm prayer
Blessed are you, gracious God; you make your home among the weak, you deliver us from death, you bring us joy beyond our imagining to the praise of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Amos 5:1-17
Hear this word which I take up as a dirge against you, O house of Israel:
Fallen, no more to rise
is maiden Israel;
forsaken on her land,
with no one to raise her up.
For thus says the Lord GOD:
The city that went out with a thousand
will be left with a hundred,
and the one that went out with a hundred
will be left with ten for the house of Israel.
Indeed, thus says the LORD to the house of Israel:
Seek Me and live!
But do not seek Bethel,
and do not enter into Gilgal
or cross over to Beer-sheba;
for Gilgal will surely go into captivity,
and Bethel shall be no more.
Seek the LORD and live,
or He will break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
and it will devour Bethel,
with no one to quench it.
You who turn justice into bitterness
and cast righteousness down to the ground!
The One who made the Pleiades and Orion,
who turns the deep darkness into dawn
and darkens the day into night,
who summons the waters of the sea
and pours them out on the surface of the earth—
the LORD is His name,
the One who flashes destruction against the strong,
so that destruction comes against the fortress.
They hate the one who prosecutes at the gate,
and abhor the one who speaks with integrity.
Therefore, because you trample on the poor
and take from him a levy of wheat,
though you have built houses of hewn stone,
you will not dwell in them;
though you have planted pleasant vineyards,
you will not drink their wine.
For I know your transgressions are many
and your sins are grievous,
you who oppress the just,
who take a bribe and subvert the needy at the gate.
Therefore the prudent are silent at such a time,
for it is an evil time.
Seek good and not evil,
so that you may live;
then the LORD, the God of Hosts, will truly be with you,
as you claim.
Hate evil and love good,
and establish justice at the gate.
It may then be that the LORD God of Hosts will be gracious
to the remnant of Joseph.
Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Hosts, the Lord:
Wailing will be in all the squares,
and in all the streets they will say, “Alas! Alas!”
They shall call the farmer to mourning,
and to wailing those skilled in lamentation.
In all vineyards there shall be wailing,
for I will pass through you,
says the LORD.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
1 Corinthians 4
Let a man so regard us as the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by man’s judgment. I do not even judge myself. For I know nothing against myself. Yet I am not justified by this. But He who judges me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time until the Lord comes. He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will reveal the purposes of the hearts. Then everyone will have commendation from God.
Brothers, I have figuratively applied these things to myself and to Apollos for your sakes, so that you may learn from us not to think of men above that which is written, and that not one of you would be arrogant for one against another. For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you received it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
Now you are full! Now you are rich! You have begun reigning as kings without us! And I would that you did reign, so that we also might reign with you. For I think that God has exhibited us, the apostles, last, as if we were sentenced to death. For we have been made a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honorable, but we are despised. Even to this present hour we both hunger and thirst, and are poorly clothed and beaten and homeless. We labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless. Being persecuted, we endure. Being slandered, we encourage. We are made as the filth of the world, and are the refuse of all things to this day.
I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For if you were to have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers. In Christ Jesus I have become a father to you through the gospel. So I implore you, be followers of me. Therefore I have sent Timothy to you. He is my beloved son and is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.
Now some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you shortly if the Lord wills. And I will know not only what those who are arrogant are saying, but also their power. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and in the spirit of meekness?
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:
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
Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Eternal Father, who at the baptism of Jesus revealed him to be your Son, anointing him with the Holy Spirit: grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit, that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children; 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, 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 Christ, who sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit.
Amen.
Thu. evening Jan. 15
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Opening response
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
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
He Leadeth Me: O Blessed Thought
Words: Joseph H. Gilmore (1862)
Music: William B. Bradbury (1864)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#73)
He leadeth me: O blessed thought!
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate'er I do, where'er I be,
still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me.
Refrain:
He leadeth me, he leadeth me;
by his own hand he leadeth me:
his faithful follower I would be,
for by his hand he leadeth me.
Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
sometimes where Eden's flowers bloom,
by waters calm, o'er troubled sea,
still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me. [Refrain]
And when my task on earth is done,
when, by thy grace, the victory's won,
e'en death's cold wave I will not flee,
since God through Jordan leadeth me. [Refrain]
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.
Psalm 61
𝙍: You are my refuge, O Lord, a strong tower against the enemy.
Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.
From the end of the earth will I call to You,
when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For You have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.
I will abide in Your tent forever;
I will take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.
𝙍: You are my refuge, O Lord, a strong tower against the enemy.
For You, O God, have heard my vows;
You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.
Prolong the life of the king,
and may his years be like many generations!
May he sit enthroned before God forever;
appoint mercy and truth to guard him.
So will I sing praise to Your name forever,
as I fulfill my vows day by day.
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: You are my refuge, O Lord, a strong tower against the enemy.
Psalm prayer
Risen Christ, as you knew the discipline of suffering and the victory that brings us salvation, so grant us your presence in our weakness and a place in your unending kingdom now and forevermore.
Psalm 65
𝙍: Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth!
Praise awaits You, O God, in Zion,
and to You shall vows be performed.
O You who hear prayer,
to You shall all flesh come.
Iniquities prevail against me;
as for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them.
Blessed is the man You choose and allow to approach You,
that he may dwell in Your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Your holy temple.
𝙍: Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth!
By awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
You who are the hope of all the ends of the earth,
and of the farthest seas;
who established the mountains by His strength,
who is girded with might.
You still the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the tumult of the peoples.
They also who dwell in the faraway places
are in awe at Your signs;
You make the going out of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
𝙍: Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth!
You visit the earth and water it;
You greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
for so You have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly;
You settle its ridges;
You make it soft with showers;
You bless its growth.
You crown the year with Your goodness,
and Your paths drip with fatness.
They drip on the pastures of the wilderness,
and the hills gird themselves with rejoicing.
The pastures are clothed with flocks;
the valleys also are covered with grain;
they shout for joy, yes, they also sing.
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: Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth!
Psalm prayer
May the richness of your creation, Lord, and the mystery of your providence lead us to that heavenly city, where all peoples will bring their wealth, forsake their sins and find their true joy, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Amos 4
Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria,
who oppress the poor and crush the needy,
who say to their husbands, “Bring us something to drink!”
The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness:
Behold, the days are coming upon you
when they will take you away with hooks,
the last one of you with fishhook.
You will go out through breached walls,
every one straight ahead of her;
you will be exiled to Harmon,
says the LORD.
Come to Bethel and transgress,
to Gilgal and multiply transgression;
bring your sacrifices every morning
and your tithes every three days.
Burn leavened bread as a thank offering;
announce your voluntary offerings loudly,
for so you love to do, O Israelites,
says the Lord GOD.
Though I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities
and lack of food in all your places,
yet you did not return to Me,
says the LORD.
I also withheld the rain from you,
when there were still three months to the harvest.
I would send rain on one town,
and send no rain on another town.
One field would receive rain,
but another field without rain would wither.
So two or three towns wandered to one town to drink water,
but they were not satisfied;
yet you did not return to Me,
says the LORD.
I struck you with blight and mildew.
Locusts devoured your many gardens and vineyards,
your fig trees and olive trees;
yet you did not return to Me,
says the LORD.
Pestilence like that of Egypt
I sent against you.
By the sword I killed your young men;
your horses were taken captive.
The stench of your camps I brought up into your nostrils;
yet you did not return to Me,
says the LORD.
I destroyed some of you,
as God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
You were like a firebrand plucked out of the fire;
yet you did not return to Me,
says the LORD.
Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel,
and because I will do this to you,
prepare to meet your God, O Israel!
The One who forms the mountains
and creates the wind,
who reveals His thoughts to man,
who turns the darkness into dawn
and strides on the heights of the earth —
the LORD, the God of Hosts, is His name.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
1 Corinthians 3
Brothers, I could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to worldly, even as to babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk and not with solid food. For to this day you were not able to endure it. Nor are you able now, for you are still worldly. For while there is envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not worldly and behaving as mere men? For while one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not worldly?
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to each one? I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither is he who plants nor he who waters anything, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are laborers together with God: You are God’s field; you are God’s building.
According to the grace of God which has been given to me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, but another builds on it. Now let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no one can lay another foundation than that which was laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or stubble, each one’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If anyone’s work which he has built on the foundation endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss. But he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy. And you are His temple.
Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.” Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come, all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
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:
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
Eternal Father, who at the baptism of Jesus revealed him to be your Son, anointing him with the Holy Spirit: grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit, that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children; 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, 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 Christ, who sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit.
Amen.
Wed. evening Jan. 14
Enjoying Methodist Prayer? Please consider making a one-time or recurring donation.
Opening response
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
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
The Church’s One Foundation
Words: Samuel J. Stone (1866)
Music: Samuel S. Wesley (1864)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#388)
The Church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord;
She is His new creation
By water and the Word:
From heav’n He came and sought her
To be His holy Bride;
With His own blood He bought her,
And for her life He died.
Elect from every nation,
Yet one o’er all the earth,
Her charter of salvation,
One Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy Name she blesses,
Partakes one holy food,
And to one hope she presses,
With every grace endued.
’Mid toil and tribulation,
And tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation
Of peace for evermore;
Till, with the vision glorious,
Her longing eyes are blest,
And the great Church victorious
Shall be the Church at rest.
Yet she on earth hath union
With God the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion
With those whose rest is won:
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we,
Like them, the meek and lowly,
In love may dwell with Thee.
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 47
𝙍: Sing praises to God, sing praises.
Clap your hands, all you people!
Shout to God with a voice of triumph.
For the LORD Most High is awesome;
He is a great King over all the earth.
He subdued peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
He chose our heritage for us,
the excellency of Jacob whom He loves.
𝙍: Sing praises to God, sing praises.
God has gone up with a shout,
the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the King of all the earth;
sing praises with understanding.
𝙍: Sing praises to God, sing praises.
God reigns over the nations;
God sits on His holy throne.
The princes of the peoples have assembled
as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
He is greatly exalted.
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: Sing praises to God, sing praises.
Psalm prayer
As Christ was raised by your glory, Father, so may we be raised to new life and rejoice to be called your children, both now and forever.
Psalm 48
𝙍: We have thought on Your lovingkindness, O God.
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God, in His holy mountain.
Beautiful in elevation,
the joy of the whole earth,
is Mount Zion on the sides of the north,
the city of the great King.
Within her citadels God is known
as a refuge.
𝙍: We have thought on Your lovingkindness, O God.
For behold, the kings assembled;
they passed by together.
They saw it, and so they were astounded;
they were troubled; they took to flight.
Trembling took hold of them there,
and pain, as of a woman in labor,
as when You break the ships of Tarshish
with an east wind.
As we have heard,
so have we seen
in the city of the LORD of Hosts,
in the city of our God;
God will establish it forever.
𝙍: We have thought on Your lovingkindness, O God.
We have thought on Your lovingkindness, O God,
in the midst of Your temple.
According to Your name, O God,
so is Your praise to the ends of the earth;
Your right hand is full of righteousness.
Let Mount Zion rejoice;
let the daughters of Judah be glad,
because of Your judgments.
Walk about Zion, and go all around her;
count her towers;
mark well her bulwarks;
go through her citadels,
that you may tell the next generation
that this is God, our God forever and ever;
He will be our guide 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: We have thought on Your lovingkindness, O God.
Psalm prayer
Father of lights, raise us with Christ to your eternal city, that, with kings and nations, we may wait in the midst of your temple and see your glory forever and ever.
Old Testament reading
Amos 3
Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O Israelites, against the whole family I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:
You alone have I known
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish you
for all your iniquities.
Do two people walk together,
if they have not agreed?
Does a lion roar in the forest,
if it has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out from its den,
if it has not caught something?
Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground,
if there was no snare for it?
Does a trap spring up from the ground,
if it has not caught something?
If the trumpet blasts in the city,
are not the people frightened?
If there is disaster against a city,
is it not the LORD who has done it?
Surely the Lord GOD does nothing
without revealing His purpose
to His servants the prophets.
The lion has roared;
who will not fear?
The Lord GOD has spoken;
who can but prophesy?
Proclaim to the fortresses in Ashdod,
and the fortresses in the land of Egypt, and say:
“Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria,
and see the great disorders within her,
and the oppression in her midst.”
They do not know how to do right, says the LORD,
storing up violence and destruction in their fortresses.
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
An enemy will surround your land;
he will tear down your defenses,
and your fortresses will be plundered.
Thus says the LORD:
As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion
a pair of legs or a piece of an ear,
so will the Israelites be rescued,
those who live in Samaria,
with the corner of a bed
or a piece of a couch.
Hear and testify against the house of Jacob, says the Lord GOD, the God of Hosts:
Surely on the day I punish the transgressions of Israel,
I will also punish the altars of Bethel;
the horns of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
I will destroy the winter house
as well as the summer house,
and the houses of ivory will perish;
the great houses will come to an end,
says the LORD.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
1 Corinthians 2
Brothers, when I came to you, I did not come with superiority of speech or wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my preaching were not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Yet we speak wisdom among those who are mature, although not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age knew it. For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written,
“Eye has not seen,
nor ear heard,
nor has it entered into the heart of man
the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit.
For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man, except the spirit of man which is in him? Likewise, no one knows the things of God, except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, so that we might know the things that are freely given to us by God. These things also we proclaim, not in the words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things. Yet he himself is not judged by anyone. For
“who has known the mind of the Lord
that he may instruct Him?”
But we have the mind of Christ.
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:
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
Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Eternal Father, who at the baptism of Jesus revealed him to be your Son, anointing him with the Holy Spirit: grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit, that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children; 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, 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 Christ, who sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit.
Amen.