Opening response

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

Reveal among us the light of your presence
that we may behold your power and glory.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
creator of light and darkness,
to you be glory and praise forever.
As evening falls, you renew your promise
to reveal among us the light of your presence.
May your word be a lantern to our feet
and a light upon our path
that we may behold your coming among us.
Strengthen us in our stumbling weakness
and free our tongues to sing 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

Thy Ceaseless, Unexhausted Love

Charles Wesley

Thy ceaseless, unexhausted Love,
Unmerited and free,
Delights our evil to remove,
And help our misery.

Thou waitest to be gracious still;
Thou dost with sinners bear;
That, saved, we may thy goodness feel,
And all thy grace declare.

Thy goodness and thy truth, to me,
To every soul abound;
A vast unfathomable sea,
Where all our thoughts are drowned.

Its streams the whole creation reach,
So plenteous is the store;
Enough for all, enough for each,
Enough forevermore.

Faithful, O Lord, thy mercies are,
A rock that cannot move:
A thousand promises declare
Thy constancy of love.

Throughout the universe it reigns,
Unalterably sure;
And, while the truth of God remains,
His goodness must endure.

Confession of sin

The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins
or repaid us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his loving devotion for 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 has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and do not forget all his kind deeds.

Psalm 4

𝙍: I will lie down and sleep in peace.

Answer me when I call,
O God of my righteousness!
You have relieved my distress;
show me grace and hear my prayer.

How long, O men, will my honor be maligned?
How long will you love vanity and seek after lies ?
Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself;
the LORD hears when I call to Him.

Be angry, yet do not sin;
on your bed, search your heart and be still. 𝙍

Offer the sacrifices of the righteous
and trust in the LORD.

Many ask, “Who can show us the good?”
Shine the light of Your face upon us, O LORD.
You have filled my heart with more joy
than when grain and new wine abound.
I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

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: I will lie down and sleep in peace.

Psalm prayer

Give us today, O God,
a glad heart and a clear conscience,
that when we come to this day’s end
we may rest in peace with Christ our Lord.

Psalm 9

𝙍: You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart;
I will recount all Your wonders.
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

When my enemies retreat,
they stumble and perish before You.
For You have upheld my just cause;
You sit on Your throne judging righteously. 𝙍

You have rebuked the nations;
You have destroyed the wicked;
You have erased their name forever and ever.
The enemy has come to eternal ruin,
and You have uprooted their cities;
the very memory of them has vanished.

But the LORD abides forever;
He has established His throne for judgment.
He judges the world with justice;
He governs the people with equity.
The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
Those who know Your name trust in You,
for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You. 𝙍

Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion;
proclaim His deeds among the nations.
For the Avenger of bloodshed remembers;
He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.

Be merciful to me, O LORD;
see how my enemies afflict me!
Lift me up from the gates of death,
that I may declare all Your praises—
that within the gates of Daughter Zion
I may rejoice in Your salvation.

The nations have fallen into a pit of their making;
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
The LORD is known by the justice He brings;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. 𝙍

The wicked will return to Sheol—
all the nations who forget God.
For the needy will not always be forgotten;
nor the hope of the oppressed forever dashed.

Rise up, O LORD, do not let man prevail;
let the nations be judged in Your presence.
Lay terror upon them, O LORD;
let the nations know they are but men.

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, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

Psalm prayer

Remember, Lord, all who cry to you
from death’s dark gates;
do not forget those whom the world forgets,
but raise your faithful ones to Zion’s gate,
with your all-conquering Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Zephaniah 3:1-13

Woe to the city of oppressors,
rebellious and defiled!
She heeded no voice;
she accepted no correction.
She does not trust in the LORD;
she has not drawn near to her God.
Her princes are roaring lions;
her judges are evening wolves,
leaving nothing for the morning.
Her prophets are reckless,
faithless men.
Her priests profane the sanctuary;
they do violence to the law.
The LORD within her is righteous;
He does no wrong.
He applies His justice morning by morning;
He does not fail at dawn,
yet the unjust know no shame.

“I have cut off the nations;
their corner towers are destroyed.
I have made their streets deserted
with no one to pass through.
Their cities are laid waste,
with no man, no inhabitant.
I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me
and accept correction.’
Then her dwelling place would not be cut off
despite all for which I punished her.
But they rose early
to corrupt all their deeds.
Therefore wait for Me,”
declares the LORD,
“until the day
I rise to testify.
For My decision is to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them My indignation—
all My burning anger.
For all the earth will be consumed
by the fire of My jealousy.

For then I will restore
pure lips to the peoples,
that all may call upon the name of the LORD
and serve Him shoulder to shoulder.
From beyond the rivers of Cush
My worshipers, My scattered people,
will bring Me an offering.
On that day you will not be put to shame
for any of the deeds
by which you have transgressed against Me.
For then I will remove from among you
those who rejoice in their pride,
and you will never again be haughty
on My holy mountain.
But I will leave within you a meek and humble people,
and they will trust in the name of the LORD.
The remnant of Israel
will no longer do wrong or speak lies,
nor will a deceitful tongue
be found in their mouths.
But they will feed and lie down,
with no one to make them tremble.”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Matthew 18:1-20

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Jesus invited a little child to stand among them. “Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me.

But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

Woe to the world for the causes of sin. These stumbling blocks must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!

If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.

What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Again, I tell you truly that if two of you on the earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them.”

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

𝙍: Lord Jesus, you are the one who is to come, the one whom we await with longing hearts.

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: Lord Jesus, you are the one who is to come, the one whom we await with longing hearts.

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 church, that she may be ready for the coming of Christ
The leaders of the church
The nations, that they may be subject to the rule of God
Those who are working for justice in the world
The broken, that they may find God’s healing

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

O Lord Jesus Christ,
who at your first coming sent your messenger
to prepare your way before you:
grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise so prepare and make ready your way
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world
we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Awaiting his coming in glory,
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 the Lord, when he comes, find us watching and waiting.
Amen.