Tuesday evening September 3

Wednesday evening
Monday evening

Preparation

Opening response

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

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

Prince of Universal Peace

Charles Wesley
           
Prince of universal peace,
Destroy the enmity,
Bid our jars and discords cease,
Unite us all in thee:
Cruel as wild beasts we are,
’Till vanquished by thy mercy’s power,
Men, like wolves, each other tear,
And their own flesh devour.

But if thou pronounce the word
That forms our souls again,
Love and harmony restored
Throughout the earth shall reign;
When thy wondrous love they feel,
The human savages are tame,
Ravenous wolves, and leopards dwell
And stable with the lamb.

Bears transformed with oxen graze,
Their young together feed,
With the calf the lion plays,
Nor rends the dandled kid;
Harshest natures reconciled
With soft, and fierce with meek agree,
Gentle, tractable, and mild
As harmless infancy.

O that now with pardon blest
We each might each embrace,
Quietly together rest,
And feed upon thy grace,
Like our sinless parents live!
Great shepherd, make thy goodness known,
All into thy fold receive,
And keep forever one.

Confession of sin

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor. 

Silence may be kept.

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

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

The Word of God

Psalm 89:19-52

Refrain: 
Teach me your way, Lord, so that I can walk in your truth.

Once you spoke in a vision
    to your faithful servants:
I placed a crown on a strong man.
    I raised up someone specially chosen from the people.
I discovered my servant David.
    I anointed him with my holy oil.
My hand will sustain him—
    yes, my arm will strengthen him!
No enemy will oppress him;
    no wicked person will make him suffer.
I will crush all his foes in front of him.
    I will strike down all those who hate him.
My faithfulness and my loyal love will be with him.
    He will be strengthened by my name.
I will set his hand on the sea.
    I will set his strong hand on the rivers.
He will cry out to me:
    “You are my father,
    my God, the rock of my salvation.”
Yes, I’ll make him the one born first—
    I’ll make him the high king of all earth’s kings.
I will always guard my loyal love toward him.
    My covenant with him will last forever.
I will establish his dynasty for all time.
    His throne will last as long as heaven does.
But if his children ever abandon my Instruction,
    stop following my rules—
        if they treat my statutes like dirt,
        stop keeping my commandments—
    then I will punish their sin with a stick,
        and I will punish their wrongdoing with a severe beating.
But even then I won’t withdraw my loyal love from him.
    I won’t betray my faithfulness.
    I won’t break my covenant.
    I won’t renege on what crossed my lips.
By my own holiness I’ve sworn one thing:
    I will not lie to David.
    His dynasty will last forever.
    His throne will be like the sun, always before me.
    It will be securely established forever;
    like the moon, a faithful witness in the sky. 
But you, God, have rejected and despised him.
    You’ve become infuriated with your anointed one.
    You’ve canceled the covenant with your servant.
    You’ve thrown his crown in the dirt.
    You’ve broken through all his walls.
    You’ve made his strongholds a pile of ruins.
All those who pass by plunder him.
    He’s nothing but a joke to his neighbors.
You lifted high his foes’ strong hand.
    You gave all his enemies reason to celebrate.
Yes, you dulled the edge of his sword
    and didn’t support him in battle.
    You’ve put an end to his splendor.
    You’ve thrown his throne to the ground.
    You’ve shortened the prime of his life.
    You’ve wrapped him up in shame. 
How long will it last, Lord?
    Will you hide yourself forever?
    How long will your wrath burn like fire?
Remember how short my life is!
    Have you created humans for no good reason?
Who lives their life without seeing death?
    Who is ever rescued from the grip of the grave?
Where now are your loving acts
    from long ago, my Lord—
    the same ones you promised to David
    by your own faithfulness?
Remember your servant’s abuse, my Lord!
    Remember how I bear in my heart
    all the insults of the nations,
        the ones your enemies, Lord, use—
        the ones they use to abuse
        every step your anointed one takes.
Bless the Lord forever!
    Amen and Amen!

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain: 
Teach me your way, Lord, so that I can walk in your truth.

Psalm prayer

Faithful God,
remember your promise
fulfilled in your anointed Son Jesus Christ,
in whose strength alone we stand,
now and forever.

Old Testament reading
2 Samuel 5:1-12

All the Israelite tribes came to David at Hebron and said, “Listen: We are your very own flesh and bone. In the past, when Saul ruled over us, you were the one who led Israel out to war and back. What’s more, the Lord told you, You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will be Israel’s leader.

So all the Israelite elders came to the king at Hebron. King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.

David was 30 years old when he became king, and he ruled for forty years. He ruled over Judah for seven and a half years in Hebron. He ruled thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah in Jerusalem.

The king and his troops marched on Jerusalem against the Jebusites, who inhabited the territory. The Jebusites said to David, “You’ll never get us in here! Even the blind and the lame will beat you back!” “David will never enter here,” they said to each other. But David did capture the fortress of Zion—which became David’s City. “On that day,” David said, “whoever attacks the Jebusites should strike the windpipe because David hates the lame and the blind.” That is why people say, “The blind and the lame will not enter the temple.” David occupied the fortress, so it was renamed David’s City. David built a city around it from the earthen terraces inward. David grew increasingly powerful, and the Lord of heavenly forces was with him.

Tyre’s King Hiram sent messengers to David with cedar logs, bricklayers, and carpenters to build David a palace. Then David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingship was held in great honor for the sake of his people Israel.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Acts 7:1-16

The high priest asked, “Are these accusations true?”

Stephen responded, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran. God told him, ‘Leave your homeland and kin, and go to the land that I will show you.’ So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After Abraham’s father died, God had him resettle in this land where you now live. God didn’t give him an inheritance here, not even a square foot of land. However, God did promise to give the land as his possession to him and to his descendants, even though Abraham had no child. God put it this way: His descendants will be strangers in a land that belongs to others, who will enslave them and abuse them for four hundred years. And I will condemn the nation they serve as slaves, God said, and afterward they will leave that land and serve me in this place. God gave him the covenant confirmed through circumcision. Accordingly, eight days after Isaac’s birth, Abraham circumcised him. Isaac did the same with Jacob, and Jacob with the twelve patriarchs.

“Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him into slavery in Egypt. God was with him, however, and rescued him from all his troubles. The grace and wisdom he gave Joseph were recognized by Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over his whole palace. A famine came upon all Egypt and Canaan, and great hardship came with it. Our ancestors had nothing to eat. When Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there for the first time. During their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives—seventy-five in all—and invited them to live with him. So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had purchased for a certain sum of money from Hamor’s children, who lived in Shechem.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticle
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Refrain:
God, you have done great things and holy is your name.

With all my heart I glorify the Lord!
In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.
Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored
because the mighty one has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
He shows mercy to everyone,
from one generation to the next,
who honors him as God.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.
He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty-handed.
He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,
remembering his mercy, 
just as he promised to our ancestors, 
to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.

Luke 1:46-55

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
God, you have done great things and holy is your name.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith: 

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Thanksgiving and intercession

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs

Prayers may include the following concerns:

 All who are sick in body, mind or spirit
Those in the midst of famine or disaster
Victims of abuse and violence, intolerance and prejudice
Those who are bereaved
All who work in the medical and healing professions

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

O God, you declare your almighty power
most chiefly in showing mercy and pity:
mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace,
that we, running the way of your commandments,
may receive your gracious promises,
and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure;
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

As our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.

Conclusion

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.