Friday evening October 30

Saturday evening
Thursday 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

Ever Fainting with Desire

Charles Wesley
           
Ever fainting with desire,
For thee, O Christ, I call;
Thee I restlessly require,
I want my God, my all!
Jesus, dear redeeming Lord,
I wait thy coming from above;
Help me, Savior, speak the word,
And perfect me in love.

Wilt thou suffer me to go
Lamenting all my days?
Shall I never, never know
Thy sanctifying grace?
Wilt thou not the light afford,
The darkness from my soul remove?
Help me, Savior, speak the word,
And perfect me in love.

Lord, if I on thee believe,
The second gift impart;
With the indwelling Spirit give
A new, a contrite heart;
If with love thy heart is stored,
If now over me thy mercies move,
Help me, Savior, speak the word,
And perfect me in love.

Let me gain my calling's hope,
O make the sinner clean!
Dry corruption's fountain up,
Cut off the entail of sin;
Take me into thee, my Lord,
And I shall then no longer rove:
Help me, Savior, speak the word,
And perfect me in love.

Thou, my life, my treasure be,
My portion here below;
Nothing would I seek but thee,
Thee only would I know,
My exceeding great reward,
My heaven on earth, my heaven above!
Help me, Savior, speak the word,
And perfect me in love.

Grant me now the bliss to feel
Of those that are in thee;
Son of God, thyself reveal,
Engrave thy name on me;
As in heaven be here adored,
And let me now the promise prove;
Help me, Savior, speak the word,
And perfect me in love.

Confession of sin

The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
very patient, and full of faithful love.
He doesn’t deal with us according to our sin
or repay us according to our wrongdoing.
Because as high as heaven is above the earth,
that’s how large God’s faithful love is for those who honor him.

Silence is kept for reflection.

Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.

As far as east is from west—
that’s how far God has removed our sin from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,
that’s how the Lord feels compassion for those who honor him.

Let my whole being bless the Lord.
Let everything inside me bless his holy name.

Let my whole being bless the Lord,
and never forget all his good deeds.

The Word of God

Psalm 145

Refrain: 
The Lord is great and so worthy of praise!

I will lift you up high, my God, the true king.
    I will bless your name forever and always.
I will bless you every day.
    I will praise your name forever and always.
The Lord is great and so worthy of praise!
    God’s greatness can’t be grasped.
One generation will praise your works to the next one,
    proclaiming your mighty acts.
They will talk all about the glorious splendor of your majesty;
    I will contemplate your wondrous works.
They will speak of the power of your awesome deeds;
    I will declare your great accomplishments.
They will rave in celebration of your abundant goodness;
    they will shout joyfully about your righteousness:
    “The Lord is merciful and compassionate,
    very patient, and full of faithful love.
    The Lord is good to everyone and everything;
    God’s compassion extends, to all his handiwork!”
All that you have made gives thanks to you, Lord;
    all your faithful ones bless you!
They speak of the glory of your kingdom;
    they talk all about your power,
    to inform all human beings about God’s power
    and the majestic glory of God’s kingdom.
Your kingdom is a kingship that lasts forever;
    your rule endures for all generations.
The Lord is trustworthy in all that he says,
    faithful in all that he does.
The Lord supports all who fall down,
    straightens up all who are bent low.
All eyes look to you, hoping,
    and you give them their food right on time,
    opening your hand
    and satisfying the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in all his ways,
    faithful in all his deeds.
The Lord is close to everyone who calls out to him,
    to all who call out to him sincerely.
God shows favor to those who honor him,
    listening to their cries for help and saving them.
The Lord protects all who love him,
    but he destroys every wicked person.
My mouth will proclaim the Lord’s praise,
    and every living thing will bless God’s holy name
        forever and always.

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: 
The Lord is great and so worthy of praise!

Psalm prayer

King of the universe,
you show the bright glory of your reign
in acts of mercy and enduring love;
raise the spirits of the downcast
and restore those who have fallen away,
that we may sing forever of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading
2 Chronicles 35:20-36:10

After all of these things, when Josiah had finished restoring the temple, Egypt’s King Neco marched against Carchemish by the Euphrates, and Josiah marched out against him. But Neco sent messengers to Josiah. “What do you want with me, king of Judah?” he asked. “I haven’t come to attack you today. I’m after the dynasty that wars with me. God told me to hurry, and he is on my side. Get out of God’s way, or he will destroy you.”

But Josiah wouldn’t turn back. Instead, he camouflaged himself in preparation for battle, refusing to listen to Neco’s words from God’s own mouth, and went to fight Neco on the plain of Megiddo. When archers shot King Josiah, he said to his servants, “Take me away; I’m badly wounded!” So his servants took him out of his chariot, placed him in another one, and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died and was buried in the tombs of his ancestors. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. Jeremiah composed a funeral song for Josiah, and to this day every singer, man or woman, continues to remember Josiah in their funeral songs. They are now traditional in Israel and are written down among the funeral songs.

The rest of Josiah’s deeds, including his faithfulness in acting according to what is written in the Lord’s Instruction, and everything else he did, from beginning to end, are written in the official records of Israel’s and Judah’s kings.

The people of the land took Jehoahaz, Josiah’s son, and made him the next king in Jerusalem. Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king, and he ruled for three months in Jerusalem. The king of Egypt removed him from office in Jerusalem. The Egyptian king imposed a fine on the land totaling one hundred kikkars of silver and one kikkar of gold. Then the king of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king of Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Neco took his brother Jehoahaz prisoner and carried him off to Egypt.

Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king, and he ruled for eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes. Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar attacked him, bound him with bronze chains, and took him to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also took some equipment from the Lord’s temple to Babylon and placed them in his own temple there. The rest of Jehoiakim’s deeds, including his detestable practices and all that was charged against him, are written in the official records of Israel’s and Judah’s kings. His son Jehoiachin succeeded him as king.

Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king, and he ruled for three months in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes. In the springtime, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him to be brought to Babylon, along with valuable equipment from the Lord’s temple. Then he made Zedekiah his uncle the next king of Judah and Jerusalem.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
John 16:16-22

Soon you won’t be able to see me; soon after that, you will see me.”

Some of Jesus’ disciples said to each other, “What does he mean: ‘Soon you won’t see me, and soon after that you will see me’ and ‘Because I’m going to the Father’? What does he mean by ‘soon’? We don’t understand what he’s talking about.”

Jesus knew they wanted to ask him, so he said, “Are you trying to find out from each other what I meant when I said, ‘Soon you won’t see me, and soon after that you will see me’? I assure you that you will cry and lament, and the world will be happy. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman gives birth, she has pain because her time has come. But when the child is born, she no longer remembers her distress because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. In the same way, you have sorrow now; but I will see you again, and you will be overjoyed. No one takes away your joy.

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:

National leaders, public officials and the armed forces
Peace and justice in the world
Those who work for reconciliation
All whose lives are devastated by war and civil strife
Prisoners, refugees and homeless people

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

God, the giver of life,
whose Holy Spirit wells up within your church:
by the Spirit's gifts equip us to live the gospel of Christ
      and make us eager to do your will,
that we may share with the whole creation
      the joys of eternal life;
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.