Monday evening September 14
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
Father, God We Glorify
Charles Wesley
Father, God, we glorify
Thy love to Adam’s seed;
Love that gave thy Son to die,
And raised him from the dead:
Him, for our offenses slain,
That we all might pardon find,
Thou hast brought to life again,
The Savior of mankind.
By thy own right hand of power
Thou hast exalted him,
Sent the mighty Conqueror
Thy people to redeem:
King of saints, and Prince of Peace,
Him thou hast for sinners given,
Sinners from their sins to bless,
And lift them up to heaven.
Father, God, to us impart
The gift unspeakable;
Now in every waiting heart
Thy glorious Son reveal:
Quickened with our living Lord,
Let us in thy Spirit rise,
Rise to all thy life restored,
And bless thee in the skies.
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.
The Word of God
Psalm 4
Refrain:
The Lord will hear me when I cry out to him.
Answer me when I cry out, my righteous God!
Set me free from my troubles!
Have mercy on me!
Listen to my prayer!
How long, you people,
will my reputation be insulted?
How long will you continue
to love what is worthless
and go after lies?
Know this: the Lord takes
personal care of the faithful.
The Lord will hear me
when I cry out to him.
So be afraid, and don’t sin!
Think hard about it in your bed
and weep over it!
Bring righteous offerings,
and trust the Lord!
Many people say,
“We can’t find goodness anywhere.
The light of your face has left us, Lord!”
But you have filled my heart with more joy
than when their wheat and wine are everywhere!
I will lie down and fall asleep in peace
because you alone, Lord, let me live 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.
Refrain:
The Lord will hear me when I cry out to him.
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 7
Refrain:
I will thank the Lord for his righteousness.
I take refuge in you, Lord, my God.
Save me from all who chase me!
Rescue me!
Otherwise, they will rip me apart,
dragging me off with no chance of rescue.
Lord, my God, if I have done this—
if my hands have done anything wrong,
if I have repaid a friend with evil
or oppressed a foe for no reason—
then let my enemy
not only chase but catch me,
trampling my life into the ground,
laying my reputation in the dirt.
Get up, Lord; get angry!
Stand up against the fury of my foes!
Wake up, my God;
you command that justice be done!
Let the assembled peoples surround you.
Rule them from on high!
The Lord will judge the peoples.
Establish justice for me, Lord,
according to my righteousness
and according to my integrity.
Please let the evil of the wicked be over,
but set the righteous firmly in place
because you, the righteous God,
are the one who examines hearts and minds.
God is my shield;
he saves those whose heart is right.
God is a righteous judge,
a God who is angry at evil every single day.
If someone doesn’t change their ways,
God will sharpen his sword,
will bend his bow,
will string an arrow.
God has deadly weapons in store
for those who won’t change;
he gets his flaming arrows ready!
But look how the wicked hatch evil,
conceive trouble, give birth to lies!
They make a pit, dig it all out,
and then fall right into the hole that they’ve made!
The trouble they cause
will come back on their own heads;
the violence they commit
will come down on their own skulls.
But I will thank the Lord
for his righteousness;
I will sing praises
to the name of the Lord Most High.
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:
I will thank the Lord for his righteousness.
Psalm prayer
Lord, your justice turns evil on itself:
move us to examine our hearts
and repent of all duplicity;
for the sake of Jesus Christ,
our Judge and righteous Savior.
Old Testament reading
Zechariah 4
The messenger speaking with me returned and woke me like one who awakens someone who is asleep.
Then he said to me, “What do you see?”
I said, “I see a lampstand made entirely of gold.
It has a bowl on top. The bowl has seven lamps on top
and seven metal pipes for those lamps.
It has two olive trees beside the lampstand,
one to the right of its bowl and one to the left.”
I responded to the messenger speaking with me,
“What are these, sir?”
The messenger responded to me:
“Don’t you know what these are?”
I said, “No, sir. I don’t.”
He answered me:
“This is the Lord’s word to Zerubbabel:
Neither by power, nor by strength,
but by my spirit, says the Lord of heavenly forces.”
Who are you, great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain.
He will present the capstone to shouts of great gratitude.
The Lord’s word came to me:
The hands of Zerubbabel laid the foundation of this house,
and his hands will finish it
so that you will know that the Lord of heavenly forces has sent me to you.
Those who despise a time of little things will rejoice when they see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.
These are the seven eyes of the Lord, surveying the entire earth.
I responded to him,
“What are these two olive trees on the right and left sides of the lampstand?”
Then I responded a second time,
“What are these two olive branches that empty out golden oil through the two gold pipes?”
He said to me, “Don’t you know what these are?”
I said, “No, sir.”
He said,
“These are the two anointed ones standing beside the Lord of all the earth.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Mark 9:38-50
John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone throwing demons out in your name, and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.”
Jesus replied, “Don’t stop him. No one who does powerful acts in my name can quickly turn around and curse me. Whoever isn’t against us is for us. I assure you that whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will certainly be rewarded.
“As for whoever causes these little ones who believe in me to trip and fall into sin, it would be better for them to have a huge stone hung around their necks and to be thrown into the lake. If your hand causes you to fall into sin, chop it off. It’s better for you to enter into life crippled than to go away with two hands into the fire of hell, which can’t be put out. If your foot causes you to fall into sin, chop it off. It’s better for you to enter life lame than to be thrown into hell with two feet. If your eye causes you to fall into sin, tear it out. It’s better for you to enter God’s kingdom with one eye than to be thrown into hell with two. That’s a place where worms don’t die and the fire never goes out. Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt loses its saltiness, how will it become salty again? Maintain salt among yourselves and keep peace with each other.”
Silence may be kept.
Gospel canticle
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Refrain:
You show mercy to everyone, from one generation to the next, who honors you as God.
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:
You show mercy to everyone, from one generation to the next, who honors you as God.
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:
The media and the arts
Farming and fishing
Commerce and industry
Those whose work is unfulfilling, stressful or fraught with danger
All who are unemployed
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
Almighty God,
whose only Son has opened for us
a new and living way into your presence:
give us pure hearts and steadfast wills
to worship you in spirit and in truth;
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.