Sunday evening October 17

Monday evening
Saturday 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

Let Earth and Heaven Agree

Charles Wesley

Let earth and heaven agree,

Angels and men be joined,

To celebrate with me

The Savior of mankind;

To adore the all-atoning Lamb,

And bless the sound of Jesus’ name,

Jesus! transporting sound!

The joy of earth and heaven;

No other help is found,

No other name is given,

By which we can salvation have;

But Jesus came the world to save.

His name the sinner hears,

And is from sin set free;

‘Tis music in his ears;

‘Tis life and victory;

New songs do now his lips employ,

And dances his glad heart for joy.

O unexampled love!

O all-redeeming grace!

How swiftly didst thou move

To save a fallen race!

What shall I do to make it known

What thou for all mankind hast done?

O for a trumpet voice,

On all the world to call!

To bid their hearts rejoice

In him who died for all;

For all, my Lord was crucified,

For all, for all, my Savior died.

Confession of sin

When we cry out to the Lord in our distress,

he will save us from our desperate circumstances.

God will bring us out of darkness

and out of the shadow of death.

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

May the Father forgive us

by the death of his Son

and strengthen us

to live in the power of the Spirit

all our days.

Amen.

Let us thank the Lord for his faithful love,

and his wondrous works for all people.

Let us offer thanksgiving sacrifices

and declare what God has done in songs of joy.

cf Psalm 107

The Word of God

Psalm 141

Refrain:

Set a guard over my mouth, Lord.

I cry out to you, Lord: Come to me—quickly!

Listen to my voice when I cry out to you!

Let my prayer stand before you like incense;

let my uplifted hands be like the evening offering.

Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;

keep close watch over the door that is my lips.

Don’t let my heart turn aside to evil things

so that I don’t do wicked things with evildoers,

so I don’t taste their delicacies.

Instead, let the righteous discipline me;

let the faithful correct me!

Let my head never reject that kind of fine oil,

because my prayers are always against the deeds of the wicked.

Their leaders will fall from jagged cliffs,

but my words will be heard because they are pleasing.

Our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave,

just like when the ground is broken up and plowed.

But my eyes are on you, my Lord God.

I take refuge in you; don’t let me die!

Protect me from the trap they’ve set for me;

protect me from the snares of the evildoers.

Let the wicked fall into their own nets—all together!—

but let me make it through safely.

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:

Set a guard over my mouth, Lord.

Psalm prayer

Lord God, our protector and guide,

who made us knowing both good and evil,

help us to desire all that is good,

that the offering of our lives may be acceptable to you;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading
Joshua 14:6-14

In Gilgal, the people of Judah approached Joshua. Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses, man of God, about you and me when we were in Kadesh-barnea. I was 40 years old when Moses the Lord’s servant sent me from Kadesh-barnea to scout out the land. I brought back a report to him of what I really thought. My companions who had gone up with me made the people’s heart melt. But I remained loyal to the Lord my God. So Moses pledged on that day, ‘The land on which you have walked will forever be a legacy for you and your children. This is because you remained loyal to the Lord my God.’ Now look. The Lord has kept me alive, exactly as he promised. It is forty-five years since the Lord spoke about this to Moses. It was while Israel was journeying in the desert. Now look. Today I’m 85 years old. I’m just as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength then was as my strength is now, whether for war or for everyday activities. So now, give me this highland that the Lord promised me that day. True, the Anakim are there with large fortified cities, as you yourself heard that day. But if the Lord is with me, I should be able to remove them, exactly as the Lord promised.”

So Joshua blessed him. He gave Hebron to Caleb, Jephunneh’s son, as a legacy. So Hebron still belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite as a legacy today. This was because he remained loyal to the Lord God of Israel.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Matthew 12:1-21

At that time Jesus went through the wheat fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry so they were picking heads of wheat and eating them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are breaking the Sabbath law.”

But he said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those with him were hungry? He went into God’s house and broke the law by eating the bread of the presence, which only the priests were allowed to eat. Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple treat the Sabbath as any other day and are still innocent? But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what this means, I want mercy and not sacrifice, you wouldn’t have condemned the innocent. The Human One is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Jesus left that place and went into their synagogue. A man with a withered hand was there. Wanting to bring charges against Jesus, they asked, “Does the Law allow a person to heal on the Sabbath?”

Jesus replied, “Who among you has a sheep that falls into a pit on the Sabbath and will not take hold of it and pull it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! So the Law allows a person to do what is good on the Sabbath.” Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he did and it was made healthy, just like the other one. The Pharisees went out and met in order to find a way to destroy Jesus.

Jesus knew what they intended to do, so he went away from there. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them all. But he ordered them not to spread the word about him, so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:

Look, my Servant whom I chose,

the one I love, in whom I find great pleasure.

I’ll put my Spirit upon him,

and he’ll announce judgment to the Gentiles.

He won’t argue or shout,

and nobody will hear his voice in the streets.

He won’t break a bent stalk,

and he won’t snuff out a smoldering wick,

until he makes justice win.

And the Gentiles will put their hope in his name.

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 universal church

Bishops, superintendents and all who lead the church

The leaders of the nations

The natural world and the resources of the earth

All who are in any kind of need

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

In faith we pray

We pray to you, our God.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Grant, we beseech you, merciful Lord,

to your faithful people pardon and peace,

that they may be cleansed from all their sins

and serve you with a quiet mind;

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.