Tue. evening Dec. 23
Opening response
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
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
Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates
Words: George Wessel (1642); trans. Catherine Winkworth (1855)
Music: Psalmodia Evangelica (1789)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise #171
Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates;
behold, the King of glory waits;
the King of kings is drawing near;
the Savior of the world is here!
Fling wide the portals of your heart;
make it a temple, set apart
from earthly use for heaven's employ,
adorned with prayer and love and joy.
Redeemer, come, with us abide;
our hearts to thee we open wide;
let us thy inner presence feel;
thy grace and love in us reveal.
Thy Holy Spirit lead us on
until our glorious goal is won;
eternal praise, eternal fame
be offered, Savior, to thy name!
Confession of Sin
Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Almighty God, patient and of great goodness: I confess to you, I confess with my whole heart my neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments, my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking; the hurts I have done to others, and the good I have left undone. O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you; and raise me to newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
May the God of love and power forgive us and free us from our sins, heal and strengthen us by his Spirit, and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Psalm 89:1-37
I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever;
with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
For I have said, “Mercy will be built up forever;
Your faithfulness will be established in the heavens.”
You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
‘I will establish your descendants forever,
and build up your throne for all generations.’ ”
Let the heavens praise Your wonders, O LORD,
Your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.
For who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD?
God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the holy ones,
and awesome above all who are around Him.
O LORD God of Hosts, who is as mighty as You, O LORD?
Your faithfulness surrounds You.
You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, You still them.
You crushed Rahab like one who is slain;
You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
The heavens are Yours; the earth also is Yours;
the world and all that is in it, You have founded them.
The north and the south, You have created them;
Tabor and Hermon rejoice in Your name.
You have a mighty arm;
strong is Your hand, and exalted is Your right hand.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
mercy and truth go before Your presence.
Blessed are the people who know the joyful shout.
They walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance.
In Your name they rejoice all day long,
and in Your righteousness they are exalted.
For You are the glory of their strength;
by Your favor our horn is exalted.
For our shield belongs to the LORD,
and our king to the Holy One of Israel.
Long ago You spoke in a vision
to Your holy one, and said:
“I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
I have found David, My servant;
with My holy oil have I anointed him,
by whom My hand shall be established;
My arm also shall strengthen him.
The enemy shall not exact usury from him,
nor the wicked humiliate him.
I will beat down his foes before him,
and strike those who hate him.
My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him,
and in My name his horn shall be exalted.
I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, my God,
and the rock of my salvation.’
Also I will make him my firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
My mercy will I keep for him forever,
and My covenant will stand firm with him.
His descendants also will I establish forever
and his throne as the days of heaven.
“If his children forsake My law
and do not walk according to My decrees,
if they break My statutes
and do not keep My commandments,
then will I punish their transgression with the rod,
and their iniquity with stripes.
Nevertheless I will not remove My lovingkindness from him,
nor allow My faithfulness to fail.
I will not break My covenant,
nor alter the word that has gone out from My lips.
Once and for all have I sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David.
His descendants shall endure forever,
and his throne as the sun before Me.
It shall be established forever like the moon,
a faithful witness in the sky.”
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.
Psalm prayer
As we sing of your love, O Lord, anoint us with the Spirit’s seal, that we may praise your faithfulness and proclaim your truth from age to age; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Isaiah 54
Sing, O barren,
you who did not bear a child.
Break forth into singing and cry aloud,
you who did not travail with child.
For more are the children of the desolate
than the children of the married wife,
says the LORD.
Enlarge the place of your tent,
and let them stretch out the curtains of your habitations;
spare not,
lengthen your cords,
and strengthen your stakes.
For you shall spread out to the right hand and to the left,
and your descendants shall inherit the nations
and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
Do not fear, for you shall not be ashamed, nor be humiliated;
for you shall not be put to shame,
for you shall forget the shame of your youth
and shall not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.
For your maker is your husband,
the LORD of Hosts is His name;
and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
He shall be called the God of the whole earth.
For the LORD has called you
as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,
and a wife of youth
when you were refused, says your God.
For a small moment I have forsaken you,
but with great mercies I will gather you.
In a little wrath
I hid My face from you for a moment;
but with everlasting kindness
I will have mercy on you,
says the LORD your Redeemer.
For this is as the waters of Noah to Me;
for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no longer cover the earth,
so I have sworn that I would not be wrathful with you
nor rebuke you.
For the mountains may be removed,
and the hills may shake,
but My kindness shall not depart from you,
nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,
says the LORD who has mercy on you.
O afflicted one, tossed with tempest and not comforted,
behold, I will lay your stones with fair colors
and lay your foundations with sapphires.
I will make your windows of agates,
and your gates of crystal,
and all your borders of precious stones.
All your sons shall be taught of the LORD,
and great shall be the peace of your sons.
In righteousness you shall be established;
you shall be far from oppression,
for you shall not fear,
and from terror,
for it shall not come near you.
Indeed they shall surely assail you fiercely, but not from Me.
Whoever assails you shall fall for your sake.
Behold, I have created the smith
who blows the coals in the fire
and who brings forth an instrument for his work;
and I have created the destroyer in order to cause ruin.
No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper,
and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment, you shall condemn.
This is the inheritance of the servants of the LORD,
and their vindication is from Me,
says the LORD.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
2 Peter 1:16-2:3
For we have not followed cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received honor and glory from God the Father when a voice came to Him from the majestic glory, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we ourselves heard this voice, which came from heaven, when we were with Him on the holy mountain.
And we have a more reliable word of prophecy, which you would do well to follow, as to a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of the Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their judgment, made long ago, does not linger, and their destruction does not slumber.
Silence may be kept.
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Luke 1:46-55
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded
the low estate of His servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name.
His mercy is on those who fear Him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has pulled down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
in remembrance of His mercy,
as He spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to 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.
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
God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
God our redeemer, who prepared the Blessed Virgin Mary to be the mother of your Son: grant that, as she looked for his coming as our savior, so we may be ready to greet him when he comes again as our judge; who is alive and reigns with you, 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.