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

Come, wisdom, power, and grace divine

Charles Wesley

Come, wisdom, power, and grace divine,
Come, Jesus, in thy name to join
A happy chosen band;
Who fain would prove thine utmost will,
And all thy righteous laws fulfill,
In love's benign command.

If pure essential love thou art,
Thy nature into every heart,
Thy loving self, inspire;
Bid all our simple souls be one,
United in a bond unknown,
Baptized with heavenly fire.

Still may we to our center tend,
To spread thy praise our common end,
To help each other on;
Companions through the wilderness,
To share a moment's pain, and seize
An everlasting crown.

Jesus, our tendered souls prepare!
Infuse the softest social care,
The warmest charity,
The pity of the bleeding Lamb,
The virtues of thy wondrous name,
The heart that was in thee.

Supply what every member wants;
To found the fellowship of saints,
Thy Spirit, Lord, supply;
So shall we all thy love receive,
Together to thy glory live,
And to thy glory die.

Confession of sin

Seek the Lord when he can still be found;
call him while he is yet near.
Let the wicked abandon their ways
and the sinful their schemes.
Let them return to the Lord so that he may have mercy on them,
to our God, because he is generous with forgiveness.

cf Isaiah 55

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

Lord God,
we have sinned against you;
we have committed evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your faithful love.
Wash us completely clean of our guilt; purify us from our sin.
Put a new, faithful spirit deep inside us,
and return the joy of your salvation to us
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

cf Psalm 51

May the Father of all mercies
cleanse us from our sins,
and restore us in his image
to the praise and glory of his name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Bless the Lord,
because he has listened to our request for mercy.
Therefore our hearts will rejoice
and we will thank him with our song.

cf Psalm 28:7,9

The Word of God

Psalm 78:40-72

Refrain:
Earth: Tremble before the Lord!

How often they rebelled against God in the wilderness
and distressed him in the desert!
Time and time again they tested God,
provoking the holy one of Israel.
They didn’t remember God’s power—
the day when he saved them from the enemy;
how God performed his signs in Egypt,
his marvelous works in the field of Zoan.
God turned their rivers into blood;
they couldn’t drink from their own streams.
God sent swarms against them to eat them up,
frogs to destroy them.
God handed over their crops to caterpillars,
their land’s produce to locusts.
God killed their vines with hail,
their sycamore trees with frost.
God delivered their cattle over to disease,
their herds to plagues.
God unleashed his burning anger against them—
fury, indignation, distress,
a troop of evil messengers.
God blazed a path for his wrath.
He didn’t save them from death,
but delivered their lives over to disease.
God struck down all of Egypt’s oldest males;
in Ham’s tents, he struck their pride and joy.
God led his own people out like sheep,
guiding them like a flock in the wilderness.
God led them in safety—they were not afraid!
But the sea engulfed their enemies!
God brought them to his holy territory,
to the mountain that his own strong hand had acquired.
God drove out the nations before them
and apportioned property for them;
he settled Israel’s tribes in their tents.
But they tested and defied the Most High God;
they didn’t pay attention to his warnings.
They turned away, became faithless just like their ancestors;
they twisted away like a defective bow.
They angered God with their many shrines;
they angered him with their idols.
God heard and became enraged;
he rejected Israel utterly.
God abandoned the sanctuary at Shiloh,
the tent where he had lived with humans.
God let his power be held captive,
let his glory go to the enemy’s hand.
God delivered his people up to the sword;
he was enraged at his own possession.
Fire devoured his young men,
and his young women had no wedding songs.
God’s priests were killed by the sword,
and his widows couldn’t even cry.
But then my Lord woke up—
as if he’d been sleeping!
Like a warrior shaking off wine,
God beat back his foes;
he made them an everlasting disgrace.
God rejected the tent of Joseph
and didn’t choose the tribe of Ephraim.
Instead, he chose the tribe of Judah,
the mountain of Zion, which he loves.
God built his sanctuary like the highest heaven
and like the earth, which he established forever.
And God chose David, his servant,
taking him from the sheepfolds.
God brought him from shepherding nursing ewes
to shepherd his people Jacob,
to shepherd his inheritance, Israel.
David shepherded them with a heart of integrity;
he led them with the skill of his hands.

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:
Earth: Tremble before the Lord!

Psalm prayer

God our shepherd,
in all our wanderings and temptations,
teach us to rest in your mercy
and trust in your defence;
through him who laid down his life for us,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading
Judges 11:1-11

Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. Gilead was his father, but he was a prostitute’s son. Gilead’s wife gave birth to other sons for him, and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah away. They told him, “You won’t get an inheritance in our father’s household because you’re a different woman’s son.” So Jephthah ran away from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Worthless men gathered around Jephthah and became his posse.

Sometime afterward, the Ammonites made war against Israel. And when the Ammonites attacked Israel, Gilead’s elders went to bring Jephthah back from the land of Tob. They said to him, “Come be our commander so we can fight against the Ammonites.”

But Jephthah replied to Gilead’s elders, “Aren’t you the ones who hated me and drove me away from my father’s household? Why are you coming to me now when you’re in trouble?”

Gilead’s elders answered Jephthah, “That may be, but now we’re turning back to you, so come with us and fight the Ammonites. Then you’ll become the leader over us and everyone who lives in Gilead.”

And Jephthah said to Gilead’s elders, “If you bring me back to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gives them over to me, I alone will be your leader.”

Gilead’s elders replied to him, “The Lord is our witness; we will surely do what you’ve said.” So Jephthah went with Gilead’s elders, and the people made him leader and commander over them. At Mizpah before the Lord, Jephthah repeated everything he had said.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Luke 16:19-31

“There was a certain rich man who clothed himself in purple and fine linen, and who feasted luxuriously every day. At his gate lay a certain poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. Lazarus longed to eat the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Instead, dogs would come and lick his sores.

“The poor man died and was carried by angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. While being tormented in the place of the dead, he looked up and saw Abraham at a distance with Lazarus at his side. He shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I’m suffering in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received good things, whereas Lazarus received terrible things. Now Lazarus is being comforted and you are in great pain. Moreover, a great crevasse has been fixed between us and you. Those who wish to cross over from here to you cannot. Neither can anyone cross from there to us.’

“The rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my father’s house. I have five brothers. He needs to warn them so that they don’t come to this place of agony.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. They must listen to them.’ The rich man said, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will change their hearts and lives.’ Abraham said, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, then neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”

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:

Local government, community leaders
All who provide local services
Those who work with young or elderly people
Schools, colleges and universities
Emergency and rescue organizations

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

Response

Father, hear our prayer,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,
you have broken the tyranny of sin
and have sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts
whereby we call you Father:
give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service,
that we and all creation may be brought
to the glorious liberty of the children of God;
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.