Tuesday evening May 10

Wednesday evening
Monday evening

Preparation

Opening response

Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.
Lord, come quickly and help us.

In your resurrection, O Christ,
let heaven and earth rejoice. 

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign Lord,
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to you be glory and praise forever.
From the deep waters of death
you brought your people to new birth
by raising your Son to life in triumph.
Through him dark death has been destroyed
and radiant life is everywhere restored.
As you call us out of darkness into his marvelous light
may our lives reflect his glory
and our lips repeat the endless song.
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

Captain of Israel’s Host

Charles Wesley
           
Captain of Israel's host, and guide
Of all who seek the land above,
Beneath thy shadow we abide,
The cloud of thy protecting love;
Our strength, thy grace; our rule, thy word;
Our end, the glory of the Lord.

By thine unerring Spirit led,
We shall not in the desert stray;
We shall not full direction need
Nor miss our providential way;
As far from danger as from fear,
While love, almighty love, is near.

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 115

Refrain:
The Lord remembers us and will bless us.

Not to us, Lord, not to us—
    no, but to your own name give glory
        because of your loyal love and faithfulness!

Why do the nations say,
    “Where’s their God now?”
Our God is in heaven—
    he can do whatever he wants!
Their idols are just silver and gold—
    things made by human hands.
    They have mouths, but they can’t speak.
    They have eyes, but they can’t see.
    They have ears, but they can’t hear.
    They have noses, but they can’t smell.
    They have hands, but they can’t feel.
    They have feet, but they can’t walk.
    They can’t even make a noise in their throats!
Let the people who made these idols
    and all who trust in them
    become just like them!

But you, Israel, trust in the Lord!
    God is their help and shield.
Trust in the Lord, house of Aaron!
    God is their help and shield.
You who honor the Lord, trust in the Lord!
    God is their help and shield.
The Lord remembers us and will bless us:
    God will bless the house of Israel;
    God will bless the house of Aaron;
God will bless those who honor the Lord—
    from the smallest to the greatest.

May the Lord add to your numbers—
    both you and your children.
May you be blessed by the Lord,
    the maker of heaven and earth!
The highest heaven belongs to the Lord,
    but he gave the earth to all people.
The dead don’t praise the Lord,
    nor do those who go down to silence.
But us? We will bless the Lord
    from now until forever from now!

Praise the Lord!

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 remembers us and will bless us.

Psalm prayer

Living God,
defend us from the idols which our hearts enthrone,
that we may not go down into silence
but be raised to our heaven of heavens
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 116

Refrain:
The Lord is merciful and righteous.

I love the Lord because he hears
    my requests for mercy.
I’ll call out to him as long as I live,
    because he listens closely to me.
Death’s ropes bound me;
    the distress of the grave found me—
    I came face-to-face with trouble and grief.
So I called on the Lord’s name:
    “Lord, please save me!”
The Lord is merciful and righteous;
    our God is compassionate.
The Lord protects simple folk;
    he saves me whenever I am brought down.
I tell myself, You can be at peace again,
    because the Lord has been good to you.
You, God, have delivered me from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    and my foot from stumbling,
    so I’ll walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.
I have remained faithful, even when I said,
    “I am suffering so badly!”
    even when I said, out of fear,
    “Everyone is a liar!”
What can I give back to the Lord
    for all the good things he has done for me?
I’ll lift up the cup of salvation.
    I’ll call on the Lord’s name.
I’ll keep the promises I made to the Lord
    in the presence of all God’s people.
The death of the Lord’s faithful
    is a costly loss in his eyes.
Oh yes, Lord, I am definitely your servant!
    I am your servant and the son of your female servant—
    you’ve freed me from my chains.
So I’ll offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to you,
    and I’ll call on the Lord’s name.
I’ll keep the promises I made to the Lord
    in the presence of all God’s people,
    in the courtyards of the Lord’s house,
        which is in the center of Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!

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 merciful and righteous.

Psalm prayer

As we walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
may we call upon your name,
raise the cup of salvation,
and so proclaim your death, Lord,
until you come in glory.

Old Testament reading
Deuteronomy 9:23-10:5

And then, when the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, telling you: “Go up and take possession of the land that I’m giving you,” you disobeyed the Lord your God’s command. You didn’t trust him. You didn’t obey God’s voice. You’ve been rebellious toward the Lord from the day I met you.

But I fell on my knees in the Lord’s presence forty days and forty nights, lying flat out, because the Lord planned on wiping you out. But I prayed to the Lord! I said: Lord, my Lord! Don’t destroy your people, your own possession, whom you saved by your own power, whom you brought out of Egypt with a strong hand! Remember your servants: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! Don’t focus on this people’s stubbornness, wickedness, and sin. Otherwise, that land out of which you brought us will say: The Lord wasn’t strong enough to bring them into the land he’d promised them. Because he didn’t care for them in the least, he brought them out to die in the desert. But these are your people! Your own possession! The people you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm!

At that time the Lord told me: Carve two stone tablets, just like the first ones, and hike up the mountain to me. Construct a wooden chest as well. I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets—the ones you smashed—then you will place them in the chest.

So I built a chest out of acacia wood and carved two stone tablets just like the first ones. Then I hiked up the mountain holding the two tablets in my hands. God wrote on the new tablets what had been written on the first set: the Ten Commandments that the Lord spoke to you on the mountain, from the very fire itself, on the day we assembled there. Then the Lord gave them to me.

So I came back down the mountain. I put the tablets in the chest that I’d made, and that’s where they are now, exactly as the Lord commanded me.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Ephesians 4:17-32

So I’m telling you this, and I insist on it in the Lord: you shouldn’t live your life like the Gentiles anymore. They base their lives on pointless thinking, and they are in the dark in their reasoning. They are disconnected from God’s life because of their ignorance and their closed hearts. They are people who lack all sense of right and wrong, and who have turned themselves over to doing whatever feels good and to practicing every sort of corruption along with greed.

But you didn’t learn that sort of thing from Christ. Since you really listened to him and you were taught how the truth is in Jesus, change the former way of life that was part of the person you once were, corrupted by deceitful desires. Instead, renew the thinking in your mind by the Spirit and clothe yourself with the new person created according to God’s image in justice and true holiness.

Therefore, after you have gotten rid of lying, Each of you must tell the truth to your neighbor because we are parts of each other in the same body. Be angry without sinning. Don’t let the sun set on your anger. Don’t provide an opportunity for the devil. Thieves should no longer steal. Instead, they should go to work, using their hands to do good so that they will have something to share with whoever is in need.

Don’t let any foul words come out of your mouth. Only say what is helpful when it is needed for building up the community so that it benefits those who hear what you say. Don’t make the Holy Spirit of God unhappy—you were sealed by him for the day of redemption. Put aside all bitterness, losing your temper, anger, shouting, and slander, along with every other evil. Be kind, compassionate, and forgiving to each other, in the same way God forgave you in Christ.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticle
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Refrain:
The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. 

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:
The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

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 people of God, that they may proclaim the risen Lord
God’s creation, that the peoples of the earth may meet their responsibility to care
Those in despair and darkness, that they may find the hope and light of Christ
Those in fear of death, that they may find faith through the resurrection
Prisoners and captives

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 Son Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life:
raise us, who trust in him, 
from the death of sin to the life of righteousness,
that we may seek those things which are above,
where he reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. 
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Rejoicing in God’s new creation, 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

May the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
Amen.