Friday evening July 15

Saturday evening
Thursday 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

Ever Fainting with Desire

Charles Wesley
           
Ever fainting with desire,
For thee, O Christ, I call;
Thee I restlessly require,
I want my God, my all!
Jesus, dear redeeming Lord,
I wait thy coming from above;
Help me, Savior, speak the word,
And perfect me in love.

Wilt thou suffer me to go
Lamenting all my days?
Shall I never, never know
Thy sanctifying grace?
Wilt thou not the light afford,
The darkness from my soul remove?
Help me, Savior, speak the word,
And perfect me in love.

Lord, if I on thee believe,
The second gift impart;
With the indwelling Spirit give
A new, a contrite heart;
If with love thy heart is stored,
If now over me thy mercies move,
Help me, Savior, speak the word,
And perfect me in love.

Let me gain my calling's hope,
O make the sinner clean!
Dry corruption's fountain up,
Cut off the entail of sin;
Take me into thee, my Lord,
And I shall then no longer rove:
Help me, Savior, speak the word,
And perfect me in love.

Thou, my life, my treasure be,
My portion here below;
Nothing would I seek but thee,
Thee only would I know,
My exceeding great reward,
My heaven on earth, my heaven above!
Help me, Savior, speak the word,
And perfect me in love.

Grant me now the bliss to feel
Of those that are in thee;
Son of God, thyself reveal,
Engrave thy name on me;
As in heaven be here adored,
And let me now the promise prove;
Help me, Savior, speak the word,
And perfect me in love.

Confession of sin

Come, Holy Spirit of God,
and search our hearts with the light of Christ.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
The first commandment is this:
‘Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord, 
and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, 
with all your being, with all your mind, 
and with all your strength.’

The second is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’
No other commandment is greater than these.
All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.

Amen. Lord, have mercy.

After a period of reflection

Come, let us return to the Lord and say:

Lord our God,
in our sin we have avoided your call.
Our love for you is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that goes away early.
Have mercy on us;
deliver us from judgment;
bind up our wounds and revive us;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

cf Hosea 6

May almighty God,
who sent his Son into the world to save sinners,
bring us his pardon and peace, now and forever.
Amen.

The Word of God

Psalm 102

Refrain:
You, Lord, rule forever! Your fame lasts from one generation to the next!

Lord, hear my prayer!
    Let my cry reach you!
Don’t hide your face from me
    in my time of trouble!
Listen to me!
    Answer me quickly as I cry out!
Because my days disappear like smoke,
    my bones are burned up as if in an oven;
    my heart is smashed like dried-up grass.
    I even forget to eat my food
    because of my intense groans.
    My bones are protruding from my skin.
I’m like some wild owl—
    like some screech owl in the desert.
I lie awake all night.
    I’m all alone like a bird on a roof.
All day long my enemies make fun of me;
    those who mock me curse using my name!
I’ve been eating ashes instead of bread.
    I’ve been mixing tears into my drinks
        because of your anger and wrath,
        because you picked me up and threw me away.
My days are like a shadow soon gone.
    I’m dried up like dead grass.

But you, Lord, rule forever!
    Your fame lasts from one generation to the next!
You will stand up—
        you’ll have compassion on Zion
        because it is time to have mercy on her—
    the time set for that has now come!
Your servants cherish Zion’s stones;
    they show mercy even to her dirt.
The nations will honor the Lord’s name;
    all the earth’s rulers will honor your glory
    because the Lord will rebuild Zion;
    he will be seen there in his glory.
God will turn to the prayer of the impoverished;
    he won’t despise their prayers.

Let this be written down for the next generation
    so that people not yet created will praise the Lord:
    The Lord looked down from his holy summit,
        surveyed the earth from heaven,
        to hear the prisoners’ groans,
        to set free those condemned to death,
        that the Lord’s name may be declared in Zion
        and his praise declared in Jerusalem,
        when all people are gathered together—
        all kingdoms—to serve the Lord.

God broke my strength in midstride,
    cutting my days short.
I said, “My God, don’t take me away in the prime of life—
    your years go on from one generation to the next!
You laid the earth’s foundations long ago;
    the skies are your handiwork.
These things will pass away, but you will last.
    All of these things will wear out like clothing;
    you change them like clothes, and they pass on.
But you are the one!
    Your years never end!
Let your servants’ children live safe;
    let your servants’ descendants live secure in your presence.”

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, Lord, rule forever! Your fame lasts from one generation to the next!

Psalm prayer

Have pity on our frailty, O God,
and in the hour of our death
cast us not away as clothing that is worn,
for you are our eternal refuge;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading
Job 41

Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook,
    restrain his tongue with a rope?
Can you put a cord through his nose,
    pierce his jaw with a barb?
Will he beg you at length
    or speak gentle words to you?
Will he make a pact with you
    so that you will take him as a permanent slave?
Can you play with him like a bird,
    put a leash on him for your girls?
Will merchants sell him;
    will they divide him among traders?
Can you fill his hide with darts,
    his head with a fishing spear?
Should you lay your hand on him,
    you would never remember the battle.
Such hopes would be delusional;
    surely the sight of him makes one stumble.
Nobody is fierce enough to rouse him;
    who then can stand before me?
Who opposes me that I must repay?
    Everything under heaven is mine.
I’m not awed by his limbs,
    his strength, and impressive form.
Who can remove his outer garment;
    who can come with a bridle for him?
Who can open the doors of his mouth,
    surrounded by frightening teeth?
His matching scales are his pride,
    closely locked and sealed.
        One touches another;
        even air can’t come between them.
Each clings to its pair;
    joined, they can’t be separated.
His sneezes emit flashes of light;
    his eyes are like dawn’s rays.
Shafts of fire shoot from his mouth;
    like fiery sparks they fly out.
Smoke pours from his nostrils
    like a boiling pot over reeds.
His breath lights coals;
    a flame shoots from his mouth.
Power resides in his neck;
    violence dances before him.
The folds of his flesh stick together;
    on him they are tough and unyielding.
His heart is solid like a rock,
    hard like a lower millstone.
The divine beings dread his rising;
    they withdraw before his thrashing.
The sword that touches him won’t prevail;
    neither will the dart, spear, nor javelin.
He treats iron as straw,
    bronze as rotten wood.
Arrows can’t make him flee;
    slingstones he turns to straw.
He treats a club like straw;
    he laughs at the lance’s rattle.
His abdomen is like jagged pottery shards;
    its sharp edges leave a trail in the mud.
He causes the depths to churn like a boiling pot,
    stirs up the sea like a pot of scented oils,
        leaves a bright wake behind him;
        the frothy deep seems white-haired.
None on earth can compare to him;
    he is made to be without fear.
He looks on all the proud;
    he is king over all proud beasts.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Romans 16:1-16

I’m introducing our sister Phoebe to you, who is a servant of the church in Cenchreae. Welcome her in the Lord in a way that is worthy of God’s people, and give her whatever she needs from you, because she herself has been a sponsor of many people, myself included.

Say hello to Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life. I’m not the only one who thanks God for them, but all the churches of the Gentiles do the same. Also say hello to the church that meets in their house. Say hello to Epaenetus, my dear friend, who was the first convert in Asia for Christ. Say hello to Mary, who has worked very hard for you. Say hello to Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and my fellow prisoners. They are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. Say hello to Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. Say hello to Urbanus, our coworker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. Say hello to Apelles, who is tried and true in Christ. Say hello to the members of the household of Aristobulus. Say hello to my relative Herodion. Say hello to the members of the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. Say hello to Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who are workers for the Lord. Say hello to my dear friend Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. Say hello to Rufus, who is an outstanding believer, along with his mother and mine. Say hello to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them. Say hello to Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. Say hello to each other with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ say hello to you.

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:

National leaders, public officials and the armed forces
Peace and justice in the world
Those who work for reconciliation
All whose lives are devastated by war and civil strife
Prisoners, refugees and homeless people

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

Response

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:
increase and multiply upon us your mercy;
that with you as our ruler and guide
we may so pass through things temporal
that we lose not our hold on things eternal;
grant this, heavenly Father,
for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake,
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.