Opening response

Make haste, O God, to deliver me.
Hurry, O LORD, to help me.

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

Gracious Redeemer, Shake This Slumber

Charles Wesley

Gracious Redeemer, shake
This slumber from my soul!
Say to me now, "Awake, awake!
And Christ shall make thee whole."
Lay to thy mighty hand!
Alarm me in this hour,
And make me fully understand
The thunder of thy power.

Give me on thee to call,
Always to watch and pray,
Lest I into temptation fall,
And cast my shield away;
For each assault prepared
And ready may I be,
Forever standing on my guard,
And looking up to thee.

O do thou always warn
My soul of evil near!
When to the right or left I turn,
Thy voice still let me hear;
"Come back! this is the way,
Come back, and walk herein!"
O may I hearken and obey,
And shun the paths of sin!

Confession of sin

Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their own ways
and the unrighteous their own thoughts.
Let them return to the LORD so that he may have compassion,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

cf Isaiah 55

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

Lord God,
we have sinned against you;
we have done what is evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your loving devotion.
Wash us clean of our iniquity and cleanse us from our sin.
Renew a right spirit within us,
and restore to us the joy of your salvation
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 be the LORD,
for he has heard our cry for mercy.
Therefore our hearts rejoice
and we give thanks to him with our song.

cf Psalm 28:7, 9

Psalm 127

𝙍: The LORD will watch over your coming and going.

Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain;
unless the LORD protects the city,
its watchmen stand guard in vain.
In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for bread to eat—
for He gives sleep to His beloved. 𝙍

Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD,
and the fruit of the womb is His reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
so are children born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
He will not be put to shame
when he confronts the enemies at the gate.

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.

𝙍: The LORD will watch over your coming and going.

Psalm prayer

Lord, you are ever watchful
and bless us with your gifts;
as you provide for all our needs,
so help us to build only what pleases you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 128

𝙍: How great is Your goodness, O LORD.

Blessed are all who fear the LORD,
who walk in His ways!
For when you eat the fruit of your labor,
blessings and prosperity will be yours. 𝙍

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
flourishing within your house,
your sons like olive shoots
sitting around your table.
In this way indeed shall blessing come
to the man who fears the LORD. 𝙍

May the LORD bless you from Zion,
that you may see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life,
that you may see
your children’s children.

Peace be upon Israel!

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.

𝙍: How great is Your goodness, O LORD.

Psalm prayer

O Christ, our true vine,
may we your branches
be ever fruitful in your service
and share your love and peace with all your children,
in the power of the Spirit and to the glory of the Father.

Psalm 129

𝙍: The LORD redeems His servants.

Many a time they have persecuted me from my youth—
let Israel now declare—
many a time they have persecuted me from my youth,
but they have not prevailed against me.
The plowmen plowed over my back;
they made their furrows long.
The LORD is righteous;
He has cut me from the cords of the wicked. 𝙍

May all who hate Zion
be turned back in shame.
May they be like grass on the rooftops,
which withers before it can grow,
unable to fill the hands of the reaper,
or the arms of the binder of sheaves.
May none who pass by say to them,
“The blessing of the LORD be on you;
we bless you in the name of 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.

𝙍: The LORD redeems His servants.

Psalm prayer

Jesus our redeemer,
you bore the cut of the lash
for us and our salvation;
help us to bear our sufferings
and to share in the affliction
of all who suffer for your holy name.

Old Testament reading

2 Kings 21:1-18

Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed, and he raised up altars for Baal. He made an Asherah pole, as King Ahab of Israel had done, and he worshiped and served all the host of heaven.

Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My Name.” In both courtyards of the house of the LORD, he built altars to all the host of heaven. He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.

Manasseh even took the carved Asherah pole he had made and set it up in the temple, of which the LORD had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will establish My Name forever. I will never again cause the feet of the Israelites to wander from the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they are careful to do all I have commanded them—the whole Law that My servant Moses commanded them.”

But the people did not listen and Manasseh led them astray, so that they did greater evil than the nations that the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.

And the LORD spoke through His servants the prophets, saying, “Since Manasseh king of Judah has committed all these abominations, acting more wickedly than the Amorites who preceded him, and with his idols has caused Judah to sin, this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah that the news will reverberate in the ears of all who hear it.

I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab, and I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes out a bowl—wiping it and turning it upside down. So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hands of their enemies. And they will become plunder and spoil to all their enemies, because they have done evil in My sight and have provoked Me to anger from the day their fathers came out of Egypt until this day.’ ”

Moreover, Manasseh shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end, in addition to the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, doing evil in the sight of the LORD.

As for the rest of the acts of Manasseh, along with all his accomplishments and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

And Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzza. And his son Amon reigned in his place.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

1 Timothy 1:1-17

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,

To Timothy, my true child in the faith:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

As I urged you on my departure to Macedonia, you should stay on at Ephesus to instruct certain men not to teach false doctrines or devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculation rather than the stewardship of God’s work, which is by faith.

The goal of our instruction is the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith. Some have strayed from these ways and turned aside to empty talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or that which they so confidently assert.

Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately. We realize that law is not enacted for the righteous, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for killers of father or mother, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching that agrees with the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, that He considered me faithful and appointed me to service. I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy. And the grace of our Lord overflowed to me, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. But for this very reason I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His perfect patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

𝙍: My spirit rejoices in you, O God; my soul magnifies you.

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One has done great things for me.
Holy is His name.
His mercy extends to those who fear Him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who are proud
in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
but has exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful,
as He promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and 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.

𝙍: My spirit rejoices in you, O God; my soul magnifies you.

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.

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 media and the arts
Farming and fishing
Commerce and industry
Those whose work is unfulfilling, stressful or fraught with danger
All who are unemployed

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

God, the giver of life,
whose Holy Spirit wells up within your Church:
by the Spirit's gifts equip us to live the gospel of Christ
and make us eager to do your will,
that we may share with the whole creation
the joys of eternal life;
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.