Wed. evening Oct. 15
Opening response
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to 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, O Thou Traveler Unknown
Music by The Hymnodist: Spotify, Apple, Amazon, iHeart, YouTube Music, Pandora, Boomplay, Deezer
Lyrics by Charles Wesley
Verse 1
Come, O thou traveler unknown
Whom still I hold, but cannot see
My company before is gone
And I am left alone with thee
With thee all night I mean to stay
And wrestle till the break of day
Verse 2
I need not tell thee who I am
My misery or sin declare
Thyself hast called me by my name
Look on thy hands and read it there
But who, I ask thee, who art thou
Tell me thy name, and tell me now
Chorus
My strength is gone, my nature dies
I sink beneath thy weighty hand
Faint to revive, and fall to rise
I fall, and yet by faith I stand
I stand, and will not let thee go
Till I thy name, thy nature know
Thy nature know
Verse 3
Yield to me now—for I am weak
But confident in self-despair
Speak to my heart, in blessings speak
Be conquered by my instant prayer
Speak, or thou never hence shalt move
And tell me, if thy name is love
Chorus
Verse 4
’Tis love! ’tis love! Thou died for me
I hear thy whisper in my heart
The morning breaks, the shadows flee
Pure, universal love thou art
To me, to all thy passions move
Thy nature and thy name is love
My strength is gone, my nature dies
Thy nature and thy name is love
My strength is gone, my nature dies
Thy nature and thy name is love
Verse 5
My prayer hath power with God; the grace
Unspeakable I now receive
Through faith I see thee face to face
I see thee face to face and live
In vain I have not wept and strove
Thy nature and thy name is love
Verse 6
I know thee, Savior, who thou art
Jesus, the feeble sinner’s friend
Nor wilt thou with the night depart
But stay and love me to the end
Thy mercies never shall remove
Thy nature and thy name is love
My strength is gone, my nature dies
Thy nature and thy name is love
My strength is gone, my nature dies
Thy nature and thy name is love
Thy nature and thy name is love
Thy nature and thy name is love
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 119:81-104
𝙍: Revive me according to Your loving devotion.
My soul faints for Your salvation;
I wait for Your word.
My eyes fail, looking for Your promise;
I ask, “When will You comfort me?”
Though I am like a wineskin dried up by smoke,
I do not forget Your statutes.
How many days must Your servant wait?
When will You execute judgment on my persecutors?
𝙍: Revive me according to Your loving devotion.
The arrogant have dug pits for me
in violation of Your law.
All Your commandments are faithful;
I am persecuted without cause—help me!
They almost wiped me from the earth,
but I have not forsaken Your precepts.
Revive me according to Your loving devotion,
that I may obey the testimony of Your mouth.
𝙍: Revive me according to Your loving devotion.
Your word, O LORD, is everlasting;
it is firmly fixed in the heavens.
Your faithfulness continues through all generations;
You established the earth, and it endures.
Your ordinances stand to this day,
for all things are servants to You.
If Your law had not been my delight,
then I would have perished in my affliction.
𝙍: Revive me according to Your loving devotion.
I will never forget Your precepts,
for by them You have revived me.
I am Yours; save me,
for I have sought Your precepts.
The wicked wait to destroy me,
but I will ponder Your testimonies.
I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but Your commandment is without limit.
𝙍: Revive me according to Your loving devotion.
Oh, how I love Your law!
All day long it is my meditation.
Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,
for they are always with me.
I have more insight than all my teachers,
for Your testimonies are my meditation.
I discern more than the elders,
for I obey Your precepts.
𝙍: Revive me according to Your loving devotion.
I have kept my feet from every evil path,
that I may keep Your word.
I have not departed from Your ordinances,
for You Yourself have taught me.
How sweet are Your words to my taste—
sweeter than honey in my mouth!
I gain understanding from Your precepts;
therefore I hate every false way.
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: Revive me according to Your loving devotion.
Psalm prayer
Lord Christ, as we sit at your feet, teach us your living way; for you are our Word and Wisdom, one God with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Old Testament reading
1 Kings 22:29-45
So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.
Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”
When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “Surely this is the king of Israel!” So they turned to fight against him, but Jehoshaphat cried out. And when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.
However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”
The battle raged throughout that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. And the blood from his wound ran out onto the floor of the chariot, and that evening he died. As the sun was setting, the cry rang out in the army:
“Every man to his own city,
and every man to his own land!”
So the king died and was brought to Samaria, where they buried him. And the chariot was washed at the pool of Samaria where the prostitutes bathed, and the dogs licked up Ahab’s blood, according to the word that the LORD had spoken.
As for the rest of the acts of Ahab, along with all his accomplishments and the ivory palace and all the cities he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
And Ahab rested with his fathers, and his son Ahaziah reigned in his place.
In the fourth year of Ahab’s reign over Israel, Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah. Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.
And Jehoshaphat walked in all the ways of his father Asa; he did not turn away from them, but did what was right in the eyes of the LORD.
The high places, however, were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.
As for the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, along with the might he exercised and how he waged war, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 23:12-35
When daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. More than forty of them were involved in this plot. They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him down to you on the pretext of examining his case more carefully. We are ready to kill him on the way.”
But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul. Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.”
So the centurion took him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner sent and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to tell you.”
The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside, and asked, “What do you need to tell me?”
He answered, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul to the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of acquiring more information about him. Do not let them persuade you, because more than forty men are waiting to ambush him. They have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him; they are ready now, awaiting your consent.”
So the commander dismissed the young man and instructed him, “Do not tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”
Then he called two of his centurions and said, “Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea in the third hour of the night. Provide mounts for Paul to take him safely to Governor Felix.” And he wrote the following letter:
Claudius Lysias,
To His Excellency, Governor Felix:
Greetings.
This man was seized by the Jews, and they were about to kill him when I came with my troops to rescue him. For I had learned that he is a Roman citizen, and since I wanted to understand their charges against him, I brought him down to their Sanhedrin. I found that the accusation involved questions about their own law, but there was no charge worthy of death or imprisonment.
When I was informed that there was a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also instructed his accusers to present their case against him before you.
So the soldiers followed their orders and brought Paul by night to Antipatris. The next day they returned to the barracks and let the horsemen go on with him. When the horsemen arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and presented Paul to him.
The governor read the letter and asked what province Paul was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia, he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers arrive.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s Praetorium.
Silence may be kept.
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Luke 1:46-55
𝙍: You have done great things, O God, and holy is your name.
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: You have done great things, O God, 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.
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 social services
All who work in the criminal justice system
Victims and perpetrators of crime
The work of aid agencies throughout the world
Those living in poverty or under oppression
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
Almighty God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you: pour your love into our hearts and draw us to yourself, and so bring us at last to your heavenly city where we shall see you face to face; 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, 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
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.