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Opening response
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
All your saints shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God, our light and our salvation, to you be glory and praise forever. Now, as darkness is falling, wash away our transgressions, cleanse us by your refining fire and make us temples of your Holy Spirit. By the light of Christ, dispel the darkness of our hearts and make us ready to enter your kingdom, where songs of praise forever sound.
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
Be Thou My Vision
Confession of sin
Come, Holy Spirit of God,
and search our hearts with the light of Christ.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
“The first of all the commandments is, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
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 faithfulness is like a morning cloud, and like the early dew, it goes away. 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.
Psalm 137
𝙍: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept
when we remembered Zion.
Upon the willows in the midst of it
we hung our harps.
For there, those who carried us away captive required of us songs,
and our plunderers, mirth,
saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
𝙍: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
How shall we sing the song of the LORD
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget its cunning!
If I do not remember you,
let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,
if I prefer not Jerusalem
above my highest joy.
𝙍: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites
the day of Jerusalem,
who said, “Raze it, raze it,
to its foundation!”
O daughter of Babylon, destined to be destroyed,
blessed shall he be who rewards you
as you have served us!
Blessed shall he be who takes
your little ones and dashes them against the rocks!
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: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Psalm prayer
God of our pilgrimage, you sent your Son to our strange land to bring us home to you; give us your songs to sing, that even in our exile we may be filled with the breath of the Spirit of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 138
𝙍: Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever.
I will give You thanks, O LORD, with all my heart;
before the gods will I sing Your praise.
I will bow down toward Your holy temple
and give thanks to Your name
for Your lovingkindness and for Your truth,
for You have magnified above all things
Your name and Your word.
On the day I called, You answered me,
and made me bold with strength of soul.
𝙍: Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever.
All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O LORD,
when they hear the words of Your mouth.
Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the LORD,
for great is the glory of the LORD.
Though the LORD is exalted, yet has He regard for the lowly,
but the proud He knows from afar.
𝙍: Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
You will preserve me;
You will stretch Your hand out against the wrath of my enemies,
and Your right hand will deliver me.
The LORD will fulfill that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the works of Your 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.
𝙍: Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever.
Psalm prayer
Lord our God, supreme over all things, look upon the humble and lowly and put new strength into our souls to complete your purpose for us in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 143
𝙍: Teach me, O LORD, the way I should walk.
Hear my prayer, O LORD:
give ear to my supplications!
In Your faithfulness answer me,
and in Your righteousness.
Enter not into judgment with Your servant,
for in Your sight no one living is righteous.
For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground;
he has made me dwell in darkness,
like those who have long been dead.
Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me;
my heart within me is distressed.
I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your works;
I muse on the work of Your hands.
I stretch forth my hands to You;
my soul thirsts for You like a thirsty land.
Answer me quickly, O LORD;
my spirit fails!
Hide not Your face from me,
lest I be like those who go down into the pit.
Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
for in You do I trust;
cause me to know the way wherein I should walk,
for I lift up my soul to You.
Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies;
I flee unto You for refuge.
Teach me to do Your will,
for You are my God;
Your Spirit is good.
Lead me in the land of uprightness.
Revive me, O LORD, for Your name’s sake!
For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.
And in Your mercy cut off my enemies,
and destroy all those who afflict my soul,
for I am Your servant.
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: Teach me, O LORD, the way I should walk.
Psalm prayer
Jesus, our companion, when we are driven to despair, help us, through the friends and strangers we encounter on our path, to know you as our refuge, our way, our truth, and our life.
Old Testament reading
Isaiah 3:1-15
For behold, the Lord,
the LORD of Hosts,
takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah
the stock and the store,
the whole supply of bread, and the whole supply of water;
the mighty man and the man of war,
the judge and the prophet,
and the prudent and the ancient,
the captain of fifty and the honorable man,
the counselor and the skillful artisan, and the eloquent orator.
I will give youths to be their princes,
and unweaned children shall rule over them.
The people shall be oppressed,
every one by another, and every one by his neighbor;
the youth shall behave himself proudly against the elder,
and the inferior against the honorable.
When a man shall take hold of his brother
in the house of his father saying,
“You have clothing; be our ruler,
and let this ruin be under your power,”
in that day he shall swear saying,
“I will not be a healer.
For in my house is neither bread nor clothing;
do not make me a ruler of the people.”
For Jerusalem is ruined,
and Judah is fallen,
because their tongue and their deeds are against the LORD,
to provoke the eyes of His glory.
The expression of their countenance witnesses against them,
and they declare their sin as Sodom;
they hide it not.
Woe to them!
For they have brought evil on themselves.
Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them,
for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
As for My people, children are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
O My people, those who lead you cause you to err,
and destroy the way of your paths.
The LORD stands up to plead
and stands to judge the people.
The LORD will enter into judgment
with the elders and the princes of His people:
For you have eaten up the vineyard;
the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
What do you mean that you beat My people to pieces
and grind the faces of the poor?
says the LORD God of Hosts.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Matthew 4:1-11
Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. And He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, and then He was hungry. And the tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones be turned into bread.”
But He answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ”
Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, and set Him on the highest point of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written,
‘He shall give His angels charge concerning you,’
and
‘In their hands they shall lift you up,
lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
Jesus said to him, “It is also written, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their grandeur, and said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Get away from here, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.’ ”
Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
Silence may be kept.
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Luke 1:46-55
𝙍: The righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded
the low estate of His servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name.
His mercy is on those who fear Him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has pulled down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
in remembrance of His mercy,
as He spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to 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: The righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
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 saints on earth, that they may live as citizens of heaven
All people, that they may hear and believe the word of God
All who fear the winter months
All sovereigns and political leaders, that they may imitate the righteous rule of Christ
All who grieve or wait with the dying
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
Almighty and eternal God, you have kindled the flame of love in the hearts of the saints: grant to us the same faith and power of love, that, as we rejoice in their triumphs, we may be sustained by their example and fellowship; 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
Uniting our prayers with the whole company of heaven, 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
May Christ, who has opened the kingdom of heaven, bring us to reign with him in glory.
Amen.