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
Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus
Confession of Sin
When we cry to the LORD in our trouble,
He will save us from our distress.
God will bring us out of darkness
and out of the shadow of death.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
May the Father forgive us by the death of his Son, and strengthen us to live in the power of the Spirit all our days.
Amen.
Let us give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
and for His wonderful works to all people!
Let us offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and declare God’s works with rejoicing.
cf Psalm 107
Psalm 20
𝙍: We trust in the name of the LORD our God.
May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble;
may the name of the God of Jacob defend you;
may He send you help from the sanctuary,
and strengthen you from Zion;
may He remember all your offerings,
and accept your burnt sacrifice.
May He grant you your heart’s desire,
and fulfill all your plans.
We will rejoice in your salvation,
and in the name of our God we will set up our banners!
May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.
𝙍: We trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
with the saving strength of His right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
They have collapsed and fallen,
but we have risen and stand upright.
Save, O LORD!
May the King answer us when we call.
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: We trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Psalm prayer
Merciful God, purify our hearts in the flame of your Spirit and transform our toil into an offering of praise, that we may reject the proud rule of might and trust in Christ alone, for He is our Lord forever and ever.
Psalm 82
𝙍: Arise, O God, judge the earth.
God has taken His place in the divine council;
He renders judgment among the gods.
“How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked?
Defend the poor and the fatherless;
do justice to the afflicted and the needy.
Rescue the poor and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
𝙍: Arise, O God, judge the earth.
“They have neither knowledge nor understanding;
they walk around in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.”
I said, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
but you shall die like men,
and fall like one of the princes.”
Arise, O God, judge the earth;
for You shall inherit all the nations.
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: Arise, O God, judge the earth.
Psalm prayer
God our deliverer, when the foundations are shaken and justice has departed, defend the poor and needy and give your people strength to fight all wrong in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Judges 7:2-22
The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many people with you for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel glorify themselves over Me, saying, ‘Our own power saved us.’ So now, call out so the people can hear, ‘Whoever is afraid or anxious may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ ” So twenty-two thousand from among the people turned back, and ten thousand were left.
But the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many people. Bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. When I say to you, ‘This one will go with you,’ he will go with you. Everyone about whom I will say, ‘This one will not go with you,’ will not go.”
So he brought the people down to the water, and the LORD said to Gideon, “You shall set apart by himself everyone who laps the water with his tongue like dogs; likewise, everyone who kneels down to drink.” The number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was three hundred. The rest of the people had knelt to drink water.
The LORD said to Gideon, “With three hundred men who lapped, I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. All the rest of the people should go home.” So the three hundred men took provisions and trumpets in their hands. Gideon sent all the other men of Israel to their tents, but he kept the three hundred men.
Now the Midianite camp was below him in the valley. That night the LORD said to him, “Get up and go down into the camp, for I have given it into your hands. Yet if you are afraid to go down, then go down to the camp with Purah your servant. Listen to what they say, and afterward you will be emboldened to go down to the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down near the edge of the camp. Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and the Kedemites covered the valley like locusts; and their camels could not be counted, for they were as numerous as grains of sand on the seashore.
When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling his dream to his companion. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the Midianite camp, came to the tent, and struck it. It fell, turned upside down, and collapsed.”
The other man responded, “This is none other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash the Israelite. God has given Midian and the whole camp into his hands.”
When Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshipped, returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Get up, for the LORD has given the Midianite camp into your hands.” He divided the three hundred men into three combat units. He gave all of them ram’s horn trumpets, empty jars, and torches within the jars.
He said to them, “Look at me and do likewise. Watch, and when I come to the perimeter of the camp, do as I do. When I and all who are with me blow the horn, then you will blow the horns all around the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon!’ ”
So Gideon and a hundred men with him went to the edge of the camp at the start of the middle night watch, just as they were setting the watch. Then they blew the horns and smashed the jars in their hands. The three combat units blew the horns and broke the jars. They held the torches in their left hands and the horns for blowing in their right hands. They called out, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” Every man stood in his place all around the camp, but the men in the camp ran, shouted, and fled.
When they blew the three hundred horns, the LORD turned every man’s sword against his fellow man throughout the camp. The Midianite camp fled to Beth-shittah in the direction of Zererah, up to the border of Abel Meholah, near Tabbath.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
John 15:9-17
“As the Father loved Me, I also loved you. Remain in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, even as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have spoken these things to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment: that you love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. I no longer call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I have heard from My Father have I made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that the Father may give you whatever you ask Him in My name. This I command you: that you love one another.”
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
In faith we pray
We pray to you, our God.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty Father, whose will is to restore all things in your beloved Son, the King of all: govern the hearts and minds of those in authority, and bring the families of the nations, divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin, to be subject to his just and gentle rule; 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
May Christ, who has opened the kingdom of heaven, bring us to reign with him in glory.
Amen.