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
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
Confession of Sin
Let us confess our sins to God.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
My God, for love of you, I desire to hate and forsake all sins by which I have ever displeased you; and I resolve by the help of your grace to commit them no more; and to avoid all opportunities of sin. Help me to do this, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Lord enrich us with his grace, and nourish us with his blessing; the Lord defend us in trouble and keep us from all evil; the Lord accept our prayers, and absolve us from our offenses, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen.
Psalm 34
𝙍: Taste and see that the LORD is good.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise will continually be in my mouth.
My soul will make its boast in the LORD;
the humble will hear of it and be glad.
Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt His name together.
I sought the LORD, and He answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to Him and became radiant,
and their faces were not ashamed.
𝙍: Taste and see that the LORD is good.
This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him,
and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,
and delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints,
for those who fear Him have no want.
The young lions suffer want and hunger,
but those who seek the LORD will not lack any good thing.
𝙍: Taste and see that the LORD is good.
Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Who is the man who desires life,
and loves many days that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it.
𝙍: Taste and see that the LORD is good.
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
and His ears are open to their cry.
The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears,
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The LORD is near to the broken-hearted,
and saves the contrite of spirit.
𝙍: Taste and see that the LORD is good.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
Evil will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
The LORD redeems the life of His servants,
and none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.
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: Taste and see that the LORD is good.
Psalm prayer
Send your holy angels to watch over us, O God, that on our lips will be found your truth and in our hearts your love; so we may ever taste your goodness in the land of the living; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Isaiah 5:8-24
Woe to those who join house to house,
who add field to field,
until there is no more space
where they may live alone in the midst of the land!
In my ears the LORD of Hosts said:
Truly, many houses shall be desolate,
even great and beautiful, without inhabitants.
For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath,
and the homer of seed shall yield one ephah.
Woe to those who rise up early in the morning
that they may pursue strong drink;
who continue late in the evening
until wine inflames them!
The lyre and the harp, the tambourine and pipe,
and wine are in their feasts;
but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD,
or consider the work of His hands.
Therefore My people go into captivity
because they have no knowledge;
and their honorable men are famished,
and their multitude dried up with thirst.
Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself
and opened its mouth without measure;
so their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp,
and he who rejoices shall descend into it.
The common man shall be brought down,
and the great man shall be humbled,
and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.
But the LORD of Hosts shall be exalted in judgment,
and God who is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.
Then the lambs shall feed in their pasture,
and strangers shall eat in the waste places of the wealthy.
Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood
and sin as if with a cart rope,
who say, “Let Him make speed
and hasten His work,
that we may see it;
and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel
draw near and come,
that we may know it!”
Woe to those who call evil good,
and good evil;
who exchange darkness for light,
and light for darkness;
who exchange bitter for sweet,
and sweet for bitter!
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
and prudent in their own sight!
Woe to those who are mighty to drink wine,
and men of strength to mingle strong drink,
who justify the wicked for a reward,
and take away the justice of the righteous from him!
Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble
and the flame consumes the chaff,
so their root shall be as rottenness,
and their blossom shall go up as dust;
because they have cast away the law of the LORD of Hosts
and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Matthew 4:23-5:12
Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all sorts of diseases among the people. His fame went throughout all Syria. And they brought to Him all sick people who were taken with various diseases and tormented with pain, those who were possessed with demons, those who had seizures, and those who had paralysis, and He healed them. Great crowds followed Him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
Now seeing the crowds, He went up on a mountain. And when He sat down, His disciples came to Him.
And He began speaking and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called the sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be very glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in this manner they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Silence may be kept.
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Luke 1:46-55
𝙍: You have done great things for me. Holy is Your Name.
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: You have done great things for me. 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 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
Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.
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
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.