Opening response

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

Your saints bless you.
They tell 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

God of All Power, and Truth, and Grace

Charles Wesley

God of all power, and truth, and grace,
Which shall from age to age endure,
Whose word, when heaven and earth shall pass,
Remains and stands forever sure.

That I thy mercy may proclaim,
That all mankind thy truth may see,
Hallow thy great and glorious name,
And perfect holiness in me.

Thy sanctifying Spirit pour,
To quench my thirst, and make me clean;
Now, Father, let the gracious shower
Descend, and make me pure from sin.

Purge me from every sinful blot;
My idols all be cast aside;
Cleanse me from every sinful thought,
From all the filth of self and pride.

Give me a new, a perfect heart,
From doubt, and fear, and sorrow free;
The mind which was in Christ impart,
And let my spirit cleave to thee.

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 80

Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel,
who leads Joseph like a flock;
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Rally Your mighty power
and come to save us.
Restore us, O God,
and cause Your face to shine upon us,
that we may be saved.

O LORD God of Hosts,
how long will Your anger smolder
against the prayers of Your people?
You fed them with the bread of tears
and made them drink the full measure of their tears.
You make us contend with our neighbors;
our enemies mock us.
Restore us, O God of Hosts,
and cause Your face to shine upon us,
that we may be saved.

You uprooted a vine from Egypt;
You drove out the nations and transplanted it.
You cleared the ground for it,
and it took root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered by its shade,
and the mighty cedars with its branches.
It sent out its branches to the Sea,
and its shoots toward the River.

Why have You broken down its walls,
so that all who pass by pick its fruit?
The boar from the forest ravages it,
and the creatures of the field feed upon it.
Return, O God of Hosts, we pray!
Look down from heaven and see!
Attend to this vine—
the root Your right hand has planted,
the son You have raised up for Yourself.

Your vine has been cut down and burned;
they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
Let Your hand be upon the man at Your right hand,
on the son of man You have raised up for Yourself.
Then we will not turn away from You;
revive us, and we will call on Your name.
Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts;
cause Your face to shine upon us,
that we may be saved.

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.

Psalm prayer

Faithful shepherd of your people,
as we look for the light of your countenance,
restore in us the image of your glory
and graft us into the risen life of your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 81

𝙍: Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD.

Sing for joy to God our strength;
make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob.
Lift up a song, strike the tambourine,
play the sweet-sounding harp and lyre.
Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon,
and at the full moon on the day of our Feast.
For this is a statute for Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob. 𝙍

He ordained it as a testimony for Joseph
when he went out over the land of Egypt,
where I heard an unfamiliar language:

“I relieved his shoulder of the burden;
his hands were freed from the basket.
You called out in distress, and I rescued you;
I answered you from the cloud of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.

Hear, O My people, and I will warn you:
O Israel, if only you would listen to Me!
There must be no strange god among you,
nor shall you bow to a foreign god.
I am the LORD your God,
who brought you up out of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth,
and I will fill it. 𝙍

But My people would not listen to Me,
and Israel would not obey Me.
So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts
to follow their own devices.
If only My people would listen to Me,
if Israel would follow My ways,
how soon I would subdue their enemies
and turn My hand against their foes!
Those who hate the LORD would feign obedience,
and their doom would last forever.
But I would feed you the finest wheat;
with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

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: Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD.

Psalm prayer

Father of mercy,
keep us joyful in your salvation
and faithful to your covenant;
and, as we journey to your kingdom,
ever feed us with the bread of life,
your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 40:1-11

“Comfort, comfort My people,”
says your God.
“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her forced labor has been completed;
her iniquity has been pardoned.
For she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.”

A voice of one calling:

“Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness;
make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill made low;
the uneven ground will become smooth,
and the rugged land a plain.
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all humanity together will see it.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

A voice says, “Cry out!”
And I asked, “What should I cry out?”
“All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall
when the breath of the LORD blows on them;
indeed, the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.”

Go up on a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news.
Raise your voice loudly,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news.
Lift it up,
do not be afraid!
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might,
and His arm establishes His rule.
His reward is with Him,
and His recompense accompanies Him.
He tends His flock like a shepherd;
He gathers the lambs in His arms
and carries them close to His heart.
He gently leads the nursing ewes.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Revelation 14:1-13

Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of many waters and the loud rumbling of thunder. And the sound I heard was like harpists strumming their harps.

And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been redeemed from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. And no lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

Then I saw another angel flying overhead, with the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation and tribe and tongue and people. And he said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the One who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and the springs of waters.”

Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”

And a third angel followed them, calling out in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand, he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

Here is a call for the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds will follow them.”

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,
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 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, hear our prayer,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Eternal Father,
whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven
that he might rule over all things as Lord and King:
keep the church in the unity of the Spirit
and in the bond of peace,
and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet;
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.