Mon. evening Dec. 8
Opening response
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
Reveal among us the light of your presence
that we may behold your power and glory.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of light and darkness, to you be glory and praise forever. As evening falls, you renew your promise to reveal among us the light of your presence. May your word be a lantern to our feet and a light upon our path that we may behold your coming among us. Strengthen us in our stumbling weakness and free our tongues to sing your praise.
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
Hail! Holy, Holy, Holy Lord
Music by The Hymnodist: Spotify, Apple, Amazon, iHeart, YouTube Music, Pandora, Boomplay, Deezer
Lyrics by Charles Wesley
Chorus
Hail! holy, holy, holy Lord
Whom One in Three we know
By all Thy heavenly host adored
By all Thy church below
By all Thy church below
Verse 1
One undivided Trinity
With triumph we proclaim
Thy universe is full of Thee
And speaks Thy glorious name
And speaks Thy glorious name
Chorus
Verse 2
Thee, Holy Father, we confess
Thee, Holy Son, adore
Thee, Spirit of truth and holiness
We worship evermore
We worship evermore
Chorus
Verse 3
Three Persons equally divine
We magnify and love
And both the choirs ere long shall join
To sing Thy praise above
To sing Thy praise above
Chorus
Hail! holy, holy, holy Lord
Our heavenly song shall be
Supreme, essential One, adored
In co-eternal Three
In co-eternal Three
Confession of Sin
Seek the LORD while He may be found,
call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
and let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him,
and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
cf Isaiah 55
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Lord God, I have sinned against you; I have done what is evil in your sight. I am sorry and repent. Have mercy on me according to your lovingkindness. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Renew a right spirit within me, and restore unto me the joy of your salvation, through Jesus Christ my 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.
Blessed be the LORD,
because He has heard the voice of my supplications.
Therefore my heart rejoices,
and with my song I will thank Him.
cf Psalm 28:7,9
Psalm 144
𝙍: Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.
Blessed be the LORD my rock,
who trains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle;
my lovingkindness and my fortress,
my high tower and my deliverer,
my shield and He in whom I take refuge,
who subdues my people under me.
LORD, what is man, that You take regard of him?
Or the son of a man, that You are mindful of him?
Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.
𝙍: Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.
Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down;
touch the mountains, that they may smoke.
Cast forth lightning and scatter them;
shoot out Your arrows and destroy them.
Stretch Your hand from above;
rescue me and deliver me
out of the great waters,
from the hand of foreigners,
whose mouth speaks vain words,
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
𝙍: Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.
I will sing a new song to You, O God;
on a harp of ten strings will I sing praises to You,
who gives salvation to kings,
who delivers David His servant from the deadly sword.
Rescue me and deliver me
from the hand of foreigners,
whose mouth speaks lying words
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
𝙍: Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.
May our sons in their youth
be like plants fully grown,
our daughters like pillars,
sculptured to adorn a palace;
may our barns be full,
supplying every kind of produce;
may our sheep bring forth
thousands and ten thousands in our fields;
may our cattle be strong in labor,
may there be no breaking in
or going out;
and may there be no outcry in our streets!
Blessed are the people who are in such a state;
blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.
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: Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.
Psalm prayer
God our deliverer, stir our weak wills, revive our weary spirits, and give us the courage to strive for the freedom of all your children, to the praise of your glorious name.
Psalm 146
𝙍: The LORD shall reign forever.
Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
While I live I will praise the LORD;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Do not put your trust in princes,
nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
His spirit departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
𝙍: The LORD shall reign forever.
Blessed is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them;
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.
𝙍: The LORD shall reign forever.
The LORD sets free the prisoners.
The LORD opens the eyes of the blind;
the LORD raises up those who are bowed down;
the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD watches over the strangers;
He relieves the fatherless and widow,
but the way of the wicked He turns upside down.
The LORD shall reign forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the LORD!
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 LORD shall reign forever.
Psalm prayer
Lord of all, our breath and being come from you, yet our earthly end is dust; as you loose the bound and feed the hungry, so bring us in your mercy through the grave and gate of death to the feast of eternal life, where you reign forevermore.
Silence may be kept.
Old Testament reading
Isaiah 45:14-25
Thus says the LORD:
The products of Egypt and merchandise of Cush
and of the Sabeans—men of stature—
shall come over to you,
and they shall be yours;
they shall come after you;
in chains they shall come over,
and they shall fall down before you.
They shall make supplication to you, saying,
“Surely God is with you, and there is no other;
there is no other God.”
Truly You are a God who hides Yourself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.
They shall be ashamed and also humiliated, all of them;
the craftsmen of idols shall go away in confusion together,
but Israel shall be saved by the LORD
with an everlasting salvation;
you shall not be ashamed nor humiliated
to all eternity.
For thus says the LORD,
who created the heavens,
who is God,
who formed the earth and made it,
who has established it,
who did not create it in vain,
who formed it to be inhabited:
I am the LORD,
and there is no other.
I have not spoken in secret
in a dark place of the earth;
I did not say to the descendants of Jacob,
“Seek Me in a waste place”;
I, the LORD, speak righteousness;
I declare things that are right.
Assemble yourselves and come;
draw near together, you fugitives of the nations.
They have no knowledge who set up the wood of their carved image,
and pray to a god that cannot save.
Declare and set forth your case;
let them take counsel together.
Who has declared this from ancient times?
Who has told it from that time?
Have not I, the LORD?
And there is no God besides Me,
a righteous God and Savior;
there is no other besides Me.
Turn to Me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth.
For I am God, and there is no other.
I have sworn by Myself,
the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness
and shall not return,
that to Me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall take an oath.
Surely, one shall say, “Only in the LORD
are righteousness and strength.”
Men shall come to him,
and all who are incensed at Him shall be ashamed.
In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel
be justified and shall glory.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
1 Thessalonians 1
Paul, Silas, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Thessalonians’ Faith and Example
We give thanks to God always for you all, mentioning you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patient hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God and our Father.
For we know, beloved brothers, your election by God. For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance, just as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. You became followers of us and the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit. Therefore you were examples to all who believe in Macedonia and Achaia. For the word of the Lord sounded out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith in God has gone forth, so that we do not need to say anything. For they themselves declare how we were received by you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead —Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Silence may be kept.
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Luke 1:46-55
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.
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 Church, that she may be ready for the coming of Christ
The leaders of the Church
The nations, that they may be subject to the rule of God
Those who are working for justice in the world
The broken, that they may find God’s healing
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Loving God, we look to you.
Receive our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
O Lord, raise up, we pray, your power and come among us, and with great might assist us; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness we are grievously hindered in running the race that is set before us, your bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Awaiting his coming in glory, 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 the Lord, when he comes, find us watching and waiting.
Amen.