Sat. evening Nov. 29
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
Author of Life Divine
Music by The Hymnodist: Spotify, Apple, Amazon, iHeart, YouTube Music, Pandora, Boomplay, Deezer
Lyrics by Charles Wesley
Chorus
Author of life divine
Who hast a table spread
Furnished with mystic wine
And everlasting bread
Preserve the life Thyself hast given
Preserve the life Thyself hast given
And feed and train us up for heaven
Verse 1
Our needy souls sustain
With fresh supplies of love
Till all Thy life we gain
And all Thy fullness prove
And, strengthened by Thy perfect grace
And, strengthened by Thy perfect grace
Behold without a veil Thy face
Chorus
Verse 2
And can we call to mind
The Lamb for sinners slain
And not expect to find
What He for us did gain
What God to us in Him hath given
What God to us in Him hath given
Pardon, and holiness, and heaven
Chorus
Verse 3
We now forgiveness have
We feel His work begun
And He shall fully save
And perfect us in one
Shall soon in all His image dress
Shall soon in all His image dress
Receive us to the Marriage Feast
Chorus
Verse 4
This token of Thy love
We thankfully receive
And hence with joy remove
With Thee in heaven to live
There, Lord, we shall Thy pledge restore
There, Lord, we shall Thy pledge restore
And live to praise Thee evermore
Chorus
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 148
𝙍: O praise the name of the LORD.
Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
praise Him in the heights!
Praise Him, all His angels;
praise Him, all His hosts!
Praise Him, sun and moon;
praise Him, all you stars of light!
Praise Him, you heavens of heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.
Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for He commanded and they were created.
He has also established them forever and ever;
He has made a decree which shall not pass away.
𝙍: O praise the name of the LORD.
Praise the LORD from the earth,
you great sea creatures, and all the depths;
fire and hail, snow and clouds;
stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
mountains and all hills;
fruitful trees and all cedars;
beasts and all cattle;
creeping things and flying fowl;
kings of the earth and all peoples;
princes and all judges of the earth;
both young men and maidens;
old men and children.
Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for His name alone is exalted;
His glory is above the earth and heaven.
He has exalted the horn for His people,
praise for all His saints,
for the Israelites, a people near to Him.
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: O praise the name of the LORD.
Psalm prayer
Glorious God, your whole creation sings your marvelous work; may heaven’s praise so echo in our hearts that we may be good stewards of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 149
𝙍: Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth!
Praise the LORD!
Sing to the LORD a new song,
and His praise in the congregation of the saints.
Let Israel rejoice in his maker;
let the sons of Zion be joyful in their King.
Let them praise His name in the dance;
let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.
For the LORD takes pleasure in His people;
He will beautify the meek with salvation.
𝙍: Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth!
Let the saints be joyful in glory;
let them sing for joy on their beds.
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
and a two-edged sword in their hand,
to execute vengeance on the nations,
and punishment on the peoples;
to bind their kings with chains,
and their nobles with fetters of iron;
to execute on them the judgment written!
This honor have all His saints.
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: Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth!
Psalm prayer
Glorious and redeeming God, give us hearts to praise you all our days and wills to reject the world’s deceits, that we may bind the evils of our age and proclaim the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 150
𝙍: Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
praise Him in His mighty firmament!
Praise Him for His mighty acts;
praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
𝙍: Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
praise Him with the harp and lyre!
Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
praise Him with stringed instruments and flute!
𝙍: Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise Him with loud cymbals;
praise Him with clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
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: Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Psalm prayer
God of life and love, whose Son was victorious over sin and death, make us alive with his life, that the whole world may resound with your praise; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Silence may be kept.
Old Testament reading
Isaiah 42:10-17
Sing to the LORD a new song,
and His praise from the ends of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,
the coastlands, and the inhabitants.
Let the wilderness and the cities lift up their voices,
the villages that Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing,
let them shout from the top of the mountains.
Let them give glory to the LORD,
and declare His praise in the islands.
The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man;
He shall stir up zeal like a man of war.
He shall cry out, yes, raise a war cry;
He shall prevail against His enemies.
I have for a long time held My peace;
I have been still and refrained Myself.
Now I will cry like a travailing woman;
I will destroy and devour at once.
I will lay waste mountains and hills
and dry up all their vegetation,
and I will make the rivers islands,
and I will dry up the pools.
I will bring the blind by a way that they did not know;
I will lead them in paths that they have not known.
I will make darkness light before them
and crooked things straight.
These things I will do for them
and not forsake them.
They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed,
who trust in graven images,
who say to the molded images, “You are our gods.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Revelation 18
After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. He cried out mightily with a loud voice, saying:
“ ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’
She has become a dwelling place of demons,
a haunt for every unclean spirit,
and a haunt for every unclean and hateful bird.
For all the nations have drunk
of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality,
the kings of the earth have committed adultery with her,
and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the
abundance of her luxury.”
Then I heard another voice from heaven saying:
“ ‘Come out of her, my people,’
lest you partake in her sins,
and lest you receive her plagues.
For her sins have reached up to heaven,
and God has remembered her iniquities.
Render to her as she has rendered to you,
and repay her double for her deeds;
in the cup which she has mixed, mix a double portion for her.
To the extent that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously,
so give her torment and sorrow;
for in her heart she says,
‘I sit as a queen, and am no widow,
and will see no sorrow.’
Therefore her plagues will come in one day —
death and mourning and famine.
And she will be utterly burned with fire,
for strong is the Lord God who judges her.
“The kings of the earth, who have committed adultery and lived luxuriously with her, will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke of her burning. Standing far off for the fear of her torment, they will say:
‘Alas, alas for that great city,
that mighty city, Babylon!
In one hour your judgment has come.’
“The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise any more: the merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all artifacts of ivory, all merchandise of costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble; and cinnamon and incense, myrrh and frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves and lives of men.
‘The fruit that your soul lusted after
has departed from you,
and all the things which are graceful and exquisite
have departed from you,
and you shall never find them.’
“The merchants of these things, who gained wealth by her, will stand far off for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying:
‘Alas, alas, that great city,
that was arrayed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet,
and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls!
In one hour such great riches came to nothing!’
“All sea captains and seafaring men, sailors and all who trade by sea, stood far off, and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like this great city?’ They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying:
‘Alas, alas, that great city,
in which all who had ships in the sea
grew rich from her wealth!
In one hour she has been laid waste!’
“Rejoice over her, O heaven
and saints and apostles and prophets,
for God has avenged you against her.”
Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying:
“With such violence
shall that great city Babylon be thrown down,
and shall be found no more.
The sound of harpists and musicians, flute players and trumpeters,
shall not be heard in you any more.
No craftsman of any craft
shall be found in you any more,
and the sound of a millstone
shall not be heard in you any more.
The light of a lamp
shall shine in you no more,
and the voice of bridegroom and of bride
shall be heard in you no more.
For your merchants were the great men of the earth,
and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.
In her was found the blood of prophets and of saints
and of all who were slain on the earth.”
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
Father, hear our prayer,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility; that on the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, 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.