Sat. evening Dec. 6
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
Arm of the Lord, Awake, Awake!
Music by The Hymnodist: Spotify, Apple, Amazon, iHeart, YouTube Music, Pandora, Boomplay, Deezer
Lyrics by Charles Wesley
Chorus
Arm of the Lord, awake, awake
Thine own immortal strength put on
With terror clothed, hell's kingdom shake
And cast thy foes with fury down
Verses 1 & 2
As in the ancient days appear
The sacred annals speak thy fame
Be now omnipotently near
To endless ages still the same
Thy arm, Lord, is not shortened now
It lacks not now the power to save
Still present with thy people, thou
Bearest them through life's disparted wave
Chorus
Verses 3 & 4
By death and hell pursued in vain
To thee the ransomed seed shall come
Shouting their heavenly Zion gain
And pass through death triumphant home
The pain of life shall there be over
The anguish and distracting care
There, sighing grief shall weep no more
And sin shall never enter there
Chorus
Verse 5
Where pure essential joy is found
The Lord's redeemed, their heads shall raise
With everlasting gladness crowned
And filled with love, and lost in praise
Chorus
Confession of Sin
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor recompensed us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his mercy toward those who fear Him.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children,
so the LORD pities those who fear Him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits.
Psalm 27
𝙍: The LORD is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked came against me
to devour my flesh —
my enemies and my foes—
they stumbled and fell.
Though an army may encamp against me,
my heart will not fear;
though war may rise against me,
yet I will be confident.
One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the LORD,
and to inquire in His temple.
For in the time of trouble
He will hide me in His pavilion;
in the shelter of His tabernacle He will hide me;
He will set me high upon a rock.
Now my head will be lifted up
above my enemies all around me;
therefore will I offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.
𝙍: The LORD is my light and my salvation.
Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!
Be gracious to me and answer me!
When You said, “Seek My face,”
my heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, will I seek.”
Do not hide Your face from me;
do not turn thrust Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help.
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
If my father and my mother forsake me,
then the LORD will take me in.
Teach me Your way, O LORD,
and lead me on a level path,
because of my enemies.
Do not deliver me to the will of my enemies;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.
I believe
that I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait on the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait on 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 is my light and my salvation.
Psalm prayer
God, our light and our salvation, illuminate our lives, that we may see your goodness in the land of the living, and, looking on your beauty, may be changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 28
𝙍: The LORD is my strength and my shield.
To You will I cry, O LORD my rock;
do not be silent to me,
lest, if You are silent to me,
I become like those who go down to the pit.
Hear the voice of my supplications
when I cry to You,
when I lift up my hands
toward Your most holy place.
𝙍: The LORD is my strength and my shield.
Do not take me away with the wicked
and with the workers of iniquity,
who speak peace with their neighbors
while mischief is in their hearts.
Repay them according to their deeds,
and according to the wickedness of their endeavors;
repay them according to the work of their hands;
render to them their due reward.
𝙍: The LORD is my strength and my shield.
Because they do not regard the works of the LORD,
nor the work of His hands,
He will destroy them
and not build them up.
Blessed be the LORD,
because He has heard the voice of my supplications.
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusted in Him, and I was helped;
therefore my heart rejoices,
and with my song I will thank Him.
𝙍: The LORD is my strength and my shield.
The LORD is the strength of His people,
and He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
Save Your people
and bless Your inheritance;
shepherd them and bear them up 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 LORD is my strength and my shield.
Psalm prayer
Hear us, Shepherd of your people, forgive us our sins and, in a world of pretenses, make us true in heart and mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Silence may be kept.
Old Testament reading
Isaiah 44:24-45:13
Thus says the LORD,
your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb:
I am the LORD
who makes all things,
who stretches out the heavens alone,
who spreads abroad the earth by Myself,
who frustrates the omens of the boasters
and makes fools out of diviners,
who turns wise men backward
and makes their knowledge foolish,
who confirms the word of His servant
and performs the counsel of His messengers,
who says to Jerusalem, “You shall be inhabited,”
and to the cities of Judah, “You shall be built.”
And I will raise up her ruins again;
it is I who says to the deep, “Be dried up!”
And I will dry up your rivers;
it is I who says of Cyrus, “He is My shepherd,
and shall perform all My desire”;
and he declares to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,”
and to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”
Thus says the LORD to Cyrus, His anointed,
whose right hand I have held —
to subdue nations before him
and to loosen the loins of kings,
to open doors before him
so that the gates will not be shut:
I will go before you
and make the crooked places straight;
I will break in pieces the gates of bronze
and shatter the bars of iron.
And I will give you the treasures of darkness
and hidden riches of secret places
so that you may know that I, the LORD,
who calls you by your name, am the God of Israel.
For Jacob My servant’s sake
and Israel My chosen one,
I have even called you by your name;
I have named you,
though you have not known Me.
I am the LORD and there is no other;
there is no God besides Me.
I strengthen you,
though you have not known Me,
so that they may know from the rising of the sun
and from the west
that there is no one besides Me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other;
I form the light and create darkness;
I make peace and create calamity;
I, the LORD, do all these things.
Drip down, O heavens, from above,
and let the clouds pour down righteousness;
let the earth open up,
and let them bring forth salvation,
and let righteousness spring up together.
I, the LORD, have created it.
Woe to him who strives with his maker,
the potsherd with the potsherds of the earth!
Shall the clay say to the potter,
“What are you making?”
Or the thing you are making say,
“He has no hands”?
Woe to him who says to his father,
“What are you begetting?”
Or to the woman,
“To what are you giving birth?”
Thus says the LORD,
the Holy One of Israel and his maker:
Ask Me of things to come
concerning My sons,
and you shall commit to Me the work of My hands.
I have made the earth
and created man on it.
I, even My hands, have stretched out the heavens,
and I have ordained all their host.
I have raised him up in righteousness,
and I will direct all his ways;
he shall build My city,
and he shall let My captives go,
neither for price nor reward,
says the LORD of Hosts.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Revelation 22:6-21
The angel said to me, “These words are faithful and true. The Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show to His servants the things which must soon take place.”
“Behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
I, John, am he who saw and heard these things. When I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. But he said to me, “See that you not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brothers the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”
Then he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still. He who is filthy, let him be filthy still. He who is righteous, let him be righteous still. He who is holy, let him be holy still.”
“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me to give to each one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. Outside are dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and practices a lie.
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let him who hears say, “Come.” Let him who is thirsty come. Let him who desires take the water of life freely.
I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life and out of the Holy City and out of the things which are written in this book.
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.”
Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus!
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
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
Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.
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.