Sun. evening Mar. 15

Opening response

Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!

Hear my voice according to your lovingkindness.
O LORD, give me life according to your judgment.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation, to you be glory and praise forever. In the darkness of our sin you have shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Open our eyes to acknowledge your presence, that freed from the misery of sin and shame we may grow into your likeness from glory to glory.

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

Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven

Words: Henry F. Lyte (1834)
Music: John Goss (1869)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#22)

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
to his feet your tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
evermore his praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King!

Praise him for his grace and favor
to his people in distress.
Praise him, still the same as ever,
slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glorious in his faithfulness!

Fatherlike he tends and spares us;
well our feeble frame he knows.
In his hand he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Widely yet his mercy flows!

Angels, help us to adore him;
you behold him face to face.
Sun and moon, bow down before him,
dwellers all in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise with us the God of grace!

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;
andall that is within me, bless His holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits.

Psalm 31:1-16

𝙍: Into Your hand I commit my spirit.

In You, O LORD, do I seek refuge;
let me never be ashamed;
deliver me in Your righteousness.
Incline Your ear to me;
deliver me speedily;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.
For You are my rock and my fortress;
for Your name’s sake, lead me and guide me.
Pull me out of the net that they have hidden for me,
for You are my strength.
Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O LORD, God of truth.

𝙍: Into Your hand I commit my spirit.

I have hated those who regard worthless idols,
but I trust in the LORD.
I will be glad and rejoice in Your lovingkindness,
for You have seen my trouble;
You have known my soul in adversities,
and have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a broad place.

𝙍: Into Your hand I commit my spirit.

Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my eye wastes away from grief,
yes, my soul and my body.
For my life is spent with grief,
and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my iniquity,
and my bones waste away.
I have become a reproach among all my enemies,
but especially among my neighbors,
and an object of dread to my acquaintances;
those who see me outside flee from me.
I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
For I hear the slander of many;
fear is on every side;
while they take counsel together against me,
they plot to take away my life.

𝙍: Into Your hand I commit my spirit.

But I trust in You, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in Your hand;
deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
and from those who persecute me.
Make Your face shine upon Your servant;
save me by Your lovingkindness.

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: Into Your hand I commit my spirit.

Psalm prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, when scorn and shame besiege us, and hope is veiled in grief, hold us in your wounded hands and make your face shine on us again, for you are our Lord and God.

Old Testament reading

Micah 7

Woe is me!
Because I am as the gathering of summer fruit,
as the gleaning of grapes;
there is no cluster to eat,
no early fig that my soul desires.
The godly has perished from the earth,
and no one is upright among men.
All of them lie in wait for bloodshed;
each hunts his brother with a net.
Both hands are upon evil, to do it well.
The prince and the judge request the bribe,
the powerful asserts the craving of his very soul—
they intertwine together.
The best among them is like a brier,
the most upright among them a bramble;
the day of your watchmen,
of your punishment, has come;
now their confusion is at hand.
Do not trust in a companion,
do not rely on a friend;
from her who lies in your embrace,
guard the doors of your mouth.
For the son dishonors the father,
the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
the enemies of a man are members of his own household.

But as for me, I watch for the LORD;
I await the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.

Do not rejoice over me, my enemy!
Although I have fallen, I will rise;
although I dwell in darkness,
the LORD is my light.
I will endure the rage of the LORD,
because I have sinned against Him,
until the time when He pleads my case
and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out into the light;
I will look upon His vindication.
Then my enemy will see,
and shame will cover her
who said to me,
“Where is the LORD your God?”
My eyes will look upon her;
now she will be trampled
like muck in the streets.

A day for building your walls,
in that day the boundary will be extended.
In that day they will come to you
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
and from Egypt to the Euphrates River,
from sea to sea,
and from mountain to mountain.
The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants,
from the fruit of their deeds.

Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
which live alone in a forest,
in the midst of a fertile land;
let them graze in Bashan and Gilead,
as in the days of old.

As in the days when you came out of Egypt,
I will display wonders.

Nations will see and be ashamed,
despite all their might;
they will put their hand on their mouth,
and their ears will be deaf.
They will lick dust like the serpent,
like crawling creatures of the earth;
they will come shuddering from their lairs.
They will turn in dread to the LORD our God,
and they will be afraid of You.
Who is a God like You,
bearing iniquity and passing over transgression
for the remnant of His inheritance?
He does not remain angry forever,
because He delights in benevolence.
He will again have compassion upon us.
He will tread down our iniquities,
and cast all of our sins into the depths of the sea.
You will give faithfulness to Jacob
and benevolence to Abraham,
which You swore to our fathers
from the days of old.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

James 5

Come now, you rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasures for the last days. Behold, the wages that you kept back by fraud from the laborers who harvested your fields are crying, and the cries of those who harvested have entered into the ears of the Lord of Hosts. You have lived in pleasure on the earth and have been wayward. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and killed the righteous man who does not resist you.

Therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Notice how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until he receives the early and late rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is drawing near. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

My brothers, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Behold, we consider them blessed who endure. You have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the purpose of the Lord, that the Lord is very gracious and merciful.

But above all things, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by the earth or by any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes” and your “No” be “No,” that you do not fall into condemnation.

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone merry? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your faults to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much.

Elijah was a man subject to natural passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit.

Brothers, if any one of you strays from the truth and someone corrects him, let him know that he who converts the sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

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:

Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
Those serving through leadership
Those looking for forgiveness
Those misled by the false gods of this present age
All who are hungry

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

Merciful Lord, absolve your people from their offenses, that through your bountiful goodness we may all be delivered from the chains of those sins which by our frailty we have committed; grant this, heavenly Father, for Jesus Christ's sake, our blessed Lord and Savior, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Trusting in the compassion of God, 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 God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
Amen.