Friday evening May 26

Image: Unsplash

Opening response

Hurry, God, to deliver us.
LORD, come quickly to help us.

Send your Holy Spirit upon us,
and clothe us with power from on high. Alleluia.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,
to you be glory and praise forever.
Raised to your right hand on high
the ascended Christ shows the prints of love
and bestows on us the gifts of grace.
As your Spirit renews the face of the earth,
may we bring forth the fruit of the Spirit
and reveal your glory in all the world.
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

Arise, My Soul, Arise

Charles Wesley
           
Arise, my soul arise,
Thy Savior’s sacrifice!
All the names that love could find,
All the forms that love could take,
Jesus in himself hath joined,
Thee, my soul, his own to make.
 
Prophet, to me reveal
Thy Father’s perfect will;
Never mortal spake like thee,
Human Prophet, like divine;
Loud and strong their voices be,
Small, and still, and inward thine!
 
On thee, my Priest, I call;
Thy blood atoned for all:
Still the Lamb as slain appears,
Still thou standest before the throne,
Ever offering up my prayers,
These presenting with thine own.
 
Jesus, thou art my King,
From thee my strength I bring;
Shadowed by thy mighty hand,
Savior, who shall pluck me thence?
Faith supports; by faith I stand,
Strong in thy omnipotence.
 
Hail! everlasting Lord,
Divine, incarnate Word!
Thee let all my powers confess;
Thee my latest breath proclaim;
Help, ye angel choirs to bless,
Shout the loved Emmanuel’s name!

Confession of sin

Come, Holy Spirit of God,
and search our hearts with the light of Christ.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
The first commandment is this:
‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’

The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’
No other commandment is greater than these.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.

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 love for you is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that disappears early.
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 147

Refrain:
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.

Praise the LORD,
for it is good to sing praises to our God;
for it is pleasant and fitting to praise him.
The LORD builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the broken in heart,
and binds up their wounds.
He counts the number of the stars.
He calls them all by their names.
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.
His understanding is infinite.
The LORD upholds the humble.
He brings the wicked down to the ground.
Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving.
Sing praises on the harp to our God,
who covers the sky with clouds,
who prepares rain for the earth,
who makes grass grow on the mountains.
He provides food for the livestock,
and for the young ravens when they call.
He doesn’t delight in the strength of the horse.
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his loving kindness.
Praise the LORD, Jerusalem!
Praise your God, Zion!
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates.
He has blessed your children within you.
He makes peace in your borders.
He fills you with the finest of the wheat.
He sends out his commandment to the earth.
His word runs very swiftly.
He gives snow like wool,
and scatters frost like ashes.
He hurls down his hail like pebbles.
Who can stand before his cold?
He sends out his word, and melts them.
He causes his wind to blow, and the waters flow.
He shows his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done this for just any nation.
They don’t know his ordinances.
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.

Refrain:
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.

Psalm prayer

Compassionate God,
as you know each star you have created,
so you know the secrets of every heart;
in your loving mercy bring to your table
all who are fearful and broken,
all who are wounded and needy,
that our hungers may be satisfied
in the city of your peace;
through Christ who is our peace.

Old Testament reading

Numbers 27:12-23

The LORD said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered; because in the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin, to honour me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, who may go out before them, and who may come in before them, and who may lead them out, and who may bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep which have no shepherd.”

The LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. Set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and commission him in their sight. You shall give authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may obey. He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall enquire for him by the judgement of the Urim before the LORD. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.”

Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. He laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the LORD spoke by Moses.
 
Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Luke 8:40-56

When Jesus returned, the multitude welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. Behold, a man named Jairus came. He was a ruler of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged him to come into his house, for he had an only born daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as he went, the multitudes pressed against him. A woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her living on physicians and could not be healed by any, came behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak. Immediately the flow of her blood stopped.

Jesus said, “Who touched me?”

When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes press and jostle you, and you say, ‘Who touched me?’”

But Jesus said, “Someone did touch me, for I perceived that power has gone out of me.” When the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before him declared to him in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. He said to her, “Daughter, cheer up. Your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

While he still spoke, one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house came, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t trouble the Teacher.”

But Jesus hearing it, answered him, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe, and she will be healed.”

When he came to the house, he didn’t allow anyone to enter in, except Peter, John, James, the father of the child, and her mother. All were weeping and mourning her, but he said, “Don’t weep. She isn’t dead, but sleeping.”

They were ridiculing him, knowing that she was dead. But he put them all outside, and taking her by the hand, he called, saying, “Child, arise!” Her spirit returned, and she rose up immediately. He commanded that something be given to her to eat. Her parents were amazed, but he commanded them to tell no one what had been done.
 
Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

Refrain:
How excellent is your name in all the world, you have set your glory above the heavens. Alleluia.

My soul magnifies the Lord.
My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
for he has looked at the humble state 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.
Holy is his name.
His mercy is for generations and generations on those who fear him.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down princes from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things.
He has sent the rich away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and his offspring 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.

 
Refrain:
How excellent is your name in all the world, you have set your glory above the heavens. Alleluia.
 
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:
 
God’s royal priesthood, for empowerment by the Spirit
Those who wait on God, that they may find renewal
All people, that they may acknowledge the kingdom of the ascended Christ
The earth, for productivity and for fruitful harvests
All who are struggling with broken relationships
 
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads. 

Response

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
 
Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

O God the King of glory,
you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ
with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven:
we beseech you, leave us not comfortless,
but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us
and exalt us to the place where our Savior Christ is gone before,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Being made one by the power of the Spirit,
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 the Spirit kindle in us the fire of God’s love.
Amen.