Sun. evening Aug. 2
Opening response
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night: to you be praise and glory forever. As darkness falls, you renew your promise to reveal among us the light of your presence. By the light of Christ, your living Word, dispel the darkness of our hearts that we may walk as children of light and sing your praise throughout 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
Amazing Grace
Confession of Sin
When we cry to the LORD in our trouble,
He will save us from our distress.
God will bring us out of darkness
and out of the shadow of death.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
May the Father forgive us by the death of his Son, and strengthen us to live in the power of the Spirit all our days.
Amen.
Let us give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
and for His wonderful works to all people!
Let us offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and declare God’s works with rejoicing.
cf Psalm 107
Psalm 80
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead Joseph like a flock;
You who are enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth!
Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
stir up Your strength,
and come and save us!
Restore us, O God,
and cause Your face to shine,
and we shall be saved!
O LORD God of Hosts,
how long will You be angry
with the prayers of Your people?
You have fed them with the bread of tears,
and given them tears to drink in great measure.
You have made us a source of contention to our neighbors,
and our enemies laugh among themselves.
Restore us, O God of Hosts,
and cause Your face to shine,
and we shall be saved.
You have brought a vine out of Egypt;
You have cast out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shadow
and the mighty cedars with its branches.
It sent out its branches to the sea
and its shoots to the Euphrates River.
Why have You broken down its walls,
so that all those who pass by the way pluck its fruit?
The boar from the woods ravages it,
and the insects of the field devour it.
Return, we beseech You, O God of Hosts;
look down from heaven and see;
have regard for this vine,
the shoot that Your right hand planted,
and for the son whom You made strong for Yourself.
It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
Then we will not turn back from You;
give us life, and we will call upon Your name.
Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts;
cause Your face to shine,
and we shall be saved!
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.
Psalm prayer
Faithful shepherd of your people, as we look for the light of your countenance, restore in us the image of your glory and graft us into the risen life of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
1 Kings 10:1-13
Now when the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame connected to the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; there was not anything too difficult for the king which he could not answer. When the queen of Sheba observed Solomon’s wisdom and the house he had built and the meat of his table and the sitting of his servants and the attendance of his ministers and their clothing and his cupbearers and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.
She said to the king, “What I heard in my own land about your acts and your wisdom was true! I did not believe it until I came and saw it with my own eyes! And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity are greater than the stories I heard! Happy are your men, and happy are these your servants who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel, because the LORD loved Israel forever; therefore He made you king in order to execute judgment and justice.”
She gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold and a great amount of spices and precious stones. No one gave as many spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
The ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, also brought from Ophir a large quantity of almug wood and precious stones. The king made pillars for the house of the LORD out of the almug trees and harps also and psalteries for singers for the king’s house. Never before had such almug wood been brought, nor has any such been seen to this day.
King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all she desired, no matter what she asked for, in addition to what Solomon gave her from his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 13:1-13
In the church that was in Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they worshipped the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John as an assistant.
When they had gone through the whole island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet, whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (which is his name by interpretation) opposed them, trying to divert the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, stared at him and said, “You son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness, full of deceit and of all fraud, will you not cease perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is against you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.”
Immediately mist and darkness fell on him, and he went about seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed and was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
Paul and Barnabas in Antioch of Pisidia
Now when Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem.
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 universal church
Bishops, superintendents, and all who lead the church
The leaders of the nations
The natural world and the resources of the earth
All who are in any kind of need
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
In faith we pray
We pray to you, our God.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God, who sent your Holy Spirit to be the life and light of your Church: open our hearts to the riches of your grace, that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit in love and joy and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
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
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore.
Amen.