Sun. evening Sep. 13
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
How Firm a Foundation
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 119:41-64
𝙍: I will take delight in Your commandments.
Let Your mercies also come to me, O LORD,
Your salvation according to Your word.
So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me,
for I trust in Your word.
And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
for I hope in Your ordinances.
So shall I keep Your law continually,
forever and ever.
𝙍: I will take delight in Your commandments.
And I will walk at liberty,
for I seek Your precepts.
I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings
and shall not be ashamed.
I will take delight in Your commandments,
which I love.
My hands will I lift up to Your commandments, which I love,
and I will meditate on Your statutes.
𝙍: I will take delight in Your commandments.
Remember Your word to Your servant,
in which You have caused me to hope.
This is my comfort in my affliction,
that Your word has given me life.
The proud have me in utter derision,
yet I do not forsake Your law.
I have remembered Your judgments of old, O LORD,
and I take comfort.
𝙍: I will take delight in Your commandments.
Indignation has seized me because of the wicked,
those who forsake Your law.
Your statutes have been my songs
in the house of my sojourning.
I remember Your name in the night, O LORD,
and keep Your law.
This has become mine,
because I have kept Your precepts.
You are my portion, O LORD;
I have promised to keep Your words.
I entreated Your favor with all my heart;
be merciful to me according to Your word.
I considered my ways,
and turned my feet to Your testimonies.
I hurried and delayed not
to keep Your commandments.
𝙍: I will take delight in Your commandments.
The bands of the wicked have bound me,
but I have not forgotten Your law.
At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You,
because of Your righteous judgments.
I am a companion of all those who fear You,
and of those who keep Your precepts.
The earth, O LORD, is full of Your mercy;
teach me Your statutes.
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: I will take delight in Your commandments.
Psalm prayer
Faithful God, let your word be the treasure of our hearts, that we may delight in your truth and walk in the glorious liberty of your Son Jesus Christ.
Old Testament reading
Ezekiel 20:1-8, 33-44
In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD and sat before me.
Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD: Do you come to inquire of Me? As I live, says the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you.
Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Cause them to know the abominations of their fathers. And say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up My hand to the seed of the house of Jacob, and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up My hand to them, saying, I am the LORD your God, on that day that I lifted up My hand to them to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had selected for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands, then I said to them: Cast away, each of you, the abominations of his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
But they rebelled against Me and would not listen to Me. They did not cast away the abominations of their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said I will pour out My fury upon them, to accomplish My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
As I live, says the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. And I will bring you out from the peoples and will gather you out of the countries in which you are scattered with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with fury poured out. I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, says the Lord GOD. I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. And I will purge from among you the rebels and those who transgress against Me. I will bring them out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD.
As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord GOD: Go serve every one of you his idols, but later you shall surely listen to Me. But do not pollute My holy name anymore with your gifts and with your idols. For on My holy mountain, on the mountain of the height of Israel, says the Lord GOD, there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve Me in the land. There I will accept them, and there I will seek your offerings and the firstfruits of your gifts with all your holy things. I will accept you with your sweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries in which you have been scattered. And I will be sanctified among you before the nations. You shall know that I am the LORD when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I lifted up My hand to give it to your fathers. There you shall remember your ways and all your deeds in which you have been defiled. And you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that you have committed. You shall know that I am the LORD when I have dealt with you for My name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways, or according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, says the Lord GOD.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 20:17-38
From Miletus he sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. When they came to him, he said to them, “You know how I always lived among you from the first day that I came to Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with many tears and trials which befell me through the plots of the Jews. I did not keep from declaring what was beneficial to you, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Now, behold, having been bound by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But none of these things deter me. Nor do I count my life of value to myself, so that I may joyfully finish my course and the ministry which I have received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
“Now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I went proclaiming the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not keep from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to the entire flock, over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will enter among you, not sparing the flock. Even from among you men will arise speaking perverse things, to draw the disciples away after them. Therefore watch, remembering that for three years night and day I did not cease to warn everyone with tears.
“Now, brothers, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified. I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities and for those who were with me. In all things I have shown you how, working like this, you must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
Having said these things, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. They all wept much and embraced Paul’s neck and kissed him, grieving most over the words he spoke, that they were to see his face no more. Then they escorted him to the ship.
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 in the passion of your blessed Son made an instrument of painful death to be for us the means of life and peace: grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ that we may gladly suffer for his sake; 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.