Sun. evening Oct. 11
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
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
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 139:1-18
𝙍: Search me, O God, and know my heart!
O LORD, You have searched me
and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You perceive my thought from afar.
You winnow my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
You beset me behind and before,
and laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
𝙍: Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Where shall I go from Your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there shall Your hand lead me
and Your right hand take hold of me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall befall me,
even the night about me shall be my light.”
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You
and the night shines as the day,
for darkness and light are alike with You.
𝙍: Search me, O God, and know my heart!
For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Marvelous are Your works,
and that my soul knows right well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
when I was made in secret,
and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance.
And in Your book were they all written,
the days created for me, when as yet there were none of them.
How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would be in number more than the sand.
When I awake,
I am still with You.
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: Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Psalm prayer
Creator God, may every breath we take be for your glory, may every footstep show you as our way, that, trusting in your presence in this world, we may, beyond this life, still be with you where you are alive and reign forever and ever.
Old Testament reading
Proverbs 3:1-18
My son, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments,
for length of days and long life
and peace will they give you.
Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
bind them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
So will you find favor and high regard
in the sight of God and man.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and depart from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh,
and strength to your bones.
Honor the LORD with your substance,
and with the firstfruits of all your increase;
then will your barns be filled with plenty,
and your vats will overflow with new wine.
My son, despise not the discipline of the LORD
or be weary of His correction,
for whom the LORD loves He corrects,
as a father the son in whom he delights.
Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,
and the man who gets understanding,
for her profit is better than the profit of silver,
and her increase better than fine gold.
She is more precious than jewels,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
Length of days is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
blessed are those who retain her.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
1 John 3:1-15
Consider how much love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now are we children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
Whoever practices sin breaks the law, for sin is lawlessness. You know that He was revealed to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever remains in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has not seen Him and does not know Him.
Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous. Whoever practices sin is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was revealed, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not practice sin, for His seed remains in him. And he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are revealed: Whoever does not live in righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
For this is the message that you heard from the beginning: We should love one another, not like Cain, who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s works were righteous. Do not marvel, my brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love his brother remains in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.
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
O God, forasmuch as without you we are not able to please you; mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; 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.