Fri. evening Jan. 30
Opening response
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
your glory is proclaimed in all the world.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God, our light and our salvation, to you be glory and praise forever. You gave your Christ as a light to the nations, and through the anointing of the Spirit, you established us as a royal priesthood. As you call us into your marvelous light, may our lives bear witness to your truth and our lips never cease to proclaim your praise.
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
Fight the Good Fight
Words: John Samuel Bewley Monsell (1863)
Music: John Hatton (1793)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#473)
Fight the good fight with all thy might;
Christ is thy strength, and Christ thy right;
Lay hold on life, and it shall be
Thy joy and crown eternally.
Run the straight race through God's good grace;
Lift up thine eyes, and seek his face.
Life with its way before us lies;
Christ is the path, and Christ the prize.
Cast care aside; lean on thy Guide
His boundless mercy will provide;
Trust, and thy trusting soul shall prove
Christ is its life, and Christ its love.
Faint not, nor fear, his arms are near;
He changeth not, and thou art dear;
Only believe, and thou shalt see
That Christ is all in all to thee.
Confession of Sin
Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Almighty God, patient and of great goodness: I confess to you, I confess with my whole heart my neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments, my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking; the hurts I have done to others, and the good I have left undone. O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you; and raise me to newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
May the God of love and power forgive us and free us from our sins, heal and strengthen us by his Spirit, and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Psalm 67
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make His face to shine upon us,
that Your way may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.
Let the peoples praise You, O God;
let all the peoples praise You.
Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!
For You will judge the people righteously,
and guide the nations upon the earth.
Let the peoples praise You, O God;
let all the peoples praise You.
Then will the earth yield its produce,
and God, our God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear Him.
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
In the face of Jesus Christ, your light and glory have blazed forth, O God of all the nations; with all your people, may we make known your grace and walk in the ways of peace; for your name’s sake.
Psalm 77
𝙍: In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord.
My voice rises to God, thus will I cry aloud;
my voice rises to God, thus will He hear me.
In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
in the night my hand was stretched out without ceasing;
my soul refused to be comforted.
I remembered God, and was troubled;
I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed.
You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
𝙍: In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord.
I have considered the days of old,
the years long ago.
I call to remembrance my song in the night;
I meditate within my heart,
and my spirit ponders:
“Will the Lord reject forever?
Will He be favorable no more?
Has His mercy ceased forever?
Have His promises failed for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has He in anger withheld His tender mercies?”
Then I said, “This is my grief;
but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
𝙍: In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord.
I will remember the works of the LORD;
surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
I will meditate on all Your work
and muse on Your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy;
what god is great like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
You have declared Your strength among the peoples.
You have with Your arm redeemed Your people,
the sons of Jacob and Joseph.
𝙍: In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord.
The waters saw You, O God;
the waters saw You, they were afraid;
the depths also trembled.
The clouds poured out water;
the skies gave forth thunder;
Your arrows flashed back and forth.
The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
the lightnings lit up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
Your way was through the sea,
Your path through the great waters;
yet Your footsteps were unseen.
You led Your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
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: In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord.
Psalm prayer
God our shepherd, you led us and saved us in times of old; do not forget your people in their troubles, but raise up your power to sustain the poor and helpless; for the honor of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Hosea 6:7-7:2
But like men they have transgressed the covenant.
There they dealt faithlessly with Me.
Gilead is a city of evildoers,
polluted with blood.
As robbers lie in wait for someone,
so a company of priests
murder on the way to Shechem.
They commit a shameful deed.
I have seen a horrible thing
in the house of Israel.
The harlotry of Ephraim is there;
Israel is defiled.
Also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed for you,
when I restore the fortunes of My people.
When I would heal Israel,
the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed,
and the wickedness of Samaria.
For they deal deceitfully;
the thief breaks in;
the robbers raid outside,
but they did not consider in their hearts
that I remember all their wickedness.
Now their own deeds surround them;
they are before My face.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better, but for the worse. First of all, when you come together as the church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you so that those who are genuine may become evident among you. Therefore, when you come together into one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. For in eating, each one eats his own supper ahead of others. One goes hungry, and another becomes drunk. What? Do you not have houses to eat and to drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night in which He was betrayed, took bread. When He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take and eat. This is My body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He took the cup after He had supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Therefore whoever eats this bread and drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and unhealthy among you, and many die. If we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord, so that we would not be condemned with the world.
So, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34If anyone hungers, let him eat at home, so that you may not come together into condemnation.
I will set the rest in order when I come.
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 unity of the Church
The peace of the world
The healing of the sick
The revelation of Christ to those from whom his glory is hidden
All who travel
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God, whose Son revealed in signs and miracles the wonder of your saving presence: renew your people with your heavenly grace, and in all our weakness sustain us by your mighty power; 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
Believing the promises 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 Christ, who sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit.
Amen.