Sat. evening Jan. 3
Opening response
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
You laid the foundation of the earth
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God, our light and our salvation, to you be glory and praise forever. To dispel the darkness of our night, you sent forth your Son, the firstborn of all creation, to be the Christ, the light of the world. Rejoicing in the mystery of the Word made flesh, we acclaim him Emmanuel, as all creation sings to you:
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
Once in Royal David’s City
Words: Cecil Frances Alexander (1848)
Music: Henry J. Gauntlett (1849)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#175)
Once in royal David’s city
stood a lowly cattle shed,
where a mother laid her baby
in a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little Child.
He came down to earth from heaven
who is God and Lord of all,
and His shelter was a stable,
and His cradle was a stall:
with the poor, and meek, and lowly,
lived on earth our Savior holy.
For He is our childhood's pattern,
Day by day, like us, He grew.
He was little, weak, and helpless,
Tears and smiles, like us, He knew;
And he feeleth for our sadness,
And he shareth in our gladness.
And our eyes at last shall see Him,
through His own redeeming love;
for that Child so dear and gentle
is our Lord in heav'n above,
and He leads His children on
to the place where He is gone.
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 2
𝙍: The LORD is the strength of His people, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
Why do the nations rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD
and against His anointed, saying,
“Let us tear off their bonds
and cast away their ropes from us.”
𝙍: The LORD is the strength of His people, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the LORD ridicules them.
Then He will speak to them in His wrath
and terrify them in His burning anger:
“I have set My king
on Zion, My holy hill.”
𝙍: The LORD is the strength of His people, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
I will declare the decree of the LORD:
He said to me, “You are My son;
today have I begotten you.
Ask of Me,
and I will give you the nations for your inheritance,
and the ends of the earth for your possession.
You will break them with a rod of iron;
you will dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
𝙍: The LORD is the strength of His people, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
Now then, you kings, be wise;
be admonished, you judges of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear;
and tremble with trepidation!
Kiss the son, lest He become angry,
and you perish in the way,
when His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all who seek refuge in 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.
𝙍: The LORD is the strength of His people, and He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
Psalm prayer
Most high and holy God, lift our eyes to your Son enthroned on Calvary; and as we behold his meekness, shatter our earthly pride; for he is Lord forever and ever.
Psalm 110
𝙍: The LORD reigns; He is clothed with majesty.
The LORD said to my lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
until I make your enemies
your footstool.”
The LORD will send your mighty scepter out of Zion.
Rule in the midst of your enemies!
Your people will follow you
in the day of your battle;
on the holy mountains,
at the dawn of the morning,
the dew of your youth belongs to you.
𝙍: The LORD reigns; He is clothed with majesty.
The LORD has sworn
and will not change His mind,
“You are a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.”
The Lord is at your right hand;
He will execute kings in the day of His wrath.
𝙍: The LORD reigns; He is clothed with majesty.
He will judge among the nations; He will fill them with dead bodies;
He will execute the heads over many countries.
He will drink from the brook by the wayside;
therefore He will lift up His head.
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: The LORD reigns; He is clothed with majesty.
Psalm prayer
Lord Jesus, divine Son and eternal priest, inspire us with the confidence of your final conquest of evil, and grant that daily on our way we may drink of the brook of your eternal life, and so find courage against all adversities; for your mercy’s sake.
Old Testament reading
Isaiah 60:13-22
The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box tree together,
to beautify the place of My sanctuary;
and I will make the place of My feet glorious.
The sons also of those who afflicted you shall come bowing before you,
and all those who despised you shall bow themselves down at the soles of your feet;
and they shall call you, The City of the LORD,
the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Whereas you have been forsaken
and hated so that no man went through you,
I will make you an eternal excellency,
a joy of many generations.
You shall also suck the milk of the nations
and suck the breast of kings;
then you shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
and instead of iron I will bring silver;
and instead of wood, bronze;
and instead of stones, iron.
I will also make your officers peace
and your exactors righteousness.
Violence shall no more be heard in your land,
nor devastation or destruction within your borders;
but you shall call your walls Salvation
and your gates Praise.
The sun shall no longer be your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you;
but the LORD shall be an everlasting light to you
and your God for your glory.
Your sun shall no more go down,
nor shall your moon wane;
for the LORD shall be your everlasting light,
and the days of your mourning shall end.
Then all your people shall be righteous;
they shall inherit the land forever,
the branch of My planting,
the work of My hands,
that I may be glorified.
A little one shall become one thousand,
and a small one a strong nation.
I, the LORD,
will hasten it in its time.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
John 1:43-51
The next day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip, and said to him, “Follow Me.”
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, as well as the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him and said concerning him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?”
Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
Jesus answered, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He said to him, “Truly, truly I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
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 Church, especially in places of conflict
The Holy Land, for peace with justice, and reconciliation
Refugees and asylum seekers
Homeless people
Families with young children
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Lord of life
In your mercy, hear us.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God, in the birth of your Son you have poured on us the new light of your incarnate Word, and shown us the fullness of your love: help us to walk in his light and dwell in his love that we may know the fullness of his joy; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Rejoicing in the presence of God here among us, 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 God, who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light, bless us and fill us with peace.
Amen.