Mon. evening Jan. 5
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. 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 marvellous 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
The Light of the World Is Jesus
Words: Philip P. Bliss (1875)
Music: Philip P. Bliss (1875)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#215)
The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin;
The Light of the world is Jesus.
Like sunshine at noonday His glory shone in;
The Light of the world is Jesus.
Refrain:
Come to the Light; ’tis shining for thee.
Sweetly the Light has dawned upon me.
Once I was blind, but now I can see.
The Light of the world is Jesus.
No darkness have we who in Jesus abide;
The Light of the world is Jesus.
We walk in the light when we follow our Guide;
The Light of the world is Jesus. [Refrain]
Ye dwellers in darkness with sin-blinded eyes:
The Light of the world is Jesus.
Go, wash at His bidding, and light will arise;
The Light of the world is Jesus. [Refrain]
No need of the sunlight in heaven, we’re told;
The Light of the world is Jesus.
The Lamb is the Light in the city of gold;
The Light of the world is Jesus. [Refrain]
Confession of Sin
Come, Holy Spirit of God,
and search our hearts with the light of Christ.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
“The first of all the commandments is, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Amen. Lord, have mercy.
After a period of reflection
Come, let us return to the Lord and say:
Lord our God, in our sin, we have avoided your call. Our faithfulness is like a morning cloud, and like the early dew, it goes away. Have mercy on us; deliver us from judgment; bind up our wounds and revive us; in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
cf Hosea 6
May Almighty God, who sent his Son into the world to save sinners, bring us his pardon and peace, now and forever.
Amen.
Psalm 96
𝙍: Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
Oh sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth!
Sing to the LORD, bless His name;
proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.
𝙍: Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
Honor and majesty are before Him;
strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
𝙍: Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the people,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name;
bring an offering, and come into His courts.
Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before Him, all the earth!
Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!
Indeed, the world is established; it shall not be moved;
He will judge the peoples righteously.”
𝙍: Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the forests will rejoice
before the LORD, for He is coming,
for He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in His faithfulness.
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: Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
Psalm Prayer
Lord God, you draw us by your beauty and transform us by your holiness; let our worship echo all creation’s praise and declare your glory to the nations; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 97
𝙍: You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth.
The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be joyful!
Clouds and darkness surround Him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
Fire goes before Him
and burns up His enemies all around.
𝙍: You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth.
His lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD,
at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens declare His righteousness,
and all the peoples see His glory.
𝙍: You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth.
Let all who serve graven images be put to shame,
who boast of idols;
worship Him, all you gods.
Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice
because of Your judgments, O LORD.
For You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth;
You are exalted far above all gods.
𝙍: You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth.
You who love the LORD, hate evil!
He preserves the souls of His saints;
He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Light is sown for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous,
and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name!
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: You, O LORD, are Most High over all the earth.
Psalm Prayer
Most high and holy God, enthroned in fire and light, burn away the dross of our lives and kindle in us the fire of your love, that our lives may reveal the light and life we find in your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Old Testament reading
Isaiah 49:1-13
Listen to me, O coastlands,
and pay attention, you peoples from afar.
The LORD called me from the womb;
from the body of my mother He named me.
He has made my mouth like a sharp sword;
in the shadow of His hand He has hidden me
and made me a select arrow;
in His quiver He has hidden me.
He said to me, “You are My servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
Then I said, “I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity,
yet surely the justice due to me is with the LORD,
and my reward with my God.”
Now says the LORD,
who formed me from the womb to be His servant,
to bring Jacob back to Him,
so that Israel might be gathered to Him
(yet I am honored in the eyes of the LORD,
and my God is my strength),
He says,
“It is a light thing that you should be My servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also make you a light to the nations
so that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
Thus says the LORD,
the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One,
to the despised one, to the one whom the nation abhors,
to the servant of rulers:
“Kings shall see and arise,
princes also shall worship,
because of the LORD who is faithful
and the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.”
Thus says the LORD:
In an acceptable time I have heard you,
and in a day of salvation I have helped you;
and I will preserve you, and give you
as a covenant of the people,
to restore the earth,
to make them inherit the desolate lands,
saying to the prisoners, “Go forth,”
to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves.”
They shall feed along the paths,
and their pastures shall be in all desolate heights;
they shall neither hunger nor thirst,
neither shall the heat nor sun strike them;
for He who has mercy on them shall lead them,
even by the springs of water He shall guide them.
I will make all My mountains a road,
and My highways shall be raised up.
Behold, these shall come from afar;
and behold, these from the north and from the west,
and these from the land of Syene.
Sing, O heavens!
And be joyful, O earth!
And break forth into singing, O mountains!
For the LORD has comforted His people
and will have mercy on His afflicted.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
John 4:7-26
A woman of Samaria came there to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, along with his sons and his livestock?”
Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water that I shall give him will become in him a well of water springing up into eternal life.”
The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
The woman answered, “I have no husband.”
Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband. So you have spoken truthfully.”
The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you all say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. Yet the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father seeks such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth.”
The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”
Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
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
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
O God, who by the leading of a star manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: mercifully grant that we, who know you now by faith, may at last behold your glory face to face; 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.