Opening response

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

Your saints bless you.
They tell of the glory of your kingdom.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
our light and our salvation,
to you be glory and praise forever.
Now, as darkness is falling,
wash away our transgressions,
cleanse us by your refining fire
and make us temples of your Holy Spirit.
By the light of Christ,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
and make us ready to enter your kingdom,
where songs of praise forever sound.
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 Christ Doth in My Heart Appear

Charles Wesley

When Christ doth in my heart appear,
And love erects its throne,
I then enjoy salvation here,
And heaven on earth begun.

When God is mine, and I am his,
Of paradise possessed,
I taste unutterable bliss,
And everlasting rest.

The bliss of those that fully dwell,
Fully in thee believe,
‘Tis more than angel tongues can tell,
Or angel minds conceive.

Thou only knowest who did obtain,
And die to make it known:
The great salvation now explain,
And perfect us in one.

May I, may all who humbly wait,
The glorious joy receive —
Joy above all conception great,
Worthy of God to give.

Confession of sin

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Silence may be kept.

Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins
through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all
goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in
eternal life.
Amen.

Psalm 80

Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel,
who leads Joseph like a flock;
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Rally Your mighty power
and come to save us.
Restore us, O God,
and cause Your face to shine upon us,
that we may be saved.

O LORD God of Hosts,
how long will Your anger smolder
against the prayers of Your people?
You fed them with the bread of tears
and made them drink the full measure of their tears.
You make us contend with our neighbors;
our enemies mock us.
Restore us, O God of Hosts,
and cause Your face to shine upon us,
that we may be saved.

You uprooted a vine from Egypt;
You drove out the nations and transplanted it.
You cleared the ground for it,
and it took root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered by its shade,
and the mighty cedars with its branches.
It sent out its branches to the Sea,
and its shoots toward the River.

Why have You broken down its walls,
so that all who pass by pick its fruit?
The boar from the forest ravages it,
and the creatures of the field feed upon it.
Return, O God of Hosts, we pray!
Look down from heaven and see!
Attend to this vine—
the root Your right hand has planted,
the son You have raised up for Yourself.

Your vine has been cut down and burned;
they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
Let Your hand be upon the man at Your right hand,
on the son of man You have raised up for Yourself.
Then we will not turn away from You;
revive us, and we will call on Your name.
Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts;
cause Your face to shine upon us,
that we may be saved.

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

Faithful shepherd of your people,
as we look for the light of your countenance,
restore in us the image of your glory
and graft us into the risen life of your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 81

𝙍: Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD.

Sing for joy to God our strength;
make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob.
Lift up a song, strike the tambourine,
play the sweet-sounding harp and lyre.
Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon,
and at the full moon on the day of our Feast.
For this is a statute for Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob. 𝙍

He ordained it as a testimony for Joseph
when he went out over the land of Egypt,
where I heard an unfamiliar language:

“I relieved his shoulder of the burden;
his hands were freed from the basket.
You called out in distress, and I rescued you;
I answered you from the cloud of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.

Hear, O My people, and I will warn you:
O Israel, if only you would listen to Me!
There must be no strange god among you,
nor shall you bow to a foreign god.
I am the LORD your God,
who brought you up out of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth,
and I will fill it. 𝙍

But My people would not listen to Me,
and Israel would not obey Me.
So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts
to follow their own devices.
If only My people would listen to Me,
if Israel would follow My ways,
how soon I would subdue their enemies
and turn My hand against their foes!
Those who hate the LORD would feign obedience,
and their doom would last forever.
But I would feed you the finest wheat;
with honey from the rock I would satisfy 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: Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD.

Psalm prayer

Father of mercy,
keep us joyful in your salvation
and faithful to your covenant;
and, as we journey to your kingdom,
ever feed us with the bread of life,
your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 14:3-20

On the day that the LORD gives you rest from your pain and torment, and from the hard labor into which you were forced, you will sing this song of contempt against the king of Babylon:

How the oppressor has ceased,
and how his fury has ended!
The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked,
the scepter of the rulers.
It struck the peoples in anger
with unceasing blows;
it subdued the nations in rage
with relentless persecution.
All the earth is at peace and at rest;
they break out in song.
Even the cypresses and cedars of Lebanon
exult over you:
“Since you have been laid low,
no woodcutter comes against us.”

Sheol beneath is eager
to meet you upon your arrival.
It stirs the spirits of the dead to greet you—
all the rulers of the earth.
It makes all the kings of the nations
rise from their thrones.
They will all respond to you, saying,
“You too have become weak, as we are;
you have become like us!”
Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol,
along with the music of your harps.
Maggots are your bed
and worms your blanket.

How you have fallen from heaven,
O day star, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the ground,
O destroyer of nations.
You said in your heart:
“I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God.
I will sit on the mount of assembly,
in the far reaches of the north.
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”

But you will be brought down to Sheol,
to the lowest depths of the Pit.
Those who see you will stare;
they will ponder your fate:
“Is this the man who shook the earth
and made the kingdoms tremble,
who turned the world into a desert
and destroyed its cities,
who refused to let the captives
return to their homes?”

All the kings of the nations lie in state,
each in his own tomb.
But you are cast out of your grave like a rejected branch,
covered by those slain with the sword,
and dumped into a rocky pit
like a carcass trampled underfoot.
You will not join them in burial,
since you have destroyed your land
and slaughtered your own people.
The offspring of the wicked
will never again be mentioned.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Matthew 9:18-34

While Jesus was saying these things, a synagogue leader came and knelt before Him. “My daughter has just died,” he said. “But come and place Your hand on her, and she will live.”

So Jesus got up and went with him, along with His disciples. Suddenly a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak. She said to herself, “If only I touch His cloak, I will be healed.”

Jesus turned and saw her. “Take courage, daughter,” He said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was cured from that very hour.

When Jesus entered the house of the synagogue leader, He saw the flute players and the noisy crowd. “Go away,” He told them. “The girl is not dead, but asleep.” And they laughed at Him.

After the crowd had been put outside, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. And the news about this spread throughout that region.

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

After Jesus had entered the house, the blind men came to Him. “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” He asked.

“Yes, Lord,” they answered.

Then He touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you.” And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one finds out about this!” But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout the land.

As they were leaving, a demon-possessed man who was mute was brought to Jesus. And when the demon had been driven out, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”

But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that He drives out demons.”

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

𝙍: The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One has done great things for me.
Holy is His name.
His mercy extends to those who fear Him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who are proud
in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
but has exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful,
as He promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and 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.

𝙍: The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

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 saints on earth, that they may live as citizens of heaven
All people, that they may hear and believe the word of God
All who fear the winter months
All sovereigns and political leaders, that they may imitate the righteous rule of Christ
All who grieve or wait with the dying

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

Eternal Father,
whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven
that he might rule over all things as Lord and King:
keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit
and in the bond of peace,
and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Uniting our prayers with the whole company of heaven,
as our Saviour 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 has opened the kingdom of heaven, bring us to reign with him in glory.
Amen.