Opening response

Make haste, O God, to deliver us.
Hurry, O LORD, to help us.

Hear our voice, Lord, according to your faithful love,
according to your judgment give us life.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be glory and praise forever.
In the darkness of our sin you have shone in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ.
Open our eyes to acknowledge your presence,
that freed from the misery of sin and shame
we may grow into your likeness from glory to glory.
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

Drooping Soul, Shake Off Thy Fears

Charles Wesley

Drooping soul, shake off thy fears,
Fearful soul be strong, be bold;
Tarry till the Lord appears.
Never, never quit thy hold!
Murmur not at his delay,
Dare not set thy God a time,
Calmly for his coming stay,
Leave it, leave it all to him.

Fainting soul, be bold, be strong
Wait the leisure of thy Lord;
Though it seem to tarry long,
True and faithful is his word;
On his word my soul I cast
(He cannot himself deny)
Surely it shall speak at last;
It shall speak, and shall not lie.

Everyone that seeks shall find,
Everyone that asks shall have,
Christ, the Savior of mankind,
Willing, able, all to save;
I shall his salvation see,
I in faith on Jesus call,
I from sin shall he set free,
Perfectly set free from all.

Lord, my time is in thine hand,
Weak and helpless as I am,
Surely thou canst make me stand;
l believe in Jesus’ name:
Savior in temptation thou;
Thou hast saved me heretofore,
Thou from sin dost save me now,
Thou shalt save me evermore.

Confession of sin

When we cry out to the LORD in our trouble,
he will bring us out of 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 loving devotion,
and his wonders to the sons of men.

Let us offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
and declare God’s works with rejoicing.

cf Psalm 107

Psalm 74

𝙍: Rise up, O God; defend Your cause!

Why have You rejected us forever, O God?
Why does Your anger smolder
against the sheep of Your pasture?
Remember Your congregation,
which You purchased long ago
and redeemed as the tribe of Your inheritance—
Mount Zion where You dwell.
Turn Your steps to the everlasting ruins,
to everything in the sanctuary the enemy has destroyed.

Your foes have roared within Your meeting place;
they have unfurled their banners as signs,
like men wielding axes in a thicket of trees
and smashing all the carvings with hatchets and picks.
They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground;
they have defiled the dwelling place of Your Name.

They said in their hearts,
“We will crush them completely.”
They burned down every place
where God met us in the land.
There are no signs for us to see.
There is no longer any prophet.
And none of us knows how long this will last.
How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You?
Will the foe revile Your name forever?
Why do You withdraw Your strong right hand?
Stretch it out to destroy them! 𝙍

Yet God is my King from ancient times,
working salvation on the earth.
You divided the sea by Your strength;
You smashed the heads of the dragons of the sea;
You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
You fed him to the creatures of the desert.
You broke open the fountain and the flood;
You dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
The day is Yours, and also the night;
You established the moon and the sun.
You set all the boundaries of the earth;
You made the summer and winter. 𝙍

Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD,
how a foolish people has spurned Your name.
Do not deliver the soul of Your dove to beasts;
do not forget the lives of Your afflicted forever.
Consider Your covenant,
for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
Do not let the oppressed retreat in shame;
may the poor and needy praise Your name.

Rise up, O God; defend Your cause!
Remember how the fool mocks You all day long.
Do not disregard the clamor of Your adversaries,
the uproar of Your enemies that ascends continually.

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: Rise up, O God; defend Your cause!

Psalm prayer

Redeeming God,
renew your broken people
with your Holy Spirit,
that they may walk your narrow way,
and greet your coming dawn
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Jeremiah 2:14-32

Is Israel a slave?
Was he born into slavery?
Why then has he become prey?
The young lions have roared at him;
they have growled with a loud voice.
They have laid waste his land;
his cities lie in ruins, without inhabitant.
The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have shaved the crown of your head.
Have you not brought this on yourself
by forsaking the LORD your God
when He led you in the way?

Now what will you gain on your way to Egypt
to drink the waters of the Nile ?
What will you gain on your way to Assyria
to drink the waters of the Euphrates ?
Your own evil will discipline you;
your own apostasies will reprimand you.
Consider and realize
how evil and bitter it is
for you to forsake the LORD your God
and to have no fear of Me,”
declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.
“For long ago you broke your yoke
and tore off your chains,
saying, ‘I will not serve!’
Indeed, on every high hill
and under every green tree
you lay down as a prostitute.
I had planted you like a choice vine
from the very best seed.
How could you turn yourself before Me
into a rotten, wild vine?
Although you wash with lye
and use an abundance of soap,
the stain of your guilt
is still before Me,”
declares the Lord GOD.

“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled;
I have not run after the Baals’?
Look at your behavior in the valley;
acknowledge what you have done.
You are a swift young she-camel
galloping here and there,
a wild donkey at home in the wilderness,
sniffing the wind in the heat of her desire.
Who can restrain her passion?
All who seek her need not weary themselves;
in mating season they will find her.
You should have kept your feet from going bare
and your throat from being thirsty.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless!
For I love foreign gods,
and I must go after them.’

As the thief is ashamed when he is caught,
so the house of Israel is disgraced.
They, their kings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets
say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
For they have turned their backs to Me
and not their faces,
yet in the time of trouble they beg,
‘Rise up and save us!’
But where are the gods you made for yourselves?
Let them rise up in your time of trouble
and save you if they can;
for your gods are as numerous
as your cities, O Judah.

Why do you bring a case against Me?
You have all rebelled against Me,”
declares the LORD.
“I have struck your sons in vain;
they accepted no discipline.
Your own sword has devoured your prophets
like a voracious lion.”

You people of this generation, consider the word of the LORD:

“Have I been a wilderness to Israel
or a land of dense darkness?
Why do My people say,
‘We are free to roam;
we will come to You no more’?
Does a maiden forget her jewelry
or a bride her wedding sash?
Yet My people have forgotten Me
for days without number.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

John 4:1-26

When Jesus realized that the Pharisees were aware He was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John (although it was not Jesus who baptized, but His disciples), He left Judea and returned to Galilee.

Now He had to pass through Samaria. So He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

“You are a Jew,” said the woman. “How can You ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

“Sir,” the woman replied, “You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where then will You get this living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock?”

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”

The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water so that I will not get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Jesus told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

“I have no husband,” the woman replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are correct to say that you have no husband. In fact, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. You have spoken truthfully.”

“Sir,” the woman said, “I see that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one must worship is in Jerusalem.”

“Believe Me, woman,” Jesus replied, “a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him. God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”

Jesus answered, “I who speak to you am He.”

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

𝙍: Come, let us return to the Lord, for our God will freely pardon.

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: Come, let us return to the Lord, for our God will freely pardon.

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,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
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,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and 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:

Those preparing for baptism and confirmation
Those serving through leadership
Those looking for forgiveness
Those misled by the false gods of this present age
All who are hungry

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Father, hear our prayer,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing that you have made
and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent:
create and make in us new and contrite hearts
that we, worthily lamenting our sins
and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may receive from you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
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

Trusting in the compassion of God, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.

Conclusion

May God our Redeemer show us compassion and love.
Amen.