Thu. evening Feb. 12
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Opening response
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night: to you be praise and glory forever. As darkness falls, you renew your promise to reveal among us the light of your presence. By the light of Christ, your living Word, dispel the darkness of our hearts that we may walk as children of light and sing your praise throughout the world.
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
Hallelujah, I Am Free!
Words and Music: A.A. Jameson (1925)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#543)
I am redeemed- all glory to the Lamb!
Saved from all sin and glorified I am,
bought by the blood that flowed from Calvary,
for the Lord has made me free!
Refrain:
Hallelujah, I am free! O what glorious liberty,
since the blessed Lord has cleansed and made me whole!
I am redeemed- all glory to His name!
He abides within my soul.
I am redeemed; my ransom has been paid,
all of my guilt on Jesus has been laid,
from all my sins I now have liberty.
Hallelujah, I am free! [Refrain]
I am redeemed; my bondage now is past,
I was a slave, but I am free at last,
once I was blind, but now the light I see.
Hallelujah, I am free! [Refrain]
"I am redeemed," my song shall ever be,
both while on earth and for eternity.
Praise be to God for all He is to me!
Hallelujah, I am free! [Refrain]
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 39
𝙍: LORD, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days.
I said, “I will guard my ways,
lest I sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
while the wicked are before me.”
I was mute in silence;
I held my peace to no avail,
but my anguish grew worse.
𝙍: LORD, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days.
My heart was hot within me.
While I was musing, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
“LORD, let me know my end,
and what is the measure of my days,
that I may know how frail I am.
Behold, You have made my days as a few handbreadths,
and my age is as nothing before You.
Surely every man at his best is as a mere breath.”
Surely every man walks around like a shadow;
surely they make an uproar in vain;
he heaps up riches, and does not know who will gather them.
𝙍: LORD, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days.
Now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in You.
Deliver me from all my transgressions;
do not make me the reproach of the foolish.
I was silent; I did not open my mouth,
because it was You who did it.
Remove Your stroke from me;
I am coming to an end by the hostility of Your hand.
When with rebukes You correct man for sin,
You consume like a moth what is precious to him;
surely every man is mere vapor.
𝙍: LORD, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days.
Hear my prayer, O LORD,
and give ear to my cry;
do not be silent at my tears.
For I am a stranger with You,
and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may become cheerful again,
before I go away and am no more.
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: LORD, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days.
Psalm prayer
O Christ, Son of the living God, help us when we are too cast down to pray, and grant that we may trust you all our days, for you are with us in our living and our dying, Jesus, Lord and God.
Psalm 40
𝙍: You have multiplied your wondrous deeds, O LORD.
I waited patiently for the LORD,
and He turned to me and heard my cry.
He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
out of the miry clay,
and set my feet upon a rock,
and established my steps.
He has put a new song in my mouth,
praise to our God;
many will see it and fear,
and will trust in the LORD.
Blessed is the man
who makes the LORD his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after lies.
You have multiplied, O LORD my God,
Your wondrous deeds
and Your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with You.
if I would declare and speak of them,
they are more than can be numbered.
𝙍: You have multiplied your wondrous deeds, O LORD.
Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
my ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin offering
You have not required.
Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your law is within my heart.”
I have proclaimed the glad news of righteousness in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
O LORD, as You know.
I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth
from the great congregation.
𝙍: You have multiplied your wondrous deeds, O LORD.
Withhold not Your mercy from me, O LORD;
let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.
For innumerable evils have surrounded me;
my iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
therefore my heart fails me.
Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;
O LORD, make haste to help me.
Let them be ashamed and confounded together
who seek to snatch away my life;
let them be driven backward and dishonored
who desire my hurt.
Let them be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
𝙍: You have multiplied your wondrous deeds, O LORD.
Let all those who seek You
rejoice and be glad in You;
let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“The LORD be magnified!”
But I am poor and needy;
yet the LORD is mindful of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God.
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 have multiplied your wondrous deeds, O LORD.
Psalm prayer
Free us from our sins, God, and may our sacrifices be of praise to the glory of your Son, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
Old Testament reading
2 Chronicles 13:1-14:1
In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king of Judah. He reigned for three years in Judah, and his mother’s name was Micaiah, the granddaughter of Uriel of Gibeah.
And there was a war between Abijah and Jeroboam. Abijah set the battle in order with an army of valiant men of war, four hundred thousand choice men. Jeroboam also drew up battle lines against him with an army of eight hundred thousand men, mighty men of valor.
Then Abijah went up to Mount Zemaraim that is in the hills of Ephraim, and he said, “Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel! Do you all not know that the LORD God of Israel has perpetually given the kingdom of Israel to David, even to him and to his sons with a covenant of salt? And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon son of David, stood up and rebelled against his lord Rehoboam. Then vain, worthless men gathered together around him and defied Rehoboam son of Solomon. And Rehoboam was young and timid in heart and was not strong before them.
“And now you think that you can withstand before the kingdom of the LORD by the hand of the sons of David. And you all are a great multitude, and with you are the golden calves that Jeroboam has made for you to be gods. Have you all not driven out the priests of the LORD, even the Levites and sons of Aaron, and made for yourselves priests from the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes to be dedicated and has in his hand a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest to what is not a god.
“But for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not abandoned Him. And our priests serve the LORD and are sons of Aaron, Levites with their service. They sacrifice burnt offerings to the LORD every morning and evening and put out an incense of spices. They also set the showbread in place on the ritual table and set the golden lampstand with its lamps to burn every evening. For we keep the duty of the LORD our God, but you all have abandoned Him. Behold, God is with us as a leader, and His priests with their battle trumpets to call for battle against you all. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the LORD the God of your fathers, because you will not find success.”
So Jeroboam went around them with an ambush to come from behind them. Those from Israel were in front of Judah, while the ambush was behind them. When Judah looked back, behold, the battle was in front of and behind them. Then they cried out to the LORD, and the priests sounded their trumpets. Then the men from Judah shouted out; and it happened when Judah shouted out, God struck down Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. The men of Israel fled before Judah, and God gave them into their hand. Abijah and his people struck them down with a great slaughter, and the slain from Israel who fell that day were five hundred thousand choice men. So the Israelites were subdued at that time, and the people of Judah prevailed, for they depended on the LORD God of their fathers.
And Abijah chased after Jeroboam and captured cities from him: Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron with their surrounding villages. And Jeroboam did not again recover his strength in the days of Abijah, and the LORD struck down Jeroboam, and he died.
So Abijah grew strong and took fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.
And the rest of the acts of Abijah, both his ways and words, are written in the story of the prophet Iddo.
And Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Asa his son then reigned in his place. In his days the land was quiet for ten years.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
John 20:1-10
Early on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she came running to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have put Him.”
So Peter came out with the other disciple and they went toward the tomb. They both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. Stooping down and looking in, he saw the linen cloths lying. Yet he did not enter. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went inside the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the cloth that was around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but wrapped in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came first to the tomb, went in also. He saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.
But Mary stood outside at the tomb weeping. As she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.
They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have put Him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have put Him, and I will take Him away.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father. But go to My brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’ ”
Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that He had said these things to her.
On the evening of that first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples were then glad when they saw the Lord.
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:
Local government, community leaders
All who provide local services
Those who work with young or elderly people
Schools, colleges, and universities
Emergency and rescue organizations
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, you have created the heavens and the earth and made us in your own image: teach us to discern your hand in all your works and your likeness in all your children; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit reigns supreme over all things, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
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
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore.
Amen.