Tue. evening Apr. 21
Opening response
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
In your resurrection, O Christ,
let heaven and earth rejoice. Alleluia.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign Lord, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to you be glory and praise forever. From the deep waters of death, you brought your people to new birth by raising your Son to life in triumph. Through him, dark death has been destroyed, and radiant life is everywhere restored. As you call us out of darkness into his marvelous light, may our lives reflect his glory and our lips repeat the endless song.
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
He Leadeth Me: O Blessed Thought
Words: Joseph H. Gilmore (1862)
Music: William B. Bradbury (1864)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#73)
He leadeth me: O blessed thought!
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate'er I do, where'er I be,
still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me.
Refrain:
He leadeth me, he leadeth me;
by his own hand he leadeth me:
his faithful follower I would be,
for by his hand he leadeth me.
Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
sometimes where Eden's flowers bloom,
by waters calm, o'er troubled sea,
still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me. [Refrain]
And when my task on earth is done,
when, by thy grace, the victory's won,
e'en death's cold wave I will not flee,
since God through Jordan leadeth me. [Refrain]
Confession of Sin
Let us confess our sins to God.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
My God, for love of you, I desire to hate and forsake all sins by which I have ever displeased you; and I resolve by the help of your grace to commit them no more; and to avoid all opportunities of sin. Help me to do this, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Lord enrich us with his grace, and nourish us with his blessing; the Lord defend us in trouble and keep us from all evil; the Lord accept our prayers, and absolve us from our offenses, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen.
Psalm 71
𝙍: O God, be not far from me.
In You, O LORD, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
Deliver me in Your righteousness and rescue me;
incline Your ear to me, and save me.
Be to me a rock of refuge
to which I may continually come;
You have given the commandment to save me,
for You are my rock and my fortress.
Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,
out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
For You are my hope, O Lord GOD;
You are my trust from my youth.
I have leaned on You since my birth;
You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb.
My praise will be continually of You.
𝙍: O God, be not far from me.
I have become a marvel to many,
for You are my strong refuge.
Let my mouth be filled with Your praise
and with Your glory all the day.
Cast me not away in the time of old age;
forsake me not when my strength fails.
For my enemies speak against me,
and those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together,
saying, “God has forsaken him;
pursue and take him,
for there is no one to deliver him.”
O God, be not far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me.
Let them be confounded and consumed
who are adversaries of my soul;
let them be covered with reproach and dishonor
who seek my hurt.
𝙍: O God, be not far from me.
But I will hope continually,
and will praise You yet more and more.
My mouth will tell of Your righteousness
and of Your salvation all the day,
for I do not know their extent.
I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD;
I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.
𝙍: O God, be not far from me.
O God, You have taught me from my youth,
and I still declare Your wondrous works.
Now also when I am old and gray,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I declare Your might to this generation,
and Your power to everyone who is to come.
Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens,
You who have done great things;
O God, who is like You?
You who have shown me many troubles and distresses
will revive me again,
and will bring me up again
from the depths of the earth.
You will increase my greatness
and comfort me on every side.
𝙍: O God, be not far from me.
Also with the harp will I praise You
for Your faithfulness, O my God;
to You will I sing praises with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
My lips will greatly rejoice
when I sing to You,
and my soul, which You have redeemed.
My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness
all the day long,
for they are confounded and brought to shame
who seek my hurt.
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: O God, be not far from me.
Psalm prayer
Faithful Lord, living Savior, in youth and old age, from the womb to the grave, may we know your protection and proclaim your great salvation to the glory of God the Father.
Old Testament reading
Deuteronomy 5:22-33
These are the words the LORD spoke to all your assembly at the mountain out from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness with a great voice, and He added no more. He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
When you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain did burn with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders. And you said, “Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man, yet he lives. Now, therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we will die. For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? Go near and hear all that the LORD our God will say. Then speak to us all that the LORD our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.”
The LORD heard the sound of your words when you spoke to me, and the LORD said to me, “I have heard the sound of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken. O that there were such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!
“Go say to them, ‘Return to your tents.’ But as for you, stand here by Me, so that I may speak to you all the commandments, and the statutes, and the ordinances which you shall teach them, that they may keep them in the land which I am giving them to possess.”
Therefore, be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Ephesians 1:15-23
Therefore I also, after hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, mentioning you in my prayers, so that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He performed in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principalities, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet and made Him the head over all things for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all things in all ways.
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 people of God, that they may proclaim the risen Lord
God’s creation, that the peoples of the earth may meet their responsibility to care
Those in despair and darkness, that they may find the hope and light of Christ
Those in fear of death, that they may find faith through the resurrection
Prisoners and captives
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty Father, who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples with the sight of the risen Lord: give us such knowledge of his presence with us, that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life and serve you continually in righteousness and truth; 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
Rejoicing in God’s new creation, 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 the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
Amen.