Opening response

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

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

Peace, doubting heart! My God’s I am

Charles Wesley

Peace, doubting heart! My God’s I am;
Who formed me man, forbids my fear;
The Lord hath called me by my name;
The Lord protects, forever near;
His blood for me did once atone,
And still He loves and guards his own.

When passing through the watery deep,
I ask in faith his promised aid,
The waves an awful distance keep,
And shrink from my devoted head;
Fearless, their violence I dare;
They cannot harm, for God is there!

To him mine eye of faith I turn,
And through the fire pursue my way;
The fire forgets its power to burn,
The lambent flames around me play;
I own his power, accept the sign,
And shout to prove the Savior mine.

Still nigh me, O my Savior, stand!
And guard in fierce temptation’s hour;
Hide in the hollow of thy hand,
Show forth in me thy saving power,
Still be thy arms my sure defense,
Nor earth nor hell shall pluck me thence.

Since thou hast bid me come to thee,
Good as thou art, and strong to save
I’ll walk over life’s tempestuous sea,
Upborne by the unyielding wave,
Dauntless, though rocks of pride be near,
And yawning whirlpools of despair.

When darkness intercepts the skies,
And sorrow’s waves around me roll,
When high the storms of passion rise,
And half overwhelm my sinking soul,
My soul a sudden calm shall feel,
And hear a whisper, “Peace; be still!”

Though in affliction’s furnace tried,
Unhurt on snares and death I’ll tread;
Though sin assail, and hell, thrown wide,
Pour all its flames upon my head,
Like Moses’ bush, I’ll mount the higher,
And flourish unconsumed in fire.

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 131

𝙍: O Israel, put your hope in the LORD.

My heart is not proud, O LORD,
my eyes are not haughty.
I do not aspire to great things
or matters too lofty for me.
Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with his mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
both now and forevermore.

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 Israel, put your hope in the LORD.

Psalm prayer

Eternal God,
calm and quiet our souls;
keep us humble and full of wonder
and trusting as we live in your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 146

𝙍: The LORD reigns forever.

Hallelujah!

Praise the LORD, O my soul.

I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Put not your trust in princes,
in mortal man, who cannot save.
When his spirit departs, he returns to the ground;
on that very day his plans perish. 𝙍

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
He remains faithful forever.
He executes justice for the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry. 𝙍

The LORD sets the prisoners free,
the LORD opens the eyes of the blind,
the LORD lifts those who are weighed down,
the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD protects foreigners;
He sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but the ways of the wicked He frustrates.

The LORD reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Hallelujah!

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 LORD reigns forever.

Psalm prayer

Lord of all,
our breath and being come from you,
yet our earthly end is dust;
as you loose the bound and feed the hungry,
so bring us in your mercy through the grave and gate of death
to the feast of eternal life,
where you reign for evermore.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 52:1-12

Awake, awake,
clothe yourself with strength, O Zion!
Put on your garments of splendor,
O Jerusalem, holy city!
For the uncircumcised and unclean
will no longer enter you.
Shake off your dust!
Rise up and sit on your throne, O Jerusalem.
Remove the chains from your neck,
O captive Daughter of Zion.

For this is what the LORD says:

“You were sold for nothing,
and without money you will be redeemed.”

For this is what the Lord GOD says:

“At first My people went down to Egypt to live,
then Assyria oppressed them without cause.
And now what have I here?
declares the LORD.
For My people have been taken without cause;
those who rule them taunt,
declares the LORD,
and My name is blasphemed continually
all day long.
Therefore My people will know My name;
therefore they will know on that day
that I am He who speaks.
Here I am!”

How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,
together they shout for joy.
For every eye will see
when the LORD returns to Zion.
Break forth in joy, sing together,
O ruins of Jerusalem,
for the LORD has comforted His people;
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
The LORD has bared His holy arm
in the sight of all the nations;
all the ends of the earth will see
the salvation of our God.

Depart, depart, go out from there!
Touch no unclean thing;
come out from it, purify yourselves,
you who carry the vessels of the LORD.
For you will not leave in a hurry
nor flee in haste,
for the LORD goes before you,
and the God of Israel is your rear guard.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Hebrews 2:5-18

For it is not to angels that He has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But somewhere it is testified in these words:

“What is man that You are mindful of him,
or the son of man that You care for him?
You made him a little lower than the angels;
You crowned him with glory and honor
and placed everything under his feet.”

When God subjected all things to him, He left nothing outside of his control. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.

In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says:

“I will proclaim Your name to My brothers;
I will sing Your praises in the assembly.”

And again:

“I will put My trust in Him.”

And once again:

“Here am I, and the children God has given Me.”

Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

For surely it is not the angels He helps, but the descendants of Abraham. For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, in order to make atonement for the sins of the people. Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

𝙍: The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. Alleluia.

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 stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. Alleluia.

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:

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

In faith we pray
We pray to you, our God.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty Father,
you have given your only Son to die for our sins
and to rise again for our justification:
grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness
that we may always serve you
in pureness of living and truth;
through the merits of your Son Jesus Christ 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 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 the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
Amen.