Mon. evening May 25
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
Deeper, Deeper, in the Love of Jesus
Words: Charles P. Jones (1900)
Music: Charles P. Jones (1900)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#328)
Deeper, deeper in the love of Jesus
daily let me go;
higher, higher in the school of wisdom,
more of grace to know.
Refrain:
O deeper yet, I pray,
and higher ev'ry day,
and wiser, blessed Lord,
in Thy precious, holy Word.
Deeper, deeper! Blessed Holy Spirit,
take me deeper still,
till my life is wholly lost in Jesus,
and His perfect will. [Refrain]
Deeper, deeper! Though it cost hard trials,
deeper let me go!
Rooted in the holy love of Jesus,
let me fruitful grow. [Refrain]
Deeper, higher, ev'ry day in Jesus,
till all conflict past
finds me conqu’ror, and in His own image
Perfected at last. [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 127
𝙍: The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Unless the LORD builds the house,
they labor in vain who build it.
Unless the LORD guards the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain for you to rise up early,
to sit up late,
to eat the bread of sorrowful toil;
for so He gives His beloved sleep.
𝙍: The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
so are the children of one’s youth.
Happy is the man
who has his quiver full of them;
they shall not be ashamed
when they speak with their enemies in the gate.
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 will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Psalm prayer
Lord, you are ever watchful and bless us with your gifts; as you provide for all our needs, so help us to build only what pleases you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 128
𝙍: How great is Your goodness, O God.
Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in His ways.
For you shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.
𝙍: How great is Your goodness, O God.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house,
your children like olive plants
around your table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the LORD.
𝙍: How great is Your goodness, O God.
The LORD bless you from Zion,
and may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
Indeed, may you see your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel!
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: How great is Your goodness, O God.
Psalm prayer
O Christ, our true vine, may we your branches be ever fruitful in your service, and share your love and peace with all your children, in the power of the Spirit and to the glory of the Father.
Psalm 129
𝙍: The LORD redeems the life of His servants.
“Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth—”
let Israel now say —
“Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth;
yet they have not prevailed against me.
The plowers plowed upon my back;
they made long their furrows.”
The LORD is righteous;
He has cut the cords of the wicked.
𝙍: The LORD redeems the life of His servants.
Let all those who hate Zion
be put to shame and turned backward.
Let them be like grass on the housetops,
which withers before it grows up,
with which the reaper does not fill his hand,
nor the binder of sheaves his arms;
nor do those who pass by say,
“The blessing of the LORD be upon you;
we bless you in the name of the LORD!”
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 redeems the life of His servants.
Psalm prayer
Jesus our redeemer, you bore the cut of the lash for us and our salvation; help us to bear our sufferings and to share in the affliction of all who suffer for your holy name.
Old Testament reading
2 Chronicles 17:1-12
Then Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and he grew strong against Israel. He put an army in all the fortified cities of Judah and set military garrisons in the land of Judah, even in the cities of Ephraim that Asa his father had captured.
Now the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked according to the previous ways of his father David; he did not seek out the Baals, but sought the God of his father and walked in His commandments, and not according to the deeds of Israel. So the LORD established the kingdom in his hand, and all Judah gave a tribute to Jehoshaphat. So he had an abundance of riches and honor. His heart was raised up for the ways of the LORD. He even removed the high places and Asherah poles from Judah.
In the third year of his reign he sent officials, Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Jerusalem, and with them were also the Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah, who were Levites. And with these were also Elishama and Jehoram, who were priests. They taught the people in Judah, and they used the Book of the Law of the LORD and they traveled about all the cities of Judah and taught the people.
The terror of the LORD came on all the kingdoms of the land that surrounded Judah, and they did not bring war against Jehoshaphat. Some from the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver for tribute, and the Arabs also brought him seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred male goats.
Jehoshaphat continued to increase in greatness, and he built citadels and storehouses in Judah.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Romans 1:1-17
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for the obedience of faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are called by Jesus Christ:
To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing, I mention you always in my prayers, making request if, by any means, now at last I might find a way in the will of God to come to you.
For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be strengthened. This is so that I may be encouraged together with you by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. Now I would not have you unaware, brothers, that I often intended to come to you (but was prevented until now), that I might have a harvest among you also, even as among the other Gentiles.
I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
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 media and the arts
Farming and fishing
Commerce and industry
Those whose work is unfulfilling, stressful, or fraught with danger
All who are unemployed
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
O Lord, from whom all good things come: grant to us your humble servants, that by your holy inspiration we may think those things that are good, and by your merciful guiding may perform the same; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Being made one by the power of the Spirit, 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.