Sat. evening May 9
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
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
O King enthroned on high, filling the earth with your glory: holy is your name, Lord God Almighty.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
In our sinfulness, we cry to you to take our guilt away, and to cleanse our lips to speak your word, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
May the God of all healing and forgiveness draw us to himself, and cleanse us from all our sins that we may behold the glory of his Son, the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Psalm 118
𝙍: I will give thanks to You, for You have become my salvation.
O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
for His mercy endures forever!
Let Israel now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let those who fear the LORD now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
𝙍: I will give thanks to You, for You have become my salvation.
I called upon the LORD in my distress;
the LORD answered me and set me in an open place.
The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
The LORD is on my side, with those who help me;
therefore shall I look in triumph on those who hate me.
It is better to trust in the LORD
than to put confidence in man.
It is better to trust in the LORD
than to put confidence in princes.
𝙍: I will give thanks to You, for You have become my salvation.
All nations surrounded me;
but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
They surrounded me; yes, they surrounded me;
but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
They surrounded me like bees;
they were extinguished like a fire of thorns,
but in the name of the LORD I destroyed them.
You pushed against me violently, that I might fall,
but the LORD helped me.
𝙍: I will give thanks to You, for You have become my salvation.
The LORD is my strength and song;
and He has become my salvation.
The voice of rejoicing and salvation
is in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the LORD does valiantly.
The right hand of the LORD is exalted;
the right hand of the LORD does valiantly.”
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD.
The LORD has disciplined me severely,
but He has not given me over to death.
𝙍: I will give thanks to You, for You have become my salvation.
Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I will enter through them, and I will give thanks to the LORD.
This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it.
I will give thanks to You, for You have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the LORD’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the LORD has made;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Save us, I beseech You, O LORD;
O LORD, I beseech You, send now prosperity!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
we have blessed you from the house of the LORD.
The LORD is God,
and He has given us light;
bind the sacrifice with cords,
to the horns of the altar.
𝙍: I will give thanks to You, for You have become my salvation.
You are my God, and I will give thanks to You;
You are my God; I will exalt You.
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
for His mercy endures 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: I will give thanks to You, for You have become my salvation.
Psalm prayer
Saving God, open the gates of righteousness, that your pilgrim people may enter and be built into a living temple on the cornerstone of our salvation, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Deuteronomy 24:5-22
When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war or be charged with any business; he is to be free at home one year, and must bring joy to his wife which he has taken.
No man shall take a lower or upper millstone as a pledge, for he would be taking a man’s life as a pledge.
If a man is found kidnapping any of his brothers of the Israelites, and makes property of him or sells him, then that kidnapper must die, and you must remove the evil from among you.
Be careful with an outbreak of leprosy, that you diligently observe and do according to all that the Levitical priests instruct you. As I have commanded them, so you must carefully do. Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam on the way, after you came out of Egypt.
When you do lend your brother anything, you may not go into his house to take his pledge. You must stand outside, and the man to whom you lend must bring the pledge outside to you. If the man is poor, you may not sleep with his pledge. In any case, you must return the pledge to him when the sun goes down, so that he may sleep in his own cloak and bless you, and it will be righteousness to you before the LORD your God.
You may not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of your foreigners who are in your land within your towns. You must give him his wages on that very day before the sun sets, for he is poor, and sets his heart on it, lest he cry against you to the LORD, and it be a sin to you.
Fathers may not be put to death for the sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers. Every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
You must not pervert the justice of the foreigner or of the fatherless, nor take a widow’s cloak as a pledge. On the contrary, you must remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you there. Therefore, I command you to do this.
Whenever you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you may not go back to get it. It will be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive tree, you may not go over the boughs again. It will be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it again. It will be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow. You must remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. Therefore I command you to do this thing.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
1 Peter 3:13-22
Who is he who will harm you if you follow that which is good? But even if you suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. “Do not be afraid of their terror, do not be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Always be ready to give an answer to every man who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, with gentleness and fear. Have a good conscience so that evildoers who speak evil of you and falsely accuse your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, that you suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit, by whom He also went and preached to the spirits in prison, who in times past were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. Figuratively this is like baptism, which also saves us now. It is not washing off the dirt from the body, but a response to God from a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels and authorities and powers being made subject to Him.
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
Lord of life
In your mercy, hear us.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
God our redeemer, you have delivered us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of your Son: grant, that as by his death he has recalled us to life, so by his continual presence in us he may raise us to eternal joy; 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.