Sat. evening Jun. 20
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
Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
Confession of Sin
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor recompensed us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his mercy toward those who fear Him.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children,
so the LORD pities those who fear Him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits.
Psalm 65
𝙍: Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth!
Praise awaits You, O God, in Zion,
and to You shall vows be performed.
O You who hear prayer,
to You shall all flesh come.
Iniquities prevail against me;
as for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them.
Blessed is the man You choose and allow to approach You,
that he may dwell in Your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Your holy temple.
𝙍: Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth!
By awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
You who are the hope of all the ends of the earth,
and of the farthest seas;
who established the mountains by His strength,
who is girded with might.
You still the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the tumult of the peoples.
They also who dwell in the faraway places
are in awe at Your signs;
You make the going out of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
𝙍: Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth!
You visit the earth and water it;
You greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
for so You have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly;
You settle its ridges;
You make it soft with showers;
You bless its growth.
You crown the year with Your goodness,
and Your paths drip with fatness.
They drip on the pastures of the wilderness,
and the hills gird themselves with rejoicing.
The pastures are clothed with flocks;
the valleys also are covered with grain;
they shout for joy, yes, they also sing.
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: Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth!
Psalm prayer
May the richness of your creation, Lord, and the mystery of your providence lead us to that heavenly city, where all peoples will bring their wealth, forsake their sins and find their true joy, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 66
𝙍: All the earth will worship You, O God.
Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth!
Sing the glory of His name;
make His praise glorious.
Say to God, “How awesome are Your works!
Through the greatness of Your power
Your enemies will cringe before You.
All the earth will worship You
and sing praises to You;
they will sing praises to Your name.”
𝙍: All the earth will worship You, O God.
Come and see the works of God;
He is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.
He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
There we will rejoice in Him.
He rules by His power forever;
His eyes keep watch on the nations;
do not let the rebellious exalt themselves.
𝙍: All the earth will worship You, O God.
Oh, bless our God, you peoples,
and let the voice of His praise be heard,
who keeps our soul among the living,
and does not allow our feet to slip.
For You, O God, have tried us;
You have refined us, as silver is refined.
You brought us into the net;
You laid afflictions on our backs.
You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
but You brought us out to a place of abundance.
𝙍: All the earth will worship You, O God.
I will come into Your house with burnt offerings;
I will perform my vows to You,
which my lips have uttered,
and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals,
with the incense of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls with goats.
𝙍: All the earth will worship You, O God.
Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will declare what He has done for my soul.
I cried to Him with my mouth,
and He was extolled with my tongue.
If I regard iniquity in my heart,
the Lord will not hear me;
but certainly God has heard me;
He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
Blessed be God,
who has not turned away my prayer,
nor His mercy from me.
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: All the earth will worship You, O God.
Psalm prayer
How generous is your goodness, God, how great is your salvation, how faithful is your love; help us to trust you in trial and praise you in deliverance; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Ezra 6
Then Darius the king issued a decree and a search was made in the house of records, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. At Ecbatana, in the provincial palace of the Medes, a scroll was found, and in it the following record was written:
“In the first year of Cyrus the king, the same Cyrus the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God at Jerusalem:
“Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations of it be strongly laid, to a height of sixty cubits, and a width of sixty cubits. Let it consist of three rows of great stones and a row of new timber, and let the expenses be paid from the king’s treasury. Also, let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be returned and brought back to their places in the temple in Jerusalem. Put them in the house of God.
“Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, and Shethar-Bozenai, along with your colleagues, the officials who are in the province Beyond the River, stay far away from there. Let the work of this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in its place.
“Moreover, I issue a decree concerning what you shall do for the elders of these Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God:
“The cost is to be paid to these men, in full and without delay, from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province Beyond the River. Whatever they need—whether young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings to the God of heaven, or wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests in Jerusalem—let it be given them daily without fail, so that they may offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven, as well as pray for the life of the king and of his sons.
“Also, I have issued a decree that whoever shall violate this word, the timber will be pulled down from his house and arranged so that he may be hanged on it. Thus shall his house be made a dunghill for this. May the God who has caused His name to dwell there overthrow all kings and people who stretch forth their hand to violate or destroy this house of God in Jerusalem.
“I, Darius, have issued the decree; so let it be done diligently.”
In compliance, Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-Bozenai, and their companions speedily accomplished what Darius the king had decreed. The rebuilding by the elders of the Jews prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built, and finished it, according to the decree of the God of Israel and according to the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. This temple was finished on the third day of the month Adar during the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
The Israelites, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the descendants of the captivity kept the dedication of this house of God with joy. At the dedication of this house of God, they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and as a sin offering for all Israel, they offered twelve goats (according to the number of the tribes of Israel). They appointed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their orders for the service of God in Jerusalem, as it had been written in the Book of Moses.
The children of the captivity kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. Because the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together, all of them were pure. So, they slaughtered the Passover lambs for all the descendants of the captivity, both for their brothers the priests and for themselves. Then they ate together, both the Israelites who had come out of captivity and all those who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land, in order to seek the LORD God of Israel. With joy they observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days because the LORD had made them joyful. He had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them and strengthened their hands in the work on the house of God, who is the God of Israel.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Romans 11:13-24
For I am speaking to you Gentiles. So then, in as much as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if by any means I may make my kinsmen jealous and might save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? If the first portion of the dough is holy, the batch is also holy. And if the root is holy, so are the branches.
But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and became a partaker with them of the root and richness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. If you boast, remember you do not sustain the root, but the root sustains you. You will say then, “The branches were broken off, so that I might be grafted in.” This is correct. They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you.
Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God—severity toward those who fell, but goodness toward you, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And these also, if they do not remain in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
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:
Our homes, families, friends, and all whom we love
Those whose time is spent caring for others
Those who are close to death
Those who have lost hope
The worship of the church
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God, you have broken the tyranny of sin and have sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts whereby we call you Father: give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service, that we and all creation may be brought to the glorious liberty of the children of God; 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
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.