Tue. evening Jun. 30
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
He Died for Me
Confession of Sin
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Silence may be kept.
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life.
Amen.
Psalm 89:19-52
𝙍: The Lord has sworn in truth to David, from which He will not turn back.
Long ago You spoke in a vision
to Your holy one, and said:
“I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
I have found David, My servant;
with My holy oil have I anointed him,
by whom My hand shall be established;
My arm also shall strengthen him.
The enemy shall not exact usury from him,
nor the wicked humiliate him.
I will beat down his foes before him,
and strike those who hate him.
My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him,
and in My name his horn shall be exalted.
I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, my God,
and the rock of my salvation.’
Also I will make him my firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
My mercy will I keep for him forever,
and My covenant will stand firm with him.
His descendants also will I establish forever
and his throne as the days of heaven.
𝙍: The Lord has sworn in truth to David, from which He will not turn back.
“If his children forsake My law
and do not walk according to My decrees,
if they break My statutes
and do not keep My commandments,
then will I punish their transgression with the rod,
and their iniquity with stripes.
Nevertheless I will not remove My lovingkindness from him,
nor allow My faithfulness to fail.
I will not break My covenant,
nor alter the word that has gone out from My lips.
Once and for all have I sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David.
His descendants shall endure forever,
and his throne as the sun before Me.
It shall be established forever like the moon,
a faithful witness in the sky.”
But now You have spurned and rejected him,
You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.
You have renounced the covenant with Your servant;
You have defiled his crown by casting it to the ground.
You have broken down all his walls;
You have brought his strongholds to ruin.
All who pass by plunder him;
he is a reproach to his neighbors.
You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.
Moreover, You have turned back the edge of his sword,
and You have not sustained him in battle.
You have made his splendor cease,
and cast his throne to the ground.
You have shortened the days of his youth;
You have covered him with shame.
𝙍: The Lord has sworn in truth to David, from which He will not turn back.
How long, O LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever?
How long will Your wrath burn like fire?
Remember how short my time is!
For what vanity have You created all the sons of men?
What man can live and not see death?
Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?
Lord, where is Your lovingkindness of old,
which by Your faithfulness You swore to David?
Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants,
how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many peoples,
with which Your enemies have reproached, O LORD,
with which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.
Blessed be the LORD forever!
Amen and Amen.
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 has sworn in truth to David, from which He will not turn back.
Psalm prayer
Faithful God, remember your promise fulfilled in your anointed Son Jesus Christ, in whose strength alone we stand, now and forever.
Old Testament reading
Nehemiah 5
Now there was a great outcry of the people and their wives against their fellow Jews. Some were saying, “We and our sons and our daughters are many. Therefore, let us acquire grain so that we may eat and live.”
Others were saying, “We have mortgaged our fields, vineyards, and houses so that we might acquire grain because of hunger.”
Still others were saying, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute against the value of our fields and vineyards. Now our flesh is the same as the flesh of our countrymen. Our children are like their children, but we are subjugating our sons and our daughters as servants. Behold, some of our daughters are in bondage already, and we are powerless to do anything because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”
I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. So I contemplated about this for myself and, as a result, I rebuked the nobles and officials and said to them, “Based on the claim of each against his brother, you are exacting usury.” Then I convened a great assembly against them, and I said to them, “By whatever means we had, we purchased our Jewish countrymen who were being sold to the nations. So, will you once more sell your countrymen so that they might again be sold to us?” Then they kept silent, because they found nothing to answer.
Also I said, “What you are doing is not good! Should not you walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? Moreover, I, my relatives, and my servants are loaning them money and grain. So, I urge you, cease from this practice of usury. Please restore to them, even this day, their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, along with one-hundredth of the money, the grain, the wine, and the oil that you had exacted from them.”
Then they said, “We will restore it and will require nothing of them. We will do what you have said.”
Then I called the priests and made them swear an oath to keep this promise. Also I shook out the front of my garment and said, “Like this, may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not carry out this promise. Exactly like this, may he be shaken out and emptied.”
And all the congregation said, “Amen,” and praised the LORD. And the people did according to this promise.
Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah (from the twentieth year even until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes) twelve years had passed. And my companions and I had not eaten the governor’s food allotment. The former governors preceding me had extracted a heavy burden on the people, because they took from them food and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Moreover, even their servants domineered over the people. But I myself never did so, because of the fear of God. Furthermore, I stayed determined in the work on this wall. We bought no field, and all my servants were gathered there for the sake of the work.
Moreover there were regularly at my table one hundred and fifty Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations around us. Daily there were one ox and six choice sheep prepared for me. Fowls were also prepared for me. Once in ten days all sorts of wine were supplied in abundance. Yet for all this, I never required the governor’s food allotment because it was a heavy burden on this people.
Remember me, O my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Romans 15:1-13
We who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak and not please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself. But as it is written, “The insults of those who insulted You fell on Me.” For whatever was previously written was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Now may the God of perseverance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore welcome one another, just as Christ also welcomed us, for the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written:
“For this reason I will acknowledge You among the Gentiles,
and I will sing praises to Your name.”
He also says:
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!”
And again:
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
let all the peoples praise Him.”
And again Isaiah says:
“There shall be a Root of Jesse;
He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles,
in Him shall the Gentiles hope.”
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
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:
All who are sick in body, mind or spirit
Those in the midst of famine or disaster
Victims of abuse and violence, intolerance, and prejudice
Those who are bereaved
All who work in the medical and healing professions
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
O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that with you as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not our hold on things eternal; grant this, heavenly Father, for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake, 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.