Tue. evening Jul. 14
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
I Am Thine, O lord
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 134
𝙍: Bless the LORD, O my soul
Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD,
who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,
and bless the LORD.
May the LORD who made heaven and earth
bless you from Zion!
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: Bless the LORD, O my soul
Psalm prayer
Guard all your household, Lord, through the dark night of faith, and purify the hearts of those who wait on you, until your kingdom dawns with the rising of your Son, Christ, the morning star.
Psalm 135
𝙍: Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good.
Praise the LORD!
Praise the name of the LORD;
praise Him, O servants of the LORD,
you who stand in the house of the LORD,
in the courts of the house of our God!
Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant.
For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel for His own possession.
𝙍: Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good.
For I know that the LORD is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
Whatever the LORD pleases,
He does, in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and in all deep places.
It is He who causes the mist to ascend from the ends of the earth,
who makes lightning for the rain,
and brings forth the wind from His treasuries.
𝙍: Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good.
It is He who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both of man and beast;
who sent into your midst, O Egypt, signs and wonders
upon Pharaoh and all his servants;
who struck down many nations
and slew mighty kings,
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan,
and gave their land as a heritage,
a heritage to His people Israel.
𝙍: Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good.
Your name, O LORD, endures forever,
Your remembrance, O LORD, throughout all generations.
For the LORD will vindicate His people,
and He will have compassion on His servants.
𝙍: Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good.
The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of men’s hands.
Mouths have they, but they speak not;
eyes have they, but they see not;
ears have they, but they hear not,
nor is there any breath in their mouths.
Those who make them are like them;
so is everyone who trusts in them.
𝙍: Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good.
O house of Israel, bless the LORD!
O house of Aaron, bless the LORD!
O house of Levi, bless the LORD!
You who fear the LORD, bless the LORD!
Blessed be the LORD from Zion,
He who dwells in Jerusalem!
Praise 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: Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good.
Psalm prayer
Wise and gracious God, save us from the idols of our hearts and keep us in your living presence, that we may become a people for your praise in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Esther 5
On the third day, Esther put on her royal apparel and positioned herself in the king’s palace courtyard so that she would be directly in line with the part of the king’s throne room where the king sat facing the entrance of the room on his royal throne in the royal hall. When the king saw Queen Esther standing quietly out in the courtyard, she gained favor in his sight, so the king held out the golden scepter in his hand to Esther. Esther approached and touched the top of the scepter.
And the king said to her, “Queen Esther, what do you want? What is your request? Even if it is up to half of the kingdom, it will be given to you.”
Esther answered, “If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for him.”
Then the king said, “Quickly bring Haman so that we may accept the invitation of Esther.”
So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. While drinking wine the king said to Esther, “For whatever you ask, it shall be granted you. So, what is your request? Even if it is for as much as half of the kingdom, it shall be done.”
Then Esther replied and said, “This is my petition and request. If I have won the king’s favor, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, then let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do what the king says.”
Haman left that day joyfully and with a glad heart, but when Haman saw Mordecai at the king’s gate, that he neither stood up nor trembled because of him, then Haman was full of indignation against Mordecai. Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself, and when he came to his home, he sent for his friends and for his wife Zeresh.
Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches, his many children, and everything about him the king had praised, and how he had promoted him over the princes and servants of the king. Then Haman continued, “Indeed, Queen Esther brought to the banquet she had prepared no one but the king and me, and tomorrow I am again invited by her with the king. Yet for all this, I am not satisfied whenever I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”
Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends suggested to him, “Let a gallows fifty cubits tall be constructed, and in the morning ask the king if Mordecai can be hanged on it. Then go merrily with the king to the banquet.” And the suggestion pleased Haman, so he had the gallows constructed.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
2 Corinthians 7:2-16
Accept us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, and we have defrauded no one. I do not say this to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts, so that we would die or live with you. Great is my boldness of speech toward you; great is my boasting of you. I am filled with comfort, and I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.
For when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, and we were troubled on every side. On the outside were conflicts; on the inside were fears. Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us through the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, when he told us about your sincere desire, your mourning, and your zeal toward me, so that I rejoiced even more.
Though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it. For I perceive that this same letter has caused you sorrow, though only for a while. Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorrowful in a godly way, that you might not suffer loss in any way through us. Godly sorrow produces repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, which you became sorrowful in a godly way: What carefulness it produced in you, what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what intense desire, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In all things you have proven yourselves to be innocent in this matter. So though I wrote to you, I did it not because of him who had done the wrong, nor because of him who suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might be evident to you. Therefore we were comforted in your comfort.
Yes, and we were exceedingly the more joyful for the sake of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all. So I am not ashamed if I have boasted of anything to him regarding you. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, even our boasting in the presence of Titus is found to be true. Now his affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. Therefore I rejoice that I have confidence in you in everything.
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
Merciful God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as pass our understanding: pour into our hearts such love toward you that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; 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.