Thu. evening Aug. 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
Confession of Sin
Seek the LORD while He may be found,
call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
and let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him,
and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
cf Isaiah 55
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Lord God, I have sinned against you; I have done what is evil in your sight. I am sorry and repent. Have mercy on me according to your lovingkindness. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Renew a right spirit within me, and restore unto me the joy of your salvation, through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
cf Psalm 51
May the Father of all mercies cleanse us from our sins, and restore us in his image to the praise and glory of his name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Blessed be the LORD,
because He has heard the voice of my supplications.
Therefore my heart rejoices,
and with my song I will thank Him.
cf Psalm 28:7,9
Psalm 94
𝙍: Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments.
O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongs—
O God to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!
Rise up, O Judge of the earth;
render to the proud what they deserve.
O LORD, how long shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked triumph?
They spew forth their arrogant words;
all the workers of iniquity boast.
𝙍: Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments.
They break in pieces Your people, O LORD,
and afflict Your heritage.
They kill the widow and the sojourner,
and murder the fatherless.
Yet they say, “The LORD does not see,
nor does the God of Jacob perceive.”
𝙍: Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments.
Understand, you brutish among the people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
He who planted the ear, shall He not hear?
He who formed the eye, shall He not see?
He who disciplines the nations, shall He not correct?
He teaches man knowledge!
The LORD knows the thoughts of man,
that they are futile.
𝙍: Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments.
Blessed is the man whom You discipline, O LORD,
and teach from Your law,
so that You may give him rest from the days of adversity,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
For the LORD will not abandon His people,
nor will He abandon His heritage.
But justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.
𝙍: Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments.
Who will rise up for me against the evildoers?
Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
Unless the LORD had been my help,
my soul would soon have dwelt in the land of silence.
If I should say, “My foot has slipped,”
Your mercy, O LORD, will hold me up.
In the multitude of my anxieties within me,
Your comforts delight my soul.
𝙍: Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments.
Shall a throne of iniquity which devises mischief by decree,
have fellowship with you?
They band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn innocent blood.
But the LORD has been my defense,
and my God the rock of my refuge.
He has brought on them their own iniquity,
and shall destroy them in their own wickedness;
the LORD our God shall destroy them.
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: Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments.
Psalm prayer
Lord God, judge of all, before whom no secrets are hidden, let your justice shine out and your righteousness sweep wickedness from its throne, that we may live free from fear and tumbling; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Micah 4:1-5:1
Then it will be that in the latter days,
the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established
as head of the mountains,
and will be lifted up above the hills;
and people will stream to it.
And many nations will come and say,
“Come, that we might go up to the mountain of the LORD,
and to the house of the God of Jacob,
that He might teach us His ways,
and that we might walk in His paths.”
For from Zion will go forth the law,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Then He will judge between many peoples
and mediate for mighty nations far and wide;
they will beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
and they will no longer train for war.
Then each man will sit under his vine
and under his fig tree,
and no one will make them afraid;
for the mouth of the LORD of Hosts has spoken.
For all the peoples walk,
each in the name of its god,
but we will walk in the name of the LORD
our God forever and ever.
In that day, declares the LORD,
I will assemble the lame
and gather the banished
and those whom I have afflicted;
and I will make the lame into a remnant,
and the banished into a mighty nation;
and the LORD will reign over them on Mount Zion
from this time forth and forevermore.
As for you, watchtower of the flock,
citadel of the daughter of Zion,
to you it will come, the former dominion will come,
kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem.
Now why do you cry loudly?
Have you no king?
Has your counselor perished,
that agony has seized you like the woman in labor?
Writhe and bring forth, daughter of Zion,
like the woman in labor,
because now you will go forth from the city
and reside in the field,
and you will come to Babylon.
There you will be rescued;
there the LORD will redeem you
from the hand of your enemies.
But now many nations
are gathered against you, saying,
“May she be defiled,
and may our eyes gaze upon Zion.”
But they do not know
the thoughts of the LORD,
and they do not understand His plan,
that He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion,
for I will make your horn iron;
your hoofs I will make bronze,
and you will shatter many peoples.
I will devote their pillage to the LORD,
their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.
Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops;
he has laid siege against us.
With a rod they will strike
the judge of Israel on the cheek.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Mark 6:1-13
He went away from there and came into His own country. And His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get this? What is this wisdom that is given Him, that even miracles are done by His hands? Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.
Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own relatives, and in his own house.” He could not do any miracles there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He was amazed, because of their unbelief.
Then He went to the surrounding villages, teaching. He called to Him the twelve, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He commanded them to take nothing for their journey except a staff: no bag, no bread, and no money in their belt, but to wear sandals, and not put on two tunics. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, remain there until you depart from that place. And whoever will not receive you or hear you, when you depart from there, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the Day of Judgment than for that city.”
So they went out and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
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:
Local government, community leaders
All who provide local services
Those who work with young or elderly people
Schools, colleges, and universities
Emergency and rescue organizations
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Father, hear our prayer,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
O God, you declare your almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity: mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace, that we, running the way of your commandments, may receive your gracious promises, and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure; 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.