Opening response

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

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

Entered the Holy Place Above

Charles Wesley

Entered the holy place above,
Covered with meritorious scars,
The tokens of his dying love
Our great High Priest in glory bears.
He pleads his passion on the tree,
He shows himself to God for me.

Before the throne my Savior stands,
My Friend and Advocate appears;
My name is graven on his hands,
And him the Father always hears;
While low at Jesus’ cross I bow,
He hears the blood of sprinkling now.

This instant now I may receive
The answer of his powerful prayer;
This instant now by him I live,
His prevalence with God declare;
And soon my spirit, in his hands,
Shall stand where my Forerunner stands.

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 serve by night
in the house of the LORD!
Lift up your hands to the sanctuary
and bless the LORD!

May the LORD, the Maker of 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: Hallelujah, for the LORD is good.

Hallelujah!

Praise the name of the LORD.
Give praise, O servants of the LORD,
who stand in the house of the LORD,
in the courts of the house of our God.
Hallelujah, for the LORD is good;
sing praises to His name, for it is lovely.
For the LORD has chosen Jacob as His own,
Israel as His treasured possession. 𝙍

For I know that the LORD is great;
our Lord is above all gods.
The LORD does all that pleases Him
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and in all their depths.
He causes the clouds to rise
from the ends of the earth.
He generates the lightning with the rain
and brings forth the wind from His storehouses. 𝙍

He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
of both man and beast.
He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
He struck down many nations
and slaughtered mighty kings:
Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
and all the kings of Canaan.
He gave their land as an inheritance,
as a heritage to His people Israel. 𝙍

Your name, O LORD, endures forever,
Your renown, O LORD, through all generations.
For the LORD will vindicate His people
and will have compassion on His servants. 𝙍

The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
made by the hands of men.
They have mouths, but cannot speak;
they have eyes, but cannot see;
they have ears, but cannot hear;
nor is there breath in their mouths.
Those who make them become like them,
as do all who trust in them. 𝙍

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.

Hallelujah!

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: Hallelujah, 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

Joshua 2

Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.

And it was reported to the king of Jericho: “Behold, some men of Israel have come here tonight to spy out the land.”

So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab and said, “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they have come to spy out the whole land.”

But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when the gate was about to close, the men went out, and I do not know which way they went. Pursue them quickly, and you may catch them!” (But Rahab had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had laid out there.)

So the king’s men set out in pursuit of the spies along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they had gone out, the gate was shut.

Before the spies lay down for the night, Rahab went up on the roof and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites across the Jordan, whom you devoted to destruction. When we heard this, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in the heavens above and on the earth below.

Now therefore, please swear to me by the LORD that you will indeed show kindness to my family, because I showed kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will deliver us from death.”

“Our lives for your lives!” the men agreed. “If you do not report our mission, we will show you kindness and faithfulness when the LORD gives us the land.”

Then Rahab let them down by a rope through the window, since the house where she lived was built into the wall of the city. “Go to the hill country,” she said, “so that your pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there for three days until they have returned; then go on your way.”

The men said to her, “We will not be bound by this oath you made us swear unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother and brothers and all your family into your house. If anyone goes out the door of your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head, and we will be innocent. But if a hand is laid on anyone with you in the house, his blood will be on our heads. And if you report our mission, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.”

“Let it be as you say,” she replied, and she sent them away. And when they had gone, she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

So the spies went out into the hill country and stayed there three days, until their pursuers had returned without finding them, having searched all along the road. Then the two men started back, came down from the hill country, and crossed the river. So they came to Joshua son of Nun and reported all that had happened to them.

“The LORD has surely delivered the entire land into our hands,” they said to Joshua. “Indeed, all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of us.”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Luke 9:28-36

About eight days after Jesus had said these things, He took with Him Peter, John, and James, and went up on a mountain to pray. And as He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became radiantly white. Suddenly two men, Moses and Elijah, began talking with Jesus. They appeared in glory and spoke about His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

Meanwhile Peter and his companions were overcome by sleep, but when they awoke, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with Him. As Moses and Elijah were leaving, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters —one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

While Peter was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to Him!”

After the voice had spoken, only Jesus was present with them. The disciples kept this to themselves, and in those days they did not tell anyone what they had seen.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

𝙍: How excellent is your name in all the world, you have set your glory above the heavens.

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One has done great things for me.
Holy is His name.
His mercy extends to those who fear Him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who are proud
in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
but has exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful,
as He promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and 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.

𝙍: How excellent is your name in all the world, you have set your glory above the heavens.

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,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
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,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and 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 Lord, from whom all good things come:
grant to us your humble servants,
that by your holy inspiration
we may think those things that are good,
and by your merciful guiding may perform the same;
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
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.