Mon. evening Aug. 31
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
Blessed Assurance
Confession of Sin
Come, Holy Spirit of God,
and search our hearts with the light of Christ.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
“The first of all the commandments is, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Amen. Lord, have mercy.
After a period of reflection
Come, let us return to the Lord and say:
Lord our God, in our sin, we have avoided your call. Our faithfulness is like a morning cloud, and like the early dew, it goes away. Have mercy on us; deliver us from judgment; bind up our wounds and revive us; in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
cf Hosea 6
May Almighty God, who sent his Son into the world to save sinners, bring us his pardon and peace, now and forever.
Amen.
Psalm 127
𝙍: The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Unless the LORD builds the house,
they labor in vain who build it.
Unless the LORD guards the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain for you to rise up early,
to sit up late,
to eat the bread of sorrowful toil;
for so He gives His beloved sleep.
𝙍: The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
so are the children of one’s youth.
Happy is the man
who has his quiver full of them;
they shall not be ashamed
when they speak with their enemies in the gate.
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 will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Psalm prayer
Lord, you are ever watchful and bless us with your gifts; as you provide for all our needs, so help us to build only what pleases you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 128
𝙍: How great is Your goodness, O God.
Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in His ways.
For you shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.
𝙍: How great is Your goodness, O God.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house,
your children like olive plants
around your table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the LORD.
𝙍: How great is Your goodness, O God.
The LORD bless you from Zion,
and may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
Indeed, may you see your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel!
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 great is Your goodness, O God.
Psalm prayer
O Christ, our true vine, may we your branches be ever fruitful in your service, and share your love and peace with all your children, in the power of the Spirit and to the glory of the Father.
Psalm 129
𝙍: The LORD redeems the life of His servants.
“Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth—”
let Israel now say —
“Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth;
yet they have not prevailed against me.
The plowers plowed upon my back;
they made long their furrows.”
The LORD is righteous;
He has cut the cords of the wicked.
𝙍: The LORD redeems the life of His servants.
Let all those who hate Zion
be put to shame and turned backward.
Let them be like grass on the housetops,
which withers before it grows up,
with which the reaper does not fill his hand,
nor the binder of sheaves his arms;
nor do those who pass by say,
“The blessing of the LORD be upon you;
we bless you in the name of 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: The LORD redeems the life of His servants.
Psalm prayer
Jesus our redeemer, you bore the cut of the lash for us and our salvation; help us to bear our sufferings and to share in the affliction of all who suffer for your holy name.
Old Testament reading
Haggai 1:1-11
In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,
Thus says the LORD of Hosts: These people say, The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.
Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying: Is it time for you yourselves to live in paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?
Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of Hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages earns wages to put them into a bag with holes.
Thus says the LORD of Hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain and bring wood and rebuild the house, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified, says the LORD. You looked for much, and it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? says the LORD of Hosts. Because of My house that lies in ruins while each of you runs to his own house. Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its crops. I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on men, on livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Mark 8:11-21
The Pharisees came up and began to debate with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven to test Him. He sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation look for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.” Then He left them and, entering the boat again, departed to the other side.
Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread and did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. He warned them, “Take heed. Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”
They reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have no bread.”
Being aware of it, Jesus said to them, “Why do you reason that you have no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? Having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?”
They said to Him, “Twelve.”
“And the seven among the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?”
They said, “Seven.”
He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
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:
The media and the arts
Farming and fishing
Commerce and industry
Those whose work is unfulfilling, stressful, or fraught with danger
All who are unemployed
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty God, who called your Church to bear witness that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself: help us to proclaim the good news of your love, that all who hear it may be drawn to you; through him who was lifted up on the cross, 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.