Mon. evening Sep. 21

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

Now Thank We All Our God

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 119:33-40, 89-96

𝙍: I will take delight in Your commandments.

Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes,
and I shall keep it to the end.
Give me understanding, so that I may keep Your law,
and observe it with my whole heart.
Lead me in the path of Your commandments,
for therein do I delight.
Incline my heart unto Your testimonies,
and not unto covetousness.

𝙍: I will take delight in Your commandments.

Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity,
and revive me in Your ways.
Establish Your word unto Your servant,
who is devoted to fearing you.
Turn away my reproach which I dread,
for Your judgments are good.
Behold, I long for Your precepts;
revive me in Your righteousness.

𝙍: I will take delight in Your commandments.

Forever, O LORD, Your word
is established in heaven.
Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
You have established the earth, and it stands.
They continue this day according to Your ordinances,
for all things are Your servants.
If Your law had not been my delight,
I would then have perished in my affliction.

𝙍: I will take delight in Your commandments.

I will never forget Your precepts,
for by them You have given me life.
I am Yours; save me,
for I have sought Your precepts.
The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,
but I will consider Your testimonies.
I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but Your commandment is exceedingly broad.

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: I will take delight in Your commandments.

Psalm prayer

God of loving mercy, in this place of our pilgrimage, turn your laws into songs, that we may find your promises fulfilled in Jesus Christ our Lord

Old Testament reading

Ecclesiastes 5:4-12

When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill what you have vowed. Better it is that you not make a vow, than make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth cause you to sin, and do not say to the priestly messenger that it is an inadvertent sin. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands? For when there is an abundance of dreams and futilities, then words increase too. Therefore it is God you should fear.

If you observe in a district the oppression of the poor and violation of justice and righteousness, do not be astounded by the matter. For the high official is watched over by an even higher official, and there are even higher officials over them. But this is an advantage to the land in every way: a king committed to a cultivated field.

The one who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver;
the one who loves money desires revenues in abundance.
This also is vanity.

When there is an increase of good things,
there is an increase of those who devour them.
And what profit is there to the one who owns good things,
except to see them with his eyes?

Sweet is the sleep of one who works hard,
whether he eats little or much;
but due to the excess of the rich,
there will be no sleep for him.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Matthew 19:16-30

And behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good deed shall I do to have eternal life?”

He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except One, that is, God. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

He said to Him, “Which ones?”

Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and your mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ”

The young man said to Him, “All these I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”

Jesus said to him, “If you would be complete, go and sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow Me.”

But when the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful. For he had great possessions.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you that it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

When His disciples heard this, they were greatly amazed, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Then Peter said in reply to Him, “See, we have left everything and followed You. What then shall we have?”

Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, in the renewed age, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for My name’s sake shall receive a hundred times as much and inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

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

O Almighty God, whose blessed Son called Matthew the tax collector to be an apostle and evangelist: give us grace to forsake the selfish pursuit of gain and the possessive love of riches that we may follow in the way of your Son 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.