Wed. evening Aug. 19
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
To God Be the Glory
Confession of Sin
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor recompensed us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his mercy toward those who fear Him.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children,
so the LORD pities those who fear Him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits.
Psalm 91
𝙍: Keep me as the apple of Your eye.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
He shall cover you with His pinions,
and under His wings shall you find refuge;
His faithfulness shall be your shield and buckler.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
nor of the arrow that flies by day;
nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
nor of the destruction that strikes at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
and ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
Only with your eyes shall you behold
and see the recompense of the wicked.
𝙍: Keep me as the apple of Your eye.
Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
even the Most High, your dwelling,
no evil will befall you,
nor will any plague come near your tent;
for He will give His angels charge over you
to guard you in all your ways.
They will bear you up in their hands,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent will you trample underfoot.
𝙍: Keep me as the apple of Your eye.
“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him
and show him My salvation.”
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: Keep me as the apple of Your eye.
Psalm prayer
Keep us, good Lord, under the shadow of your mercy and, as you have bound us to yourself in love, leave us not who call upon your name, but grant us your salvation, made known in the cross of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 93
𝙍: The LORD will reign forever and ever.
The LORD reigns; He is clothed with majesty;
the LORD is clothed; He has girded Himself with strength.
Indeed, the world is established;
it shall not be moved.
Your throne is established from of old;
You are from everlasting.
𝙍: The LORD will reign forever and ever.
The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their roaring waves.
The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters,
than the mighty waves of the sea.
Your statutes are very sure;
holiness befits Your house,
O LORD, 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: The LORD will reign forever and ever.
Psalm prayer
Christ our King, you put on the apparel of our nature and raised us to your glory; reign from your royal throne above the chaos of this world, that all may see the victory you have won and trust in your salvation; for your glory’s sake.
Old Testament reading
Micah 3
Then I said:
Listen now, heads of Jacob,
and rulers of the house of Israel.
Should you not know justice?
You who hate good and love evil,
who tear the skin from My people
and the flesh from their bones;
you who have eaten the flesh of My people,
and have flayed their skin from them,
and broken their bones in pieces;
who have chopped them up like meat in the pot,
and like flesh in the cauldron.
Then they will cry out to the LORD,
but He will not answer them;
He will hide His face from them at that time,
because they have wrought evil deeds.
Thus says the LORD:
Regarding the prophets
who mislead My people —
the ones who have something to eat
proclaim “Peace,”
but if one does not feed them,
then they prepare for war against him.
Therefore you will have night without vision,
and you will have darkness without divination;
the sun will set upon the prophets,
and black upon them will be the day.
The seers will be shamed
and the diviners disgraced,
and they will all cover their beards,
for there is no answer from God.
But as for me, I am filled with power,
with the Spirit of the LORD,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression
and to Israel his sin.
Please hear this, heads of the house of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel,
who detest justice
and warp all that is straight,
who build Zion with bloodguilt
and Jerusalem with wickedness.
Her leaders judge for a bribe,
her priests teach for a price,
and her prophets practice divination for money.
Yet upon the LORD they lean, saying,
“Is not the LORD in our midst?
Evil will not come upon us.”
Therefore, because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will be mounds of ruins,
and the mountain of the house will become wooded heights.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Mark 5:35-43
While He was still speaking, some came from the house of the synagogue ruler and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”
As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid, only believe.”
He let no one follow Him, except Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw the tumult, and those who wept and wailed loudly. When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this uproar and weep? The girl is not dead, but sleeping.” They laughed at Him in ridicule.
But when He had put them all out, He took the father and the mother of the girl and those who were with Him and entered where the girl was lying. He took the girl by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were greatly astonished. He strictly ordered them to let no one know of it and directed them to give her something to eat.
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 social services
All who work in the criminal justice system
Victims and perpetrators of crime
The work of aid agencies throughout the world
Those living in poverty or under oppression
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.
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.