Thursday evening June 20
Image: Unsplash
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
Come, wisdom, power, and grace divine
Charles Wesley
Come, wisdom, power, and grace divine,
Come, Jesus, in thy name to join
A happy chosen band;
Who fain would prove thine utmost will,
And all thy righteous laws fulfill,
In love's benign command.
If pure essential love thou art,
Thy nature into every heart,
Thy loving self, inspire;
Bid all our simple souls be one,
United in a bond unknown,
Baptized with heavenly fire.
Still may we to our center tend,
To spread thy praise our common end,
To help each other on;
Companions through the wilderness,
To share a moment's pain, and seize
An everlasting crown.
Jesus, our tendered souls prepare!
Infuse the softest social care,
The warmest charity,
The pity of the bleeding Lamb,
The virtues of thy wondrous name,
The heart that was in thee.
Supply what every member wants;
To found the fellowship of saints,
Thy Spirit, Lord, supply;
So shall we all thy love receive,
Together to thy glory live,
And to thy glory die.
Confession of sin
Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their own ways
and the unrighteous their own thoughts.
Let them return to the LORD so that he may have compassion,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
cf Isaiah 55
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Lord God,
we have sinned against you;
we have done what is evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your loving devotion.
Wash us clean of our iniquity and cleanse us from our sin.
Renew a right spirit within us,
and restore to us the joy of your salvation
through Jesus Christ our 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.
Bless be the LORD,
for he has heard our cry for mercy.
Therefore our hearts rejoice
and we give thanks to him with our song.
cf Psalm 28:7, 9
Psalm 78:40-72
𝙍: Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord.
How often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness
and grieved Him in the desert!
Again and again they tested God
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
They did not remember His power —
the day He redeemed them from the adversary,
when He performed His signs in Egypt
and His wonders in the fields of Zoan. 𝙍
He turned their rivers to blood,
and from their streams they could not drink.
He sent swarms of flies that devoured them,
and frogs that devastated them.
He gave their crops to the grasshopper,
the fruit of their labor to the locust.
He killed their vines with hailstones
and their sycamore-figs with sleet. 𝙍
He abandoned their cattle to the hail
and their livestock to bolts of lightning.
He unleashed His fury against them,
wrath, indignation, and calamity—
a band of destroying angels.
He cleared a path for His anger;
He did not spare them from death
but delivered their lives to the plague.
He struck all the firstborn of Egypt,
the virility in the tents of Ham. 𝙍
He led out His people like sheep
and guided them like a flock in the wilderness.
He led them safely, so they did not fear,
but the sea engulfed their enemies.
He brought them to His holy land,
to the mountain His right hand had acquired.
He drove out nations before them
and apportioned their inheritance;
He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents. 𝙍
But they tested and disobeyed God Most High,
for they did not keep His decrees.
They turned back and were faithless like their fathers,
twisted like a faulty bow.
They enraged Him with their high places
and provoked His jealousy with their idols.
On hearing it, God was furious
and rejected Israel completely. 𝙍
He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,
the tent He had pitched among men.
He delivered His strength to captivity,
and His splendor to the hand of the adversary.
He surrendered His people to the sword
because He was enraged by His heritage.
Fire consumed His young men,
and their maidens were left without wedding songs.
His priests fell by the sword,
but their widows could not lament. 𝙍
Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
like a mighty warrior overcome by wine.
He beat back His foes;
He put them to everlasting shame.
He rejected the tent of Joseph
and refused the tribe of Ephraim.
But He chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which He loved. 𝙍
He built His sanctuary like the heights,
like the earth He has established forever.
He chose David His servant
and took him from the sheepfolds;
from tending the ewes He brought him
to be shepherd of His people Jacob,
of Israel His inheritance.
So David shepherded them with integrity of heart
and guided them with skillful hands.
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: Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord.
Psalm prayer
God our shepherd,
in all our wanderings and temptations,
teach us to rest in your mercy
and trust in your defence;
through him who laid down his life for us,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Job 30
“But now they mock me,
men younger than I am,
whose fathers I would have refused
to entrust with my sheep dogs.
What use to me was the strength of their hands,
since their vigor had left them?
Gaunt from poverty and hunger,
they gnawed the dry land,
and the desolate wasteland by night.
They plucked mallow among the shrubs,
and the roots of the broom tree were their food.
They were banished from among men,
shouted down like thieves,
so that they lived on the slopes of the wadis,
among the rocks and in holes in the ground.
They cried out among the shrubs
and huddled beneath the nettles.
A senseless and nameless brood,
they were driven off the land.
And now they mock me in song;
I have become a byword among them.
They abhor me and keep far from me;
they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
Because God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me,
they have cast off restraint in my presence.
The rabble arises at my right;
they lay snares for my feet
and build siege ramps against me.
They tear up my path;
they profit from my destruction,
with no one to restrain them.
They advance as through a wide breach;
through the ruins they keep rolling in.
Terrors are turned loose against me;
they drive away my dignity as by the wind,
and my prosperity has passed like a cloud.
And now my soul is poured out within me;
days of affliction grip me.
Night pierces my bones,
and my gnawing pains never rest.
With great force He grasps my garment;
He seizes me by the collar of my tunic.
He throws me into the mud,
and I have become like dust and ashes.
I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer;
when I stand up, You merely look at me.
You have ruthlessly turned on me;
You oppose me with Your strong hand.
You snatch me up into the wind
and drive me before it;
You toss me about in the storm.
Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death,
to the place appointed for all the living.
Yet no one stretches out his hand to a ruined man
when he cries for help in his distress.
Have I not wept for those in trouble?
Has my soul not grieved for the needy?
But when I hoped for good, evil came;
when I looked for light, darkness fell.
I am churning within and cannot rest;
days of affliction confront me.
I go about blackened, but not by the sun.
I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
I have become a brother of jackals,
a companion of ostriches.
My skin grows black and peels,
and my bones burn with fever.
My harp is tuned to mourning
and my flute to the sound of weeping.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Romans 13:1-7
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God. Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval. For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer.
Therefore it is necessary to submit to authority, not only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes. For the authorities are God’s servants, who devote themselves to their work. Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
Silence may be kept.
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Luke 1:46-55
𝙍: My spirit rejoices in you, O God; my soul proclaims your greatness.
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: My spirit rejoices in you, O God; my soul proclaims your greatness.
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
Almighty God,
you have broken the tyranny of sin
and have sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts
whereby we call you Father:
give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service,
that we and all creation may be brought
to the glorious liberty of the children of God;
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.
Wednesday evening June 19
Image: Unsplash
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
Abba, Father, Hear Thy Child
Charles Wesley
Abba, Father, hear thy child,
Late in Jesus reconciled;
Hear, and all the graces shower,
All the joy, and peace, and power;
All my Savior asks above,
All the life and heaven of love.
Lord, I will not let thee go
Till the blessing thou bestow:
Hear my Advocate divine;
Lo! To his my suit I join;
Joined to his, it cannot fail;
Bless me; for I will prevail.
Heavenly Father, Life divine,
Change my nature into thine;
Move, and spread throughout my soul,
Actuate, and fill the whole:
Be it I no longer now
Living in the flesh, but thou.
Holy Ghost, no more delay;
Come, and in thy temple stay:
Now thine inward witness bear,
Strong, and permanent, and clear:
Spring of life, thyself impart;
Rise eternal in my heart
Confession of sin
The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins
or repaid us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his loving devotion for 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 has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and do not forget all his kind deeds.
Psalm 119:81-104
𝙍: Revive me according to Your loving devotion.
My soul faints for Your salvation;
I wait for Your word.
My eyes fail, looking for Your promise;
I ask, “When will You comfort me?”
Though I am like a wineskin dried up by smoke,
I do not forget Your statutes.
How many days must Your servant wait?
When will You execute judgment on my persecutors? 𝙍
The arrogant have dug pits for me
in violation of Your law.
All Your commandments are faithful;
I am persecuted without cause—help me!
They almost wiped me from the earth,
but I have not forsaken Your precepts.
Revive me according to Your loving devotion,
that I may obey the testimony of Your mouth. 𝙍
Your word, O LORD, is everlasting;
it is firmly fixed in the heavens.
Your faithfulness continues through all generations;
You established the earth, and it endures.
Your ordinances stand to this day,
for all things are servants to You.
If Your law had not been my delight,
then I would have perished in my affliction. 𝙍
I will never forget Your precepts,
for by them You have revived me.
I am Yours; save me,
for I have sought Your precepts.
The wicked wait to destroy me,
but I will ponder Your testimonies.
I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but Your commandment is without limit. 𝙍
Oh, how I love Your law!
All day long it is my meditation.
Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,
for they are always with me.
I have more insight than all my teachers,
for Your testimonies are my meditation.
I discern more than the elders,
for I obey Your precepts. 𝙍
I have kept my feet from every evil path,
that I may keep Your word.
I have not departed from Your ordinances,
for You Yourself have taught me.
How sweet are Your words to my taste—
sweeter than honey in my mouth!
I gain understanding from Your precepts;
therefore I hate every false way.
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: Revive me according to Your loving devotion.
Psalm prayer
Lord Christ,
as we sit at your feet,
teach us your living way;
for you are our Word and Wisdom,
one God with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever.
Old Testament reading
Job 29
And Job continued his discourse:
“How I long for the months gone by,
for the days when God watched over me,
when His lamp shone above my head,
and by His light I walked through the darkness,
when I was in my prime,
when the friendship of God rested on my tent,
when the Almighty was still with me
and my children were around me,
when my steps were bathed in cream
and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
When I went out to the city gate
and took my seat in the public square,
the young men saw me and withdrew,
and the old men rose to their feet.
The princes refrained from speaking
and covered their mouths with their hands.
The voices of the nobles were hushed,
and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.
For those who heard me called me blessed,
and those who saw me commended me,
because I rescued the poor who cried out
and the fatherless who had no helper.
The dying man blessed me,
and I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
justice was my robe and my turban.
I served as eyes to the blind
and as feet to the lame.
I was a father to the needy,
and I took up the case of the stranger.
I shattered the fangs of the unjust
and snatched the prey from his teeth.
So I thought: ‘I will die in my nest
and multiply my days as the sand.
My roots will spread out to the waters,
and the dew will rest nightly on my branches.
My glory is ever new within me,
and my bow is renewed in my hand.’
Men listened to me with expectation,
waiting silently for my counsel.
After my words, they spoke no more;
my speech settled on them like dew.
They waited for me as for rain
and drank in my words like spring showers.
If I smiled at them, they did not believe it;
the light of my countenance was precious.
I chose their course and presided as chief.
So I dwelt as a king among his troops,
as a comforter of the mourners.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Romans 12:9-21
Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.
Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.
Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but enjoy the company of the lowly. Do not be conceited.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone.
Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
On the contrary,
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him a drink.
For in so doing,
you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Silence may be kept.
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Luke 1:46-55
𝙍: My spirit rejoices in you, O God; my soul proclaims your greatness.
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: My spirit rejoices in you, O God; my soul proclaims your greatness.
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
Almighty God,
you have broken the tyranny of sin
and have sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts
whereby we call you Father:
give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service,
that we and all creation may be brought
to the glorious liberty of the children of God;
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.
Tuesday evening June 18
Image: Unsplash
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
A Thousand Oracles Divine
Charles Wesley
A thousand oracles divine
Their common beams unite,
That sinners may with angels join
To worship God aright.
To praise a Trinity adored
By all the hosts above,
And one thrice-holy God and Lord
Through endless ages love.
Triumphant host! they never cease
To laud and magnify
The triune God of holiness,
Whose glory fills the sky.
Whose glory to this earth extends,
When God himself imparts,
And the whole Trinity descends
Into our faithful hearts.
By faith the upper choir we meet,
And challenge them to sing
Jehovah on his shining seat,
Our maker and our king.
But God made flesh is wholly ours,
And asks our nobler strain;
The Father of celestial powers,
The friend of earthborn man!
Ye seraphs nearest to the throne,
With rapturous amaze
On us, poor ransomed worms look down
For heaven’s superior praise.
The king whose glorious face ye see,
For us his crown resigned;
That fullness of the Deity,
He died for all mankind!
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 74
𝙍: Rise up, O God; defend Your cause!
Why have You rejected us forever, O God?
Why does Your anger smolder
against the sheep of Your pasture?
Remember Your congregation,
which You purchased long ago
and redeemed as the tribe of Your inheritance—
Mount Zion where You dwell.
Turn Your steps to the everlasting ruins,
to everything in the sanctuary the enemy has destroyed.
Your foes have roared within Your meeting place;
they have unfurled their banners as signs,
like men wielding axes in a thicket of trees
and smashing all the carvings with hatchets and picks.
They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground;
they have defiled the dwelling place of Your Name.
They said in their hearts,
“We will crush them completely.”
They burned down every place
where God met us in the land.
There are no signs for us to see.
There is no longer any prophet.
And none of us knows how long this will last.
How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You?
Will the foe revile Your name forever?
Why do You withdraw Your strong right hand?
Stretch it out to destroy them! 𝙍
Yet God is my King from ancient times,
working salvation on the earth.
You divided the sea by Your strength;
You smashed the heads of the dragons of the sea;
You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
You fed him to the creatures of the desert.
You broke open the fountain and the flood;
You dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
The day is Yours, and also the night;
You established the moon and the sun.
You set all the boundaries of the earth;
You made the summer and winter. 𝙍
Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD,
how a foolish people has spurned Your name.
Do not deliver the soul of Your dove to beasts;
do not forget the lives of Your afflicted forever.
Consider Your covenant,
for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
Do not let the oppressed retreat in shame;
may the poor and needy praise Your name.
Rise up, O God; defend Your cause!
Remember how the fool mocks You all day long.
Do not disregard the clamor of Your adversaries,
the uproar of Your enemies that ascends continually.
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: Rise up, O God; defend Your cause!
Psalm prayer
Redeeming God,
renew your broken people
with your Holy Spirit,
that they may walk your narrow way,
and greet your coming dawn
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Job 28
“Surely there is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.
Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.
Man puts an end to the darkness;
he probes the farthest recesses
for ore in deepest darkness.
Far from human habitation he cuts a shaft
in places forgotten by the foot of man.
Far from men he dangles and sways.
Food may come from the earth,
but from below it is transformed as by fire.
Its rocks are the source of sapphires,
containing flecks of gold.
No bird of prey knows that path;
no falcon’s eye has seen it.
Proud beasts have never trodden it;
no lion has ever prowled over it.
The miner strikes the flint;
he overturns mountains at their base.
He hews out channels in the rocks,
and his eyes spot every treasure.
He stops up the sources of the streams
to bring what is hidden to light.
But where can wisdom be found,
and where does understanding dwell?
No man can know its value,
nor is it found in the land of the living.
The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’
while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’
It cannot be bought with gold,
nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
in precious onyx or sapphire.
Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it,
nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.
Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention;
the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.
Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it,
nor can it be valued in pure gold.
From where then does wisdom come,
and where does understanding dwell?
It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing
and concealed from the birds of the air.
Abaddon and Death say,
‘We have heard a rumor about it.’
But God understands its way,
and He knows its place.
For He looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
When God fixed the weight of the wind
and measured out the waters,
when He set a limit for the rain
and a path for the thunderbolt,
then He looked at wisdom and appraised it;
He established it and searched it out.
And He said to man, ‘Behold,
the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
and to turn away from evil is understanding.’ ”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Romans 12:1-8
Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function, so in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another.
We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If one’s gift is prophecy, let him use it in proportion to his faith; if it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Silence may be kept.
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)
Luke 1:46-55
𝙍: My spirit rejoices in you, O God; my soul proclaims your greatness.
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: My spirit rejoices in you, O God; my soul proclaims your greatness.
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:
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
Almighty God,
you have broken the tyranny of sin
and have sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts
whereby we call you Father:
give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service,
that we and all creation may be brought
to the glorious liberty of the children of God;
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.