Shane Raynor 5/20/26 Shane Raynor 5/20/26

Wed. evening May 20

Opening response

Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!

Send your Holy Spirit upon us,
and clothe us with power from on high. Alleluia.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, to you be glory and praise forever. Raised to your right hand on high the ascended Christ shows the prints of love and bestows on us the gifts of grace. As your Spirit renews the face of the earth, may we bring forth the fruit of the Spirit and reveal your glory in all 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

Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

Words: Charles Wesley (1747)
Music: John Zundel (1870)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#88)

Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of Heav'n to Earth come down,
Fix in us thy humble dwelling,
All thy faithful mercies crown;
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
Pure, unbounded love thou art;
Visit us with thy salvation,
Enter ev'ry trembling heart.

Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit
Into ev'ry troubled breast;
Let us all in thee inherit,
Let us find thy promised rest;
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith as its beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.

Come, Almighty to deliver;
Let us all thy life receive;
Suddenly return, and never,
Never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve thee as thy host above,
Pray, and praise thee without ceasing,
Glory in thy perfect love.

Finish, then, thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in thee;
Changed from glory into glory
Till in Heav'n we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise!

Confession of Sin

Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

Almighty God, patient and of great goodness: I confess to you, I confess with my whole heart my neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments, my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking; the hurts I have done to others, and the good I have left undone. O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you; and raise me to newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

May the God of love and power forgive us and free us from our sins, heal and strengthen us by his Spirit, and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Psalm 36

𝙍: With You, O God, is the fountain of life.

An oracle within my heart
about the transgression of the wicked:
There is no fear of God
before their eyes.

For he flatters himself in his own eyes,
so that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
he has ceased to be wise and to do good.
He devises mischief on his bed;
he sets himself on a path that is not good;
he does not reject evil.

𝙍: With You, O God, is the fountain of life.

Your mercy, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
and Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the great mountains,
Your judgments are like the great deep;
O LORD, You preserve man and beast.
How excellent is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore mankind
seeks refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
They will drink their fill from the abundance of Your house,
and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
For with You is the fountain of life;
in Your light we see light.

𝙍: With You, O God, is the fountain of life.

Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
and Your righteousness to the upright in heart.
Let not the foot of the arrogant tread on me,
and let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.
There the workers of iniquity have fallen;
they are cast down and are not able to rise.

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: With You, O God, is the fountain of life.

Psalm prayer

O God, the fountain of life, make us bright with wisdom, that we may be lightened with the knowledge of your glory in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth trembles,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains shake with its swelling.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy dwelling place of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when the morning dawns.
The nations raged; the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice; the earth melted.

The LORD of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Come, behold the works of the LORD,
who brings desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
He burns the chariot in the fire.
Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.

The LORD of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.

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.

Psalm prayer

God of Jacob, when the earth shakes and the nations are in uproar, speak, and let the storm be still; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Deuteronomy 31:30-32:14

Moses spoke the words of this song until they were finished, in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel:

Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
My teaching will drop like the rain,
my sayings will distill as the dew,
as the droplets on the grass,
and as the showers on the herb.

For I will proclaim the name of the LORD:
Ascribe greatness to our God!
He is the rock; His work is perfect;
for all His ways are just.
He is a God of faithfulness and without injustice;
righteous and upright is He.

They have acted corruptly to Him;
they are not His children, but blemished;
they are a perverse and crooked generation.
Is this how you repay the LORD,
you foolish and unwise people?
Is He not your father, who has bought you?
Has He not made you, and established you?

Remember the days of old,
consider the years of previous generations.
Ask your father, and he will show you;
your elders, and they will tell you:
When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
when He separated the sons of man,
He set the boundaries of the peoples
according to the number of the Israelites.
For the LORD’s portion is His people;
Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance.

He found him in a desert land
and in the howling waste of a wilderness;
He led him about, He instructed him,
He protected him like the pupil of His eye.
Like an eagle stirs up her nest,
that flutters over her young,
He spread out his wings and took him;
He lifted him on His pinions;
the LORD alone guided him,
and there was no foreign god with him.

He made him ride on the high places of the earth,
and he ate of the produce of the fields;
He made him suck honey out of the rock
and oil out of the flinty rock,
butter from the herd,
and milk from the flock,
along with the fat of lambs,
and rams of the breed from Bashan,
and goats,
with the best of the kernels of wheat;
you drank the pure blood of the grape.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

1 John 3:11-24

For this is the message that you heard from the beginning: We should love one another, not like Cain, who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s works were righteous. Do not marvel, my brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love his brother remains in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.

By this we know the love of God: that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. Whoever has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, but closes his heart of compassion from him, how can the love of God remain in him? My little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.

By this we know that we are of the truth, and shall reassure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, then we have confidence before God. And whatever we ask, we will receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another as He commanded us. Now the one who keeps His commandments remains in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He remains in us, through the Spirit whom He has given us.

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:

God’s royal priesthood, for empowerment by the Spirit
Those who wait on God, that they may find renewal
All people, that they may acknowledge the kingdom of the ascended Christ
The earth, for productivity and for fruitful harvests
All who are struggling with broken relationships

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

God of grace,
hear our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

O God the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: we beseech you, leave us not comfortless, but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us and exalt us to the place where our Savior Christ is gone before, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Being made one by the power of the Spirit, 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

May the Spirit kindle in us the fire of God’s love.
Amen.

Shane Raynor 5/19/26 Shane Raynor 5/19/26

Tue. evening May 19

Opening response

Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!

Send your Holy Spirit upon us,
and clothe us with power from on high. Alleluia.

Prayer of thanksgiving

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

Ask Ye What Great Thing I Know

Words: Johann C. Schwedler (1741); trans. Benjamin H. Kennedy (1863)
Music: Henri A. Cesar Malan (1827); harm. Lowell Mason (1841)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#107)

Ask ye what great thing I know
that delights and stirs me so?
What the high reward I win?
Whose the name I glory in?
Jesus Christ, the Crucified.

Who defeats my fiercest foes?
Who consoles my saddest woes?
Who revives my fainting heart,
healing all its hidden smart?
Jesus Christ, the Crucified.

Who is life in life to me?
Who the death of death will be?
Who will place me on His right,
with the countless hosts of light?
Jesus Christ, the Crucified.

This is that great thing I know;
this delights and stirs me so:
faith in Him who died to save,
Him who triumphed o'er the grave:
Jesus Christ, the Crucified.

Confession of Sin

Let us confess our sins to God.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

My God, for love of you, I desire to hate and forsake all sins by which I have ever displeased you; and I resolve by the help of your grace to commit them no more; and to avoid all opportunities of sin. Help me to do this, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lord enrich us with his grace, and nourish us with his blessing; the Lord defend us in trouble and keep us from all evil; the Lord accept our prayers, and absolve us from our offenses, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen.

Psalm 68

𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.

Let God arise; let His enemies be scattered;
let those who hate Him flee before Him.
As smoke is driven away,
so drive them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
so let the wicked perish before God.
But let the righteous be glad;
let them rejoice before God;
let them rejoice exceedingly.

Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
extol Him who rides upon the clouds;
His name is the LORD;
rejoice before Him.
A father of the fatherless and a protector of the widows
is God in His holy habitation.
God settles the solitary in a home;
He leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.

O God, when You went forth before Your people,
when You marched through the wilderness,
the earth shook;
the heavens also poured down rain
at the presence of God; Sinai itself quaked
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
You, O God, shed abroad a plentiful rain;
You confirmed Your inheritance when it was weary.
Your congregation dwelt in it;
You, O God, provided in Your goodness for the poor.

𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.

The Lord gave the word;
great was the company of the women who proclaimed it:
“Kings of armies flee; they flee!”
Even she who remains at home divides the spoil.
Though you lie down among the sheepfolds,
you will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
and its pinions with yellow gold.
When the Almighty scattered kings in it,
it was white as snow on Mount Zalmon.

𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.

The mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
a mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
Why do you look with envy, you mountain of many peaks,
at the mountain which God desires to dwell in?
Yes, the LORD will dwell in it forever.
The chariots of God are twenty thousand, thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them as at Sinai, in the holy place.
You have ascended on high,
leading captives in your train;
You have received gifts among men,
even from the rebellious,
that the LORD God might dwell there.

𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up,
the God of our salvation.
Our God is the God of salvation;
and to God the Lord belongs escape from death.
But God will wound the heads of His enemies,
the hairy head of him who walks in his guilty ways.
The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan;
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
that you may bathe your foot in blood,
and the tongues of your dogs may have their share from your enemies.”

𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.

They have seen Your processions, O God,
the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
The singers went in front,
the musicians followed behind;
between them were the young women playing tambourines.
Bless God in the congregations,
the LORD, from the fountain of Israel.
There is little Benjamin leading them,
the princes of Judah in their throng,
the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.

𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.

Summon Your might, O God;
show Your strength, O God, which You have done for us before.
Because of Your temple at Jerusalem,
kings will bring gifts to You.
Rebuke the animals that live among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples,
until everyone submits himself with pieces of silver;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
Envoys will come from Egypt;
Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.

𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.

Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth;
oh, sing praises to the Lord,
to Him who rides on the highest heavens, which were of old!
Behold, He sends out His voice, a mighty voice.
Ascribe strength to God;
His excellency is over Israel,
and His strength is in the clouds.
O God, You are awesome in Your sanctuary;
the God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people.

Blessed be God!

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: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.

Psalm prayer

Blessed are you, gracious God; you make your home among the weak, you deliver us from death, you bring us joy beyond our imagining to the praise of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Deuteronomy 31:14-29

The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, your days draw near when you must die. Call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, so that I may commission him.” So Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tent of meeting.

The LORD appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood over the door of the tent. The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise up and begin to prostitute themselves after the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they are going to be among them, and will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. Then My anger will burn against them on that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they will be devoured, and many disasters and troubles will befall them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not among us?’ And I will surely hide My face in that day for all the evil things which they shall have done, in that they turned to other gods.

“Now therefore write yourself this song and teach it to the Israelites. Put it on their mouths, so that this song may be a witness for Me against the Israelites. For when I have brought them into the land which I swore to their fathers, flowing with milk and honey, and they have eaten, and filled themselves, and become fat, then they will turn to other gods, and serve them, and provoke Me, and break My covenant. Then when many disasters and troubles have fallen on them, this song will testify against them as a witness, for it must not be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants. For I know their intention which they are developing even now, before I have brought them into the land which I promised.” Therefore, Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the Israelites.

He gave Joshua, the son of Nun, an exhortation, and said, “Be strong and of a good courage, for you will bring the Israelites into the land which I swore to them, and I will be with you.”

When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book, until they were completed, then Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, “Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, so that it may be there for a witness against you. For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck. Behold, even now, while I am yet alive with you today, you have been rebellious against the LORD. How much more after my death? Gather to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, so that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them. For I know that after my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you, and disaster will befall you in the latter days, because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands.”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

1 John 3:1-10

Consider how much love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now are we children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Whoever practices sin breaks the law, for sin is lawlessness. You know that He was revealed to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever remains in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has not seen Him and does not know Him.

Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous. Whoever practices sin is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was revealed, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not practice sin, for His seed remains in him. And he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are revealed: Whoever does not live in righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

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 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:

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

The Lord’s Prayer

Rejoicing in God’s new creation, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Conclusion

May the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
Amen.

Shane Raynor 5/18/26 Shane Raynor 5/18/26

Mon. evening May 18

Opening response

Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!

Send your Holy Spirit upon us,
and clothe us with power from on high.

Prayer of thanksgiving

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

I Am Thine, O Lord

Words: Fanny J. Crosby (1875)
Music: William H. Doane (1875)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#591)

I am Thine, O Lord,
I have heard Thy voice,
and it told Thy love to me;
but I long to rise
in the arms of faith,
and be closer drawn to Thee.

Refrain:
Draw me nearer,
nearer, blessed Lord,
to the cross where
Thou hast died;
draw me nearer,
nearer, blessed Lord,
to Thy precious, bleeding side.

Consecrate me now
to Thy service, Lord,
by the pow'r of grace divine;
let my soul look up
with a steadfast hope,
and my will be lost in Thine. [Refrain]

O, the pure delight
of a single hour
that before Thy throne I spend,
when I kneel in prayer,
and with Thee, my God,
I commune as friend with friend! [Refrain]

There are depths of love
that I cannot know
till I cross the narrow sea;
there are heights of joy
that I may not reach
till I rest in peace with Thee. [Refrain]

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 18

𝙍: The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

I love You, O LORD, my strength.

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
so shall I be saved from my enemies.

𝙍: The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me.
The cords of Sheol surrounded me;
the snares of death confronted me.

In my distress I called upon the LORD,
and cried for help to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
and my cry to Him reached His ears.

𝙍: The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

Then the earth shook and trembled;
the foundations of the hills also quaked,
because He was angry.
Smoke went up from His nostrils,
and devouring fire from His mouth;
coals were kindled by it.
He bowed the heavens and came down;
darkness was under His feet.
He rode on a cherub and flew;
He flew swiftly on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness His secret place;
His pavilion surrounding Him
was dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

𝙍: The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

Out of the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed
with hailstones and coals of fire.
The LORD thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered His voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
He sent out His arrows and scattered the enemy;
He shot out lightnings and vanquished them.
Then the channels of the sea were seen,
the foundations of the world were uncovered
at Your rebuke, O LORD,
at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

𝙍: The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
and from those who hated me,
for they were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the LORD was my support.
He also brought me forth into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.

𝙍: The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
For all His decrees were before me,
and I did not put away His statutes from me.
I was also upright before Him,
and I kept myself from my iniquity.
Therefore the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

𝙍: The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
with the blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
with the pure You will show Yourself pure;
and with the crooked You will show Yourself shrewd.
For You will save the humble people,
but will bring down haughty eyes.
For You will light my lamp;
the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
For by You I can outrun a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.

𝙍: The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

As for God, His way is perfect;
the word of the LORD is proven;
He is a shield
to all who take refuge in Him.

For who is God, but the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God?
It is God who girds me with strength,
and makes my way perfect.
He makes my feet like the feet of deer,
and sets me on my high places.
He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

𝙍: The LORD my God enlightens my darkness.

You have given me the shield of Your salvation,
and Your right hand has held me up,
and Your gentleness has made me great.
You widened my path for my steps under me,
so my feet did not slip.

I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not return until they were consumed.
I wounded them, and they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
For You girded me with strength for the battle;
You subdued under me those who rose up against me.
You gave me the necks of my enemies,
that I might destroy those who hate me.

𝙍: The LORD my God enlightens my darkness.

They cried for help, but there was no one to save them;
they cried to the LORD, but He did not answer them.
Then I beat them fine, like dust before the wind;
I cast them out like dirt in the streets.
You have delivered me from strife with the people,
and You have made me the head of the nations;
a people whom I have not known serve me.
As soon as they hear of me, they obey me;
the foreigners submit to me.
The foreigners lose heart,
and come trembling from their strongholds.

𝙍: The LORD my God enlightens my darkness.

The LORD lives! Blessed be my rock!
Let the God of my salvation be exalted.
It is God who avenges me
and subdues the peoples under me;
He delivers me from my enemies.
You exalt me above those who rise up against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.
Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the nations,
and sing praises to Your name.

Great deliverance He gives to His king,
and shows lovingkindness to His anointed,
to David and to his descendants forevermore.

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 my God will enlighten my darkness.

Psalm prayer

From your royal throne, O God, you sent your living Word to pierce the gloom of oppression; so, in our souls’ night, come with your saving help and penetrate our darkness with the rays of your glory in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Deuteronomy 31:1-13

Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. He said to them, “I am one hundred and twenty years old today. I can no longer come and go. Also, the LORD has said to me, ‘You may not cross over the Jordan.’ The LORD your God will cross over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, you will possess them, and Joshua will cross over before you, just as the LORD has said. The LORD will do to them as He did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, which He destroyed. The LORD will give them up before you, so that you may do to them according to all the commandments which I have commanded you. Be strong and of a good courage. Fear not, nor be afraid of them, for the LORD your God, it is He who goes with you. He will not fail you, nor forsake you.”

Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you will enable them to inherit it. The LORD, He goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear, nor be dismayed.”

Moses wrote this law and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, at the time of the year of the cancellation of debts, at the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel has come to appear before the LORD your God in the place which He will choose, you must read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men, women, children, and your foreigner who is within your towns, so that they may hear and learn and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law. Their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess.”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

1 John 2:18-29

Little children, it is the last hour. As you have heard that the antichrist will come, even now there are many antichrists. By this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have remained with us. But they went out, revealing that none of them were of us.

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have written to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? Whoever denies the Father and the Son is the antichrist. No one who denies the Son has the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father.

Therefore, let that which you have heard from the beginning remain in you. If that which you have heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.

I have written these things to you concerning those who deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. For as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and just as it has taught you, remain in Him.

And now, little children, remain in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him when He comes.

If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who does righteousness is born of Him.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

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 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:

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

The Lord’s Prayer

Looking for the coming of his kingdom, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Conclusion

May the Spirit kindle in us the fire of God’s love.
Amen.