Shane Raynor 5/31/26 Shane Raynor 5/31/26

Sun. evening May 31

Trinity Sunday

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

Come Thou Almighty King

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 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.

Psalm 150

𝙍: Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!

Praise the LORD!

Praise God in His sanctuary;
praise Him in His mighty firmament!
Praise Him for His mighty acts;
praise Him according to His excellent greatness!

𝙍: Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!

Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
praise Him with the harp and lyre!
Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
praise Him with stringed instruments and flute!

𝙍: Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!

Praise Him with loud cymbals;
praise Him with clashing cymbals!

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!

Praise 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: Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!

Psalm prayer

God of life and love, whose Son was victorious over sin and death, make us alive with his life, that the whole world may resound with your praise; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. One cried to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of Hosts;
the whole earth is full of His glory.”

The posts of the door moved at the voice of him who cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

And I said: “Woe is me! For I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar in his hand. And he laid it on my mouth, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips, and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.”

Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”

Then I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

John 16:5-15

But now I am going to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ Rather, sorrow has filled your heart, because I have told you these things. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I am going to My Father, and you will see Me no more; and of judgment, because the ruler of this world stands condemned.

“I have yet many things to tell you, but you cannot bear them now. But when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own authority. But He will speak whatever He hears, and He will tell you things that are to come. He will glorify Me, for He will receive from Me and will declare it to you. All that the Father has is Mine. Therefore I said that He will take what is Mine and will declare it to you.

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 universal church
Bishops, superintendents and all who lead the church
The leaders of the nations
The natural world and the resources of the earth
All who are in any kind of need

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

Response

Loving God, we look to you.
Receive our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty and everlasting God, you have given us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity and in the power of the divine majesty to worship the Unity: keep us steadfast in this faith, that we may evermore be defended from all adversities; 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.

Shane Raynor 5/30/26 Shane Raynor 5/30/26

Sat. evening May 30

Opening response

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

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

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Words: Robert Robinson (1758)
Music: Wyeth’s Repository of Sacred Music, Part II (1813)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#37)

Come, thou Fount of every blessing;
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above;
praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
mount of God’s unchanging love!

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let that grace now, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart; O take and seal it;
seal it for thy courts above.

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;
andall that is within me, bless His holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits.

Psalm 97

𝙍: You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth.

The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be joyful!
Clouds and darkness surround Him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
Fire goes before Him
and burns up His enemies all around.

𝙍: You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth.

His lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD,
at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens declare His righteousness,
and all the peoples see His glory.

𝙍: You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth.

Let all who serve graven images be put to shame,
who boast of idols;
worship Him, all you gods.

Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice
because of Your judgments, O LORD.
For You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth;
You are exalted far above all gods.

𝙍: You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth.

You who love the LORD, hate evil!
He preserves the souls of His saints;
He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Light is sown for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous,
and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name!

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: You, O LORD, are Most High over all the earth.

Psalm Prayer

Most high and holy God, enthroned in fire and light, burn away the dross of our lives and kindle in us the fire of your love, that our lives may reveal the light and life we find in your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 98

𝙍: The LORD has made known His salvation.

Oh sing to the LORD a new song,
for He has done marvelous things!
His right hand and His holy arm
have gained the victory for Him.
The LORD has made known His salvation;
He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered His mercy
and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.

𝙍: The LORD has made known His salvation.

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song, and sing praises.
Sing to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of a psalm,
with trumpets and the sound of the horn;
make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King!

𝙍: The LORD has made known His salvation.

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it,
the world and those who dwell in it;
let the rivers clap their hands;
let the hills be joyful together
before the LORD,
for He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.

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 has made known His salvation.

Psalm prayer

Lord God, just and true, you make your salvation known in the sight of the nations; tune the song of our hearts to the music of creation as you come among us to judge the earth; through our Savior Jesus Christ.

Old Testament reading

Exodus 34:1-10

Now the LORD said to Moses, “Cut out for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to Me on the top of the mountain. No one is to come up with you. Do not let anyone be seen anywhere on the mountain, and the flocks or herds may not graze in front of the mountain.”

So he cut out two tablets of stone like the first, and Moses rose up early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai, just as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tablets of stone. Then the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Moses made haste and bowed to the ground and worshipped. He said, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, for we are a stiff-necked people. Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

Then He said: Behold, I am making a covenant before all your people. I will do wonders such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation. And all the people among whom you live will see the work of the LORD, for it is a fearful thing that I will do with you.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Mark 1:1-13

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the Prophets:

“Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
who will prepare Your way before You.”
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make His paths straight.’ ”

John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. The whole region of Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist. And he ate locusts and wild honey. He preached saying, “After me is coming One mightier than I, the straps of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I indeed have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Coming up out of the water, He immediately saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, saying, “You are My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”

The Spirit immediately drove Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts. And the angels ministered to 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:

Our homes, families, friends, and all whom we love
Those whose time is spent caring for others
Those who are close to death
Those who have lost hope
The worship of the Church

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

The Lord’s Prayer

As our Savior taught us, so we pray

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.

Shane Raynor 5/29/26 Shane Raynor 5/29/26

Fri. evening May 29

Opening response

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

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

My Faith Looks Up to Thee

Words: Ray Palmer (1875)
Music: Lowell Mason (1831)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#351)

My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray,
take all my guilt away;
O let me from this day
be wholly Thine.

May Thy rich grace impart
strength to my fainting heart,
my zeal inspire;
as Thou hast died for me,
O may my love to Thee
pure, warm, and changeless be,
a living fire.

While life’s dark maze I tread,
and griefs around me spread,
be Thou my Guide;
bid darkness turn to day,
wipe sorrow’s tears away,
nor let me ever stray
from Thee aside.

When ends life's transient dream,
when death’s cold, sullen stream
shall o'er me roll,
blest Savior, then in love,
fear and distrust remove;
O bear me safe above,
a ransomed soul.

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 145

𝙍: Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!

I will exalt you, my God, O King,
and I will bless Your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless You,
and I will praise Your name forever and ever.

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!
His greatness is unsearchable.

𝙍: Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!

One generation shall commend Your works to another,
and shall declare Your mighty acts.
I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty
and on Your wondrous works.
Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,
and I will declare Your greatness.
They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness,
and shall sing of Your righteousness.

The LORD is gracious and full of compassion,
slow to anger and great in mercy.

𝙍: Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!

The LORD is good to all,
and His tender mercies are over all His works.
All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD,
and Your saints shall bless You.
They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,
and talk of Your power,
to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,
and the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

𝙍: Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!

The LORD upholds all who fall,
and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
and You give them their food in due season.
You open Your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

𝙍: Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!

The LORD is righteous in all His ways
and merciful in all His works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,
to all who call upon Him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and will save them.
The LORD preserves all those who love Him,
but all the wicked will He destroy.

My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD,
and all flesh shall bless His holy name
forever and ever.

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: Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!

Psalm prayer

King of the universe, you show the bright glory of your reign in acts of mercy and enduring love; raise the spirits of the downcast and restore those who have fallen away, that we may sing forever of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

2 Chronicles 22:10-23:21

So when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose up and mounted a campaign to destroy all the royal offspring of the house of Judah. But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from the king’s sons who were going to be put to death, and she placed him and his nurse in a bed chamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of Jehoiada the priest (since she was a sister of Ahaziah), hid Joash from Athaliah. And she did not put the royal child to death. And he was hidden away with them in the house of God for six years. And Athaliah ruled over the land.

Then in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself and made a covenant with the commanders over hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zikri. And they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah and even the heads of the fathers’ houses in Israel. Then they all came to Jerusalem.

So the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God, and Jehoiada said to them, “Behold, the king’s son will reign, as the LORD has said of the sons of David. And this is the thing that you all will do: A third of you all from the priests and Levites who come on the Sabbath will be gatekeepers, one-third will be at the palace of the king and another third at the Foundation Gate. And all the people will be in the courts of the house of the LORD. And may no one enter the house of the LORD except the priests and those Levites who are serving. Those can enter because they are holy, but all the people will keep their assigned duty of the LORD. Then the Levites will surround the king, each man with his weapon in his hand, and whoever enters the house will be put to death. They will be with the king when he enters and leaves.”

The Levites and all Judah did everything that Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each brought his men, who were to come on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were to go off duty on the Sabbath, because Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss the divisions. Then Jehoiada the priest gave to the commanders of hundreds the spears and the large and small shields which had been King David’s, which were in the house of God. Then he set all the people around the king, each man with his weapon in hand, from the south side to the north side of the temple, from the altar to the temple.

Then they brought out the son of the king and set on him the crown and the testimony and they proclaimed him as king. So Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, “Long live the king!”

And when Athaliah heard the sound of the people running and praising the king, she went toward the people in the temple of the LORD. And she saw the king standing by the pillar at the entrance with the officials and trumpeters next to the king, and all of the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and singers with their instruments with songs were offering up praise. Then Athaliah tore her garments and yelled, “Treachery! Treachery!”

Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the commanders over hundreds, those entrusted over the army, and said to them, “Bring her out between the ranks, and let whoever follows her be killed with the sword.” For the priest said, “Do not put her to death in the house of the LORD.” So they seized her, and she went to the entrance of the Horse Gate of the king’s palace, and they put her to death there.

And Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, the people, and the king that they would be a people dedicated to the LORD. Then all the people went to the temple of Baal, and they tore it down along with its altars, and they shattered its images. And Mattan the priest of Baal, they killed before the altars.

Then Jehoiada placed guards at the house of the LORD, under the supervision of the priests, the Levites whom David allotted for the house of the LORD to make burnt offerings to the LORD as is written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and music, according to the direction of David. And he set the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the LORD so that no one might enter who was in any manner unclean.

Then he took the commanders over hundreds, the nobles, those in authority over the people, and all the people of the land, and they brought down the king from the house of the LORD. And they went through the Upper Gate of the palace of the king, and they brought the king to sit on the royal throne. And all the people of the land rejoiced. And the city had peace when they put Athaliah to death with the sword.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Romans 3:1-20

What advantage then does the Jew have? Or what profit is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, the oracles of God were entrusted to them.

What if some did not believe? Would their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God? God forbid! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written:

“That You may be justified in Your words,
and may prevail in Your judging.”

But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous in taking vengeance? (I am speaking in human terms.) God forbid! For then how could God judge the world? If through my lie the truth of God has abounded more to His glory, why am I still being judged as a sinner? Why not rather say, “Let us do evil that good may come,” as we are slanderously accused and as some claim that we say? Their condemnation is just.

What then? Are we better than they? No, not at all. For we have already charged that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin. As it is written:

“There is none righteous, no, not one;
there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks after God.
They have all turned aside;
together they have become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
no, not one.”
“Their throats are an open grave;
with their tongues they have used deceit”;
“the poison of vipers is under their lips”;
“their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
destruction and misery are in their paths;
and they do not know the way of peace.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and all the world may become accountable to God. Therefore by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

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:

Political leaders and the armed forces
Peace and justice in the world
Those who work for reconciliation
All whose lives are devastated by war and civil strife
Prisoners, refugees, and homeless people

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 Lord, from whom all good things come: grant to us your humble servants, that by your holy inspiration we may think those things that are good, and by your merciful guiding may perform the same; through our Lord 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

Being made one by the power of the Spirit, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

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.