Sat. evening Aug. 15
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
Just As I Am
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 132
𝙍: The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.
O LORD, remember David
and all his afflictions;
how he swore to the LORD,
and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
“Surely I will not enter my house,
nor go up to my bed;
I will not give sleep to my eyes,
or slumber to my eyelids,
until I find a place for the LORD,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
𝙍: The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.
Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found it in the fields of Jaar.
“Let us go into His dwelling place;
let us worship at His footstool.”
Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place,
You and the ark of Your strength.
Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and let Your saints shout for joy.
For the sake of Your servant David,
turn not away the face of Your anointed.
𝙍: The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.
The LORD has sworn in truth to David
from which He will not turn back:
“A son of the fruit of your body
will I set upon your throne.
If your sons will keep My covenant
and My testimony which I shall teach them,
their sons also, forevermore,
shall sit upon your throne.”
𝙍: The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.
For the LORD has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His dwelling place:
“This is My resting place forever;
here will I dwell, for I have chosen it.
I will abundantly bless her provisions;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
Also her priests will I clothe with salvation,
and her saints will shout for joy.
“There will I make the horn of David sprout up;
I have prepared a lamp for My anointed.
His enemies will I clothe with shame,
but upon himself shall his crown flourish.”
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 is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.
Psalm prayer
Jesus, Son of David, make us a priestly people; clothe us in righteousness, make us fruitful, and give us hearts to shout for joy in your salvation; we pray in the power of the Spirit.
Old Testament reading
Song of Solomon 2:1-7
I am the rose of Sharon,
the lily of the valleys.
The Lover
Like a lily among the thorns,
so is my beloved among the young women.
The Beloved
Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my delightful one among the young men.
I sat down in his shadow with great delight,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
He brought me to the banqueting hall of wine,
and his banner over me was love.
Sustain me with raisin cakes,
refresh me with apricots;
for I am faint with love.
Oh that his left hand were under my head,
while his right hand embraces me.
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or by the does of the field:
do not arouse or awaken love
until it pleases.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 1:6-14
So when they had come together, they asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or the dates, which the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
When He had spoken these things, while they looked, He was taken up. And a cloud removed Him from their sight.
While they looked intently toward heaven as He ascended, behold, two men stood by them in white garments. They said, “Men of Galilee, why stand looking toward heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you to heaven, will come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is a Sabbath day’s walk from Jerusalem. When they had entered, they went up into the upper room, where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
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:
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
God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
O God, you declare your almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity: mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace, that we, running the way of your commandments, may receive your gracious promises, and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
As our Savior taught us, so we pray
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.
Conclusion
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore.
Amen.
Fri. evening Aug. 14
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
O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus
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 69
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
Save me, O God!
For the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in deep mire,
where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
and the flood overflows me.
I am weary with my crying;
my throat is parched;
my eyes grow dim
while I wait for my God.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
Those who hate me without cause
are more than the hairs of my head;
they are mighty
who would destroy me, being my enemies wrongfully;
what I did not steal,
I must now restore.
O God, You know my folly,
and my sins are not hidden from You.
Let not those who wait on You,
O Lord GOD of Hosts,
be ashamed because of me;
let not those who seek You
be dishonored because of me,
O God of Israel,
because for Your sake I have borne reproach;
shame has covered my face.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
I have become a stranger to my brothers,
and an alien to my mother’s children;
for zeal for Your house has consumed me,
and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen upon me.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting,
it became my reproach.
When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a proverb to them.
Those who sit in the gate speak against me,
and I am the song of the drunkards.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD,
at an acceptable time; O God,
in the abundance of Your mercy,
answer me in the truth of Your salvation.
Deliver me out of the mire
and let me not sink;
let me be delivered from those who hate me,
and out of the deep waters.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
Let not the flood overflow me,
nor let the deep swallow me up;
and let not the pit close its mouth on me.
Hear me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good;
turn to me according to the abundance of Your tender mercies.
Hide not Your face from Your servant,
for I am in trouble; answer me quickly.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
Draw near to my soul, and redeem it;
deliver me because of my enemies.
You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor;
my adversaries are all known to You.
Reproach has broken my heart,
and I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none,
and for comforters, but I found none.
They also gave me poison in my food,
and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
Let their table become a snare before them,
and let their peace be a trap.
Let their eyes be darkened so they do not see,
and make their loins tremble continually.
Pour out Your indignation upon them,
and let Your wrathful anger overtake them.
Let their camp be desolate,
and let no one dwell in their tents.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
For they persecute him whom You have struck,
and they recount the pain of those whom You have wounded.
Add guilt to their iniquity,
and let them not come into Your righteousness.
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living,
and let them not be recorded with the righteous.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
But I am afflicted and in pain;
let Your salvation, O God, set me safely on high.
I will praise the name of God with a song,
and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
This will please the LORD
more than an ox or bull with horns and hoofs.
The humble shall see this and be glad;
and you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
For the LORD hears the poor,
and does not despise His prisoners.
Let heaven and earth praise Him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.
For God will save Zion,
and will build the cities of Judah,
that they may dwell there and possess it.
The descendants of His servants shall inherit it,
and those who love His name shall dwell in it.
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: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.
Psalm prayer
Thirsting on the cross, your Son shared the reproach of the oppressed and carried the sins of all; in him, O God, may the despairing find you, the afflicted gain life and the whole creation know its true king, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Jeremiah 44:15-30
Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to other gods and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people who lived in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying: “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you. But we will certainly do whatever we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, for then we had plenty of food, and were well off, and saw no disaster. But since we left off burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have been in want of all things and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.”
The women also said, “When we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make her cakes to worship her and pour out drink offerings to her without our husbands?”
Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and to the women, and to all the people who had given him such an answer: “The incense offerings that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you, and your fathers, your kings, and your officials, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them and did they not come into His mind? So the LORD could no longer bear it because of the evil of your deeds and because of the abominations which you have committed. Therefore your land is a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as it is this day. Because you have burned incense and because you have sinned against the LORD and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in His law, nor in His statutes, nor in His testimonies, therefore this calamity has happened to you, as it is this day.”
Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women, “Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt. Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have both spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hand, saying, ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.’
“Proceed to accomplish your vows and surely perform your vows! Yet hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who dwells in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by My great name, says the LORD, that My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, ‘As the LORD God lives.’ Behold, I will watch over them for disaster and not for good. And all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine until there is an end of them. Yet a small number who escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah who have gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there will know whose words will stand, Mine or theirs.
“This will be a sign to you, says the LORD, that I will punish you in this place so that you may know that My words shall surely stand against you for disaster. Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra the king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, just as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy, and sought his life.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Mark 4:21-34
He said to them, “Is a candle brought to be put under a basket or under a bed and not to be set on a candlestick? For there is nothing hidden except to be revealed; neither is anything kept secret except to be proclaimed. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. The measure you give will be measured for you, and to you who hear will more be given. For to him who has will more be given. And from him who has not will be taken, even what he has.”
He said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he does not know how. For the earth bears fruit by itself: first the blade, then the head, then the full seed in the head. But when the grain is ripe, immediately he applies the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God, or with what parable shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed which, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest seed on earth. Yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all shrubs, and shoots out great branches, so that the birds of the air may nest in its shade.”
With many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. Without a parable He did not speak to them. But when they were alone, He expounded on all things to His disciples.
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:
National leaders, public officials, 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, hear your people
and answer our prayers.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Let your merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of your humble servants; and that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please you; 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.
Thu. evening Aug. 13
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
I Need Thee Every Hour
Confession of Sin
Seek the LORD while He may be found,
call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
and let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him,
and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
cf Isaiah 55
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Lord God, I have sinned against you; I have done what is evil in your sight. I am sorry and repent. Have mercy on me according to your lovingkindness. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Renew a right spirit within me, and restore unto me the joy of your salvation, through Jesus Christ my 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.
Blessed be the LORD,
because He has heard the voice of my supplications.
Therefore my heart rejoices,
and with my song I will thank Him.
cf Psalm 28:7,9
Psalm 78:40-72
𝙍: Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord.
How often they provoked 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,
nor the day when He redeemed them from the enemy,
when He performed His signs in Egypt
and His wonders in the fields of Zoan,
and turned their rivers into blood,
so that they could not drink of their streams.
He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them,
and frogs, which destroyed them.
He gave their crops to the grasshopper
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
𝙍: Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord.
He destroyed their vines with hail
and their sycamore trees with frost.
He gave up their cattle to the hail
and their flocks to fiery lightning.
He cast upon them the fierceness of His anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
by sending angels of destruction.
He made a path for His anger;
He did not spare them from death,
but gave their lives over to the plague,
and struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,
the first fruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.
𝙍: Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord.
But He led forth His own people like sheep
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
He led them on safely, so that they were not afraid,
but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
He brought them to His holy border,
to the mountain which His right hand had acquired.
He cast out the nations before them,
and divided for them their tribal allotments,
and made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
𝙍: Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord.
Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God,
and did not keep His testimonies,
but turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers;
they turned aside like a deceitful bow.
For they provoked Him to anger with their high places
and moved Him to jealousy with their graven images.
When God heard this, He was filled with wrath
and greatly abhorred Israel,
so that He forsook the tabernacle at Shiloh,
the tent where He dwelt among men,
and delivered His strength to captivity
and His glory to the enemy’s hand.
He gave His people over to the sword,
and was filled with wrath at His inheritance.
The fire consumed their young men,
and their young women were not given in marriage.
Their priests fell by the sword,
and their widows made no lamentation.
𝙍: Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord.
Then the Lord awoke as one out of sleep,
like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.
He routed His enemies back;
He made them a perpetual reproach.
Moreover, He rejected the tent of Joseph,
and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
but chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion which He loves.
He built His sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth that He has established forever.
He chose David His servant
and took him from the sheepfolds;
from following the nursing ewes He brought him
to shepherd Jacob His people,
and Israel His inheritance.
So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart
and guided them by the skillfulness of his 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 defense; through him who laid down his life for us, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Jeremiah 44:1-14
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwell in the land of Egypt, who dwell at Migdol, and Tahpanhes, and Memphis, and in the country of Pathros, saying, Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the calamity that I have brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah. Behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwells in them, because of their wickedness, which they have committed to provoke Me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, to serve other gods whom they did not know, neither they nor you nor your fathers. However, I sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, “Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate.” But they did not listen or incline their ear, to turn from their wickedness and from burning incense to other gods. Therefore My fury and My anger was poured out and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are ruined and desolate, as it is this day.
Now thus says the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel: Why are you committing this great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, out of Judah, leaving you no one to remain, provoking Me to wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to dwell, so that you might cut yourselves off and become a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? They are not humbled even to this day, nor have they feared, nor have they walked in My law and My statutes that I set before you and before your fathers.
Therefore thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set My face against you for disaster, and to cut off all Judah. I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they all will be consumed and fall in the land of Egypt. They will even be consumed by the sword and by the famine. They will die, from the least even to the greatest, by the sword and by the famine; and they will be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach. For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem; by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. So none of the remnant of Judah who have gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there will escape or remain, with the result that they return into the land of Judah to which they have a desire to return to dwell there. For no one shall return except those who escape.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Mark 4:1-20
Again He began to teach by the seaside. A large crowd was gathered before Him, so that He entered a boat and sat in it on the sea. And the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. He taught them many things in parables and said to them in His teaching: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. As he sowed, some seed fell beside the path, and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and soon it sprang up, because it did not have deep soil. But when the sun rose, it was scorched. And because it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seed fell on good ground, and it yielded grain that sprang up and increased by thirty, sixty, or a hundred times as much.”
Then He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
When He was alone, those who were around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. He said to them, “To you is given the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, everything is said in parables, so that
‘seeing they may see, and not perceive,
and hearing they may hear and not understand;
lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.’ ”
Then He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are those beside the path, where the word is sown. But when they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word which is sown in their hearts. Others, likewise, are seed sown on rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness, but have no root in themselves, and so endure for a time. Afterward, when affliction or persecution rises for the word’s sake, immediately they fall away. And others are seed sown among thorns, the ones who hear the word. But the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. Still others are seed sown on good ground, those who hear the word, and receive it, and bear fruit: thirty, sixty, and some a hundred times as much.”
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:
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
Let your merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of your humble servants; and that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please you; 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.