Sun. evening Aug. 23
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
A Mighty Fortess Is Our God
Confession of Sin
When we cry to the LORD in our trouble,
He will save us from our distress.
God will bring us out of darkness
and out of the shadow of death.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
May the Father forgive us by the death of his Son, and strengthen us to live in the power of the Spirit all our days.
Amen.
Let us give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
and for His wonderful works to all people!
Let us offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and declare God’s works with rejoicing.
cf Psalm 107
Psalm 95
𝙍: Come, let us worship and bow down.
O come, let us sing to the LORD;
let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms!
For the LORD is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
𝙍: Come, let us worship and bow down.
In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are His also.
The sea is His, for He made it,
and His hands formed the dry land.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the LORD, our maker!
For He is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture,
and the sheep of His hand.
𝙍: Come, let us worship and bow down.
Today, if you will hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day of Massah in the wilderness,
when your fathers tested Me; they tried Me,
though they had seen My work.
For forty years I loathed that generation,
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they do not know My ways.”
Therefore I swore in My wrath,
“They shall not enter My rest.”
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: Come, let us worship and bow down.
Psalm prayer
Jesus our redeemer, you bore the cut of the lash for us and our salvation; help us to bear our sufferings and to share in the affliction of all who suffer for your holy name.
Old Testament reading
2 Kings 6:8-23
Then the king of Aram was fighting against Israel, and he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place will be my camp.”
But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, saying, “Take care not to pass through this place, for the Arameans are marching down there.” The king of Israel sent word to the place of which the man of God spoke. He warned him and was on his guard there more than once.
The mind of the king of Aram was troubled by this, so he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not tell me who among us sides with the king of Israel?”
Then one of his servants said, “No one, my lord, O king. Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
He said, “Go and see where he is, so that I may send for him and take him.” And it was told to him, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” So he sent horses, chariots, and a great army there. They came by night and surrounded the city.
When a servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots surrounded the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What will we do?”
And he said, “Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than with them.”
Then Elisha prayed, “LORD, open his eyes and let him see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha.
When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, “Strike this people with blindness.” And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and let me bring you to the man whom you seek.” But he led them to Samaria.
When they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “LORD, open the eyes of these men and let them see.” So the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw, and behold, they were in the middle of Samaria.
The king of Israel said to Elisha when he saw them, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”
And he said, “You shall not kill them. Did you capture with your sword and with your bow those whom you want to kill? Set bread and water before them, and let them eat and drink and then go to their master.” So he prepared for them a great banquet. When they had eaten and had drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the Aramean raiders did not enter into the land of Israel again.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 17:15-34
Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and departed with instructions for Silas and Timothy to come to him quickly.
While Paul waited for them in Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. Therefore he disputed in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. Then some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What will this babbler say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached Jesus and the resurrection to them. They took hold of him and led him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is of which you speak? For you are bringing strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” For all the Athenians and foreigners who lived there spent their time in nothing else, but either telling or hearing something new.
Then Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus, and said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious. For as I passed by and looked up at your objects of worship, I found an altar with this inscription:
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
Therefore, whom you worship as unknown, Him I proclaim to you.
“God who made the world and all things in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by hands. Nor is He served by men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives all men life and breath and all things. He has made from one blood every nation of men to live on the entire surface of the earth, having appointed fixed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek the Lord so perhaps they might reach for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. ‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’
“Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to suppose that the Deity is like gold or silver or stone or an engraved work of art or an image of the reflection of man. God overlooked the times of ignorance, but now He commands all men everywhere to repent. For He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed, having given assurance of this to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed. But others said, “We will hear you again concerning this matter.” So Paul departed from them. However, some men joined him and believed. Among them were Dionysius, member of the Areopagus, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
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
In faith we pray
We pray to you, our God.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray and to give more than either we desire or deserve: pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask but through the merits and mediation of 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.
Sat. evening Aug. 22
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
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
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 104
𝙍: I will sing to the LORD as long as I live.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD my God, You are very great!
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
covering Yourself with light as with a garment,
stretching out the heavens like a curtain.
He lays the beams of His upper chambers on the waters;
He makes the clouds His chariot;
He walks upon the wings of the wind;
He makes His angels spirits,
His ministers a flaming fire.
𝙍: I will sing to the LORD as long as I live.
You laid the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be moved.
You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
At Your rebuke they fled;
at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
The mountains rose;
the valleys sank down
to the place which You established for them.
You set a boundary that they may not pass over,
that they may not return to cover the earth.
𝙍: I will sing to the LORD as long as I live.
You send the springs into the valleys;
they flow between the hills.
They give drink to every beast of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
By them the birds of the heavens have their habitation;
they sing among the branches.
You water the mountains from Your upper chambers;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.
𝙍: I will sing to the LORD as long as I live.
You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,
and vegetation for the cultivation of man,
that he may bring forth food from the earth,
and wine that makes glad the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine,
and bread which strengthens man’s heart.
The trees of the LORD are full of sap,
the cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
where the birds make their nests;
the stork has its home in the fir trees.
The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
𝙍: I will sing to the LORD as long as I live.
He made the moon for the seasons;
the sun knows its place for setting.
You make darkness, and it is night,
in which all the beasts of the forest creep about.
The young lions roar after their prey,
and seek their food from God.
When the sun rises, they gather together
and lie down in their dens.
Man goes out to his work
and to his labor until the evening.
𝙍: I will sing to the LORD as long as I live.
O LORD, how manifold are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all.
The earth is full of Your possessions.
So is this great and wide sea,
which is full of innumerable creatures,
living things both small and great.
There the ships sail along;
and there is Leviathan, which You have made to play in it.
These all wait upon You,
that You may give them their food in due season.
You give to them;
they gather it up;
You open Your hand,
they are filled with good.
You hide Your face;
they are troubled;
You take away their breath;
they die and return to their dust.
You send forth Your Spirit;
they are created,
and You renew the face of the ground.
𝙍: I will sing to the LORD as long as I live.
May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in His works.
He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
May my meditation be sweet to Him;
I will be glad in the LORD.
May sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
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: I will sing to the LORD as long as I live.
Psalm prayer
Creator God, send your Holy Spirit to renew this living world, that the whole creation, in its groaning and striving, may know your loving purpose and come to reflect your glory; in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Micah 6
Listen to what the LORD says:
Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
that the hills may hear your voice.
Hear, mountains, the indictment of the LORD,
O enduring foundations of the earth—
that the LORD has an indictment against His people,
and against Israel He will dispute.
“My people, what have I done to you,
and how have I wearied you? Answer Me!
For I have brought you up from the land of Egypt,
and from the house of slaves I have redeemed you;
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.
O My people, remember now
what Balak king of Moab counseled,
and what Balaam son of Beor answered him,
and remember what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
so that you might know the righteous acts of the LORD.”
“With what should I come before the LORD,
and bow down before God on high?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
with calves one year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
He has told you, O man, what is good—
and what does the LORD require of you,
but to do justice and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
The voice of the LORD calls to the city—
and wisdom will fear Your name:
Heed the rod and Him who has appointed it.
Are there still in the house of the wicked
treasures of wickedness?
And the short ephah which is accursed?
Should I acquit the scales of wickedness,
and the sack of dishonest weights?
Her wealthy men are full of violence,
and her inhabitants speak deception,
and their tongue in their mouth is treachery.
Therefore, I have struck you a dreadful blow,
devastating you because of your sins.
You will eat, but not be satisfied,
with hunger within you.
You will set aside, but not retain;
and what you retain I will give over to the sword.
You will sow, but not reap;
you will tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;
you will crush grapes, but not drink wine.
You observe the statutes of Omri,
and every practice of the house of Ahab,
and you walk in their counsels.
Therefore I will give you over to destruction,
and the inhabitants to derision.
You will bear the contempt of My people.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Mark 6:30-44
The apostles met with Jesus and told him everything, both what they had done and what they had taught. Then He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest a while,” for many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
So they went into a remote place privately by boat. But the people saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot out of every city. They arrived first and came together to Him. When Jesus came out and saw many people, He was moved with compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.
When the day was now getting late, His disciples came to Him and said, “This is a remote place, and now the time is passing. Send them away into the surrounding country and villages to buy themselves bread, for they have nothing to eat.”
But He answered them, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to Him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”
He said to them, “How many loaves have you? Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”
Then He commanded them to make everyone sit down by companies on the green grass. So they sat down in ranks, by hundreds and by fifties. When He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them. And He divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments and of the fish. Those who ate of the loaves were about five thousand men.
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
Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray and to give more than either we desire or deserve: pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask but through the merits and mediation of 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. 21
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 God Our Help in Ages Past
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 102
𝙍: My help comes from the LORD.
Hear my prayer, O LORD,
and let my cry come to You.
Do not hide Your face from me
in the day of my trouble;
incline Your ear to me;
in the day when I call, answer me speedily.
𝙍: My help comes from the LORD.
For my days pass away like smoke,
and my bones burn like a furnace.
My heart is stricken and withered like grass,
so that I forget to eat my bread.
Because of the sound of my groaning
my bones cling to my skin.
I am like an owl of the wilderness;
like an owl of the desert.
I lie awake, and am
like a sparrow alone on the housetop.
My enemies reproach me all the day;
those who deride me use my name for a curse.
For I eat ashes like bread
and mingle my drink with tears,
because of Your indignation and Your wrath;
for You have lifted me up and cast me away.
My days are like an evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.
𝙍: My help comes from the LORD.
But You, O LORD, shall endure forever,
the remembrance of Your name to all generations.
You will arise and have mercy on Zion,
for it is time to favor her;
the appointed time has come.
For Your servants take pleasure in her stones,
and take pity on her dust.
So the nations will fear the name of the LORD,
and all the kings of the earth Your glory.
For the LORD will build up Zion;
He will appear in His glory.
He will regard the prayer of the destitute,
and will not despise their prayer.
𝙍: My help comes from the LORD.
Let this be recorded for the generation to come,
so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.
For He looked down from the height of His sanctuary;
from heaven the LORD beheld the earth,
to hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those who were appointed to die,
to declare the name of the LORD in Zion,
and His praise in Jerusalem,
when the peoples are gathered together,
and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
𝙍: My help comes from the LORD.
He has weakened my strength in midcourse;
He has shortened my days.
I said,
“O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days;
Your years endure throughout all generations.”
Of old You laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
They will perish, but You will endure;
indeed, they will all wear out like a garment;
like a robe You will change them,
and they will pass away.
But You are the same,
and Your years will have no end.
The children of Your servants shall continue;
and their descendants shall be established before You.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be forever. Amen.
𝙍: My help comes from the LORD.
Psalm prayer
Have pity on our frailty, O God, and in the hour of our death cast us not away as clothing that is worn, for you are our eternal refuge; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Micah 5:2-15
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
although you are small among the tribes of Judah,
from you will come forth for Me
one who will be ruler over Israel.
His origins are from of old,
from ancient times.
Therefore He will give them up,
until the time when she who is in labor has given birth,
and the rest of his brothers will return
to the Israelites.
He will stand and shepherd
in the strength of the LORD,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God;
then they will live securely, because now He will be great
until the ends of the earth;
and He will be their peace.
When Assyria enters our land
and treads through our palaces,
then we will raise up against him seven shepherds
and eight commanders of men.
They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
and the land of Nimrod at her gates;
He will rescue us from Assyria,
when he enters our land
and when he treads within our border.
Then the remnant of Jacob will be
in the midst of many peoples,
like dew from the LORD,
like showers upon the grass,
which do not wait for a man
and do not linger for the sons of men.
The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
which when it passes through, tramples and mauls,
without rescuer.
Your hand will be lifted up over your adversaries,
and all your enemies will be cut off.
And in that day, declares the LORD,
I will cut off your horses from among you,
and I will destroy your chariots.
Then I will cut off the cities of your land,
and I will overthrow your strongholds;
then I will cut off sorceries from your hand,
and you will no longer have fortune-tellers.
Then I will cut off your idols,
and your sacred stones from among you,
and you will no longer bow down
to the work of your hands;
then I will root out your Asherah idols from among you,
and I will annihilate your cities.
And in anger and wrath I will take vengeance
on the nations that have not listened.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Mark 6:14-29
King Herod heard of Him, for His name was spread publicly. He said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and therefore these miracles are at work in him.”
But others said, “He is Elijah.”
And yet others said, “He is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets.”
But when Herod heard of it, he said, “It is John, whom I beheaded. He has been raised from the dead!”
Herod had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, for he had married her. For John said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” So Herodias had a grudge against him and would have killed him, but she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.
But a convenient day came when Herod on his birthday prepared a ceremonial dinner for his lords and commanding officers and leading men of Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you desire, and I will give it to you.” And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”
She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?”
She said, “The head of John the Baptist.”
She came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter at once.”
The king was extremely sorrowful. Yet for the sake of his oath and those who sat with him, he would not reject her. So the king immediately sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. He went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. And the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse and laid it in a tomb.
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
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.