Wednesday evening October 11

Thursday evening
Tuesday evening

Preparation

Opening response

Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.
Lord, come quickly and help us.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night:
to you be praise and glory forever.
As darkness falls you renew your promise
to reveal among us the light of your presence.
By the light of Christ, your living Word,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
that we may walk as children of light
and sing your praise throughout the world.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.

That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and forever.
Amen.

Hymn

And Can It Be That I Should Gain

Charles Wesley

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior's blood?
Died he for me, who caused his pain?
For me, who him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That thou, my God, should die for me?

'Tis mystery all! The immortal dies!
Who can explore his strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love divine!
'Tis mercy all! let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more.

He left his father's throne above,
So free, so infinite his grace;
Emptied himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam's helpless race;
'Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me.

Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth and followed thee.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in him is mine!
Alive in him, my living head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

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.

The Word of God

Psalm 119:81-96

Refrain: 
Make me live again according to your faithful love.

My whole being yearns for your saving help!
    I wait for your promise.
    My eyes are worn out looking for your word.
“When will you comfort me?” I ask,
    because I’ve become like a bottle dried up by smoke,
    though I haven’t forgotten your statutes.
How much more time does your servant have?
    When will you bring my oppressors to justice?
The arrogant have dug pits for me—
    those people who act against your Instruction.
All your commandments are true,
    but people harass me for no reason.
    Help me!
They’ve almost wiped me off the face of the earth!
    Meanwhile, I haven’t abandoned your precepts!
Make me live again according to your faithful love
    so I can keep the law you’ve given!

Your word, Lord,
    stands firm in heaven forever!
Your faithfulness extends from one generation to the next!
    You set the earth firmly in place, and it is still there.
Your rules endure to this day
    because everything serves you.
If your Instruction hadn’t been my delight,
    I would have died because of my suffering.
I will never forget your precepts
    because through them you gave me life again.
I’m yours—save me
    because I’ve pursued your precepts!
The wicked wait for me,
wanting to kill me, but I’m studying your laws.
I’ve seen that everything,
    no matter how perfect, has a limit,
    but your commandment is boundless.

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.

Refrain: 
Make me live again according to your faithful love.

Psalm prayer

Lord Christ,
as we sit at your feet,
teach us your living way;
for you are our Word and Wisdom,
one God with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever.

Old Testament reading
1 Kings 22:29-45

So Israel’s king and Judah’s King Jehoshaphat attacked Ramoth-gilead. Israel’s king said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself when we go into battle, but you should wear your royal attire.” When Israel’s king had disguised himself, they entered the battle.

Meanwhile, Aram’s king had commanded his thirty-two chariot officers, “Don’t bother with anyone big or small. Fight only with Israel’s king.”

As soon as the chariot officers saw Jehoshaphat, they assumed that he must be Israel’s king, so they turned to attack him. But Jehoshaphat cried out for help. When the chariot officers realized that he wasn’t Israel’s king, they stopped chasing him. But someone randomly shot an arrow that struck Israel’s king between the joints in his armor.

“Turn around and get me out of the battle,” the king told his chariot driver. “I’ve been hit!”

While the battle raged all that day, the king stood propped up in the chariot facing the Arameans. But that evening he died after his blood had poured from his wound into the chariot. When the sun set, a shout spread throughout the camp: “Retreat to your towns! Retreat to your land!” Once the king had died, people came from Samaria and buried the king there. They cleaned the chariot at the pool of Samaria. The dogs licked up the king’s blood and the prostitutes bathed in it, just as the Lord had spoken.

The rest of Ahab’s deeds and all that he did—including the ivory palace he built and all the towns he constructed—aren’t they written in the official records of Israel’s kings? Ahab lay down with his ancestors. His son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.

Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, became king over Judah in the fourth year of Israel’s King Ahab. Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king, and he ruled for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah; she was Shilhi’s daughter. Jehoshapat walked in all the ways of his father Asa, not deviating from it. He did the right things in the Lord’s eyes, with the exception that he didn’t remove the shrines. The people continued to sacrifice and offer incense at them. Jehoshaphat made peace with Israel’s king. The rest of Jehoshaphat’s deeds, the great acts he did, and how he fought in battle, aren’t they written in the official records of Judah’s kings?

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Acts 23:12-35

The next morning some Jewish leaders formulated a plot and solemnly promised that they wouldn’t eat or drink until they had killed Paul. More than forty people were involved in the conspiracy. They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have solemnly promised to eat nothing until we have killed Paul. You and the council must explain to the commander that you need Paul brought down to you. Pretend that you want to examine his case more closely. We’re prepared to kill him before he arrives.”

Paul’s sister had a son who heard about the ambush and he came to the military headquarters and reported it to Paul. Paul called for one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander because he has something to report to him.”

He took him to the commander and said, “The prisoner Paul asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to tell you.”

The commander took him by the hand and withdrew to a place where they could speak privately. He asked, “What do you have to report to me?”

He replied, “The Jewish leaders have conspired to ask that you bring Paul down to the council tomorrow. They will pretend that they want to investigate his case more closely. Don’t fall for it! More than forty of them are waiting to ambush him. They have solemnly promised not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, awaiting your consent.”

The commander dismissed the young man, ordering him, “Don’t tell anyone that you brought this to my attention.”

The commander called two centurions and said, “Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to leave for Caesarea at nine o’clock tonight. Have horses ready for Paul to ride, so they may take him safely to Governor Felix.” He wrote the following letter:

Claudius Lysias, to the most honorable Governor Felix: Greetings. This man was seized by the Jews and was almost killed by them. I was nearby with a unit of soldiers, and I rescued him when I discovered that he was a Roman citizen. I wanted to find out why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their council. I discovered that they were accusing him about questions related to their Law. I found no charge deserving of death or imprisonment. When I was informed of a conspiracy against his life, I sent him to you at once and ordered his accusers to bring their case against him before you.

Following their orders, the soldiers took Paul during the night and brought him to Antipatris. The following day they let the horsemen continue on with Paul while they returned to the military headquarters in Jerusalem. The horsemen entered Caesarea, delivered the letter to the governor, and brought Paul before him. After he read the letter, he asked Paul about his home province. When he learned that he was from Cilicia, the governor said, “I will hear your case when your accusers arrive.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept in custody in Herod’s palace.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticle
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Refrain:
God, you have done great things and holy is your name.

With all my heart I glorify the Lord!
In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.
Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored
because the mighty one has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
He shows mercy to everyone,
from one generation to the next,
who honors him as God.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.
He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty-handed.
He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,
remembering his mercy, 
just as he promised to our ancestors, 
to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.

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.

Refrain:
God, you have done great things and holy is your name.

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,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
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,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and 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.

Prayers

Thanksgiving and intercession

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs

Prayers may include the following concerns:

The social services
All who work in the criminal justice system
Victims and perpetrators of crime
The work of aid agencies throughout the world
Those living in poverty or under oppression

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

Response

God of grace,
hear our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,
you have made us for yourself,
and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you:
pour your love into our hearts and draw us to yourself,
and so bring us at last to your heavenly city
where we shall see you face to face;
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 in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and 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.