Friday evening October 13
Saturday evening
Thursday 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
Live Our Great God on High
Charles Wesley
Live our great God on high
Eternally adored,
Who gave his Son to die,
Our dear redeeming Lord
He from his throne and bosom gave,
A world, a sinful world to save.
Worship and praise and power
Ascribe we to the Lamb,
His bleeding wounds adore,
And kiss his precious name,
Jesus the name to sinners given,
The name that lifts us up to heaven.
That blessed Spirit praise
Who shows the atoning blood,
Applies the Savior’s grace,
And seals the sons of God;
Spirit of grace and glory too
He claims eternal praise his due.
We with our friends above,
When time and death shall end,
In ecstasies of love
A heavenly life shall spend,
Spend in the great Jehovah’s praise
An age of everlasting days.
Confession of sin
Come, Holy Spirit of God,
and search our hearts with the light of Christ.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
The first commandment is this:
‘Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord,
and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your being, with all your mind,
and with all your strength.’
The second is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’
No other commandment is greater than these.
All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.
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 love for you is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that goes away early.
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.
The Word of God
Psalm 69
Refrain:
Let heaven and earth praise God!
Save me, God,
because the waters have reached my neck!
I have sunk into deep mud.
My feet can’t touch the bottom!
I have entered deep water;
the flood has swept me up.
I am tired of crying.
My throat is hoarse.
My eyes are exhausted with waiting for my God.
More numerous than the hairs on my head
are those who hate me for no reason.
My treacherous enemies,
those who would destroy me, are countless.
Must I now give back
what I didn’t steal in the first place?
God, you know my foolishness;
my wrongdoings aren’t hidden from you.
Lord God of heavenly forces!—
don’t let those who hope in you
be put to shame because of me.
God of Israel!—
don’t let those who seek you
be disgraced because of me.
I am insulted because of you.
Shame covers my face.
I have become a stranger to my own brothers,
an immigrant to my mother’s children.
Because passion for your house has consumed me,
the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me!
I wept while I fasted—
even for that I was insulted.
When I wore funeral clothes,
people made fun of me.
Those who sit at the city gate muttered things about me;
drunkards made up rude songs.
But me? My prayer reaches you, Lord,
at just the right time.
God, in your great and faithful love,
answer me with your certain salvation!
Save me from the mud!
Don’t let me drown!
Let me be saved from those who hate me
and from these watery depths!
Don’t let me be swept away by the floodwaters!
Don’t let the abyss swallow me up!
Don’t let the pit close its mouth over me!
Answer me, Lord, for your faithful love is good!
Turn to me in your great compassion!
Don’t hide your face from me, your servant,
because I’m in deep trouble.
Answer me quickly!
Come close to me!
Redeem me!
Save me because of my enemies!
You know full well the insults I’ve received;
you know my shame and my disgrace.
All my adversaries are right there in front of you.
Insults have broken my heart.
I’m sick about it.
I hoped for sympathy,
but there wasn’t any;
I hoped for comforters,
but couldn’t find any.
They gave me poison for food.
To quench my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
Let the table before them become a trap,
their offerings a snare.
Let their eyes grow too dim to see;
make their insides tremble constantly.
Pour out your anger on them—
let your burning fury catch them.
Let their camp be devastated;
let no one dwell in their tents.
Because they go after those you’ve already struck;
they talk about the pain of those you’ve already pierced.
Pile guilt on top of their guilt!
Don’t let them come into your righteousness!
Let them be wiped out of the scroll of life!
Let them not be recorded along with the righteous!
And me? I’m afflicted.
I’m full of pain.
Let your salvation keep me safe, God!
I will praise God’s name with song;
I will magnify him with thanks
because that is more pleasing to the Lord than an ox,
more pleasing than a young bull with full horns and hooves.
Let the afflicted see it and be glad!
You who seek God—
let your hearts beat strong again
because the Lord listens to the needy
and doesn’t despise his captives.
Let heaven and earth praise God,
the oceans too, and all that moves within them!
God will most certainly save Zion
and will rebuild Judah’s cities
so that God’s servants can live there and possess it.
The offspring of God’s servants will inherit Zion,
and those who love God’s name will dwell there.
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:
Let heaven and earth praise God!
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
2 Kings 2:1-18
Now the Lord was going to take Elijah up to heaven in a windstorm, and Elijah and Elisha were leaving Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, because the Lord has sent me to Bethel.”
But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you live, I won’t leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
The group of prophets from Bethel came out to Elisha. These prophets said to Elisha, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”
Elisha said, “Yes, I know. Don’t talk about it!”
Elijah said, “Elisha, stay here, because the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”
But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you live, I won’t leave you.” So they went to Jericho.
The group of prophets from Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”
He said, “Yes, I know. Don’t talk about it!”
Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, because the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.”
But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you live, I won’t leave you.” So both of them went on together. Fifty members from the group of prophets also went along, but they stood at a distance. Both Elijah and Elisha stood beside the Jordan River. Elijah then took his coat, rolled it up, and hit the water. Then the water was divided in two! Both of them crossed over on dry ground. When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “What do you want me to do for you before I’m taken away from you?”
Elisha said, “Let me have twice your spirit.”
Elijah said, “You’ve made a difficult request. If you can see me when I’m taken from you, then it will be yours. If you don’t see me, it won’t happen.”
They were walking along, talking, when suddenly a fiery chariot and fiery horses appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went to heaven in a windstorm.
Elisha was watching, and he cried out, “Oh, my father, my father! Israel’s chariots and its riders!” When he could no longer see him, Elisha took hold of his clothes and ripped them in two.
Then Elisha picked up the coat that had fallen from Elijah. He went back and stood beside the banks of the Jordan River. He took the coat that had fallen from Elijah and hit the water. He said, “Where is the Lord, Elijah’s God?” And when he hit the water, it divided in two! Then Elisha crossed over.
The group of prophets from Jericho saw him from a distance. They said, “Elijah’s spirit has settled on Elisha!” So they came out to meet him, bowing down before him. “Look,” they told him, “there are fifty strong men among us, your servants. Please let them go and search for your master. Perhaps the Lord’s spirit has picked him up and put him down on some mountain or in some valley.”
Elisha said, “Don’t send them.” They insisted until he became embarrassed and said, “Okay, send them.” So they sent fifty men who searched for three days. But they couldn’t find Elijah. When these men returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 24:24-25:12
After several days, Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and summoned Paul. He listened to him talk about faith in Christ Jesus. When he spoke about upright behavior, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became fearful and said, “Go away for now! When I have time, I’ll send for you.” At the same time, he was hoping that Paul would offer him some money, so he often sent for him and talked with him.
When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. Since Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.
Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. The chief priests and Jewish leaders presented their case against Paul. Appealing to him, they asked as a favor from Festus that he summon Paul to Jerusalem. They were planning to ambush and kill him along the way. But Festus responded by keeping Paul in Caesarea, since he was to return there very soon himself. “Some of your leaders can come down with me,” he said. “If he’s done anything wrong, they can bring charges against him.”
He stayed with them for no more than eight or ten days, then went down to Caesarea. The following day he took his seat in the court and ordered that Paul be brought in. When he arrived, many Jews who had come down from Jerusalem surrounded him. They brought serious charges against him, but they couldn’t prove them. In his own defense, Paul said, “I’ve done nothing wrong against the Jewish Law, against the temple, or against Caesar.”
Festus, wanting to put the Jews in his debt, asked Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to stand trial before me concerning these things?”
Paul replied, “I’m standing before Caesar’s court. I ought to be tried here. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you well know. If I’m guilty and have done something that deserves death, then I won’t try to avoid death. But if there is nothing to their accusations against me, no one has the authority to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”
After Festus conferred with his advisors, he responded, “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go.”
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:
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, in your mercy
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.