Sunday evening October 28

Monday evening
Saturday 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


Come, Holy Ghost, All Quickening Fire


Charles Wesley

Come, Holy Ghost, all quickening fire!

My consecrated heart inspire,

Sprinkled with the atoning blood;

Still to my soul thyself reveal,

Thy mighty working may I feel,

And know that I am one with God.


Thy witness with my spirit bear,

That God, my God, inhabits there;

Thou, with the Father, and the Son,

Eternal light’s coeval beam;

Be Christ in me, and I in him,

Till perfect we are made in one.


Let earth no more my heart divide,

With Christ may I be crucified,

To thee with my whole soul aspire;

Dead to the world and all its toys,

Its idle pomp, and fading joys,

Be thou alone my one desire!


My will be swallowed up in thee;

Light in thy light still may I see,

Beholding thee with open face;

Called the full power of faith to prove,

Let all my hallowed heart be love,

And all my spotless life be praise.


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 119:1-16


Refrain:

I keep your word close, in my heart, so that I won’t sin against you.


Those whose way is blameless—

who walk in the Lord’s Instruction—are truly happy!

Those who guard God’s laws are truly happy!

They seek God with all their hearts.

They don’t even do anything wrong!

They walk in God’s ways.

God, you have ordered that your decrees

should be kept most carefully.

How I wish my ways were strong

when it comes to keeping your statutes!

Then I wouldn’t be ashamed

when I examine all your commandments.

I will give thanks to you with a heart that does right

as I learn your righteous rules.

I will keep your statutes.

Please don’t leave me all alone!

How can young people keep their paths pure?

By guarding them according to what you’ve said.

I have sought you with all my heart.

Don’t let me stray from any of your commandments!

I keep your word close, in my heart,

so that I won’t sin against you.

You, Lord, are to be blessed!

Teach me your statutes.

I will declare out loud

all the rules you have spoken.

I rejoice in the content of your laws

as if I were rejoicing over great wealth.

I will think about your precepts

and examine all your paths.

I will delight in your statutes;

I will not forget what you have said.


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:

I keep your word close, in my heart, so that I won’t sin against you.


Psalm prayer


Faithful God,

let your word be the treasure of our hearts,

that we may delight in your truth

and walk in the glorious liberty of your Son Jesus Christ.


Old Testament reading
Jeremiah 3:11-18


Then the Lord said to me: Unfaithful Israel is less guilty than disloyal Judah.

Go proclaim these words to the north and say:

Return, unfaithful Israel,

declares the Lord.

I won’t reject you,

for I’m faithful,

declares the Lord;

I won’t stay angry forever.

Only acknowledge your wrongdoing:

how you have rebelled against the Lord your God,

and given yourself to strangers

under every lush tree

and haven’t obeyed me,

declares the Lord.

Return, rebellious children,

declares the Lord,

for I’m your husband.

I’ll gather you—

one from a city and two from a tribe—

and bring you back to Zion.

I will appoint shepherds with whom I’m pleased, and they will lead you with knowledge and understanding. And in those days, when your numbers have greatly increased in the land, declares the Lord, people will no longer talk about the Lord’s covenant chest; they won’t recall or remember it; they won’t even miss it or try to build another one. At that time, they will call Jerusalem the Lord’s throne, and all nations will gather there to honor the Lord’s name. No longer will they follow their own willful and evil hearts. In those days the people of Judah and Israel will leave the north together for the land that I gave their ancestors as an inheritance.


Silence may be kept.


New Testament reading
Jude 1-4,17-25


Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and brother of James.

To those who are called, loved by God the Father and kept safe by Jesus Christ.

May you have more and more mercy, peace, and love.

Dear friends, I wanted very much to write to you concerning the salvation we share. Instead, I must write to urge you to fight for the faith delivered once and for all to God’s holy people. Godless people have slipped in among you. They turn the grace of our God into unrestrained immorality and deny our only master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Judgment was passed against them a long time ago.

But you, dear friends, remember the words spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the end time scoffers will come living according to their own ungodly desires.” These people create divisions. Since they don’t have the Spirit, they are worldly.

But you, dear friends: build each other up on the foundation of your most holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, keep each other in the love of God, wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will give you eternal life. Have mercy on those who doubt. Save some by snatching them from the fire. Fearing God, have mercy on some, hating even the clothing contaminated by their sinful urges.

To the one who is able to protect you from falling,

and to present you blameless and rejoicing before his glorious presence,

to the only God our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord,

belong glory, majesty, power, and authority,

before all time, now and forever. Amen.


Silence may be kept.


Gospel canticle
The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)


Refrain:

You show mercy to everyone, from one generation to the next, who honors you as God.


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:

You show mercy to everyone, from one generation to the next, who honors you as God.


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 universal church

Bishops, superintendents and all who lead the church

The leaders of the nations

The natural world and the resources of the earth

All who are in any kind of need


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


Response


Loving God, we look to you.

Receive our prayer.


Silence may be kept.


Collect of the day


Grant, we beseech you, merciful Lord,

to your faithful people pardon and peace,

that they may be cleansed from all their sins

and serve you with a quiet mind;

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.