Tuesday evening November 27
Wednesday evening
Monday evening
Preparation
Opening response
Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.
Lord, come quickly and help us.
All your faithful ones bless you.
They speak of the glory of your kingdom.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
our light and our salvation,
to you be glory and praise forever.
Now, as darkness is falling,
wash away our transgressions,
cleanse us by your refining fire
and make us temples of your Holy Spirit.
By the light of Christ,
dispel the darkness of our hearts
and make us ready to enter your kingdom,
where songs of praise forever sound.
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
Peace, doubting heart! My God’s I am
Charles Wesley
Peace, doubting heart! My God’s I am;
Who formed me man, forbids my fear;
The Lord hath called me by my name;
The Lord protects, forever near;
His blood for me did once atone,
And still He loves and guards his own.
When passing through the watery deep,
I ask in faith his promised aid,
The waves an awful distance keep,
And shrink from my devoted head;
Fearless, their violence I dare;
They cannot harm, for God is there!
To him mine eye of faith I turn,
And through the fire pursue my way;
The fire forgets its power to burn,
The lambent flames around me play;
I own his power, accept the sign,
And shout to prove the Savior mine.
Still nigh me, O my Savior, stand!
And guard in fierce temptation’s hour;
Hide in the hollow of thy hand,
Show forth in me thy saving power,
Still be thy arms my sure defense,
Nor earth nor hell shall pluck me thence.
Since thou hast bid me come to thee,
Good as thou art, and strong to save
I’ll walk over life’s tempestuous sea,
Upborne by the unyielding wave,
Dauntless, though rocks of pride be near,
And yawning whirlpools of despair.
When darkness intercepts the skies,
And sorrow’s waves around me roll,
When high the storms of passion rise,
And half overwhelm my sinking soul,
My soul a sudden calm shall feel,
And hear a whisper, “Peace; be still!”
Though in affliction’s furnace tried,
Unhurt on snares and death I’ll tread;
Though sin assail, and hell, thrown wide,
Pour all its flames upon my head,
Like Moses’ bush, I’ll mount the higher,
And flourish unconsumed in fire.
Confession of sin
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Silence may be kept.
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins
through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all
goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in
eternal life.
Amen.
The Word of God
Psalm 99
Refrain:
Magnify the Lord our God!
The Lord rules—
the nations shake!
He sits enthroned on the winged heavenly creatures—
the earth quakes!
The Lord is great in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
Let them thank your great and awesome name.
He is holy!
Strong king who loves justice,
you are the one who established what is fair.
You worked justice and righteousness in Jacob.
Magnify the Lord, our God!
Bow low at his footstool!
He is holy!
Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel too among those who called on his name.
They cried out to the Lord, and he himself answered them—
he spoke to them from a pillar of cloud.
They kept the laws and the rules God gave to them.
Lord our God, you answered them.
To them you were a God who forgives
but also the one who avenged their wrong deeds.
Magnify the Lord our God!
Bow low at his holy mountain
because the Lord our God is holy!
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:
Magnify the Lord our God!
Psalm prayer
Lord God, mighty king,
you love justice and establish equity;
may we love justice more than gain
and mercy more than power;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 101
Refrain:
Give thanks to the Lord because he is good,
because his faithful love lasts forever.
Oh, let me sing about faithful love and justice!
I want to sing my praises to you, Lord!
I want to study the way of integrity—
how long before it gets here?
I will walk with a heart of integrity
in my own house.
I won’t set my eyes on anything worthless.
I hate wrongdoing;
none of that will stick to me.
A corrupt heart will be far from me.
I won’t be familiar with evil.
I will destroy anyone
who secretly tells lies about a neighbor.
I can’t stomach anyone
who has proud eyes or an arrogant heart.
My eyes focus on those
who are faithful in the land,
to have them close to me.
The person who walks without blame
will work for me.
But the person who acts deceitfully
won’t stay in my house.
The person who tells lies
won’t last for long before me.
Every morning I will destroy
all those who are wicked in the land
in order to eliminate all evildoers
from the Lord’s city.
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:
Give thanks to the Lord because he is good,
because his faithful love lasts forever.
Psalm prayer
Keep us, Lord,
in purity of heart and faithfulness to your commands,
that your servants may walk before you
in the way that is perfect;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Isaiah 17
An oracle about Damascus.
Look! Damascus is finished as a city;
it will become a fallen ruin.
The villages of Aroer are abandoned forever.
They will be pastures for flocks,
which will lie down undisturbed.
Ephraim’s security will cease,
as will Damascus’ rule.
What’s left of Aram will resemble the glory of the Israelites,
says the Lord of heavenly forces.
On that day, Jacob’s glory will dwindle;
his sleek body will waste away.
It will be as when harvesters gather grain.
God will harvest armfuls at a time,
like one who gathers grain
in the Rephaim Valley.
Only remaining bits are left,
like an olive tree that has been shaken:
two or three olives on the highest branch;
four or five on a fruitful twig,
says the Lord God of Israel.
On that day, people will have regard for their maker,
and their eyes will look to the holy one of Israel.
They will have no regard for altars,
the work of their hands,
or look to what their fingers made:
sacred poles and incense stands.
On that day, their strong cities will be like those abandoned by the Hivites and the Amorites; abandoned because of the Israelites. They will be a wasteland,
because you forgot the God who saves you,
and didn’t remember the rock who shelters you.
Therefore, plant your pleasant plants,
and set out exotic sprouts;
make them grow the day you plant them,
and make them bloom the morning you start them.
But the harvest will disappear on a day of sickness and incurable pain.
Doom to the raging of many peoples;
like the thundering seas they thunder.
Doom to the roar of nations,
like the roaring of mighty waters.
Nations roar like the roaring of rushing waters.
But God will rebuke them,
and they will flee far away,
pursued like chaff by wind in the mountains,
like tumbleweeds before a storm.
In the evening, there is terror;
but before morning it is gone.
This is the fate of those who loot us,
the destiny of those who rob us.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Matthew 9:35-10:15
Jesus traveled among all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, announcing the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The size of the harvest is bigger than you can imagine, but there are few workers. Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers for his harvest.”
He called his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to throw them out and to heal every disease and every sickness. Here are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, who is called Peter; and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee; and John his brother; Philip; and Bartholomew; Thomas; and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus; and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean; and Judas, who betrayed Jesus.
Jesus sent these twelve out and commanded them, “Don’t go among the Gentiles or into a Samaritan city. Go instead to the lost sheep, the people of Israel. As you go, make this announcement: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with skin diseases, and throw out demons. You received without having to pay. Therefore, give without demanding payment. Workers deserve to be fed, so don’t gather gold or silver or copper coins for your money belts to take on your trips. Don’t take a backpack for the road or two shirts or sandals or a walking stick. Whatever city or village you go into, find somebody in it who is worthy and stay there until you go on your way. When you go into a house, say, ‘Peace!’ If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if the house isn’t worthy, take back your blessing. If anyone refuses to welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet as you leave that house or city. I assure you that it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on Judgment Day than it will be for that city.
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 saints on earth, that they may live as citizens of heaven
All people, that they may hear and believe the word of God
All who fear the winter months
All sovereigns and political leaders, that they may imitate the righteous rule of Christ
All who grieve or wait with the dying
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
Lord of life
In your mercy, hear us.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Eternal Father,
whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven
that he might rule over all things as Lord and King:
keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit
and in the bond of peace,
and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet;
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
May Christ, who has opened the kingdom of heaven, bring us to reign with him in glory.
Amen.