Thursday evening December 13

Friday evening
Wednesday evening

Preparation

Opening response

Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.

Lord, come quickly and help us.

Reveal among us the light of your presence

that we may behold your power and glory.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,

creator of light and darkness,

to you be glory and praise forever.

As evening falls, you renew your promise

to reveal among us the light of your presence.

May your word be a lantern to our feet

and a light upon our path

that we may behold your coming among us.

Strengthen us in our stumbling weakness

and free our tongues to sing your praise.

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

Angels, Wherever We Go, Attend

Charles Wesley

Angels, wherever we go, attend

Our steps, whatever betide,

With watchful care their charge defend,

And evil turn aside.

Myriads of bright cherubic bands,

Sent by the King of kings,

Rejoice to bear us in their hands,

And shade us with their wings.

Jehovah's charioteers surround;

The ministerial choir

Encamp wherever his heirs are found,

And form our wall of fire.

Ten thousand offices unseen

For us they gladly do,

Deliver in the furnace keen,

And safe escort us through.

But thronging round, with busiest love

They guard the dying breast,

The lurking fiend far off remove,

And sing our souls to rest.

And when our spirits we resign,

On outstretched wings they bear,

And lodge us in the arms of divine,

And leave us ever there.

Confession of sin

When we cry out to the Lord in our distress,

he will save us from our desperate circumstances.

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 thank the Lord for his faithful love,

and his wondrous works for all people.

Let us offer thanksgiving sacrifices

and declare what God has done in songs of joy.

cf Psalm 107

The Word of God

Psalm 73

Refrain:

I have taken my refuge in you, my Lord God.

Truly God is good to Israel,

to those who are have a pure heart.

But me? My feet had almost stumbled;

my steps had nearly slipped

because I envied the arrogant;

I observed how the wicked are well off:

They suffer no pain;

their bodies are fit and strong.

They are never in trouble;

they aren’t weighed down like other people.

That’s why they wear arrogance like a necklace,

why violence covers them like clothes.

Their eyes bulge out from eating so well;

their hearts overflow with delusions.

They scoff and talk so cruel;

from their privileged positions

they plan oppression.

Their mouths dare to speak against heaven!

Their tongues roam the earth!

That’s why people keep going back to them,

keep approving what they say.

And what they say is this: “How could God possibly know!

Does the Most High know anything at all!”

Look at these wicked ones,

always relaxed, piling up the wealth!

Meanwhile, I’ve kept my heart pure for no good reason;

I’ve washed my hands to stay innocent for nothing.

I’m weighed down all day long.

I’m punished every morning.

If I said, “I will talk about all this,”

I would have been unfaithful to your children.

But when I tried to understand these things,

it just seemed like hard work

until I entered God’s sanctuary

and understood what would happen to the wicked.

You will definitely put them on a slippery path;

you will make them fall into ruin!

How quickly they are devastated,

utterly destroyed by terrors!

As quickly as a dream departs from someone waking up, my Lord,

when you are stirred up, you make them disappear.

When my heart was bitter,

when I was all cut up inside,

I was stupid and ignorant.

I acted like nothing but an animal toward you.

But I was still always with you!

You held my strong hand!

You have guided me with your advice;

later you will receive me with glory.

Do I have anyone else in heaven?

There’s nothing on earth I desire except you.

My body and my heart fail,

but God is my heart’s rock and my share forever.

Look! Those far from you die;

you annihilate all those who are unfaithful to you.

But me? It’s good for me to be near God.

I have taken my refuge in you, my Lord God,

so I can talk all about your works!

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 have taken my refuge in you, my Lord God.

Psalm prayer

Holy God,

may we find wisdom in your presence

and set our hope not on uncertain riches

but on the love that holds us to the end;

in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading
Isaiah 32

See here: A king rules to promote righteousness;

rulers govern to promote justice,

each like a shelter from the wind

and a refuge from a storm,

like streams of water in a wasteland,

like the shade of a massive cliff in a worn-out land.

Then the eyes of those who can see will no longer be blind,

the ears of those who can hear will listen,

the minds of the rash will know and comprehend,

and the tongues of those who stammer will speak fluently and plainly.

Then a fool will no longer be called honorable,

nor a villain considered respectable.

Fools speak folly;

their minds devise wickedness,

acting irreverently,

speaking falsely of the Lord,

leaving the hungry empty,

and depriving the thirsty of drink.

As for the villain, his villainies are evil.

He plans schemes to destroy the poor with lying words,

even when the needy speak justly.

But an honorable person plans honorable things

and stands up for what is honorable.

Women of leisure, stand up! Hear my voice!

Carefree daughters, listen to my word!

In a little over a year,

the carefree will shudder,

because the grape harvest will fail;

the vintage won’t arrive.

Tremble, all of you who are at ease;

shudder, all of you who are secure!

Strip yourselves, bare your skin,

and tie mourning clothes around your waist,

beating your breasts for the pleasant fields,

for the fruitful vine,

for my people’s soil

growing barbs and thorns,

for all the joyous houses

in the jubilant town.

The palace will be deserted,

the crowded city abandoned.

Stronghold and watchtower

will become empty fields forever,

suited for the pleasure of wild donkeys,

and a pasture for flocks—

until a spirit from on high

is poured out on us,

and the desert turns into farmland, and the farmland is considered a forest.

Then justice will reside in wild lands,

and righteousness will abide in farmlands.

The fruit of righteousness will be peace,

and the outcome of righteousness,

calm and security forever.

Then my people will live in a peaceful dwelling,

in secure homes, in carefree resting places.

Even if the forest falls

and the humbled city is laid low,

those who sow beside any stream will be happy,

sending out ox and donkey to graze.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Matthew 15:21-28

From there, Jesus went to the regions of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from those territories came out and shouted, “Show me mercy, Son of David. My daughter is suffering terribly from demon possession.” But he didn’t respond to her at all.

His disciples came and urged him, “Send her away; she keeps shouting out after us.”

Jesus replied, “I’ve been sent only to the lost sheep, the people of Israel.”

But she knelt before him and said, “Lord, help me.”

He replied, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and toss it to dogs.”

She said, “Yes, Lord. But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall off their masters’ table.”

Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith. It will be just as you wish.” And right then her daughter was healed.

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 church, that she may be ready for the coming of Christ

The leaders of the church

The nations, that they may be subject to the rule of God

Those who are working for justice in the world

The broken, that they may find God’s healing

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

O Lord, raise up, we pray, your power

and come among us,

and with great might succor us;

that whereas, through our sins and wickedness

we are grievously hindered

in running the race that is set before us,

your bountiful grace and mercy

may speedily help and deliver us;

through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,

to whom with you and the Holy Spirit,

be honor and glory, now and forever.

Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Awaiting his coming in glory, 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 the Lord, when he comes, find us watching and waiting.

Amen.