Friday evening November 16

Saturday evening
Thursday 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

Author of Faith, Eternal Word

Charles Wesley

Author of faith, eternal Word,

Whose Spirit breathes the active flame;

Faith, like its finisher and Lord,

Today, as yesterday, the same.

To thee our humble hearts aspire,

And ask the gift unspeakable;

Increase in us the kindled fire,

In us the work of faith fulfill.

By faith we know thee strong to save;

Save us, a present Savior thou!

Whatever we hope, by faith we have

Future and past subsisting now.

To him that in thy name believes

Eternal life with thee is given;

Into himself he all receives,

Pardon and holiness and heaven.

The things unknown to feeble sense,

Unseen by reason’s glimmering ray,

With strong, commanding evidence

Their heavenly origin display.

Faith lends its realizing light,

The clouds disperse, the shadows fly;

The invisible appears in sight,

And God is seen by mortal eye.

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 31

Refrain:

I entrust my spirit into your hands.

I take refuge in you, Lord.

Please never let me be put to shame.

Rescue me by your righteousness!

Listen closely to me!

Deliver me quickly;

be a rock that protects me;

be a strong fortress that saves me!

You are definitely my rock and my fortress.

Guide me and lead me for the sake of your good name!

Get me out of this net that’s been set for me

because you are my protective fortress.

I entrust my spirit into your hands;

you, Lord, God of faithfulness—

you have saved me.

I hate those who embrace what is completely worthless.

I myself trust the Lord.

I rejoice and celebrate in your faithful love

because you saw my suffering—

you were intimately acquainted with my deep distress.

You didn’t hand me over to the enemy,

but set my feet in wide-open spaces.

Have mercy on me, Lord, because I’m depressed.

My vision fails because of my grief,

as do my spirit and my body.

My life is consumed with sadness;

my years are consumed with groaning.

Strength fails me because of my suffering;

my bones dry up.

I’m a joke to all my enemies,

still worse to my neighbors.

I scare my friends,

and whoever sees me in the street runs away!

I am forgotten, like I’m dead,

completely out of mind;

I am like a piece of pottery, destroyed.

Yes, I’ve heard all the gossiping,

terror all around;

so many gang up together against me,

they plan to take my life!

But me? I trust you, Lord!

I affirm, “You are my God.”

My future is in your hands.

Don’t hand me over to my enemies,

to all who are out to get me!

Shine your face on your servant;

save me by your faithful love!

Lord, don’t let me be put to shame

because I have cried out to you.

Let the wicked be put to shame;

let them be silenced in death’s domain!

Let their lying lips be shut up

whenever they speak arrogantly

against the righteous with pride and contempt!

How great is the goodness

that you’ve reserved for those who honor you,

that you commit to those who take refuge in you—

in the sight of everyone!

You hide them in the shelter of your wings,

safe from human scheming.

You conceal them in a shelter,

safe from accusing tongues.

Bless the Lord,

because he has wondrously revealed

his faithful love to me

when I was like a city under siege!

When I was panicked, I said,

“I’m cut off from your eyes!”

But you heard my request for mercy

when I cried out to you for help.

All you who are faithful, love the Lord!

The Lord protects those who are loyal,

but he pays the proud back to the fullest degree.

All you who wait for the Lord,

be strong and let your heart take courage.

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 entrust my spirit into your hands.

Psalm prayer

Lord Jesus Christ,

when scorn and shame besiege us

and hope is veiled in grief,

hold us in your wounded hands

and make your face shine on us again,

for you are our Lord and God.

Old Testament reading
Isaiah 8:1-15

The Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet, and write on it in ordinary letters, For Maher-shalal-hash-baz. Summon trusted people, Uriah the priest and Zechariah, Jeberechiah’s son, to witness it.”

I then had sex with the prophetess, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz. Before the boy knows how to say ‘my father’ and ‘my mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

The Lord spoke again to me: Since this people has rejected the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and instead rejoices over Rezin and Remaliah’s son— therefore, look, the Lord is raising up against them the powerful floodwaters of the Euphrates, the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will rise up over all its channels, overflowing all its banks, and sweep into Judah, flooding, overflowing, and reaching up to the neck. But God is with us; the span of his wings will cover the width of the land.

Unite yourselves, peoples, and be shattered!

Listen, all distant places of the earth!

Prepare to be shattered!

Prepare to be shattered!

Create a plan, but be frustrated!

Speak a word, but it won’t stand, for God is with us.

The Lord spoke to me, taking hold of me and warning me not to walk in the way of this people: Don’t call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy. Don’t fear what they fear, and don’t be terrified. It is the Lord of heavenly forces whom you should hold sacred, whom you should fear, and whom you should hold in awe.

God will become a sanctuary—

but he will be a stone to trip over and a rock to stumble on for the two houses of Israel;

a trap and a snare for those living in Jerusalem.

Many of them will stumble and fall,

and be broken, snared, and captured.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Matthew 6:1-18

“Be careful that you don’t practice your religion in front of people to draw their attention. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

“Whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow your trumpet as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may get praise from people. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that you may give to the poor in secret. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.

“When you pray, don’t be like hypocrites. They love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners so that people will see them. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. But when you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.

“When you pray, don’t pour out a flood of empty words, as the Gentiles do. They think that by saying many words they’ll be heard. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask. Pray like this:

Our Father who is in heaven,

uphold the holiness of your name.

Bring in your kingdom

so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven.

Give us the bread we need for today.

Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you,

just as we also forgive those who have wronged us.

And don’t lead us into temptation,

but rescue us from the evil one.

“If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your sins.

“And when you fast, don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They distort their faces so people will know they are fasting. I assure you that they have their reward. When you fast, brush your hair and wash your face. Then you won’t look like you are fasting to people, but only to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

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, in your mercy

hear our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty Father,

whose will is to restore all things

in your beloved Son, the King of all:

govern the hearts and minds of those in authority,

and bring the families of the nations,

divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin,

to be subject to his just and gentle rule;

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.