Wednesday evening August 17
Thursday evening
Tuesday evening
Preparation
Opening response
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night:
to you be praise and glory for ever.
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.
Hymn
With Glorious Clouds Encompassed Round
Charles Wesley
With glorious clouds encompassed round,
Whom angels dimly see,
Will the Unsearchable be found,
Or God appear to me?
Will he forsake his throne above,
Himself to worms impart?
Answer, thou Man of grief and love,
And speak it to my heart.
Didst thou not in our flesh appear,
And live and die below,
That I may now perceive thee near,
And my redeemer know?
Come, then, and to my soul reveal
The heights and depths of grace,
Those wounds which all my sorrows heal,
Which all my sins efface.
Then shall I see in his own light,
Whom angels dimly see:
And gaze, transported at the sight,
To all eternity.
Confession of sin
Seek the Lord when he can still be found;
call him while he is yet near.
Let the wicked abandon their ways
and the sinful their schemes.
Let them return to the Lord so that he may have mercy on them,
to our God, because he is generous with forgiveness.
cf Isaiah 55
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
Lord God,
we have sinned against you;
we have committed evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your faithful love.
Wash us completely clean of our guilt; purify us from our sin.
Put a new, faithful spirit deep inside us,
and return the joy of your salvation to us
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
cf Psalm 51
May the Father of all mercies
cleanse us from our sins,
and restore us in his image
to the praise and glory of his name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Bless the Lord,
because he has listened to our request for mercy.
Therefore our hearts will rejoice
and we will thank him with our song.
cf Psalm 28:7,9
The Word of God
Psalm 119:129-152
Refrain:
Access to your words gives light.
Your laws are wonderful!
That’s why I guard them.
Access to your words gives light,
giving simple folk understanding.
I open my mouth up wide, panting,
because I long for your commandments.
Come back to me and have mercy on me;
that’s only right for those who love your name.
Keep my steps steady by your word;
don’t let any sin rule me.
Redeem me from the people who oppress me
so I can keep your precepts.
Shine your face on your servant,
and teach me your statutes.
Rivers of tears stream from my eyes
because your Instruction isn’t being kept.
Lord, you are righteous,
and your rules are right.
The laws you commanded are righteous,
completely trustworthy.
Anger consumes me
because my enemies have forgotten what you’ve said.
Your word has been tried and tested;
your servant loves your word!
I’m insignificant and unpopular,
but I don’t forget your precepts.
Your righteousness lasts forever!
Your Instruction is true!
Stress and strain have caught up with me,
but your commandments are my joy!
Your laws are righteous forever.
Help me understand so I can live!
I cry out with all my heart:
“Lord, answer me so I can guard your statutes!”
I cry out to you, “Save me
so I can keep your laws!”
I meet the predawn light and cry for help.
I wait for your promise.
My eyes encounter each hour of the night
as I think about your word.
Listen to my voice, according to your faithful love.
Lord, make me live again, according to your justice.
The people who love to plot wicked schemes are nearby,
but they are so far from your Instruction!
But you, Lord, are nearby too,
and all your commandments are true.
Long ago I learned from your laws
that you had established them forever.
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:
Access to your words gives light.
Psalm prayer
Lord, you are just
and your commandments are eternal;
teach us to love you with all our heart
and our neighbour as ourselves,
for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Proverbs 18:10-24
The Lord’s name is a strong tower;
the righteous run to it and find refuge.
The riches of the wealthy are a strong city
and like a high wall in their imagination.
Pride comes before a disaster,
but humility comes before respect.
Those who answer before they listen
are foolish and disgraceful.
The human spirit sustains a sick person,
but who can bear a broken spirit?
An understanding mind gains knowledge;
the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
A gift opens the way
for access to important people.
The first person to testify seems innocent,
until the other comes and cross-examines him.
The dice settle conflicts
and keep strong opponents apart.
An offended ally is more formidable than a city;
such quarreling is like the bars of a castle.
The stomach is satisfied
by the fruit of the mouth;
one’s lips can earn a satisfying income.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue;
those who love it will eat its fruit.
He who finds a wife finds what is good,
gaining favor from the Lord.
The poor plead for help,
but the wealthy answer harshly.
There are persons for companionship,
but then there are friends who are more loyal than family.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Mark 7:14-23
Then Jesus called the crowd again and said, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing outside of a person can enter and contaminate a person in God’s sight; rather, the things that come out of a person contaminate the person.”
After leaving the crowd, he entered a house where his disciples asked him about that riddle. He said to them, “Don’t you understand either? Don’t you know that nothing from the outside that enters a person has the power to contaminate? That’s because it doesn’t enter into the heart but into the stomach, and it goes out into the sewer.” By saying this, Jesus declared that no food could contaminate a person in God’s sight. “It’s what comes out of a person that contaminates someone in God’s sight,” he said. “It’s from the inside, from the human heart, that evil thoughts come: sexual sins, thefts, murders, adultery, greed, evil actions, deceit, unrestrained immorality, envy, insults, arrogance, and foolishness. All these evil things come from the inside and contaminate a person in God’s sight.”
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
Response
Father, hear our prayer,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
Almighty and everlasting God,
you are always more ready to hear than we to pray
and to give more than either we desire or deserve:
pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid
and giving us those good things
which we are not worthy to ask
but through the merits and mediation
of 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.