Saturday evening January 7

Sunday evening
Friday evening

Preparation

Opening response

Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.
Lord, come quickly and help us.

From the rising of the sun to its setting
your glory is proclaimed in all the world.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
our light and our salvation,
to you be glory and praise forever.
You gave your Christ as a light to the nations,
and through the anointing of the Spirit
you established us as a royal priesthood.
As you call us into your marvelous light,
may our lives bear witness to your truth
and our lips never cease to proclaim 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

Gracious Redeemer, Shake This Slumber

Charles Wesley
          
Gracious Redeemer, shake
This slumber from my soul!
Say to me now, "Awake, awake!
And Christ shall make thee whole."
Lay to thy mighty hand!
Alarm me in this hour,
And make me fully understand
The thunder of thy power.

Give me on thee to call,
Always to watch and pray,
Lest I into temptation fall,
And cast my shield away;
For each assault prepared
And ready may I be,
Forever standing on my guard,
And looking up to thee.

O do thou always warn
My soul of evil near!
When to the right or left I turn,
Thy voice still let me hear;
"Come back! this is the way,
Come back, and walk herein!"
O may I hearken and obey,
And shun the paths of sin!

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 118

Refrain:
The Lord is for me—I won’t be afraid. What can anyone do to me?

Give thanks to the Lord because he is good,
    because his faithful love lasts forever.
Let Israel say it:
    “God’s faithful love lasts forever!”
Let the house of Aaron say it:
    “God’s faithful love lasts forever!”
Let those who honor the Lord say it:
    “God’s faithful love lasts forever!”
In tight circumstances, I cried out to the Lord.
    The Lord answered me with wide-open spaces.
The Lord is for me—I won’t be afraid.
    What can anyone do to me?
The Lord is for me—as my helper.
    I look in victory on those who hate me.
It’s far better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust any human.
It’s far better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust any human leader.
All the nations surrounded me,
    but I cut them down in the Lord’s name.
Yes, they surrounded me on every single side,
    but I cut them down in the Lord’s name.
They surrounded me like bees,
    but they were extinguished like burning thorns.
    I cut them down in the Lord’s name!
I was pushed so hard I nearly died,
    but the Lord helped me.
The Lord was my strength and protection;
    he was my saving help!
The sounds of joyful songs and deliverance
    are heard in the tents of the righteous:
    “The Lord’s strong hand is victorious!
    The Lord’s strong hand is ready to strike!
        The Lord’s strong hand is victorious!”
I won’t die—no, I will live
    and declare what the Lord has done.
Yes, the Lord definitely disciplined me,
    but he didn’t hand me over to death.
Open the gates of righteousness for me
    so I can come in and give thanks to the Lord!
This is the Lord’s gate;
    those who are righteous enter through it.
I thank you because you answered me,
    because you were my saving help.
The stone rejected by the builders
    is now the main foundation stone!
This has happened because of the Lord;
    it is astounding in our sight!
This is the day the Lord acted;
    we will rejoice and celebrate in it!
Lord, please save us!
    Lord, please let us succeed!
The one who enters in the Lord’s name is blessed;
    we bless all of you from the Lord’s house.
The Lord is God!
    He has shined a light on us!
So lead the festival offering with ropes
    all the way to the horns of the altar.[d]
You are my God—I will give thanks to you!
    You are my God—I will lift you up high!
Give thanks to the Lord because he is good,
    because his faithful love lasts 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:
The Lord is for me—I won’t be afraid. What can anyone do to me?

Psalm prayer

Saving God,
open the gates of righteousness,
that your pilgrim people may enter
and be built into a living temple
on the cornerstone of our salvation,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading
Isaiah 61

The Lord God’s spirit is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me
    to bring good news to the poor,
    to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim release for captives,
        and liberation for prisoners,
    to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
        and a day of vindication for our God,
    to comfort all who mourn,
    to provide for Zion’s mourners,
    to give them a crown in place of ashes,
    oil of joy in place of mourning,
    a mantle of praise in place of discouragement.
They will be called Oaks of Righteousness,
    planted by the Lord to glorify himself.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins;
    they will restore formerly deserted places;
    they will renew ruined cities,
    places deserted in generations past.

Foreigners will stay and shepherd your sheep,
    and strangers will be your farmers and vinedressers.
You will be called The Priests of the Lord;
    Ministers of Our God, they will say about you.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
    and fatten yourself on their riches.
Instead of shame, their portion will be double;
    instead of disgrace, they will rejoice over their share.
They will possess a double portion in their land;
    everlasting joy will be theirs.
I, the Lord, love justice;
    I hate robbery and dishonesty.
I will faithfully give them their wage,
    and make with them an enduring covenant.
Their offspring will be known among the nations,
    and their descendants among the peoples.
All who see them will recognize
    that they are a people blessed by the Lord.

I surely rejoice in the Lord;
    my heart is joyful because of my God,
    because he has clothed me with clothes of victory,
    wrapped me in a robe of righteousness
    like a bridegroom in a priestly crown,
    and like a bride adorned in jewelry.
As the earth puts out its growth,
    and as a garden grows its seeds,
    so the Lord God will grow righteousness and praise before all the nations.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7

The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. It educates us so that we can live sensible, ethical, and godly lives right now by rejecting ungodly lives and the desires of this world. At the same time we wait for the blessed hope and the glorious appearance of our great God and savior Jesus Christ. He gave himself for us in order to rescue us from every kind of lawless behavior, and cleanse a special people for himself who are eager to do good actions.

But “when God our savior’s kindness and love appeared, he saved us because of his mercy, not because of righteous things we had done. He did it through the washing of new birth and the renewing by the Holy Spirit, which God poured out upon us generously through Jesus Christ our savior. So, since we have been made righteous by his grace, we can inherit the hope for eternal life.”

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

Prayers may include the following concerns:

The unity of the church
The peace of the world
The healing of the sick
The revelation of Christ to those from whom his glory is hidden
All who travel

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

Response

Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Eternal Father,
who at the baptism of Jesus
revealed him to be your Son,
anointing him with the Holy Spirit:
grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit,
that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children;
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

Believing the promises of God, 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 sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit.
Amen.