Wednesday evening June 7

Thursday evening
Tuesday evening

Preparation

Opening response

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

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God, creator of day and night:
to you be praise and glory forever.
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.
 
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

Father, Son, and Spirit Hear

Charles Wesley

Father, Son, and Spirit, hear
Faith's effectual fervent prayer;
Hear, and our petitions seal,
Let us now the answer feel.
 
Still our fellowship increase,
Knit us in the bond of peace;
Join our newborn spirits, join
Each to each, and all to thine.
 
Build us in one body up,
Called in one high calling's hope:
One the Spirit whom we claim,
One the pure baptismal flame.
 
One the faith, and common Lord,
One the Father lives adored,
Over, through, and in us all,
God incomprehensible.
 
One with God, the source of bliss,
Ground of our communion this:
Life of all that live below,
Let thine emanations flow!
 
Rise eternal in our heart:
Thou our long-sought Eden art;
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Be to us what Adam lost!

Confession of sin

Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.
 
A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.
 
Almighty God,
patient and of great goodness:
I confess to you,
I confess with my whole heart
my neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments,
my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking;
the hurts I have done to others,
and the good I have left undone.
O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you;
and raise me to newness of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen.

 
May the God of love and power
forgive us and free us from our sins,
heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,
and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Word of God

Psalm 136

Refrain: 
Give thanks to the God of heaven.
 
Give thanks to the Lord because he is good.
    God’s faithful love lasts forever!
Give thanks to the God of all gods—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of all lords—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever.
Give thanks to the only one
who makes great wonders—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever.
Give thanks to the one who made the skies with skill—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever.
Give thanks to the one who shaped the earth on the water—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever.
Give thanks to the one who made the great lights—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever.
The sun to rule the day—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever.
The moon and the stars to rule the night—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever!
Give thanks to the one who struck down the Egyptians’ oldest offspring—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever.
Give thanks to the one who brought Israel out of there—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever.
With a strong hand and outstretched arm—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever!
Give thanks to the one who split the Reed Sea in two—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever.
Give thanks to the one who brought Israel through—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever.
And tossed Pharaoh and his army into the Reed Sea—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever!
Give thanks to the one who led his people through the desert—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever.
Give thanks to the one who struck down great kings—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever.
And killed powerful kings—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever.
Sihon, the Amorite king—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever.
Og, king of Bashan—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever.
Handing their land over as an inheritance—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever.
As an inheritance to Israel, his servant—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever!
God remembered us when we were humiliated—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever.
God rescued us from our enemies—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever.
God is the one who provides food for all living things—
    God’s faithful love lasts forever!
Give thanks to the God of heaven—
        God’s 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: 
Give thanks to the God of heaven.

Psalm prayer

Remember us, God, and shape our history,
form our inward eyes
to see the shadow of the life-giving cross
in the turbulence of our time;
for his sake who died for all,
Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading
Joshua 3

Joshua took down the camp early in the morning. He and all the Israelites marched out of Shittim and came to the Jordan, where they stayed overnight before crossing. At the end of three days the officers went through the middle of the camp. They commanded the people, “As soon as you see the Lord your God’s chest containing the covenant and the levitical priests carrying it, you are to march out from your places and follow it. But let there be some distance between you and it, about three thousand feet. Don’t come near it! You will know the way you should go, even though you’ve never traveled this way before.”
 
Joshua said to the people, “Make yourselves holy! Tomorrow the Lord will do wonderful things among you.” Then Joshua said to the priests, “Lift up the covenant chest. Go along in front of the people.” So they lifted up the covenant chest and went in front of the people.
 
The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to make you great in the opinion of all Israel. Then they will know that I will be with you in the same way that I was with Moses. You are to command the priests who carry the covenant chest, ‘As soon as you come to the bank of the Jordan, stand still in the Jordan.’”
 
Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come close. Listen to the words of the Lord your God.” Then Joshua said, “This is how you will know that the living God is among you and will completely remove the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites before you. Look! The covenant chest of the ruler of the entire earth is going to cross over in front of you in the Jordan. Now pick twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one per tribe. The soles of the priests’ feet, who are carrying the chest of the Lord, ruler of the whole earth, will come to rest in the water of the Jordan. At that moment, the water of the Jordan will be cut off. The water flowing downstream will stand still in a single heap.”
 
The people marched out from their tents to cross over the Jordan. The priests carrying the covenant chest were in front of the people. When the priests who were carrying the chest came to the Jordan, their feet touched the edge of the water. The Jordan had overflowed its banks completely, the way it does during the entire harvest season. But at that moment the water of the Jordan coming downstream stood still. It rose up as a single heap very far off, just below Adam, which is the city next to Zarethan. The water going down to the desert sea (that is, the Dead Sea) was cut off completely. The people crossed opposite Jericho. So the priests carrying the Lord’s covenant chest stood firmly on dry land in the middle of the Jordan. Meanwhile, all Israel crossed over on dry land, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.
 
Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Luke 9:37-50

The next day, when Jesus, Peter, John, and James had come down from the mountain, a large crowd met Jesus. A man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to take a look at my son, my only child. Look, a spirit seizes him and, without any warning, he screams. It shakes him and causes him to foam at the mouth. It tortures him and rarely leaves him alone. I begged your disciples to throw it out, but they couldn’t.”
 
Jesus answered, “You faithless and crooked generation, how long will I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” While he was coming, the demon threw him down and shook him violently. Jesus spoke harshly to the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father. Everyone was overwhelmed by God’s greatness.
 
While everyone was marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, “Take these words to heart: the Human One is about to be delivered into human hands.” They didn’t understand this statement. Its meaning was hidden from them so they couldn’t grasp it. And they were afraid to ask him about it.
 
An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Aware of their deepest thoughts, Jesus took a little child and had the child stand beside him. Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me. Whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever is least among you all is the greatest.”
 
John replied, “Master, we saw someone throwing demons out in your name, and we tried to stop him because he isn’t in our group of followers.”
 
But Jesus replied, “Don’t stop him, because whoever isn’t against you is for 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 social services
All who work in the criminal justice system
Victims and perpetrators of crime
The work of aid agencies throughout the world
Those living in poverty or under oppression
 
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads. 

Response

God of grace,
hear our prayer.
 
Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

O Lord, from whom all good things come:
grant to us your humble servants,
that by your holy inspiration
we may think those things that are good,
and by your merciful guiding may perform the same;
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
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.