Wednesday evening July 3

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

Partners of a glorious hope

Charles Wesley
           
Partners of a glorious hope,
Lift your hearts and voices up!
Nobly let us bear the strife,
Keep the holiness, of life;

Still forget the things behind,
Follow Christ in heart and mind,
To the mark unwearied press,
Seize the crown of righteousness.

Jesus, fill us with thy love,
Never from our souls remove,
Heart to heart unite and bless,
Keep us in thy perfect peace!

In our lives our faith be known,
Faith by holy actions shown;
Faith that mountains can remove,
Faith that always works by love.

Confession of sin

The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
very patient, and full of faithful love.
He doesn’t deal with us according to our sin
or repay us according to our wrongdoing.
Because as high as heaven is above the earth,
that’s how large God’s faithful love is for those who honor him.

Silence is kept for reflection.

Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.

As far as east is from west—
that’s how far God has removed our sin from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,
that’s how the Lord feels compassion for those who honor him.

Let my whole being bless the Lord.
Let everything inside me bless his holy name.

Let my whole being bless the Lord,
and never forget all his good deeds.

The Word of God

Psalm 59

Refrain:
You, O God, are my strong tower.

Oh, my God, deliver me from my enemies;
    put me out of reach from those who rise up against me.
Deliver me from evildoers;
    save me from the bloodthirsty.
Look at how they lie in ambush for my life!
    Powerful people are attacking me, Lord—
        but not because of any error or sin of mine.
    They run and take their stand—
        but not because of any fault of mine.
Get up when I cry out to you!
    Look at what’s happening!
You are the Lord God of heavenly forces,
    the God of Israel!
Wake up and punish all the nations!
    Grant no mercy to any wicked traitor! 
They come back every evening,
    growling like dogs,
    prowling around the city.
See what they belch out with their mouths:
    swords are between their lips!
        Who can listen to them?
But you, Lord, laugh at them.
    You mock all the nations.
I keep looking for you, my strength,
    because God is my stronghold.
My loving God will come to meet me.
    God will allow me to look down on my enemies.
Don’t kill them, or my people might forget;
    instead, by your power
    shake them up and bring them down,
        you who are our shield and my Lord.
For the sin of their mouths,
    the words that they speak,
    let them be captured in their pride.
For the curses and lies they repeat,
        finish them off in anger;
        finish them off until they are gone!
Then let it be known to the ends of the earth
    that God rules over Jacob. 
They come back every evening,
    growling like dogs,
    prowling around the city.
They roam about for food,
    and if they don’t get their fill,
    they stay all night.
But me? I will sing of your strength!
    In the morning I will shout out loud
    about your faithful love
        because you have been my stronghold,
        my shelter when I was distraught.
I will sing praises to you, my strength,
    because God is my stronghold,
    my loving God.

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, O God, are my strong tower.

Psalm prayer

Strong and merciful God,
stand with the oppressed
against the triumph of evil
and the complacency of your people,
and establish in Jesus Christ
your new order of generosity and joy,
for he is alive and reigns now and forever.

Psalm 60

Refrain:
Lord, give us help against the enemy.

God, you have rejected us—
        shattered us.
    You’ve been so angry.
        Now restore us!
You’ve made the ground quake,
        splitting it open.
    Now repair its cracks
        because it’s shaking apart!
You’ve made your people suffer hardship;
    you’ve given us wine and we stagger.
Give a flag to those who honor you,
    so they can rally around it,
    safe from attack. 
Save us by your power and answer us
    so that the people you love might be rescued.
God has spoken in his sanctuary:
    “I will celebrate as I divide up Shechem
        and portion out the Succoth Valley.
    Gilead is mine;
    Manasseh is mine;
    Ephraim is my helmet;
    Judah is my scepter.
    But Moab is my washbowl;
    I’ll throw my shoe at Edom.
    I shout in triumph over Philistia!
    I wish someone would bring me to a fortified city!
    I wish someone would lead me to Edom!”
But you have rejected us, God, haven’t you?
    God, you no longer accompany our armies.
Give us help against the enemy;
    human help is worthless.
With God we will triumph;
    he’s the one who will trample our adversaries.

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:
Lord, give us help against the enemy.

Psalm prayer

Risen Christ,
you claim your own among the nations;
mend what is broken in us, loving Savior;
do not forsake us when we fail,
but in your service grant us daring and love;
for your name’s sake.

Psalm 67

Refrain:
God blesses us—our God blesses us!

Let God grant us grace and bless us;
    let God make his face shine on us, 
    so that your way becomes known on earth,
    so that your salvation becomes known among all the nations.
Let the people thank you, God!
    Let all the people thank you!
    Let the people celebrate
        and shout with joy
        because you judge the nations fairly
        and guide all nations on the earth. 
    Let the people thank you, God!
    Let all the people thank you!
The earth has yielded its harvest.
    God blesses us—our God blesses us!
Let God continue to bless us;
    let the far ends of the earth honor him.

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 blesses us—our God blesses us!

Psalm prayer

In the face of Jesus Christ
your light and glory have blazed forth,
O God of all the nations;
with all your people,
may we make known your grace
and walk in the ways of peace;
for your name’s sake.

Old Testament reading
Judges 5

At that time, Deborah and Barak, Abinoam’s son, sang:

When hair is long in Israel,
    when people willingly offer themselves—bless the Lord!
Hear, kings!
    Listen, rulers!
I, to the Lord,
    I will sing.
I will make music to the Lord,
    Israel’s God.
Lord, when you set out from Seir,
    when you marched out from Edom’s fields, the land shook,
    the sky poured down,
    the clouds poured down water.
The mountains quaked
    before the Lord, the one from Sinai,
    before the Lord, the God of Israel.
In the days of Shamgar, Anath’s son,
    in the days of Jael, caravans ceased.
Those traveling by road
    kept to the backroads.
Villagers disappeared;
    they disappeared in Israel,
        until you, Deborah, arose,
        until you arose as a mother in Israel.
When they chose new gods,
    then war came to the city gates.
Yet there wasn’t a shield or spear to be seen
    among forty thousand in Israel!
My heart is with Israel’s commanders,
    who willingly offered themselves among the people—bless the Lord!
You who ride white donkeys,
    who sit on saddle blankets,
    who walk along the road: tell of it.
To the sound of instruments at the watering places,
    there they repeat the Lord’s victories,
        his villagers’ victories in Israel.
Then the Lord’s people marched down to the city gates.
    “Wake up, wake up, Deborah!
    Wake up, wake up, sing a song!
Arise, Barak!
    Capture your prisoners,
        Abinoam’s son!”
Then those who remained marched down against royalty;
    the Lord’s people marched down against warriors.
From Ephraim they set out into the valley,
    after you, Benjamin, with your people!
From Machir commanders marched down,
    and from Zebulun those carrying the official’s staff.
The leaders of Issachar came along with Deborah;
    Issachar was attached to Barak,
    and was sent into the valley behind him.
Among the clans of Reuben
    there was deep soul-searching.
“Why did you stay back among the sheep pens,
    listening to the music for the flocks?”
For the clans of Reuben
    there was deep soul-searching.
Gilead stayed on the other side of the Jordan,
    and Dan, why did he remain with the ships?
Asher stayed by the seacoast,
    camping at his harbors.
Zebulun is a people that readily risked death;
    Naphtali too in the high countryside.
Kings came and made war;
    the kings of Canaan fought
        at Taanach by Megiddo’s waters,
        but they captured no spoils of silver.
The stars fought from the sky;
    from their orbits they fought against Sisera.
The Kishon River swept them away;
    the advancing river, the Kishon River.
    March on, my life, with might!
Then the horses’ hooves pounded
    with the galloping, galloping of their stallions.
“Curse Meroz,” says the Lord’s messenger,
    “curse its inhabitants bitterly,
    because they didn’t come to the Lord’s aid,
    to the Lord’s aid against the warriors.”
May Jael be blessed above all women;
    may the wife of Heber the Kenite
    be blessed above all tent-dwelling women.
He asked for water, and she provided milk;
    she presented him cream in a majestic bowl.
She reached out her hand for the stake,
    her strong hand for the worker’s hammer.
She struck Sisera;
    she crushed his head;
    she shattered and pierced his skull.
At her feet he sank, fell, and lay flat;
    at her feet he sank, he fell;
    where he sank, there he fell—dead.
Through the window she watched,
    Sisera’s mother looked longingly through the lattice.
“Why is his chariot taking so long to come?
    Why are the hoofbeats of his chariot horses delayed?”
Her wisest attendants answer;
    indeed, she replies to herself:
“Wouldn’t they be finding and dividing the loot?
    A girl or two for each warrior;
    loot of colored cloths for Sisera;
    loot of colored, embroidered cloths;
    two colored, embroidered cloths
    as loot for every neck.”
May all your enemies perish like this, Lord!
    But may your allies be like the sun, rising in its strength.
And the land was peaceful for forty years.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Luke 13:22-35

Jesus traveled through cities and villages, teaching and making his way to Jerusalem.  Someone said to him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?”

Jesus said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow gate. Many, I tell you, will try to enter and won’t be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and shuts the door, then you will stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you are from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ He will respond, ‘I don’t know you or where you are from. Go away from me, all you evildoers!’ There will be weeping and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in God’s kingdom, but you yourselves will be thrown out. People will come from east and west, north and south, and sit down to eat in God’s kingdom. Look! Those who are last will be first and those who are first will be last.”

At that time, some Pharisees approached Jesus and said, “Go! Get away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.”

Jesus said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Look, I’m throwing out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work. However, it’s necessary for me to travel today, tomorrow, and the next day because it’s impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who were sent to you! How often I have wanted to gather your people just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you didn’t want that. Look, your house is abandoned. I tell you, you won’t see me until the time comes when you say, Blessings on the one who comes in the Lord’s name.”

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 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

Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Lord, you have taught us
that all our doings without love are worth nothing.
Send your Holy Spirit
and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you.
Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ's sake,
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.