The order of worship is below.
EVENING
PRAYER for EASTER
Vespers
(Lutheran
Book of Worship, page 142)
Jesus
Christ is risen from the dead.
Alleluia, alleluia,
alleluia.
We
are illumined by the brightness of his rising.
Alleluia, alleluia,
alleluia.
Death
has no more dominion over us.
Alleluia, alleluia,
alleluia.
Joyous
light of glory:
of
the immortal Father;
heavenly, holy, blessed
Jesus Christ.
We have come to the setting of the
sun,
and we look to the
evening light.
We sing to God, the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit:
You are worthy of being praised
with pure voices
forever.
O Son of God, O Giver of life:
The universe proclaims
your glory.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give
him thanks and praise.
Blessed
are you, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who led your people Israel by a
pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night: Enlighten our darkness by
the light of your Christ; may his Word be a lamp to our feet and a light to our
path; for you are merciful, and you love your whole creation, and we, your
creatures, glorify you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen
Let my prayer rise
before you as incense;
the lifting up of my hands as the
evening sacrifice.
O Lord, I call to
you; come to me quickly;
hear my voice when I cry to you.
Let my prayer rise
before you as incense;
the lifting up of my hands as the
evening sacrifice.
Set a watch before
my mouth, O Lord,
and guard the door of my lips.
Let not my heart
incline to any evil thing;
let me not be occupied in wickedness
with evildoers.
But my eyes are
turned to you, Lord God;
in you I take refuge. Strip me not
of my life.
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.
Let my prayer rise
before you as incense;
the lifting up of my hands as the
evening sacrifice.
Silence
for meditation.
Let
the incense of our repentant prayer ascend before you, O Lord, and let your
lovingkindness descend upon us, that with purified minds we may sing your
praises with the Church on earth and the whole heavenly host, and may glorify
you forever and ever.
Amen
Psalm 98
1 Sing to the Lord | a new song,*
for he has done | marvelous
things.
2 With his right
hand and his | holy arm*
has he won for him- | self the
victory.
3 The Lord has made | known his victory;*
his righteousness has he openly
shown
in the sight | of the nations.
4 He remembers his
mercy and faithfulness
to the | house of Israel,*
and all the ends of the earth
have seen the victory | of our God.
5 Shout with joy to
the Lord, | all you lands;*
lift up your voice, re- | joice, and
sing.
6 Sing to the Lord | with the harp,*
with the harp and the | voice of
song.
7 With trumpets and
the sound | of the horn*
shout with joy before the | king,
the Lord.
8 Let the sea make a
noise and all | that is in it,*
the lands and those who | dwell
therein.
9 Let the rivers |
clap their hands,*
and let the hills ring out with joy
before the Lord,
when he comes to | judge the earth.
10 In righteousness
shall he | judge the world*
and the peo- | ples with equity.
The
proper psalm prayer is said, to which the congregation responds: Amen
Hymn O Christ, Our Hope
Lutheran Book of Worship 300
1 O
Christ, our hope, our hearts’ desire,
creation’s
mighty Lord,
redeemer
of the fallen world,
by
holy love outpoured,
by
holy love outpoured:
2 How
vast your mercy to accept
the
burden of our sin,
and
bow your head in cruel death
to
make us clean within,
to
make us clean within.
3 But
now the bonds of death are burst,
the
ransom has been paid;
you
now ascend the Father’s throne
in
robes of light arrayed,
in
robes of light arrayed.
4 Oh,
let your mighty love prevail
to
purge us of our pride,
that
we may stand before your throne
by
mercy purified,
by
mercy purified.
5 Christ
Jesus, be our present joy,
our
future great reward;
our
only glory, may it be
to
glory in the Lord,
to
glory in the Lord!
6 All
praise to you, ascended Lord;
all
glory ever be
to
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
through
all eternity,
through
all eternity!
Text: Latin hymn, c. 8th cent.; tr. John Chandler, 1806-1876,
adapt.
Lesson 1 Peter 2:19-25
19It is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while
suffering unjustly. 20If you endure when you are beaten for doing
wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for
it, you have God’s approval. 21For to this you have been called,
because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you
should follow in his steps.
22“He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
23When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
22“He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
23When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
Silence for meditation.
Response
In
many and various ways
God
spoke to his people of old by the prophets.
But
now in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.
The GOSPEL
CANTICLE is sung.
My
soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his
lowly servant.
From this day all generations will
call me blessed.
The Almighty has done
great things for me,
and holy is his name.
He has mercy on those
who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his
arm;
he has scattered the proud in their
conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from
their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good
things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his
servant Israel,
for he has remembered his promise of
mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children 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
The
LITANY is sung.
In
peace, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord,
have mercy.
For
the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord,
have mercy.
For
the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for
the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord,
have mercy.
For
all who offer today their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord,
have mercy.
For
Dan, our bishop; for your unworthy servant; for all pastors in Christ, for all
servants of the Church, and for all the people, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord,
have mercy.
For
our public servants, for the government and those who protect us, that they may
be upheld and strengthened in every good deed, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord,
have mercy.
For
those who work to bring peace, justice, health, and protection in this and
every place, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord,
have mercy.
For
those who bring offerings, those who do good works in this congregation, those
who toil, those who sing, and all the people here present who await from the
Lord great and abundant mercy, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord,
have mercy.
For
favorable weather, for an abundance of the fruits of the earth, and for
peaceful times, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord,
have mercy.
For
our deliverance from all affliction, wrath, danger, and need, let us pray to
the Lord.
Lord,
have mercy.
For
the faithful who have gone before us and are at rest, let us give thanks to the
Lord.
Alleluia.
Help,
save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
Silence
for meditation.
Rejoicing
in the fellowship of all the saints, let us commend ourselves, one another, and
our whole life to Christ, our Lord.
To
you, O Lord.
God of all power, you called from death our Lord
Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep. Send us as shepherds to rescue the
lost, to heal the injured, and to feed one another with knowledge and
understanding; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen
We
pray to you, almighty God, in this time of pandemic. You are our refuge and our
strength, a very present help in time of trouble. Do not let us fail in the
face of these events. Uphold us with your love, and give us the strength we
need. Help us in our confusion, and guide our actions. Heal the sick, console
the bereaved and afflicted, protect the innocent and helpless, and deliver all
who are in peril; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
O
God, from whom come all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works:
Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, that our
hearts may be set to obey your commandments; and also that we, being defended
from the fear of our enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the
merits of Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, God forever.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as
it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who
trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from
evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the
power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen
Let
us bless the Lord.
Thanks
be to God.
Hymn Abide
With Me
Lutheran Book of
Worship
272
1 Abide
with me, fast falls the eventide.
The
darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When
other helpers fail and comforts flee,
help
of the helpless, oh, abide with me.
2 I
need thy presence ev’ry passing hour;
what
but thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?
Who
like thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through
cloud and sunshine, oh, abide with me.
3 Swift
to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
earth’s
joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
change
and decay in all around I see;
O
thou who changest not, abide with me.
4 I
fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless;
ills
have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where
is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I
triumph still, if thou abide with me!
5 Hold
thou thy cross before my closing eyes,
shine
through the gloom, and point me to the skies;
heav’n’s
morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
in
life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
Text: Henry F. Lyte, 1793-1847
Sermon
Prayer
and Benediction
Lord
God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the
ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go
out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is
leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
The
almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless
and preserve you.
Amen
