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EVENING PRAYER for Wednesday after 18 Pentecost
Vespers
(Lutheran
Book of Worship, page 142)
Jesus
Christ is the Light of the World,
The
light no darkness can overcome.
Stay with us, Lord, for it is evening,
And the day is
almost over.
Let your light scatter the darkness,
And illumine your
Church.
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 125
1 Those who trust in
the Lord are | like Mount Zion,*
which cannot be moved, but
stands | fast forever.
2 The hills stand a-
| bout Jerusalem;*
so does the Lord stand round about his people,
from this time forth for- |
evermore.
3 The scepter of the
wicked
shall
not hold sway over the land allotted | to the just,*
so that the just shall not put
their | hands to evil.
4 Show your
goodness, O Lord, to those | who
are good*
and to those who are | true of
heart.
5 As for those who
turn aside to crooked ways,
the
Lord will lead them away with the
| evildoers;*
but peace be | upon Israel.
Lord,
surround your people with your presence. Do not let us stretch out our hands to
evil deeds, nor be destroyed by the snares of the enemy, but bring us to share
the land prepared for the saints in light, where you live and reign, God, now
and forever. (403)
Hymn We Sing the Praise of Him Who Died
Lutheran Book of Worship 344
1 We
sing the praise of him who died,
of
him who died upon the cross.
The
sinner’s hope let all deride;
for
this we count the world but loss.
2 Inscribed
upon the cross we see
in
shining letters, “God is love.”
He
bears our sins upon the tree;
he
brings us mercy from above.
3 The
cross! It takes our guilt away;
it
holds the fainting spirit up;
it
cheers with hope the gloomy day
and
sweetens ev’ry bitter cup.
4 It
makes the coward spirit brave
and
nerves the feeble arm for fight;
it
takes the terror from the grave
and
gilds the bed of death with light;
5 The
balm of life, the cure of woe,
the
measure and the pledge of love,
the
sinner’s refuge here below,
the
angels’ theme in heav’n above.
Text: Thomas Kelly, 1769-1855
READING Philippians 3:4b-14
[Paul
writes:] 4bIf anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I
have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of
Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a
Pharisee; 6as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to
righteousness under the law, blameless.
7Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss
because of Christ. 8More than that, I regard everything as loss
because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I
have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order
that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a
righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through
faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. 10I want
to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his
sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11if somehow I may
attain the resurrection from the dead.
12Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached
the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me
his own. 13Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own;
but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to
what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the
heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to
God.
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
GREAT LITANY is sung.
L Lord, have mercy. R Lord,
have mercy.
L Christ, have mercy. R Christ,
have mercy.
L Lord, have mercy. R Lord,
have mercy.
L O Christ, hear us. R In
mercy hear us.
L God, the Father in heaven, R have
mercy on us.
L God, the Son, redeemer of the
world,
R have mercy on us.
L God, the Holy Spirit, R have mercy on us.
L Holy Trinity, one God, R have
mercy on us.
L Be gracious to us. R Spare
us, good Lord.
L Be gracious to us. R Spare
us, good Lord.
L From all sin, from all error, from
all evil;
from the cunning assaults of the
devil;
from an unprepared and evil
death:
R Good Lord, deliver us.
L From war, bloodshed, and violence;
from corrupt and unjust
government;
from sedition and treason:
R Good Lord, deliver us.
L From epidemic, drought, and famine;
from fire and flood, earthquake,
lightning and storm;
and from everlasting death:
R Good Lord, deliver us.
L By the mystery of your incarnation;
by your holy birth:
R Help us, good Lord.
L By your baptism, fasting, and
temptation;
by your agony and bloody sweat;
by your cross and suffering;
by your death and burial:
R Help us, good Lord.
L By your resurrection and ascension;
by the gift of the Holy Spirit:
R Help us, good Lord.
L In all time of our tribulation;
in all time of our prosperity;
in the hour of death;
and in the day of judgment:
R Save us, good Lord.
L Though unworthy, we implore you
R to hear us, Lord our God.
L To rule and govern your holy
catholic Church;
to guide all servants of your
Church
in the love of your
Word
and in holiness
of life;
to put an end to all schisms
and causes of
offense to those who would believe;
and to bring into the way of
truth all who have gone astray:
R We implore you to hear us, good
Lord.
L To beat down Satan under our feet;
to send faithful workers into
your harvest;
to accompany your Word with your
Spirit and power;
to raise up those who fall
and to strengthen
those who stand;
and to comfort and help the
fainthearted
and the distressed:
R We implore you to hear us, good
Lord.
L To give to all nations justice and
peace;
to preserve our country from
discord and strife;
to direct and guard those who
have civil authority;
and to bless and guide all our
people:
R We implore you to hear us, good
Lord.
L To behold and help all
who are in danger,
need, or tribulation;
to protect and guide all who
travel;
to preserve and provide for all
women in childbirth;
to watch over children and to
guide the young;
to heal the sick and to
strengthen their families and friends;
to bring reconciliation to
families in discord;
to provide for the unemployed
and for all in need;
to be merciful to all who are
imprisoned;
to support, comfort, and guide
all orphans,
widowers, and widows;
and to have mercy on all your
people:
R We implore you to hear us, good
Lord.
L To forgive our enemies,
persecutors, and slanderers,
and to reconcile us
to them;
to help us use wisely the fruits
and treasures
of the earth, the
sea, and the air;
and graciously to hear our
prayers:
R We implore you to hear us, good
Lord.
L Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
R we implore you to hear us.
L Lamb of God, you take away the sin
of the world; R have mercy on us.
L Lamb of God, you take away the sin
of the world; R have mercy on us.
L Lamb of God, you take away the sin
of the world; R give us peace. Amen
L O Christ, hear us. R In
mercy hear us.
L Lord, have mercy. R Lord,
have mercy.
L Christ, have mercy. R Christ,
have mercy.
L Lord, have mercy. R Lord,
have mercy.
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 Now All The Woods Are Sleeping
LBW 276
1 Now
all the woods are sleeping,
through
fields the shadows creeping,
and
cities sink to rest;
let
us, as night is falling,
on
God our maker calling,
give
thanks to him who loves us best.
2 The
radiant sun has vanished,
its
golden rays are banished
from
dark’ning skies of night;
but
Christ, the sun of gladness,
dispelling
all our sadness,
shines
down on us in warmest light.
3 Now
all the heav’nly splendor
breaks
forth in starlight tender
from
myriad worlds unknown;
and
we, this marvel seeing,
forget
our selfish being
for
joy of beauty not our own.
4 Though
long our ancient blindness
has
missed God’s lovingkindness
and
plunged us into strife;
one
day, when life is over,
shall
death’s fair night uncover
the
fields of everlasting life.
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
