EVENING
PRAYER for Wednesday after 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
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 1
1 Happy are they who
have not walked
in
the counsel | of the wicked,*
nor lingered in the way of
sinners,
nor sat in the seats | of the
scornful!
2 Their delight is
in the law | of the Lord,*
and they meditate on his law |
day and night.
3 They are like
trees planted by streams of water,
bearing
fruit in due season, with leaves that | do not wither;*
everything they | do shall
prosper.
they are like chaff which the
wind | blows away.
5 Therefore the
wicked shall not stand upright
when
| judgment comes,*
nor the sinner in the council |
of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way | of the righteous,*
but the way of the wick- | ed is
doomed.
The
proper psalm prayer is said, to which the congregation responds: Amen
Lord
God, in your loving wisdom you have set us beside the fountain of life, like a
tree planted by running streams. Grant that the cross of your Son may become
our tree of life in the paradise of your saints, through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
Hymn We All Are One in Mission
With One Voice 755
The text of the hymn may not be reproduced here.
Reading
1 Corinthians 12:1-13
1Now concerning
spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led
astray to idols that could not speak. 3Therefore I want
you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Let
Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by
the Holy Spirit.
4Now there are
varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God
who activates all of them in everyone. 7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the
common good. 8To one is given
through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of
knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of
healing by the one Spirit, 10to another the
working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits,
to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the
Spirit chooses.
12For just as the
body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many,
are one body, so it is with Christ. 13For in the one
Spirit we were all baptized into one body — Jews or Greeks, slaves or free —
and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
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, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as you
sent upon the disciples the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, look upon your Church
and open our hearts to the power of the Spirit. Kindle in us the fire of your
love, and strengthen our lives for service in your kingdom, through your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen
Almighty
God, you have given us this good land as our heritage. Make us always remember
your generosity and constantly do your will. Bless our land with honest
industry, truthful education, and an honorable way of life. Save us from
violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil
course of action. Make us who came from many nations with many different
languages a united people. Defend our liberties and give those whom we have
entrusted with the authority of government the spirit of wisdom, that there
might be justice and peace in our land. When times are prosperous, let our
hearts be thankful; and, in troubled times, do not let our trust in you fail.
We ask all this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Look
with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in this land who live with injustice,
terror, disease, and death as their constant companions. Have mercy upon us.
Help us to eliminate cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those who spend
their lives establishing equal protection of the law and equal opportunities
for all. And grant that every one of us may enjoy a fair portion of the
abundance of this land; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
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 To You, before the
Close of Day
Lutheran Book of Worship 277
1 To
you, before the close of day,
Creator
of the world, we pray!
Your
grace and peace to us allow
and
be our guard and keeper now.
2 From
evil dreams defend our sight,
from
all the terrors of the night,
from
all deluding thoughts that creep
on
heedless minds disarmed by sleep.
3 O
Father, this we ask be done
through
Jesus Christ, your only Son,
who
with the Holy Ghost and you
shall
live and reign all ages through. Amen
Text: compline office hymn, c. 8th cent.; tr. John M. Neale,
1818-1866, adapt.
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
