Officiant O
God, make speed to save us.
People O
Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Alleluia.
O gracious light,
pure brightness of the everliving
Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as
we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper
light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy
voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of Life,
and to be glorified
through all the worlds.
Behold now, bless the LORD, all you servants of the
LORD, *
you that stand by night in the house of the LORD.
Lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the LORD;
*
the LORD who made heaven and earth bless you out of Zion.
Hallelujah!
Praise the Name of the LORD; *
give
praise, you servants of the LORD.
You who stand in the house of the LORD, *
in the
courts of the house of our God.
Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; *
sing praises
to his Name, for it is lovely.
For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself *
and
Israel for his own possession.
For I know that the LORD is great, *
and that our
Lord is above all gods.
The LORD does whatever pleases him, in heaven and on
earth, *
in the seas and all the deeps.
He brings up rain clouds from the ends of the earth;
*
he sends out lightning with the rain,
and brings the winds
out of his storehouse.
It was he who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, *
the
firstborn both of man and beast.
He sent signs and wonders into the midst of you, O
Egypt, *
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
He overthrew many nations *
and put mighty kings to
death:
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, the king of
Bashan, *
and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
He gave their land to be an inheritance, *
an
inheritance for Israel his people.
O LORD, your Name is everlasting; *
your renown, O
LORD, endures from age to age.
For the LORD gives his people justice *
and shows
compassion to his servants.
The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, *
the
work of human hands.
They have mouths, but they cannot speak; *
eyes have
they, but they cannot see.
They have ears, but they cannot hear; *
neither is
there any breath in their mouth.
Those who make them are like them, *
and so are all
who put their trust in them.
Bless the LORD, O house of Israel; *
O house of
Aaron, bless the LORD.
Bless the LORD, O house of Levi; *
you who fear the
LORD, bless the LORD.
Blessed be the LORD out of Zion, *
who dwells in
Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Arise, shine, for your light has come, *
and the
glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
For behold, darkness covers the land; *
deep gloom
enshrouds the peoples.
But over you the Lord will rise, *
and his glory will
appear upon you.
Nations will stream to your light, *
and kings to the
brightness of your dawning.
Your gates will always be open; *
by day or night
they will never be shut.
They will call you, The City of the Lord, *
The Zion
of the Holy One of Israel.
Violence will no more be heard in your land, *
ruin
or destruction within your borders.
You will call your walls, Salvation, *
and all your
portals, Praise.
The sun will no more be your light by day; *
by night
you will not need the brightness of the moon.
The Lord will be your everlasting light, *
and your
God will be your glory.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
I believe in God, the Father
almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus
Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of
the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He 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,
and is seated at the right hand of the
Father.
He 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.
Officiant The
Lord be with you.
People And
also with you.
Officiant Let
us pray.
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,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
That this evening may be
holy, good, and peaceful.
We entreat you, O Lord.
That your holy angels may
lead us in paths of peace and goodwill,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be pardoned
and forgiven for our sins and offenses,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That there may be peace to
your Church and to the whole world,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may depart this
life in your faith and fear, and not be condemned before the great
judgment seat of Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be bound
together by your Holy Spirit in the communion of all your saints,
entrusting one another and all our life to Christ,
We entreat you,
O Lord.
Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Lord Jesus, stay with us, for evening is at hand and the day is past; be our companion in the way, kindle our hearts, and awaken hope, that we may know you as you are revealed in Scripture and the breaking of bread. Grant this for the sake of your love. Amen.
O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men and women everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray now for our own needs and those of others.
Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.
Let us bless the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
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.
2 Corinthians 13:14