Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:2
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.
Why do you stand so far off, O LORD, *
and hide
yourself in time of trouble?
The wicked arrogantly persecute the poor, *
but they
are trapped in the schemes they have devised.
The wicked boast of their heart’s desire; *
the
covetous curse and revile the LORD.
The wicked are so proud that they care not for God;
*
their only thought is, “God does not matter.”
Their ways are devious at all times;
your judgments
are far above out of their sight; *
they defy all their enemies.
They say in their heart, “I shall not be shaken;
*
no harm shall happen to me ever.”
Their mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression;
*
under their tongue are mischief and wrong.
They lurk in ambush in public squares
and in secret
places they murder the innocent; *
they spy out the helpless.
They lie in wait, like a lion in a covert;
they lie
in wait to seize upon the lowly; *
they seize the lowly and drag
them away in their net.
The innocent are broken and humbled before them; *
the
helpless fall before their power.
They say in their heart, “God has forgotten; *
he
hides his face; he will never notice.”
Rise up, O LORD;
lift up your hand, O God; *
do
not forget the afflicted.
Why should the wicked revile God? *
why should they
say in their heart, “You do not care”?
Surely, you behold trouble and misery; *
you see it
and take it into your own hand.
The helpless commit themselves to you, *
for you are
the helper of orphans.
Break the power of the wicked and evil; *
search out
their wickedness until you find none.
The LORD is King for ever and ever; *
the ungodly
shall perish from his land.
The LORD will hear the desire of the humble; *
you
will strengthen their heart and your ears shall hear;
To give justice to the orphan and oppressed, *
so
that mere mortals may strike terror no more.
In the LORD have I taken refuge; *
how then can you
say to me,
“Fly away like a bird to the hilltop;
For see how the wicked bend the bow
and fit their
arrows to the string, *
to shoot from ambush at the true of heart.
When the foundations are being destroyed, *
what can
the righteous do?”
The LORD is in his holy temple; *
the LORD’S
throne is in heaven.
His eyes behold the inhabited world; *
his piercing
eye weighs our worth.
The LORD weighs the righteous as well as the wicked,
*
but those who delight in violence he abhors.
Upon the wicked he shall rain coals of fire and burning
sulphur; *
a scorching wind shall be their lot.
For the LORD is righteous;
he delights in righteous
deeds; *
and the just shall see his face.
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 First Letter of John.
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
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 for ever.
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 and merciful God, in your goodness keep us, we pray, from all things that may hurt us, that we, being ready both in mind and body, may accomplish with free hearts those things which belong to your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Most holy God, the source of all good desires, all right judgments, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, so that our minds may be fixed on the doing of your will, and that we, being delivered from the fear of all enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the mercies of Christ Jesus our Savior. 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