If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me, and the light around me turn to night,” darkness is not dark to you, O Lord; the night is as bright as the day; darkness and light to you are both alike.
Psalm 139:10,11
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Most merciful God,
we confess that
we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what
we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not
loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as
ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the
sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive
us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to
the glory of your Name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.
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.
The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,
*
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
The LORD will send the scepter of your power out of
Zion, *
saying, “Rule over your enemies round about you.
Princely state has been yours from the day of your
birth; *
in the beauty of holiness have I begotten you,
like
dew from the womb of the morning.”
The LORD has sworn and he will not recant: *
“You
are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”
The Lord who is at your right hand
will smite kings
in the day of his wrath; *
he will rule over the nations.
[He will heap high the corpses; *
he will smash heads
over the wide earth.
He will drink from the brook beside the road;
*
therefore he will lift high his head.]
I love the LORD, because he has heard the voice of my
supplication, *
because he has inclined his ear to me whenever I
called upon him.
The cords of death entangled me;
the grip of the
grave took hold of me; *
I came to grief and sorrow.
Then I called upon the Name of the LORD: *
“O
LORD, I pray you, save my life.”
Gracious is the LORD and righteous; *
our God is full
of compassion.
The LORD watches over the innocent; *
I was brought
very low, and he helped me.
Turn again to your rest, O my soul. *
for the LORD
has treated you well.
For you have rescued my life from death, *
my eyes
from tears, and my feet from stumbling.
I will walk in the presence of the LORD *
in the land
of the living.
I believed, even when I said,
“I have been
brought very low.” *
In my distress I said, “No one
can be trusted.”
How shall I repay the LORD *
for all the good things
he has done for me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation *
and call upon
the Name of the LORD.
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD *
in the presence
of all his people.
Precious in the sight of the LORD *
is the death of
his servants.
O LORD, I am your servant; *
I am your servant and
the child of your handmaid;
you have freed me from my bonds.
I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving *
and
call upon the Name of the LORD.
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD *
in the presence
of all his people,
In the courts of the LORD’S house, *
in the
midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!
Praise the LORD, all you nations; *
laud him, all you
peoples.
For his loving-kindness toward us is great, *
and the
faithfulness of the LORD endures for ever.
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.
Three days later he called together the local leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, yet I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. When they had examined me, the Romans wanted to release me, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to the emperor—even though I had no charge to bring against my nation. For this reason therefore I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is for the sake of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.” They replied, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken anything evil about you. But we would like to hear from you what you think, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.”
After they had set a day to meet with him, they came to him at his lodgings in great numbers. From morning until evening he explained the matter to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the law of Moses and from the prophets. Some were convinced by what he had said, while others refused to believe. So they disagreed with each other; and as they were leaving, Paul made one further statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah, ‘Go to this people and say, You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn— and I would heal them.’ Let it be known to you then that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”
He lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Surely, it is God who saves me; *
I will trust in him
and not be afraid.
For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense, *
and
he will be my Savior.
Therefore you shall draw water with rejoicing *
from
the springs of salvation.
And on that day you shall say, *
Give thanks to the
Lord and call upon his Name;
Make his deeds known among the peoples; *
see that
they remember that his Name is exalted.
Sing praises of the Lord, for he has done great things,
*
and this is known in all the world.
Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy, *
for
the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.
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.
Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
O God, the source of eternal light: Shed forth your unending day upon us who watch for you, that our lips may praise you, our lives may bless you, and our worship on the morrow give you glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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.
May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Romans 15:13