July 20, 2018

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Season of Pentecost

As you enter into this Evening Prayer, remember that God is with you and ready to speak to you because he loves you. Enjoy the presence of your Lord and Savior. Pray as you are able: use the entire email or for a shorter time of prayer, be led through all five sections but focus on one element in each of the sections. 

- Calling - 

Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as the incense, and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice. (Psalm 141:2)

 

- Confession - 

Prayer of Repentance
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Lord Christ,
we confess our willingness to be loved
but also our reluctance to love.
We confess our readiness to accept your forgiving love
but also our refusal to forgive.
We confess our eagerness to grasp your offer of redeeming love
but also our resistance to follow you without question.
Amen.

(Pause for a time of silent confession)

Words of Assurance
When you were dead in trespasses, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it. (Colossians 2:13-14)

The Invitation
(An invitation to praise God after confession and prior to the daily Psalm(s) and Lessons)

O Lord, open our lips.
And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
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!

Alleluia. The earth is the Lord's for he made it: O come, let us adore him. Alleluia.

Hymn for Evening Prayer - O Gracious Light
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 though all the worlds.

 

- Constitution - 

Evening Psalm(s) - Psalm 35
Of David.

    Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;
        fight against those who fight against me!
    Take hold of shield and buckler
        and rise for my help!
    Draw the spear and javelin
        against my pursuers!
    Say to my soul,
        “I am your salvation!”    
    
    Let them be put to shame and dishonor
        who seek after my life!
    Let them be turned back and disappointed
        who devise evil against me!
    Let them be like chaff before the wind,
        with the angel of the LORD driving them away!
    Let their way be dark and slippery,
        with the angel of the LORD pursuing them!    
    
    For without cause they hid their net for me;
        without cause they dug a pit for my life.
    Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it!
    And let the net that he hid ensnare him;
        let him fall into it—to his destruction!    
    
    Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD,
        exulting in his salvation.
    All my bones shall say,
        “O LORD, who is like you,
    delivering the poor
        from him who is too strong for him,
        the poor and needy from him who robs him?”    
    
    Malicious witnesses rise up;
        they ask me of things that I do not know.
    They repay me evil for good;
        my soul is bereft.
    But I, when they were sick—
        I wore sackcloth;
        I afflicted myself with fasting;
    I prayed with head bowed on my chest.
        I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;
    as one who laments his mother,
        I bowed down in mourning.    
    
    But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;
        they gathered together against me;
    wretches whom I did not know
        tore at me without ceasing;
    like profane mockers at a feast,
        they gnash at me with their teeth.    
    
    How long, O Lord, will you look on?
        Rescue me from their destruction,
        my precious life from the lions!
    I will thank you in the great congregation;
        in the mighty throng I will praise you.    
    
    Let not those rejoice over me
        who are wrongfully my foes,
    and let not those wink the eye
        who hate me without cause.
    For they do not speak peace,
        but against those who are quiet in the land
        they devise words of deceit.
    They open wide their mouths against me;
        they say, “Aha, Aha!
        Our eyes have seen it!”    
    
    You have seen, O LORD; be not silent!
        O Lord, be not far from me!
    Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication,
        for my cause, my God and my Lord!
    Vindicate me, O LORD, my God,
        according to your righteousness,
        and let them not rejoice over me!
    Let them not say in their hearts,
        “Aha, our heart's desire!”
    Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”    
    
    Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether
        who rejoice at my calamity!
    Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor
        who magnify themselves against me!    
    
    Let those who delight in my righteousness
        shout for joy and be glad
        and say evermore,
    “Great is the LORD,
        who delights in the welfare of his servant!”
    Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness
        and of your praise all the day long.
 

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


Gospel - Matthew 26:17-25

Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.

When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.”

The Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God.
 

Slowly read one or more of the lessons again... did a word or phrase catch your eye or move your heart...mediate on it and pray your thoughts, desires, needs, and feelings.


A Song of Response - Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29-32)
Lord, now let your servant depart in peace,
       according to your word;
For mine eyes have seen your salvation, 
       which you have prepared before the face of all people,
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles, 
       and to be the glory of your people 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.

 

- Communion - 

The Lord's Prayer
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 debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Prayers of Thanksgiving & Petitions
Take this time to offer personal prayers.
Where have you seen the Lord faithfully at work this past week?
Where do you hope to see the Lord's help and healing this coming week?
What prayers can you offer for our church, neighborhood, nation, and world?


A Collect for the Ninth Week of Pentecost
O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

 

- Commission -

The General Thanksgiving
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. We pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

Blessing
May Christ, the Son of God,
be manifest in you,
that your lives may be a light to the world;
and the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

 

- Family Devotion- 
If you have children, below are two suggestions to help your family create a daily habit of prayer and Bible reading, meditation, and application. Use these suggestions as guides for your specific family situation and the ages of each of your children. Corporate times around the table (like breakfast or dinner) or during bedtime routines may be good times for your family.

Suggestion 1
For a family devotion follow the Calling - Commission flow: 

Calling - Remind your children that God loves them and is with them.                   

Cleansing - Together and/or individually pray your own prayer of repentance or use the corporate prayer of repentance. Remind them that Jesus died on the cross for their sins and rose from the dead, that their sins are forgiven and Jesus now reigns as their king.

Constitution - Read one or more of the appointed readings. Then ask them some follow up questions like: (Read) What does this passage say?  (Think) What does this passage mean? (Live) How does this passage apply to us today? In addition to an appointed reading, you can also read a children's Bible, like The Jesus Storybook Bible.   

Communion - Then pray thanksgivings & petitions and/or The Lord's Prayer. 

Commission - Close by saying the Blessing over your children.

Suggestion 2
For those families going through the 10-minute family devotional Old Story New, this week we are on WEEK 68, PAGES 474-480.

Close your time with prayers of repentance, thanksgiving, petitions, and/or The Lord's Prayer.