OPENING SENTENCES

Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy, which will come to all the people; for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10, 11

CONFESSION OF SIN

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.

Evening Examen: When, this week, did I sense being drawn away from God? When, this week, did I feel most touched by the presence of God?

O God, make speed to save us. *
O Lord, make haste to help us.

EVENING PSALM

Psalm 18:21-50

For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
   and have not wickedly departed from my God.
For all his ordinances were before me,
   and his statutes I did not put away from me.
I was blameless before him,
   and I kept myself from guilt.
Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
   according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

With the loyal you show yourself loyal;
   with the blameless you show yourself blameless;
with the pure you show yourself pure;
   and with the crooked you show yourself perverse.
For you deliver a humble people,
   but the haughty eyes you bring down.
It is you who light my lamp;
   the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.
By you I can crush a troop,
   and by my God I can leap over a wall.
This God—his way is perfect;
   the promise of the Lord proves true;
   he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

For who is God except the Lord?
   And who is a rock besides our God?—
the God who girded me with strength,
   and made my way safe.
He made my feet like the feet of a deer,
   and set me secure on the heights.
He trains my hands for war,
   so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You have given me the shield of your salvation,
   and your right hand has supported me;
   your help has made me great.
You gave me a wide place for my steps under me,
   and my feet did not slip.
I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
   and did not turn back until they were consumed.
I struck them down, so that they were not able to rise;
   they fell under my feet.
For you girded me with strength for the battle;
   you made my assailants sink under me.
You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
   and those who hated me I destroyed.
They cried for help, but there was no one to save them;
   they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
I beat them fine, like dust before the wind;
   I cast them out like the mire of the streets.

You delivered me from strife with the peoples;
   you made me head of the nations;
   people whom I had not known served me.
As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
   foreigners came cringing to me.
Foreigners lost heart,
   and came trembling out of their strongholds.

The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock,
   and exalted be the God of my salvation,
the God who gave me vengeance
   and subdued peoples under me;
who delivered me from my enemies;
   indeed, you exalted me above my adversaries;
   you delivered me from the violent.

For this I will extol you, O Lord, among the nations,
   and sing praises to your name.
Great triumphs he gives to his king,
   and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
   to David and his descendants for ever.

Lord God, you keep the proud at a distance and look upon the lowly with favor. Stretch out your hand to us in our suffering, perfect in us the way of your love, and bring us to life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit; *
as it was in the beginning
is now and shall be for ever. Amen.

EVENING SONG

O Come, O Come, Messiah - Bifrost Arts

EVENING LESSONS

Isaiah 12:1-6

You will say in that day: I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, and you comforted me.Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the LordGod is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Revelation 1:1-8

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servantswhat must soon take place; he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near.

John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and madeus to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Look! He is coming with the clouds;
every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.
So it is to be. Amen.

‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

John 7:37-52

Rivers of Living Water

On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.” ’ Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Division among the People

When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, ‘This is really the prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Messiah.’ But some asked, ‘Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?’ So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

The Unbelief of Those in Authority

Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, ‘Why did you not arrest him?’ The police answered, ‘Never has anyone spoken like this!’ Then the Pharisees replied, ‘Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law—they are accursed.’ Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, ‘Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?’ They replied, ‘Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.’

CONCLUDING PRAYER

In the evening, pray for:

peace
individuals and their needs

Conclude with the Lord's Prayer and/or the following Collect:

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord. *
Thanks be to God!

The Almighty and merciful Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless us and keep us. Amen.