A SERVICE OF EVENING PRAYER
June 30, 2022
Welcome
Prelude
Opening
Jesus Christ is the light of the world,
the light no dark ness can overcome.
Stay with us, Lord, for it is evening,
and the day is almost over.
Let your light scatter the darkness
and illumine your church.
Confession and Forgiveness
Blessed be the holy Trinity, + one God,
Whose steadfast love endures forever.
Amen.
Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another
Silence is kept for reflection.
Merciful God,
we confess that we have not followed your path but have chosen our own way. Instead of putting others before ourselves, we long to take the best seats at the table. When met by those in need, we have too often passed by on the other side. Set us again on the path of life. Save us from ourselves and free us to love our neighbors. Amen.
Hear the good news!
God does not deal with us according to our sins but delights in granting pardon and mercy. In the name of + Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. You are free to love as God loves
Amen.
Thanksgiving for Light
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
We give you thanks, O God, for in the beginning you called light into being,and you set lights in the sky to govern night and day. In a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night you led your people into freedom.
Enlighten our darkness by the light of your Christ; may your Word be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path; for you are merciful, and you love your whole creation, and with all your creatures we give you glory,through your Son Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
Prayer
Let us pray.
O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, you are the city that shelters us, the mother who comforts us. With your Spirit accompany us on our life’s journey, that we may spread your peace in all the world, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
Proverbs 4:1-9, 20-27
1Listen, children, to a father's instruction,
and be attentive, that you may now insight;
2for I give you good precepts:
do not forsake my teaching.
3When I was a son with my father,
tender, and my mother's favorite,
4he taught me, and said to me,
"Let your heart hold fast my words;
keep my commandments, and live.
5Get wisdom; get insight: do not forget, nor turn away
from the words of my mouth.
6Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;
love her, and she will guard you.
7The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,
and whatever else you get, get insight.
8Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;
she will honor you if you embrace her.
9She will place on your head a fair garland;
she will bestow on you a beautiful crown."
20My child, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings.
21Do not let them escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.
22For they are life to those who find them,
and healing to all their flesh.
23Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
24Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.
25Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
26Keep straight the path of your feet,
and all your ways will be sure.
27Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil.
Psalm 30 (read responsively by whole verse)
1I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up,
and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
2O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
3O LORD, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
4Sing praises to the LORD, O you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5For his anger is but for a moment;
his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
6As for me, I said in my prosperity,
"I shall never be moved."
7By your favor, O LORD,
you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.
8To you, O LORD, I cried,
and to the LORD I made supplication:
9"What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me!
O LORD, be my helper!"
11You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
12so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
Gloria Patri
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be. Amen.
2 Kings 5:1-14
1Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. 2Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. 3She said to her mistress, "If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy." 4So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. 5And the king of Aram said, "Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel."
He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments. 6He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, "When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy." 7When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me."
8But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel." 9So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha's house. 10Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean." 11But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, "I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! 12Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?" He turned and went away in a rage. 13But his servants approached and said to him, "Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, 'Wash, and be clean'?" 14So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Reflection
Response
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets,
but in these last days God has spoken to us by the Son.
Gospel Canticle (together)
Magnificat A Prayer-Paraphrase of Luke 1: 46-55
We praise you, Lord,
and our spirits rejoice in you – our Saviour;
For you take notice of the unnoticeable,
and transform them into the blessed;
You are strong and true to yourself and all that is good
in everything you are and do and say;
and you do great things for us;
Through the ages you have shown compassion
to those who trust you,
And in your strength you have scattered
those who are arrogant and abusive;
You have made the thrones of tyrants topple
and you have made humble people into leaders of many;
You have cared for and provided for those who have nothing,
and you have left the over-satisfied with empty hands;
You have always been a help to your people,
and have shown mercy when we have gone astray;
You made this promise to our ancestors,
and you continue to stay true to it even now.
We praise you, Lord,
and our spirits rejoice in you – our Saviour. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
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,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come 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.
Prayers
In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the church of God,
and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For this holy house, and for all who offer here their worship and praise,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the health of the creation, for abundant harvests that all may share,
and for peaceful times, let us pray to the Lord,
Lord, have mercy.
For public servants, the government, and those who protect us;
for those who work to bring peace, justice, healing, and protection
in this and every place, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those who travel, for those who are sick and suffering, and for those who are in captivity, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For deliverance in the time of affliction, wrath, danger, and need, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For all servants of the church, for this assembly, and for all people who await from the Lord great and abundant mercy, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
Giving thanks for all who have gone before us and are at rest, rejoicing in the communion of all the saints, we commend ourselves, one another, and our whole life to you, through Christ our Lord.
To you, O Lord.
O God, from whom come all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works: give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey your commandments; and also that we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God forever.
Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and forever.
Amen
Written Offering
Benediction
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
Postlude Before You, Lord, We Bow
ELW 893 (v. 1,2)
Before you, Lord, we bow,
our God who reigns above
and rules the world below
with boundless pow'r and love.
Our thanks we bring
in joy and praise,
our hearts we raise,
to you we sing!
May ev'ry mountain height,
each vale and forest green,
shine forth in wisdom's light,
and its rich fruits be seen!
May ev'ry tongue
be tuned to praise
and join to raise
a grateful song.
Liturgical Text and Music, from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, © 2006 and 2020 Augsburg Fortress, Reprinted and/or streamed with permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies License #SAS016761. All rights reserved.
Magnificat, A Prayer-Paraphrase of Luke 1: 46-55, John van de Laar, copyright © 2008 Sacredise. Posted on Sacredise.com. Used with permission.
Before You, Lord, We Bow, Text: Francis Scott Key, 1779-1843, alt. Music: John Darwell, 1731-1789.. Public domain.
