Evening Prayer - December 16, 2026

Today's Readings

Psalm 119:49-72

Isaiah 9:8-17

2 Peter 2:1-10

Mark 1:1-8

Advent
In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Isaiah 40:3

Confession of Sin
Most merciful God,
I confess that I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart; I have not loved my neighbors as myself. I am truly sorry and I humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on me and forgive me; that I 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

The Invitatory and Psalter
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 forever. Amen

Venite

ⓘ 'Venite' is Latin for 'O Come,' the opening word of Psalm 95: Venite exultemus Domino ('O Come, let us sing to the LORD').

Psalm 95:1 to 7
Come, let us sing to the Lord;
   let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving
   and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God,
   and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth,
   and the heights of the hills are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
   and his hands have molded the dry land.

Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee,
   and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
    Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!

The Antiphon:

ⓘ A short, reflective sentence recited alongside a psalm to deepen our understanding of the readings.

Our King and Savior now draws near: Come, let us adore him.

The Lessons

Psalm 119

⁽⁴⁹⁾ Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope.⁽⁵⁰⁾ This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life.⁽⁵¹⁾ The proud have me in great derision, Yet I do not turn aside from Your law.⁽⁵²⁾ I remembered Your judgments of old, O LORD, And have comforted myself.

⁽⁵³⁾ Indignation has taken hold of me Because of the wicked, who forsake Your law.⁽⁵⁴⁾ Your statutes have been my songs In the house of my pilgrimage.⁽⁵⁵⁾ I remember Your name in the night, O LORD, And I keep Your law.⁽⁵⁶⁾ This has become mine, Because I kept Your precepts.

⁽⁵⁷⁾ You are my portion, O LORD; I have said that I would keep Your words.⁽⁵⁸⁾ I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; Be merciful to me according to Your word.⁽⁵⁹⁾ I thought about my ways, And turned my feet to Your testimonies.⁽⁶⁰⁾ I made haste, and did not delay To keep Your commandments.

⁽⁶¹⁾ The cords of the wicked have bound me, But I have not forgotten Your law.⁽⁶²⁾ At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, Because of Your righteous judgments.⁽⁶³⁾ I am a companion of all who fear You, And of those who keep Your precepts.⁽⁶⁴⁾ The earth, O LORD, is full of Your mercy; Teach me Your statutes.

⁽⁶⁵⁾ You have dealt well with Your servant, O LORD, according to Your word.⁽⁶⁶⁾ Teach me good judgment and knowledge, For I believe Your commandments.⁽⁶⁷⁾ Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word.⁽⁶⁸⁾ You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes.

⁽⁶⁹⁾ The proud have forged a lie against me, But I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart.⁽⁷⁰⁾ Their heart is as fat as grease, But I delight in Your law.⁽⁷¹⁾ It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.⁽⁷²⁾ The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Isaiah Chapter 9

⁽⁸⁾ The LORD sent a word against Jacob, And it has fallen on Israel.⁽⁹⁾ All the people will know -- Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria -- Who say in pride and arrogance of heart:⁽¹⁰⁾ The bricks have fallen down, But we will rebuild with hewn stones; The sycamores are cut down, But we will replace them with cedars.'⁽¹¹⁾ Therefore the LORD shall set up The adversaries of Rezin against him, And spur his enemies on,

⁽¹²⁾ The Syrians before and the Philistines behind; And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.⁽¹³⁾ For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them, Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts.⁽¹⁴⁾ Therefore the LORD will cut off head and tail from Israel, Palm branch and bulrush in one day.⁽¹⁵⁾ The elder and honorable, he is the head; The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.

⁽¹⁶⁾ For the leaders of this people cause them to err, And those who are led by them are destroyed.⁽¹⁷⁾ Therefore the LORD will have no joy in their young men, Nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows; For everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer, And every mouth speaks folly. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

2 Peter Chapter 2

⁽¹⁾ But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.⁽²⁾ And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.⁽³⁾ By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.⁽⁴⁾ For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;

⁽⁵⁾ and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;⁽⁶⁾ and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly;⁽⁷⁾ and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked⁽⁸⁾ (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds) --

⁽⁹⁾ then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,⁽¹⁰⁾ and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries,

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Mark Chapter 1

⁽¹⁾ The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.⁽²⁾ As it is written in the Prophets: 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.'⁽³⁾ The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.' '⁽⁴⁾ John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

⁽⁵⁾ Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.⁽⁶⁾ Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.⁽⁷⁾ And he preached, saying, 'There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.⁽⁸⁾ I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.'

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Glory to God
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

The Third Song of Isaiah Isaiah 60:1 to 3, 11a, 14c, 18 to 19
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
For behold, darkness covers the land;
deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.
But over you the Lord will rise,
and his glory will appear upon you.
Nations will stream to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawning.
Your gates will always be open;
by day or night they will never be shut.
They will call you, The City of the Lord,
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Violence will no more be heard in your land,
ruin or destruction within your borders.
You will call your walls, Salvation,
and all your portals, Praise.
The sun will no more be your light by day;
by night you will not need the brightness of the moon.
The Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

The Apostles' Creed
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 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.

The Prayers

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 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,
forever and ever. Amen.

Suffrages

ⓘ A simple prayer to God for help, mercy, or intercession, rooted in the Latin word for support.

Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us by your Holy Spirit.

Seasonal Collect: Third Sunday of Advent
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 forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission: Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen.

Personal Prayers and Reflection

This is a time to pause, consider and listen. Pray for yourself and others.

Closing Prayers

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, and, 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 ourselves 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.

Conclude with the following
Let Us Bless the Lord, Thanks be to God

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20,21