Evening Prayer - December 30, 2026

Today's Readings

Psalm 20:1-9

Psalm 21:1-13

Isaiah 25:1-9

Revelation 1:9-20

John 7:53,8:1-11

Today is the Sixth day of Christmas
Behold, the dwelling of God is with mankind. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them, and be their God. Revelation 21:3

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 Alleluia

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.

Alleluia. To us a child is born: O come, let us adore him. Alleluia.

The Lessons

Psalm 20

⁽¹⁾ May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you;⁽²⁾ May He send you help from the sanctuary, And strengthen you out of Zion;⁽³⁾ May He remember all your offerings, And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah⁽⁴⁾ May He grant you according to your heart's desire, And fulfill all your purpose.

⁽⁵⁾ We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.⁽⁶⁾ Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand.⁽⁷⁾ Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.⁽⁸⁾ They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stand upright.

⁽⁹⁾ Save, LORD! May the King answer us when we call.

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.

Psalm 21

⁽¹⁾ The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!⁽²⁾ You have given him his heart's desire, And have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah⁽³⁾ For You meet him with the blessings of goodness; You set a crown of pure gold upon his head.⁽⁴⁾ He asked life from You, and You gave it to him -- Length of days forever and ever.

⁽⁵⁾ His glory is great in Your salvation; Honor and majesty You have placed upon him.⁽⁶⁾ For You have made him most blessed forever; You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence.⁽⁷⁾ For the king trusts in the LORD, And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.⁽⁸⁾ Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You.

⁽⁹⁾ You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger; The LORD shall swallow them up in His wrath, And the fire shall devour them.⁽¹⁰⁾ Their offspring You shall destroy from the earth, And their descendants from among the sons of men.⁽¹¹⁾ For they intended evil against You; They devised a plot which they are not able to perform.⁽¹²⁾ Therefore You will make them turn their back; You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces.

⁽¹³⁾ Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power.

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 25

⁽¹⁾ O LORD, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, For You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.⁽²⁾ For You have made a city a ruin, A fortified city a ruin, A palace of foreigners to be a city no more; It will never be rebuilt.⁽³⁾ Therefore the strong people will glorify You; The city of the terrible nations will fear You.⁽⁴⁾ For You have been a strength to the poor, A strength to the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, A shade from the heat; For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

⁽⁵⁾ You will reduce the noise of aliens, As heat in a dry place; As heat in the shadow of a cloud, The song of the terrible ones will be diminished.⁽⁶⁾ And in this mountain The LORD of hosts will make for all people A feast of choice pieces, A feast of wines on the lees, Of fat things full of marrow, Of well-refined wines on the lees.⁽⁷⁾ And He will destroy on this mountain The surface of the covering cast over all people, And the veil that is spread over all nations.⁽⁸⁾ He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.

⁽⁹⁾ And it will be said in that day: 'Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; We have waited for Him; We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Revelation Chapter 1

⁽⁹⁾ I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.⁽¹⁰⁾ I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,⁽¹¹⁾ saying, 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,' and, 'What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.'⁽¹²⁾ Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

⁽¹³⁾ and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.⁽¹⁴⁾ His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;⁽¹⁵⁾ His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;⁽¹⁶⁾ He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.

⁽¹⁷⁾ And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, 'Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.⁽¹⁸⁾ I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.⁽¹⁹⁾ Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.⁽²⁰⁾ The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 7

⁽⁵³⁾ And everyone went to his own house.⁽¹⁾ But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.⁽²⁾ Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.⁽³⁾ Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst,⁽⁴⁾ they said to Him, 'Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.

⁽⁵⁾ Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?'⁽⁶⁾ This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.⁽⁷⁾ So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, 'He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.'⁽⁸⁾ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

⁽⁹⁾ Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.⁽¹⁰⁾ When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, 'Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?'⁽¹¹⁾ She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said to her, 'Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.'

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The First Song of Isaiah Isaiah 12:2 to 6

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 the 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 forever. Amen.

\
The Song of Zechariah Luke 1: 68 to 79
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham,
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
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: The Nativity of Our Lord
O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

--or this--

O God, you have caused this holy night to shine with the brightness of the true Light: Grant that we, who have known the mystery of that Light on earth, may also enjoy him perfectly in heaven; where with you and the Holy Spirit he lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

--or this--

Almighty God, you have given your only begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and to be born [this day] of a pure virgin: Grant that we, who have been born again and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with you and the same 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