Evening Prayer

Easter
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57

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


From Easter to Pentecost, Christ the Passover  can be used in place of the Venite or Jubilate.

Christ the Passover  1 Corinthians 5:7 to 8; Romans 6:9 to 11; 1 Corinthians 15:20 to 22
Alleluia.
Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us;
  therefore let us keep the feast,
Not with old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil,
  but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Alleluia.

Christ being raised from the dead will never die again;
  death no longer has dominion over him.
The death that he died, he died to sin, once for all;
  but the life he lives, he lives to God.
So also consider yourselves dead to sin,
  and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Alleluia.

  the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since by a man came death,
  by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die,
  so in Christ shall all be made alive. Alleluia.

Venite
The Antiphon:

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

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Colossian 3:1

The Lessons

Psalm 30

⁽¹⁾ I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me. ⁽²⁾ O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. ⁽³⁾ O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. ⁽⁴⁾ Sing praise to the LORD, You saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

⁽⁵⁾ For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. ⁽⁶⁾ Now in my prosperity I said, 'I shall never be moved.' ⁽⁷⁾ LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled. ⁽⁸⁾ I cried out to You, O LORD; And to the LORD I made supplication:

⁽⁹⁾ What profit is there in my blood, When I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? ⁽¹⁰⁾ Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me; LORD, be my helper!' ⁽¹¹⁾ You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, ⁽¹²⁾ To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

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 32

⁽¹⁾ Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. ⁽²⁾ Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit. ⁽³⁾ When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. ⁽⁴⁾ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah

⁽⁵⁾ I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,' And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah ⁽⁶⁾ For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him. ⁽⁷⁾ You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah ⁽⁸⁾ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.

⁽⁹⁾ Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him. ⁽¹¹⁾ Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

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.

Daniel Chapter 6

⁽¹⁶⁾ So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, 'Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.' ⁽¹⁷⁾ Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also his sleep went from him. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions.

⁽²⁰⁾ And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, 'Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?' ⁽²¹⁾ Then Daniel said to the king, 'O king, live forever! ⁽²²⁾ My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.' ⁽²³⁾ Then the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God.

⁽²⁴⁾ And the king gave the command, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions -- them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den. ⁽²⁵⁾ Then King Darius wrote: To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. ⁽²⁶⁾ I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, And steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, And His dominion shall endure to the end. ⁽²⁷⁾ He delivers and rescues, And He works signs and wonders In heaven and on earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

⁽²⁸⁾ So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

3 John Chapter 1

⁽¹⁾ THE ELDER, To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth: ⁽²⁾ Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. ⁽³⁾ For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. ⁽⁴⁾ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

⁽⁵⁾ Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers, ⁽⁶⁾ who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well, ⁽⁷⁾ because they went forth for His name's sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles. ⁽⁸⁾ We therefore ought to receive such, that we may become fellow workers for the truth.

⁽⁹⁾ I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church. ⁽¹¹⁾ Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God. ⁽¹²⁾ Demetrius has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself. And we also bear witness, and you know that our testimony is true.

⁽¹³⁾ I had many things to write, but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink; ⁽¹⁴⁾ but I hope to see you shortly, and we shall speak face to face. Peace to you. Our friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Luke Chapter 5

⁽²⁷⁾ After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, 'Follow Me.' ⁽²⁸⁾ So he left all, rose up, and followed Him. ⁽²⁹⁾ Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. ⁽³⁰⁾ And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, 'Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?'

⁽³¹⁾ Jesus answered and said to them, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ⁽³²⁾ I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.' ⁽³³⁾ Then they said to Him, 'Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?' ⁽³⁴⁾ And He said to them, 'Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?

⁽³⁵⁾ But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.' ⁽³⁶⁾ Then He spoke a parable to them: 'No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old. ⁽³⁷⁾ And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. ⁽³⁸⁾ But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.

⁽³⁹⁾ And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.' '

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

A Song of Creation   Prayer of Manasseh 1 to 2, 4, 6 to 7, 11 to 15
Invocation
Glorify the Lord,
all you works of the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

The Earth and its Creatures

Let the earth glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
Glorify the Lord, O mountains and hills,
and all that grows upon the earth,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
Glorify the Lord,
O springs of water, seas, and streams,
O whales and all that move in the waters.
All birds of the air, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

Glorify the Lord,
O beasts of the wild,
and all you flocks and herds.
O men and women everywhere, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

Doxology
Let us glorify the Lord:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
praise him and highly exalt him forever.
In the firmament of his power, glorify the Lord,
praise him and highly exalt him forever.

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   Traditional
Suffrages A

Seasonal Collect:  Third Sunday of Easter
O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Almighty God, who after the creation of the world rested from all your works and sanctified a day of rest for all your creatures: Grant that we, putting away all earthly anxieties, may be duly prepared for the service of your sanctuary, and that our rest here upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your people in heaven; 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. When you lack the words


Closing Prayers   Thanksgiving

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