Evening Prayer

Advent
The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. Isaiah 40:5

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
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 24

⁽¹⁾ The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. ⁽²⁾ For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters. ⁽³⁾ Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? ⁽⁴⁾ He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.

⁽⁵⁾ He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation. ⁽⁶⁾ This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face. Selah ⁽⁷⁾ Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. ⁽⁸⁾ Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle.

⁽⁹⁾ Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah

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 29

⁽¹⁾ Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones, Give unto the LORD glory and strength. ⁽²⁾ Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. ⁽³⁾ The voice of the LORD is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The LORD is over many waters. ⁽⁴⁾ The voice of the LORD is powerful; The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

⁽⁵⁾ The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars, Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon. ⁽⁶⁾ He makes them also skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox. ⁽⁷⁾ The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire. ⁽⁸⁾ The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.

⁽⁹⁾ The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth, And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everyone says, 'Glory!' ⁽¹⁰⁾ The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood, And the LORD sits as King forever. ⁽¹¹⁾ The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with 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.

Genesis Chapter 3

⁽⁸⁾ And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. ⁽⁹⁾ Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, 'Where are you?' ⁽¹⁰⁾ So he said, 'I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.' ⁽¹¹⁾ And He said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?'

⁽¹²⁾ Then the man said, 'The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.' ⁽¹³⁾ And the LORD God said to the woman, 'What is this you have done?' The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.' ⁽¹⁴⁾ So the LORD God said to the serpent: 'Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. ⁽¹⁵⁾ And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.'

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Revelation Chapter 12

⁽¹⁾ Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. ⁽²⁾ Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. ⁽³⁾ And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. ⁽⁴⁾ His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.

⁽⁵⁾ She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. ⁽⁶⁾ Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. ⁽⁷⁾ And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, ⁽⁸⁾ but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.

⁽⁹⁾ So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. ⁽¹⁰⁾ Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 'Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

John Chapter 3

⁽¹⁶⁾ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ⁽¹⁷⁾ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ⁽¹⁸⁾ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ⁽¹⁹⁾ And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

⁽²⁰⁾ For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ⁽²¹⁾ But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.'

The Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.


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.

You are God        
You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord; we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you;
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free
you did not shun the Virgin's womb.
You overcame the sting of death
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God's right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come and be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.


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:  Fourth Sunday of Advent
Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect of the Day: O God, you make us glad with the weekly remembrance of the glorious resurrection of your Son our Lord: Give us this day such blessing through our worship of you, that the week to come may be spent in your favor; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Mission: Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 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

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14