Opening Sentence

Yours is the day, O God, yours also the night; you established the moon and the sun. You fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter. Psalm 74:15,16

Confession

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we 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.

Invitatory

O God, make speed to save us.

O Lord, make haste to help us.

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

O Gracious Light Phos hilaron

O gracious light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of Life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.

Psalm 73 Quam bonus Israel!

1

Truly, God is good to Israel, *
to those who are pure in heart.

2

But as for me, my feet had nearly slipped; *
I had almost tripped and fallen;

3

Because I envied the proud *
and saw the prosperity of the wicked:

4

For they suffer no pain, *
and their bodies are sleek and sound;

5

In the misfortunes of others they have no share; *
they are not afflicted as others are;

6

Therefore they wear their pride like a necklace *
and wrap their violence about them like a cloak.

7

Their iniquity comes from gross minds, *
and their hearts overflow with wicked thoughts.

8

They scoff and speak maliciously; *
out of their haughtiness they plan oppression.

9

They set their mouths against the heavens, *
and their evil speech runs through the world.

10

And so the people turn to them *
and find in them no fault.

11

They say, "How should God know? *
is there knowledge in the Most High?"

12

So then, these are the wicked; *
always at ease, they increase their wealth.

13

In vain have I kept my heart clean, *
and washed my hands in innocence.

14

I have been afflicted all day long, *
and punished every morning.

15

Had I gone on speaking this way, *
I should have betrayed the generation of your children.

16

When I tried to understand these things, *
it was too hard for me;

17

Until I entered the sanctuary of God *
and discerned the end of the wicked.

18

Surely, you set them in slippery places; *
you cast them down in ruin.

19

Oh, how suddenly do they come to destruction, *
come to an end, and perish from terror!

20

Like a dream when one awakens, O Lord, *
when you arise you will make their image vanish.

21

When my mind became embittered, *
I was sorely wounded in my heart.

22

I was stupid and had no understanding; *
I was like a brute beast in your presence.

23

Yet I am always with you; *
you hold me by my right hand.

24

You will guide me by your counsel, *
and afterwards receive me with glory.

25

Whom have I in heaven but you? *
and having you I desire nothing upon earth.

26

Though my flesh and my heart should waste away, *
God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.

27

Truly, those who forsake you will perish; *
you destroy all who are unfaithful.

28

But it is good for me to be near God; *
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge.

29

I will speak of all your works *
in the gates of the city of Zion.

Gloria Patri

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

Mark 8:27-9:1

Mark 8

²⁷ Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?"

²⁸ And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets."

²⁹ He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah."

³⁰ And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

³¹ Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

³² He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

³³ But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

³⁴ He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

³⁵ For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.

³⁶ For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?

³⁷ Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?

³⁸ Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Mark 9

¹And he said to them, "Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power."

Canticle 17 The Song of Simeon
Nunc Dimittis Luke 2:29-32

The Presbyterian Church U.S.A

For Local Government

For Those Who Need Continuing Care

Look with mercy, O God our Father, on all persons who have become ill, weak, distressed, or isolated. Provide for them homes of dignity and peace; give them understanding helpers, and the willingness to accept help; and increase their faith and their assurance of your love. This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the Absent

O God, whose fatherly care reaches to the uttermost parts of the earth: We humbly beseech you graciously to behold and bless whom we love, now absent from us. Defend them from all dangers of soul and body; and grant that both they and we, drawing nearer to you, may be bound together by your love in the communion of your Holy Spirit, and in the fellowship of your saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer Attributed to St. Francis

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

General Thanksgiving

A Prayer of St. Chrysostom

Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.

Benediction

Let us bless the Lord.

Thanks be to God.