OPENING SENTENCES

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel; my heart teaches me, night after night. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not fall. Psalm 16:7, 8

CONFESSION OF SIN

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.

Evening Examen: What was the most draining part of my day? What was the most life-giving part of my day? Let God guide you as you reflect on your day by asking him for light, grace, and gratitude.

O God, make speed to save us. *
O Lord, make haste to help us.

EVENING PSALM

Psalm 147

Praise the Lord!
How good it is to sing praises to our God; *
for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.

The Lord builds up Jerusalem; *
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.

He heals the brokenhearted, *
and binds up their wounds.

He determines the number of the stars; *
he gives to all of them their names.

Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; *
his understanding is beyond measure.

The Lord lifts up the downtrodden; *
he casts the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; *
make melody to our God on the lyre.

He covers the heavens with clouds, *
prepares rain for the earth,
makes grass grow on the hills.

He gives to the animals their food, *
and to the young ravens when they cry.

His delight is not in the strength of the horse, *
nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;

but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, *
in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! *
Praise your God, O Zion!

For he strengthens the bars of your gates; *
he blesses your children within you.

He grants peace within your borders; *
he fills you with the finest of wheat.

He sends out his command to the earth; *
his word runs swiftly.

He gives snow like wool; *
he scatters frost like ashes.

He hurls down hail like crumbs— *
who can stand before his cold?

He sends out his word, and melts them; *
he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.

He declares his word to Jacob, *
his statutes and ordinances to Israel.

He has not dealt thus with any other nation; *
they do not know his ordinances.
Praise the Lord!

Compassionate God, as you know each star you have created, so you know the secrets of every heart; in your loving mercy bring to your table all who are fearful and broken, all who are wounded and needy, that our hungers may be satisfied in the city of your peace; through Christ who is our peace.

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

EVENING SONG

As with Gladness, Men of Old - High Street Hymns

EVENING LESSONS

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord. The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.” Therefore, the days are surely coming, says the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, “As the Lord lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of Egypt,” but “As the Lord lives who brought out and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the land of the north and out of all the lands where he had driven them.” Then they shall live in their own land.

Colossians 2:8-23

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it. Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch”? All these regulations refer to things that perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings. These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

In the evening, pray for:

peace
individuals and their needs

Conclude with the Lord's Prayer and/or the following Collect for Epiphany:

O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the Peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord. *
Thanks be to God!

The Almighty and merciful Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless us and keep us. Amen.