“Tell me the story slowly, that I may take it in— that wonderful redemption, God’s remedy for sin.”
—A. Katherine Hankey, 1866 Preparation for worship Sit in a relaxed position. Take a slow, deep breath (or 2 or 3 or as many as needed) until you feel your body, mind, and soul begin to relax and rest in the Spirit. Take time to reflect as you move through this time of worship… Opening Sentences Mark 1:40-41 To Jesus we cry: Cleanse us, O Lord! By the mercy of Christ we are made clean. Prayer Adapted from Carmina Gadelica Thanks to you, O God, that I have risen today, to the rising of life itself; may it be to your own glory, O God of every gift, and to the glory of my soul likewise. O great God, aid my soul with the aiding of your own mercy; even as I clothe my body with wool, cover my soul with the shadow of your wing. Help me to avoid every sin, and the source of every sin to forsake; and as the mist scatters on the crest of the hills, may each ill haze clear from my soul, O God. Hymn of the Day Be Still My Soul, sung a cappella by Eclipse 6. Listen and pray. Reading of the Day 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 16 If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel. 19 For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings. Prayers for self and others Please pray today for those who are being affected by Covid-19 and by its side effects in our world. Pray for the thousands who are still being diagnosed positive in the U.S. each day, and for the thousands who are dying. Please continue to pray for Marcy Szeliga and for Mark Sabala, both working as nurses with Covid patients, and for Brandon Jantzen and his family— Brandon is experiencing continuing health problems after having Covid. Pray for your own sense of calling to Christian discipleship; find time to simply listen for God’s voice speaking to you. As we hear of more friends who are directly affected, or who are working in high risk places, we will list them here. Use this time to lift your joys, concerns, and hopes to God. Benediction Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Alleluia!
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“Tell me the story simply, as to a little child; for I am weak and weary, and helpless and defiled.”
—A. Katherine Hankey, 1866 Preparation for worship Sit in a relaxed position. Take a slow, deep breath (or 2 or 3 or as many as needed) until you feel your body, mind, and soul begin to relax and rest in the Spirit. Take time to reflect as you move through this time of worship… Opening Sentences Isaiah 6:8 The Lord called out: Whom shall I send? I answered: Here I am; send me. Prayer Worship Sourcebook, CRC, 2018 Great God, King of the universe, dwelling beyond all worlds and stars and yet intimately present to human hearts, you who shine with purity and glory, lighting up ranks of angels and archangels, you give martyrs their comfort and saints their heavenly rest. We praise and thank you. Gracious God, lover of the world, you are the one willing to suffer so that we might be healed, willing to stoop to us in our misery, so that we might stand tall as loved sons and daughters, You have served us even when we were unwilling to serve you, and longed for us even when we had ignored you. Surely you are a surprising God and a God of amazing grace. We praise and thank you. Nothing we do makes you seek us less; nothing we do makes you seek us more. You seek us with all the passion of a lover, and so we praise and thank you. Amen. Hymn of the Day How Can I Keep from Singing, by Eva Cassidy. Listen and pray. Reading of the Day 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? 4 For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human? 5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. 9 For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building. Prayers for self and others Please pray today for those who are being affected by Covid-19 and by its side effects in our world. Pray for the thousands who are still being diagnosed positive in the U.S. each day, and for the thousands who are dying. Please continue to pray for Marcy Szeliga and for Mark Sabala, both working as nurses with Covid patients, and for Brandon Jantzen and his family— Brandon is experiencing continuing health problems after having Covid. Pray for scientists analyzing new strains of the Covid virus around the world, that they would find good and helpful information to help to fight them. As we hear of more friends who are directly affected, or who are working in high risk places, we will list them here. Use this time to lift your joys, concerns, and hopes to God. Benediction Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Alleluia! “Tell me the old, old story of unseen things above, of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love.”
—A. Katherine Hankey, 1866 Preparation for worship Sit in a relaxed position. Take a slow, deep breath (or 2 or 3 or as many as needed) until you feel your body, mind, and soul begin to relax and rest in the Spirit. Take time to reflect as you move through this time of worship… Opening Sentences 1 Corinthians 9:23 Do all things for the sake of the gospel. So we may share in the blessings of God. Prayer Christina Rosetti (1830-1894) As the wind is your symbol, so forward our goings. As the dove, so launch us heavenwards. As water, so purify our spirits. As a cloud, so abate our temptations. As dew, so revive our languor. As fire, so purge out our dross. Amen. Hymn of the Day Baba Yetu (Our Father), sung by the Stellenbosch University Choir, South Africa, 2018. Listen and pray. Reading of the Day 1 Corinthians 12: 12-31 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14 Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many members, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; 24 whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, 25 that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. Prayers for self and others Please pray today for those who are being affected by Covid-19 and by its side effects in our world. Pray for the thousands who are still being diagnosed positive in the U.S. each day, and for the thousands who are dying. Please continue to pray for Marcy Szeliga and for Mark Sabala, both working as nurses with Covid patients, and for Brandon Jantzen and his family— Brandon is experiencing continuing health problems after having Covid. Pray for producers and distributers of the vaccine, that they may work safely and efficiently. As we hear of more friends who are directly affected, or who are working in high risk places, we will list them here. Use this time to lift your joys, concerns, and hopes to God. Benediction Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Alleluia! “You are my strength when I am weak, You are the treasure that I seek, You are my all in all.”
—Dennis L. Jernigan, 1990 Preparation for worship Sit in a relaxed position. Take a slow, deep breath (or 2 or 3 or as many as needed) until you feel your body, mind, and soul begin to relax and rest in the Spirit. Take time to reflect as you move through this time of worship… Opening Sentences Matthew 5:14, 16 Jesus said: You are the light of the world. Let our light shine, giving glory to God. Prayer Book of Common Worship, PC(USA), 2018 Faithful God, you have appointed us your witnesses, to be light that shines in the world. Let us not hide the bright hope you have given us, but tell everyone of your love, revealed in Jesus Christ the Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. Hymn of the Day Lord, Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace, by John Rutter, sung by the Cambridge Singers. Listen and pray. Reading of the Day Matthew 5: 13-20 13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Prayers for self and others Please pray today for those who are being affected by Covid-19 and by its side effects in our world. Pray for the thousands who are still being diagnosed positive in the U.S. each day, and for the thousands who are dying. Please continue to pray for Marcy Szeliga and for Mark Sabala, both working as nurses with Covid patients, and for Brandon Jantzen and his family— Brandon is experiencing continuing health problems after having Covid. Pray for nurses juggling patients waiting in emergency rooms for lack of hospital beds. As we hear of more friends who are directly affected, or who are working in high risk places, we will list them here. Use this time to lift your joys, concerns, and hopes to God. Benediction Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Alleluia! “When the morning wakens, then may I arise pure, and fresh, and sinless in Thy holy eyes.”
—Sabine Baring-Gould, 1865 Preparation for worship Sit in a relaxed position. Take a slow, deep breath (or 2 or 3 or as many as needed) until you feel your body, mind, and soul begin to relax and rest in the Spirit. Take time to reflect as you move through this time of worship… Opening Sentences 1 Corinthians 1:17-18 We proclaim the message of the cross: this is the wisdom and power of God. Prayer United Church of Canada Service Book, 1969 Grant unto us, O God, the fullness of your promises. Where we have been weak, grant us your strength; where we have been confused, grant us your guidance; where we have been distraught, grant us your comfort; where we have been dead, grant us your life. Apart from you, O Lord, we are nothing, in and with you we can do all things. Amen. Hymn of the Day Let Us Break Bread Together, by Reggie Houston. Listen and pray. Reading of the Day 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 1 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9 For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10 but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. Prayers for self and others Please pray today for those who are being affected by Covid-19 and by its side effects in our world. Pray for the thousands who are still being diagnosed positive in the U.S. each day, and for the thousands who are dying. Please continue to pray for Marcy Szeliga and for Mark Sabala, both working as nurses with Covid patients, and for Brandon Jantzen and his family— Brandon is experiencing continuing health problems after having Covid. Pray for people in low income and underserved areas- those hardest hit by the virus- that they would be able to get vaccinated. As we hear of more friends who are directly affected, or who are working in high risk places, we will list them here. Use this time to lift your joys, concerns, and hopes to God. Benediction Now may the Lord of peace give you peace at all times and in all ways. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Alleluia! “God be with you till we meet again; keep love’s banner floating o’er you, smite death’s threatening wave before you…”
—Jeremiah Eames Ranken, 1880 Preparation for worship Sit in a relaxed position. Take a slow, deep breath (or 2 or 3 or as many as needed) until you feel your body, mind, and soul begin to relax and rest in the Spirit. Take time to reflect as you move through this time of worship… Opening Sentences Luke 4:18, 21 Jesus said: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. May the word of God be fulfilled among us. Prayer Walter Brueggemann, 2008 We are strange mixtures of loss and hope. As we are able, we submit our losses to you. We know about sickness and dying, about death and mortality, about failure and disappointment. And now for a moment we do our failing and dying in your presence, you who attend to us in loss. As we are able, we submit our hopes to you. We know about self-focused fantasy and notions of control. But we also know that our futures are out beyond us, held in your good hand. Our hopes are filled with promises of well-being, justice, and mercy. Move us this day beyond our fears and anxieties into your land of goodness. We wait for your coming, We pray for your kingdom. In the meantime, give us bread for the day. Hymn of the Day Take and Eat This Bread, by Paul Tate, performed by the GSus Band, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Greenwich Village, NY. Listen and pray. Reading of the Day 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 10 Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. 12 What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power. Prayers for self and others Please pray today for those who are being affected by Covid-19 and by its side effects in our world. Pray for the thousands who are still being diagnosed positive in the U.S. each day, and for the thousands who are dying. Please continue to pray for Marcy Szeliga and for Mark Sabala, both working as nurses with Covid patients, and for Brandon Jantzen and his family— Brandon is experiencing continuing health problems after having Covid. Pray for those studying new strains of the virus and determining how to protect the public from them. As we hear of more friends who are directly affected, or who are working in high risk places, we will list them here. Use this time to lift your joys, concerns, and hopes to God. Benediction Now may the Lord of peace give you peace at all times and in all ways. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Alleluia! “God be with you till we meet again; when life’s perils thick confound you, put unfailing arms around you…”
—Jeremiah Eames Ranken, 1880 Preparation for worship Sit in a relaxed position. Take a slow, deep breath (or 2 or 3 or as many as needed) until you feel your body, mind, and soul begin to relax and rest in the Spirit. Take time to reflect as you move through this time of worship… Opening Sentences 1 Corinthians 13:13 Now faith, hope, and love abide; and the greatest of these is love. Prayer Toyohiko Kagawa (1888-1960) O God, show us clearly the heart of your kingdom. We do not protest even if our life is destined to lead to the cross, or if the way leads to losing our lives. We will march in the face of distress and contrary winds. Teach us how to dispense with unnecessary things. Let us go forward without fear of death in order to fulfill our mission simply, surely, and steadily. Reveal to us our station clearly, and strengthen us to teach and guide, by our example, all persons, even those who are ruled by evil. We pray that you may find us worthy to work through us. Amen. Hymn of the Day Welcome Table, from A Southern Gospel Revival- Courtney Patton. Listen and pray. Reading of the Day 1 Corinthians 8: 1-13 1 Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; 3 but anyone who loves God is known by him. 4 Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5 Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 7 It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 “Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9 But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? 11 So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. 12 But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall. Prayers for self and others Please pray today for those who are being affected by COVID-19 and by its side effects in our world. Pray for the thousands who are still being diagnosed positive in the U.S. each day, and for the thousands who are dying. Please continue to pray for Marcy Szeliga, working as a nurse in a COVID ICU unit; for Frances Gutierrez and her daughters, all recovering from the virus at home; and for Brandon Jantzen and his family— Brandon is experiencing continuing health problems after having Covid. Pray for children who have struggled in school this year due to the pandemic— whether on campus or learning from home. As we hear of more friends who are directly affected, or who are working in high risk places, we will list them here. Use this time to lift your joys, concerns, and hopes to God. Benediction Now may the Lord of peace give you peace at all times and in all ways. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Alleluia! “God be with you till we meet again; unseen wings protecting hide you, daily manna still provide you…”
—Jeremiah Eames Ranken, 1880 Preparation for worship Sit in a relaxed position. Take a slow, deep breath (or 2 or 3 or as many as needed) until you feel your body, mind, and soul begin to relax and rest in the Spirit. Take time to reflect as you move through this time of worship… Opening Sentences Psalm 111:1-2 Give thanks to God with your whole heart. Great are the works of the Lord. Prayer St. Brigid of Ireland, c. 451-525 I should like a great lake of finest ale, for the King of Kings. I should like a table of the choicest food, for the family of heaven. Let the ale be made from the fruits of faith, and the food be forgiving love. I should welcome the poor to my feast, for they are God’s children. I should welcome the sick to my feast, for they are God’s joy. Let the poor sit with Jesus at the highest place, and the sick dance with the angels. God bless the poor, God bless the sick, and bless our human race. God bless our food, God bless our drink, all homes, O God, embrace. Hymn of the Day Draw Us in the Spirit's Tether, sung at Saint Peter’s Catholic Church in Columbia, SC, Mark Husey, organist. Listen and pray. Reading of the Day 1 Corinthians 1: 18-31 18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, 23 but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. 26 Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, 29 so that no one might boast in the presence of God. 30 He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” Prayers for self and others Please pray today for those who are being affected by COVID-19 and by its side effects in our world. Pray for the thousands who are still being diagnosed positive in the U.S. each day, and for the thousands who are dying. Please continue to pray for Marcy Szeliga, working as a nurse in a COVID ICU unit; for Frances Gutierrez and her daughters, all recovering from the virus at home; and for Brandon Jantzen and his family— Brandon is experiencing continuing health problems after having Covid. Pray for there to be enough food for everyone who is in need— pray that our food banks, community pantries, and school distribution sites would be overflowing with donations as well as volunteers to manage them. As we hear of more friends who are directly affected, or who are working in high risk places, we will list them here. Use this time to lift your joys, concerns, and hopes to God. Benediction Now may the Lord of peace give you peace at all times and in all ways. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Alleluia! “God be with you till we meet again; loving counsels guide, uphold you, with a Shepherd’s care enfold you…”
—Jeremiah Eames Ranken, 1880 Preparation for worship Sit in a relaxed position. Take a slow, deep breath (or 2 or 3 or as many as needed) until you feel your body, mind, and soul begin to relax and rest in the Spirit. Take time to reflect as you move through this time of worship… Opening Sentences Micah 6:8 What does the Holy One require of us? To be just, kind, and humble before God. Prayer Book of Common Worship, PC(USA), 2018 Holy God, you confound the world’s wisdom by giving your kingdom to the lowly and pure in heart. Give us such a hunger and thirst for justice and perseverance in striving for peace, that by our words and deeds the world may see the promise of your kingdom, revealed in Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Hymn of the Day Bread & Wine, by Josh Garrells. Listen and pray. Reading of the Day Matthew 5:1-12 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Prayers for self and others Please pray today for those who are being affected by COVID-19 and by its side effects in our world. Pray for the thousands who are still being diagnosed positive in the U.S. each day, and for the thousands who are dying. Please continue to pray for Marcy Szeliga, working as a nurse in a COVID ICU unit; for Frances Gutierrez and her daughters, all recovering from the virus at home; and for Brandon Jantzen and his family— Brandon is experiencing continuing health problems after having Covid. Pray for patience and perseverance for all of us, that we would continue to take precautions even as we see the light at the end of the long night. As we hear of more friends who are directly affected, or who are working in high risk places, we will list them here. Use this time to lift your joys, concerns, and hopes to God. Benediction Now may the Lord of peace give you peace at all times and in all ways. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Alleluia! “Confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law!”
—Katharine Lee Bates, 1893 Preparation for worship Sit in a relaxed position. Take a slow, deep breath (or 2 or 3 or as many as needed) until you feel your body, mind, and soul begin to relax and rest in the Spirit. Take time to reflect as you move through this time of worship… Opening Sentences Isaiah 6:8 The Lord said, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!” Prayer Book of Common Worship, PC(USA), 2018 Almighty God, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world. May your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, shine with the radiance of his glory, that he may be known, worshiped and obeyed to the ends of the earth; for he lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Hymn of the Day Praise You in the Storm, by Natalie Grant. Listen and pray. Reading of the Day Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills-- from where will my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore. Prayers for self and others Please pray today for those who are being affected by COVID-19 and by its side effects in our world. Pray for the thousands who are still being diagnosed positive in the U.S. each day, and for the thousands who are dying. Please continue to pray for Marcy Szeliga, working as a nurse in a COVID ICU unit; for Frances Gutierrez and her daughters, all recovering from the virus at home; and for Brandon Jantzen and his family— Brandon is experiencing continuing health problems after having Covid. Please pray that everyone in our own country would have access to the best possible health care. As we hear of more friends who are directly affected, or who are working in high risk places, we will list them here. Use this time to lift your joys, concerns, and hopes to God. Benediction Brothers and sisters, your dreams should not go unnoticed. God knows your dreams. Now dare to dream out loud So the world may discover what you and God can do. Release every God-given dream, So that others may be inspired to do likewise. To the author of every good and noble dream, we give all honor and praise. Amen. |
AuthorBecky Downs, pastor of John Knox, started writing daily prayers for the congregation at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, to encourage the congregation in their faith during their time of separation from each other. The daily prayers were posted throughout the year. You might want to choose one a day to read, and modify the specific prayers for self and others to fit your life today. Archives
April 2021
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