GREETING (Adapted from Psalm 113:2-9)
Blessed be your name, O Lord,
from this time on and forevermore.
From the rising of the sun to its setting
your name will be praised.
You are high above all nations,
and your glory above the heavens.
Who is like you, O Lord our God,
who is seated on high,
who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
You raise the poor from the dust,
and lift the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of your people.
You give the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
We praise you, O Lord!
HYMN 426 “Behold a Broken World”
PSALM 122
PRAYER
(Think back to the beginning of this day. Start there, and mentally walk through the day again, while you thank God for the day's blessings and God's continuous work of love. Confess and repent of those times when you forgot, ignored or rebelled against God. Continue to pray with your personal prayer list.)
SCRIPTURE LESSON
(Choose a passage of scripture to read. It can be a chapter, a paragraph, or a particular story. Daily lectionaries are available online or in print that assign a lesson each day from the gospels, epistles, Old Testament and psalms on a three-year cycle. Or you can create a plan to read a book of the Bible, or the whole Bible. Then follow the steps below.)
Read a passage of scripture. Read it out loud, very slowly and carefully as if for the first time. Continue reading until a word, phrase or sentence captures your attention. Stop there to repeat the word, phrase or sentence over and over, listening to it deeply in your heart.
Reflect on why the passage got your attention. Consider the area of your life to which this may apply. Is God saying something to you in this passage? Take time to listen carefully to whatever God may be saying to you.
Respond to God in prayer (or with journaling, music, art or whatever you choose) about what you have heard. Ask questions. Open yourself to God’s will for you.
Rest in God’s company. Be still and quiet. Move beyond thinking, practicing interior silence. Let yourself be open to God’s presence. Savor this moment with God.
PRAYER
Loving God, let us go through this life
sowing peace in fields of anger and strife.
Fighting and war is so embedded in us.
We boil up so quickly in anger and hatred.
We fight for lovers, territory and wealth.
We fight for political and religious issues.
We even fight for reasons of vengeance,
to hurt someone who has caused us hurt.
We pile honors on those fighting bravely.
Those refusing to fight we brand cowards.
Even you, God, honor those fighting to
defend the poor, the orphans, the widows.
You love our fighting for righteousness,
for the oppressed and strangers in the land.
But you also assign your blessing, God,
on those making peace between fighters.
It is the peace-makers, not the warriors,
who will be called the “children of God.”
Peace is something so precious to all.
It produces great praise in your people.
You promise peace to those you love.
You never promise war to your children.
War is a threat, a judgment on our sin.
War is dreaded by those familiar with it.
There are many sacrifices made in war,
but peace demands the greatest sacrifices.
War is costly, but peace is more costly,
Worse, peace is not valued, until it is lost.
War comes easily, but peace is difficult.
There’s too much war, and too little peace.
Battling and war exist almost naturally.
Peace is something worked for, created.
Wild animals fight and kill each other.
Even plants strive against one another.
Fighting may be natural to this world,
but peace-making is a higher, holier order.
The peace-makers are kingdom people,
and you call them your very own children.
There is blessing to be bestowed by you
on those toiling to make peace in our world.
Today we seek to enter into this blessing.
We desire to be recognized as your children.
We want to answer your higher calling,
and cultivate a peace that all can celebrate.
Loving God, let us go through this life
sowing peace in fields of anger and strife. Amen.
SILENCE AND COMMITMENT
(Pause to reflect and listen. Work to push out of your mind any distracting or irrelevant thoughts. Concentrate your thoughts on the words of the hymns and choruses you have sung, the prayers you have spoken and the scriptures you have read. Be aware of what you are feeling. Listen for anything that God might be saying to you in this time you have spent together. As God responds to your prayer-time, seek guidance for how you can best respond to God’s will. Then commit to serving God’s will for you.)
HYMN 435 “O God of Every Nation”
CLOSING PRAYER (adapted from Psalm 146:5-9)
Blessed are those whose help you are, God of Jacob.
Our hope is in you, our Lord and our God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them.
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry,
whose hope is in the Lord their God,
You set the prisoners free.
You open the eyes of the blind.
You lift up those who are bowed down;
You love the righteous.
You watch over the strangers.
You uphold the orphan and the widow,
but the way of the wicked you bring to ruin.
We believe these things, Lord,
and as we put aside today’s struggles,
we will rest happy for your help with it all. Amen.
Copyright 2020. Robert D. Ingram, 32746 Jourden Rd., Albany, Ohio 45710 (dr.bobingram@gmail.com). Used by permission.
