GREETING (Psalm 119:171-172)
Our lips will pour forth praise, O God,
because you teach us your statutes.
Our tongues will sing of your promise,
for all your commandments are right.
HYMN 454 “Open My Eyes, That I May See”
PSALM 36
PRAYER
(Consider some of the following concerns for prayers of thanksgiving, intercession, and petition. Follow with your personal prayer list.)
Respect for law Falsifying tax forms and other financial reports
Respect for others Holy living
Respect for ourselves Honesty
Respect for boundaries Integrity
Respect for God Greed
Fear of God Selfishness
Not fearing God Trespassing
Love of neighbor Theft of …
Failing to love our neighbors Victims of theft
Stealing from someone we claim to love Love of possessions
Honest work Love of money
Earning what we gain Materialistic living
Honestly working toward ethical goals ____________________________
Investing while observing Christian ethics ____________________________
Embezzling funds ____________________________
THE LORD'S PRAYER
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
God, you are more precious than much silver
more cherished than pots of gold.
There is nothing in this world that we prefer
to the joy of your steadfast love.
To steal some bauble that is not our own
would sink us in awful poverty.
The world’s greatest treasure is nothing
compared to your steadfast love.
As cheap temptations attract our attention,
remind us whose heart we break.
Save us from trading the greatest diamond,
for the world’s poor imitations.
Save us from losing our pearl of great value,
for temporary terrestrial gain.
You are everything, our forever, our love.
O God, we want nothing less. 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 396 “O Jesus, I Have Promised”
CLOSING PRAYER
Ten commands you give, O God,
not suggestions, not guidelines, but commands.
Let them command our lives today, God of blessing.
Let their benefits sanctify the lives,
that your holy Son’s loving sacrifice has saved,
and restored to usefulness to you and you kingdom. Amen.
Copyright 2020. Robert D. Ingram, 32746 Jourden Rd., Albany, Ohio 45710 (dr.bobingram@gmail.com). Used by permission.
