GREETING (adapted from Psalm 89:26)
You, Almighty One, are our Father, our God, and the Rock of our salvation.
Your steadfast love is forever, and your covenant is everlasting.
Reveal to us your will, so we may worship you with our time in this world.
Hold us to your covenant, where all our blessing and hope lies.
Use our worship to form us as the steadfast covenant-keepers that you desire,
and let our faithful witness draw others to their salvation in you.
HYMN 203 “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed”
PSALM 111
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
Like a husband takes a wife, God of love,
you have captured our hearts and our loyalty.
You have said, “You are my people,”
and we have responded, “You are our God.”
You have created in us a better covenant,
a covenant like the marrying of two hearts;
and like a young wife, deeply in love,
we remember your deeds and trust your words.
We leave all that has been to follow you.
You are the solid ground under our feet, God.
You are hearth and home to our souls.
Into your powerful hands we place our future.
We want you only and always at our side,
whenever we go out and whenever we come in.
And when we wander, God, forgive us.
We know we will, but do not leave us there.
Chastise us. Woo us. Do what is needed
to pry us from whatever seduction steals us.
We are forever yours and want no other,
Even in our unfaithfulness, you own our hearts.
Where else can we find a love like yours?
Who else will forgive us seventy times seven,
or love us when we are so unlovable?
We have learned how totally unique you are.
We no longer need to be taught about you,
because, God, in Jesus we now know you.
Nor do we need to be drilled in law,
because Jesus has written it upon our hearts.
It was his teaching that first attracted us,
so authoritative and wonderfully different.
Then Jesus’ miracles captivated us.
Still, he had not won our wandering hearts.
That did not happen until in Jerusalem.
No one – no one – has ever done what he did.
While we were still so disbelieving
and lost deep in our sin, he gave us his life.
In Jesus, we have looked upon your face,
and because of him, we understand your love.
No other love is so total, so steadfast.
Your love has profoundly changed us, God.
We delight to be in covenant with you.
Our joy and our glory all has its source in you.
We are unworthy of your forgiveness,
but what a thrill it is to be held in your grace.
Because of your faithfulness and mercy,
we know that this marriage will last forever.
And our children will be righteousness,
justice, steadfast love, mercy and faithfulness.
Now before you, our heavenly husband,
we bow in worship, praise and thanksgiving.
With you, we will love your children,
and carry your blessings into all your creation. 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 209 “Blessed Be the God of Israel”
CLOSING PRAYER
You have made a number of covenants with your people, God.
But what is a covenant really – a contract, an agreement, a promise?
When you make a covenant with someone it is more than these.
Your covenants have always been full and unique because they are:
a surprise, with you initiating the whole arrangement for blessing us;
an unbalanced gift, in that we receive more than we can ever return;
a steadfast bond binding you to people you have chosen for covenant;
an alliance of you and your chosen people to work for all that is good;
a relationship with people who are privileged to enjoy your company;
your pledge, your understanding, your commitment to those chosen.
When you make a covenant, you are absolutely, always faithful.
On the other hand, we absolutely, always fail to keep faith with you.
But we can sleep soundly because Christ has kept faith for us,
and tomorrow we begin again in a covenant that still stands in love.
Amen.
Copyright 2020. Robert D. Ingram, 32746 Jourden Rd., Albany, Ohio 45710 (dr.bobingram@gmail.com). Used by permission.
