GREETING
Blessed are those who love you and enjoy your company, God;
for beauty, peace, joy, life and your love will be forever theirs.
Be our blessing today, God of grace and glory. We love you.
HYMN 194 “Morning Glory, Starlit Sky”
PSALM 140
PRAYER
(Consider some of the following concerns of people for prayers of thanksgiving, intercession, and petition. Follow with your personal prayer list.)
The long history of Christian martyrdom The physical pain of persecution
Martyrs of the church’s past The emotional pain of persecution
Christians still being martyred today Material losses from persecution
People of other faiths being martyred The losses suffered by persecutors
The grieving families of martyrs The future of persecutors
Those who are persecuted for their faith in Christ That God forgive our persecutors
Times you have been persecuted for your faith That we forgive our persecutors
That our persecution be for righteousness sake Our unity with Christ in persecution
The honor of being treated like the prophets Joy of being identified with Christ
God’s protection from persecutors That God blesses the persecuted
Cultural bias against Christianity That the reward is great in heaven
The hatred of Christianity ______________________________
The contempt many have for the church ______________________________
Collateral damage caused by persecution ______________________________
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
Almighty God, we thank you for the honor
of being persecuted for living righteous lives.
When our forgiveness is insulted,
our virginity is mocked,
our love of others scorned,
our truth-telling is disdained,
our honesty is held in contempt,
and our worship of you is ridiculed;
we will stand tall and celebrate that others
treat us as they treated Christ long before us.
When our faith in you is disparaged,
our values are detested,
our simplicity is derided,
our clean living is ostracized,
our good deeds are lampooned,
and our peaceful ways are abhorred;
we will know we share in Christ’s nature,
and will anticipate sharing in his kingdom. 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 415 “Take Up Thy Cross”
CLOSING PRAYER
God who takes yesterday’s evil,
and turns it into today’s blessing,
help us to see what Christ sees
when troubles trample over us.
Help us live today trusting you
to know the way to all goodness.
Send us out in faith to see you
working to turn evil into good.
Reveal to us the many wonders
you initiate everywhere around us.
Help us hold to the eternal truth
that you will love and care for us,
and this day can bring us no evil
that you cannot turn to a blessing. Amen.
Copyright 2020. Robert D. Ingram, 32746 Jourden Rd., Albany, Ohio 45710 (dr.bobingram@gmail.com). Used by permission.
