GREETING (adapted from Psalm 118:24)
This is the day that you have made, O God.
We rejoice and are glad in it.
HYMN 358 “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind”
PSALM 119:89-96
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.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
(Declare your faith by repeating “The Apostles’ Creed” (882) or “The Nicene Creed,” (880) or use the following affirmation.)
We believe in one God who has created,
is creating, and will forever create.
Scientists work to discover the “How?”
thinking God’s thoughts after God;
but only God can answer the “Who?”
God’s perfect love nurtures all creation:
seeding our world with God’s word;
gathering the lost in the only Son;
and growing all in the Holy Spirt.
We believe that God is still creating:
testier ants and tougher dandelions;
brilliant supernovas and black holes;
our children taller than their parents,
and grandchildren taller than theirs.
And, just as God answers our “Who?”
God also answers our curious “Why?”
as God works on something grander:
the unseen kingdom coming still;
where love shines brighter than sun;
and the creation rises to perfection.
The eternal replaces what is temporary.
In lightning flashes we see glimpses
when love breaks out in this place.
Already and not yet, Christ brings it.
With him, God laid its foundations;
in the Spirit, it grows and multiplies.
Always the Creator, God astounds us. Amen.
GLORY BE TO THE FATHER 70 or 71
PRAYER
Father, as the cool, stillness of evening settles upon our souls,
it is good to pause on this day you set aside for rest.
In the quiet we have time to reflect on your loving goodness.
But upon what shall we reflect? There is so much.
Shall we ponder the vast reaches of the universe you have created,
or the microscopic delicacies of atomic structure?
Shall we think on how all things serve you: the wind and sky,
the rain and rivers, rock and loam, fire and heat?
Or shall we consider the wondrous ways of your creatures living
in the seas, the air and across all the lands of Earth?
And what about your goodness that we discover in our relationships
with the many people who touch our lives each day?
Best of all we can meditate on the relationship we have with you,
like your unchanging friendship, love and grace.
We can wonder at the time the Creator gives to the ones created,
and that you would even want to be with us at all.
There is so much loving goodness in you, that there will never
be enough days to even name all we enjoy from you.
You are more than just the God we praise and thank in church.
You are everything, and we love you forever. 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 563 “Father, We Thank You”
CLOSING PRAYER
Six days, Creator, you worked your wonders,
and on the seventh you took time to rest;
knowing your people would imitate you,
taking one day in seven for a day of rest.
We loved the rest, but failed to do it faithfully.
We twisted this into yet more sinfulness,
and increased our relationship wreckage.
All creation needed relief from our folly.
When the time was right, you sent your Son,
whom we crucified, and you resurrected.
That Sunday, Jesus made everything new,
like we received an eighth day of creation.
We have rested today, God, and now we sleep,
to let it prepare our bodies for a new day
of living faithfully and creatively for you.
Tomorrow, we pray, our gratitude shows. Amen.
Copyright 2020. Robert D. Ingram, 32746 Jourden Rd., Albany, Ohio 45710 (dr.bobingram@gmail.com). Used by permission.
