GREETING (adapted from Psalm 118:24)
This is the day that you have made, O God.
We rejoice and are glad in it.
HYMN 519 “Lift Every Voice and Sing”
PSALM 84
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 that we are loved and claimed by God,
even though we are broken and damaged by our sin.
We believe it is God’s will to lovingly embrace us.
Christ is the healing provided to all God’s people.
Christ’s loving sacrifice changes our hearts forever.
Uniting with Christ we crucify the old fleshy ways.
The Spirit of God and Christ enters our new hearts,
to teach us to live and be guided by God’s holy love.
Carefully and lovingly, the Spirit seeds our lives.
We believe spiritual seeds planted in our new lives,
bear Godly fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
This fruitfulness of restored lives meets God’s will,
and is our living praise of God’s goodness and mercy.
We are committed to the sanctification of such a life. Amen.
GLORY BE TO THE FATHER 70 or 71
PRAYER
God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – we love you.
You are our breath of fresh air, our rainbow in the midst of the storm,
a rattling of new life in our valley full of old, dry bones.
As the party is about to break up, you turn water into wine,
seek out the lost, and associate with the wrong people.
You are our full moon in the dark night, the cure for all our maladies,
the long-awaited messenger finally bringing good news.
As people push and shove to get ahead, you wash their feet,
take the lowest seat, and die for those who betrayed you.
You are a life-time of sabbath days, the paradise in every difficult day.
the answer to every troubled prayer, our peace, our joy.
Upon resurrection, you calmly walk with friends to Emmaus.
and assure your disciples that you are with them always.
You are the ancient and the brand new, the One we have always needed.
God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – we love you. 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 89 “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”
CLOSING PRAYER
Holy One, for some unfathomable reason you have always loved us,
even more strange, you feel joy when we love you in return.
Peace settles on you and your kingdom when we choose to obey you.
Patience, kindness and generosity you show when we don’t.
Even though you can never count on us, your faithfulness never fails.
And despite our disobedience you have dealt gently with us.
Your self-control holds our world together as we drop deeply to sleep.
When we wake, we pray your spiritual character grow in us.
Then your spiritual gifts can lead us into service and kingdom living. Amen.
Copyright 2020. Robert D. Ingram, 32746 Jourden Rd., Albany, Ohio 45710 (dr.bobingram@gmail.com). Used by permission.
