GREETING (adapted from Psalm 118:24)
This is the day that you have made, O God.
We rejoice and are glad in it.
HYMN 252 “When Jesus Came to Jordan”
PSALM 51
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 our beginnings are in God,
and that God’s plan for us is all good and full of love.
God is holy, and expects us to be holy,
but we have fallen far short of what is expected of us.
Our loving God sent Jesus to save us,
by offering his holy life on the cross, dying our death.
Jesus was buried in a borrowed tomb,
and three days later he was resurrected from the dead.
Many witnesses saw Jesus after that.
They touched him, ate with him and heard his voice.
Before our Savior returned to heaven,
he promised to send the Spirit to be with his disciples.
Now, as we repent and are baptized,
we join ourselves with Christ and receive his Spirit.
As we await him to bring the kingdom,
we are finally empowered by him to live in holiness.
We believe the gospel of Jesus Christ,
our greatest friend and eternal salvation for believers. Amen.
GLORY BE TO THE FATHER 70 or 71
PRAYER
Almighty God, you have set up your Son as a leader to us,
and how does your beloved One begin leading?
Our Savior seeks out John’s baptism of repentance by water.
Does your Son, Jesus, need to repent? Not at all!
But by his example Jesus leads us to where we need to begin,
repenting our sins and being baptized with Christ.
We admit the filth of our sin putrefies our hearts and minds.
Our souls rot and the covenant with you shreds.
Our sins of commission and omission tear us from your arms,
and set us against Jesus whom you sent to save us.
Our selfishness eats away at our relationships with others,
and sets us in direct opposition to your self-giving.
We lust for power and recognition, and are conquered by greed.
We lie and cheat because “everyone else does it.”
We love to follow the crowd, hiding our evil among the masses;
We pretend there is no sin if many are doing it.
As nations, races, and tribes; as corporations and industries;
as like-minded groups and clubs we sin in lock-step.
As one or many, we lose our selves in the evils that enslave us.
We lose ourselves and we lose your loving company.
Even the sinful thoughts never acted out divide us from you.
Dark dreams and desires seed rebellion within us.
God you know that before we can begin to follow your holy Son,
we need a bath to wash away the evil that separates us.
Body and spirit need the cleansing balm to which Jesus leads us.
Only then can life remove from us the stink of death.
In the pure stream of your mercy we can begin anew with you,
washing in forgiveness and soaking in grace and love.
Our leader becomes our Savior opening to us the way back to you.
Like Israelites at the sea, we are saved in the waters.
We have crossed the sea, and have been washed spotlessly clean;
and yet, we continue to soil ourselves with old habits.
We will never run out of need for your forgiveness, grace and love.
We will forever be dependent upon Christ’s salvation.
We will continue in repentance, and trust the relationship arising
from the baptismal waters to which Christ has led us.
Again and again, as many times as needed, we will turn from sin,
and race back to our future in your welcoming arms.
Christ has paid a great price to lead us back to your eternal love,
and there is nothing that can keep us from following.
We stumble. We fall. We wander off. But we will always return.
For our future began in the waters Christ stirred for us.
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 606 “Come, Let Us Use the Grace Divine”
CLOSING PRAYER
Father, Jesus came among us proclaiming your love,
and he announced the gospel of your grace.
Jesus started us dreaming of a kingdom yet to come.
Now we go to sleep knowing we are loved,
trusting in your salvation, dreaming of your kingdom.
May that kingdom become reality tomorrow,
and may your people live forever in your loving arms. Amen.
Copyright 2020. Robert D. Ingram, 32746 Jourden Rd., Albany, Ohio 45710 (dr.bobingram@gmail.com). Used by permission.
