Thursday Evening - I Am - Christian Worship Tools

"I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD"

John 10:11, 14

GREETING (Psalm 141:2)

Let our prayer be counted as incense before you, God,

and the lifting up of our hands as an evening sacrifice.

HYMN 138 “The King of Love My Shepherd Is”

PSALM 23

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

We will walk with you, Lord,

with our hearts full of real joy,

for you are the Good Shepherd.

Into swamps and wilderness,

up and down steep mountains,

across deserts or frozen wastes;

we face mean, tough enemies,

routing apathy and disbelief,

battling hard and empty hearts;

In faith we ford wild streams,

cross raging, flooded cataracts

or sit becalmed on wide oceans.

We endure abuse and torture,

prejudice and greedy injustice,

ridicule and the scorn of fools.

This world’s twisted paths

are very long and exhausting,

and lead to so many dead ends.

But being in your company

fills our cups to overflowing

with your refreshing goodness.

Though the green pastures

and still waters you promise

seem such passing sanctuaries;

we will follow you always,

knowing you keep promises

and our home is yet to come.

Even the darkest valley

fails to frighten your flock

because you never desert us.

You are the Good Shepherd.

We love you and we trust you

with our and our loved ones’ lives

The mountains and valleys,

the wide plains and deep seas,

seem so familiar, and yet foreign.

For our hearts, Lord, dwell

forever with you in your house;

blessed in your goodness and mercy. 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 518 “O Thou, in Whose Presence”

CLOSING PRAYER

Night comes, we are tired and need rest,

but if we close our eyes will they open again?

You are the resurrection and the life.

In you, Lord, our eyes will always open again.

Tomorrow we will again be hungry,

but you are the bread of life that will fill us.

Tomorrow we might again get lost,

but you, light of the world, will always lead us.

Will we be safe and free tomorrow?

You are still the gate, protecting and opening.

What will keep us going tomorrow?

You are the vine sustaining us your branches.

Will you always be there for us, Lord?

You are the good shepherd whose care lasts.

Where should we go? What is true?

How will we live when our eyes open again?

You are the way, the truth and the life.

Trusting you for tomorrow, we can finally rest.

Guard our sleep, and give us dreams

of the tomorrow that we will spend with you. Amen.