Thursday Morning - The Fruit of the Spirit

"SELF-CONTROL"

Galatians 5:22; I Corinthians 9:24-27

GREETING (adapted from Richard of Chichester, England)

Day by day, dear Lord, of you three things we pray:

to see you more clearly,

love you more dearly,

follow you more nearly, day by day.

HYMN 421 “Make Me a Captive, Lord”

PSALM 32

PRAYER

(Consider some of the following concerns for prayers of thanksgiving, intercession, and petition. Follow with your personal prayer list.)

For help in maintaining self-control Control of our temper

For when we give in to temptation Control of our eating and drinking

For when we lose control Control of our spending

For surrendering control to God Control of our leisure activities

For God to teach us discipline Control of our sexuality

That God teach us to rely on God’s strength Control over impatience

That we find real power in surrendering to God Control of our use of time

Staying the course to honor God Control of our thoughts

For God’s help in identifying areas of weakness Avoiding temptations

For God’s help in identifying our sinful desires For help in turning away from sin

That we remain generous and humble in success ____________________________

To stay faithful in the face of danger or suffering ____________________________

To keep trying in the face of failure ____________________________

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 (with references to Matthew 4:1-11 and Genesis 25:29-34)

Help me, O God, to see the wrong in every temptation,

to realize the injury in every forbidden fruit,

to sense you coaxing me to the right choice.

Save me from selling my birthright for a mess of pottage,

my eternal future for some fleeting pleasure,

my relationship with you for a selfish whim.

Let me use temptation to learn self-control,

doubt to learn trust

need to learn patience,

danger to learn faithfulness,

suffering to learn endurance,

pleasure to learn moderation,

success to learn thankfulness,

achievement to learn humility,

any wealth to learn generosity,

and persecution to learn love.

And by your grace, God, grant me the gift of true self-control,

not to dominate, manipulate, command or oppress others,

but to live faithfully, as one deeply loved by my Creator. 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 410 "I Want a Principle Within"

CLOSING PRAYER (with references to Matthew 22:36-40 and Romans 12:1-2)

Thank you, Father, for this glorious new morning,

fresh with new opportunities to join you in your work.

Keep us constant in loving you throughout the day.

Make us bold in loving every friend, stranger and foe.

Awaken us to the needs and troubles of neighbors.

and let us be like salt and light to them in every need.

We pray you spare us from cross-carrying today,

but if you will it, let us do it with joy and confidence.

As Jesus gave his life for us and our loved ones,

so we today offer our lives to you as living sacrifices,

which is the true and spiritual worship you desire.

Today is the time in which we declare our love to you. Amen.