GREETING (Adapted from Mark 11:9b-10)
Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!
HYMN 275 “The Kingdom of God”
PSALM 118
PRAYER
(Consider some of the following concerns for prayers of thanksgiving, intercession, and petition. Follow with your personal prayer list.)
The coming kingdom For patience in waiting
The present kingdom For faith to wait
For eyes to see the kingdom growing For faithful living while waiting
For the kingdom to grow in us For right living in the kingdom now
For Christ to rule in us For discernment between kingdoms
For Christ to rule in others Wisdom and knowledge
For Christ to rule in our leaders Kingdom teachers and students
For Christ to come soon Giving all for the kingdom
For our citizenship in Christ’s kingdom Helping the kingdom grow around us
Preaching good news of the kingdom _____________________________
Sowing seeds of the kingdom _____________________________
Harvesting for the kingdom _____________________________
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
Plant your kingdom seed in me, Heavenly Sower.
Set it in the fertile soil of your grace to me.
Water it with the love you rain down upon me.
Let the sunshine of your truth bear fruit in me.
Plant your kingdom seeds in your Son’s church.
Cultivate great fruitfulness within our ranks.
Shine your grace through us into all the world.
Let all see your kingdom grow strong and tall.
Plant your kingdom seeds in nations everywhere.
Take every child into your loving embrace.
Wash us in forgiveness. Anoint us with grace.
Establish our futures with you in your eternity.
Fill your kingdom nets from this world’s rough seas.
Gather every sheep that has wandered away.
Send out searchers to find every lost coin.
Help us welcome home every prodigal child.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth.
The trees and fields will clap their hands.
The beasts will roar unending happiness.
And joy will overflow every human heart.
Amen, God. Make it so. Amen. Amen. 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 405 “Seek Ye First”
CLOSING PRAYER
God of good news, plant your gospel deep within us.
Let it sprout and grow penetrating roots and strong branches.
Let its fruit feed the hungry crowds and heal the sin-sick souls.
God of love, for such an exquisite pearl of good news
we would sell all we have, but you freely give this gift to us.
Now send us to employ this gospel to plow and seed your fields. Amen.
Copyright 2020. Robert D. Ingram, 32746 Jourden Rd., Albany, Ohio 45710 (dr.bobingram@gmail.com). Used by permission.
