GREETING (Adapted from Psalm 113:2-9)
Blessed be your name, O Lord,
from this time on and forevermore.
From the rising of the sun to its setting
your name will be praised.
You are high above all nations,
and your glory above the heavens.
Who is like you, O Lord our God,
who is seated on high,
who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
You raise the poor from the dust,
and lift the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of your people.
You give the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
We praise you, O Lord!
HYMN 589 “The Church of Christ, in Every Age”
PSALM 34
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
Heavenly Father, we are hungry, fill us with your feast of feasts.
Like ravenous people we gulp down the hope proclaimed by Jesus
in his story of the starving Lazarus receiving comfort in your kingdom.
Heavenly Father, we are hungry, fill us with your feast of feasts.
We have seen your generosity, like the wine at the Cana wedding,
the boats overloaded with fish, the leftovers after feeding five thousand.
Heavenly Father, we are hungry, fill us with your feast of feasts.
Many sleep hungry, God, but our cravings are not for bread alone.
We long also for your forgiveness, your healing grace, your company.
Heavenly Father, we are hungry, fill us with your feast of feasts.
“Eat my flesh and drink my blood” Jesus tells those seeking eternity.
Let us eat and drink deeply from his word and Spirit, his light and life.
Heavenly Father, you fill our every need. We are deeply thankful.
Jesus says trust our needs to you, striving instead for the kingdom.
We do trust you, and your kingdom’s security from moth, thieves, rust.
Heavenly Father, you fill our every need. We are deeply thankful.
Include us in the faithful coming from east and west, north and south.
Around your table make us one community, dining on your holy love.
Heavenly Father, you fill our every need. We are deeply thankful.
We can rely on you to always give good gifts to your needy children.
We stand before you, as empty vessels, today, tomorrow and forever. 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 350 ‘Come, All of You”
CLOSING PRAYER (adapted from Psalm 146:5-9)
Blessed are those whose help you are, God of Jacob.
Our hope is in you, our Lord and our God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them.
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry,
whose hope is in the Lord their God,
You set the prisoners free.
You open the eyes of the blind.
You lift up those who are bowed down;
You love the righteous.
You watch over the strangers.
You uphold the orphan and the widow,
but the way of the wicked you bring to ruin.
We believe these things, Lord,
and as we put aside today’s struggles,
we will rest happy for your help with it all. Amen.
Copyright 2020. Robert D. Ingram, 32746 Jourden Rd., Albany, Ohio 45710 (dr.bobingram@gmail.com). Used by permission.
