Tuesday, September 26, 2023
Opening Prayer:
Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes! I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word. Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things in your law.
Confession of Sin & Prayer for Grace
O Lord of heaven and earth, remember me, cold of heart and impure, in your Kingdom. Deliver me from every ignorance and heedlessness, from pettiness of the soul and stony hardness of heart. O Lord, save me from temptation; receive me in repentance; grant me pure thoughts; that I may love You with all my heart and soul and that I may obey your will in all things to the glory of your name. Amen.
Old Testament Reading: Proverbs 2
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
New Testament Reading: Mark 8:27-38
Prayer of Adoration:
Jesus, I adore you because you call me to take up my cross and follow you. You don’t mince words about the cost of discipleship; you promise that it will cost me everything, and that it’s worth it. This kind of honesty is refreshing and compelling. Help me to count the cost and to wholeheartedly follow you, even in my uncertainty.
Psalm Reading: Psalm 37:1-24
Prayer of Consecration
O God, your word is a powerful corrective for my anxious, worried mind. In this psalm, you wisely and gently doctor my soul. When I look at the world on my own, I can’t understand why people who do evil seem to flourish, achieving success and the affirmation of the world even as they dishonor you. It seems like the godly should prosper, but often they’re the ones with the most struggle. Why? This psalm prompts me to look beyond the surface to deeper realities, reminding me that your kingdom operates on a different economy. Justice and righteousness are coming as surely as the new day will break. In the meantime, help me stop fretting over the situations of others, and look carefully to my own soul. Help me trust in you today, and do good, as your word says. Help me to dwell faithfully in my own place, knowing that you establish my steps and hold my hand as I wait patiently for you.
BENEDICTION
And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and always, until the day of Christ's return.
