Monday, March 25, 2024
Opening Prayer:
Lord God Almighty: Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things in your law. Open my ears, that I may tremble at your Word. Open my lips, that my mouth may declare your praise. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation. For you I wait all the day long.
Confession of Sin & Prayer for Grace
Father: as I enter Holy Week, I confess the weakness of my love for the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the week of his death and resurrection; a week that changed the world forever; yet I confess that to me, it feels like just another Monday morning. Through your Word, your Spirit, and your people, awaken my cold heart and stir my affections for Christ. Let me enter this week with the eyes of my heart wide open to the beauty and glory of my Savior’s love for me.
Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 42:1-9
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: Hebrews 9:11-22
Prayer of Adoration:
Lord Jesus, I praise you for offering yourself without blemish as a sacrifice for sin through the eternal Holy Spirit. I adore you for the eternal redemption you secured through your blood. Thank you for purifying my conscience from dead works, that I might serve the living God.
Psalm Reading: Psalm 36
Prayer of Consecration
Lord God: I praise you today for your steadfast love, displayed most fully in the gift of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This Psalm uses language of feasting to describe the joy of those who find fellowship with you. It also speaks plainly of the reality of evil - of those whose hearts are given to wickedness and sin. I want to be instructed by both images: motivated to turn away from sin, and drawn toward the river of your delights. So today, make your steadfast love real to me. As I think on Jesus’ death and resurrection, help me see the great wickedness of sin with fresh clarity, and help me turn from it decisively. Give me eyes to see also the greatness of your love for me in Christ, and let me be moved to worship and awe. “In your light, we see light” - so let the darkness of Good Friday and the bright light of Easter Sunday illumine my vision this week. Let me see all of reality through the lens of the cross and resurrection.
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.
