Thursday, February 17, 2022
Opening Prayer:
O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know my thoughts before I think them. You know my words before I speak them. You know my past, my present, and my future. awaken me now, to seek you while you may be found, to call upon you while you are near, And to live a life that brings glory to your name.
Confession of Sin & Prayer for Grace
Heavenly Father, I enter this day full of thanksgiving, because you have redeemed my life by your mercy and grace. I worship you for such a great salvation even as I come to you in repentance. Hear my confession, Father. Forgive me for under-believing your gospel and over-believing my worries. Forgive me for being slow to listen and quick to judgement. Forgive me for failing to love you and your church. Have mercy on me, Lord, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Old Testament Reading: Proverbs 31
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: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Prayer of Adoration:
Heavenly Father, I rejoice that in your Spirit I have been baptized into one body. Across centuries and cultures, there is one Lord and one Spirit. Thank you for the beautiful mystery of the church’s diversity, grounded in your eternal and unchanging unity. Amen.
Psalm Reading: Psalm 137
Prayer of Consecration
Thank you, Lord, that your word includes this song of exile, connecting us with the displaced people of Israel, captives in Babylon. We see them sitting by the streams of a foreign land, lamenting their lost home and country. Your word invites our expressions of deepest loss, our yearning for home, and our longing for justice. Even today the world is full of exiled people of various kinds, and I pray for your mercy to be with them. I also recognize the longing for home in myself, that I too am spiritually exiled from my proper place. Lord, lift up the exiled today, those who are displaced from their physical homes, and those feel the spiritual weariness of their sojourning. Remind us that, just as your people Israel eventually returned home, so we will someday come back to our rightful place with you. Restore to us the songs of Zion, and fill us with hope. Amen.
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.
