Tuesday, July 16, 2024
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
Almighty God, by whom all things were created and for whom all things exist, I bow before you in humility. Truly I have more than sufficient reasons to overflow with gratitude and thanksgiving. Yet how easily I default to complaining, whining, and grumbling. I acknowledge and grieve the entitlement and selfishness in my soul. Have mercy on me, O Lord. Free me for joyful gratitude and humble thanksgiving, through Jesus Christ my Savior: Amen.
Old Testament Reading: 2 Samuel 6:1-19
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 6:14-29
Prayer of Adoration:
God of wisdom, in you all things hold together. By your providence, even acts that seem senseless and unjust can glorify you and vindicate your truth. I thank you that as your disciple, I have the opportunity to suffer in your name, and to exalt my Savior and Lord.
Psalm Reading: Psalm 49:1-12
Prayer of Consecration
God: why should I fear in times of trouble? Why should I envy those who trust in their wealth and boast in the abundance of their riches? Both the wise and the fool will die and leave their wealth to others. So today, deliver me from the power of wealth. Free me from greed, from envy, and from anxiety over riches. I can’t avoid living in a world where money is power; and I do thank you for giving me daily bread and entrusting me with resources. But I confess that all too often, money controls me. It determines what I think about, what I worry about, and what I fight about. So today, free me from the grip of wealth, and make me open-handed and generous with what you have given me. Give me opportunities today to sacrifice and to bless others. Let me live with eternity in mind, realizing that only the soul lasts forever.
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.
