Thursday, July 4, 2024
Opening Prayer:
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
Confession of Sin & Prayer for Grace
Lord Jesus, I confess to you the shallowness of my repentance. I am content to deal with surface sins, rather than exploring the dark contours of my inner being. I am content to offer words of repentance, rather than bringing forth the fruit of repentance. Humble me greatly today. Reveal to me the depth of my depravity and the strength of my idolatry, that I may drink more deeply of your mercy and delight more fully in the beauty of Jesus Christ my Savior. Amen.
Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 55
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: Romans 8:1-11
Prayer of Adoration:
Gracious Father, I adore you because you have set me free in Jesus Christ from sin and death. And I adore you, Holy Spirit, because you live in me, enabling me to walk in holiness and gratitude. Thank you that instead of a law that condemns me, I have a God who dwells in me. Amen.
Psalm Reading: Psalm 65
Prayer of Consecration
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion! I don’t pray to you this morning only because I need it; I pray to you because praise and worship and adoration and glory are your rightful due. “Blessed is the one you choose and bring near” - so thank you that in your sovereign grace, you have chosen me and brought me near through the work of Jesus Christ. “YOU are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.” But so many around me don’t hope in you! Even though you’re the only one they can find true hope in… they spend their energy and time and money on lesser things. So give me today a rightful jealousy for your glory. Break my heart for the ways my friends and neighbors are not giving you your rightful due. Let me be driven to prayer and mercy and evangelism by an earnest concern for the glory and beauty of your name.
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.
