Good morning.
Today is Friday,
February 5th,
2021.
Lord,
Let my soul rise up to meet you as the day rises to meet the sun.
Glory to God,
The three in one,
Creator,
Redeemer,
And sustainer.
As it was in the beginning,
Is now,
And will be forever.
Amen.
Come let us sing to the Lord.
Let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
Remind yourself that you are in God's presence.
Notice how God may be speaking to you today.
Let yourself dwell on a word or a phrase that catches your attention or moves your heart.
And let your heart respond to God in prayer.
Please repeat these words.
Jesus,
You are the lamb of God.
You take away the sins of the world.
Our scripture today is John 1,
Verses 35 through 42.
The next day,
John was by the Jordan again with two of his disciples.
Seeing Jesus walk by,
John said,
Look,
There's the lamb of God.
The two disciples heard what John said and followed him.
When Jesus turned around and noticed them following,
He asked,
What are you looking for?
They replied,
Rabbi,
Which means teacher,
Where are you staying?
Come and see,
Jesus answered.
So they went to see where he was staying,
And they spent the rest of the day with him.
It was about four in the afternoon.
One of the two who had followed Jesus after hearing John was Andrew,
Simon Peter's brother.
The first thing Andrew did was to find Simon Peter and say,
We found the Messiah,
Which means the anointed one.
Andrew brought Simon to Jesus,
Who looked hard at him and said,
You are Simon,
Ben Jonah.
I will call you Rock,
That is,
Peter.
Please repeat these words.
Jesus,
You are the lamb of God.
You take away the sins of the world.
On Fridays,
We pray for our enemies.
So I want to invite you now,
If you would like,
To consider someone that you have a hard time loving.
Perhaps this is someone you consider to be your enemy,
Or maybe not.
Maybe it is just someone who is hard for you to love.
And hold that person before God right now.
I also invite you to hold anyone before God that's on your heart right now.
Anyone who is sitting heavy on your mind.
Hold before God in this space.
Don't worry about diagnosing anyone's needs or telling God what to do.
And as we hold those before God,
Let us pray.
Bless all who call on you,
Almighty God,
From the rising of the sun to its setting.
From your goodness enrich us,
By your love inspire us,
By your spirit guide us,
By your power protect us,
In your mercy receive us,
Now and always.
Amen.
In the name of Jesus,
Who taught us to pray,
Our Father which art in heaven,
Eternal God,
Earth-maker,
Pain-bearer,
Life-giver,
Source of all that is and all that shall be,
Not only Father but Mother of us all.
May the hallowing of your name echo through the universe.
May the way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world.
May your heavenly will be done by all created beings.
May your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another forgive us.
In times of temptation and test strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
Now and forever.
Amen.
God our Savior,
Jesus our Redeemer,
You take away the sins of the world.
Have mercy on us.
Grant us peace.
We long for your comfort in a world of trouble.
Because you have overcome the world we can have peace.
We can have joy.
Amen.
And now my friends may the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ go with you wherever he may send you today.
May he guide you through the wilderness,
Protect you through the storm.
May he bring you home rejoicing at the wonders he has shown you.
May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.
Go in peace.
