Good morning.
Today is Friday,
October 16,
2020.
O 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 jumps out at you and let your heart respond to God in prayer.
Please repeat these words.
Blessed be the Lord day by day.
The God who bears our burdens.
Our scripture this morning is Psalm 9 verses 11 through 20.
Sing praise to the Lord enthroned in Zion.
Declare God's work among the nations.
For the one who avenges blood remembers them and doesn't ignore the cry of the afflicted.
Have mercy on me,
O Lord.
See what I suffer from those who hate me.
Lift me up from the gates of death.
That I may recount all your praises.
That in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your deliverance.
The nations have fallen into the pit they dug.
The net they set caught their own feet.
In passing sentence you are manifest.
You are known,
O Lord,
For your judgments.
The violent are trapped by the work of their own hands.
The ash heap will become the home of the godless.
All those who forget the great I am.
But the needy will not always be forgotten.
The hope of the poor will not be lost forever.
Arise,
O Lord.
Don't let them be victorious.
Let the nations be judged in your presence.
Strike them with terror,
O Lord,
And let the nations know that they are only human.
Please repeat these words.
Let it be the Lord day by day.
The God who bears our burdens.
On Fridays we pray for our opponents or our enemies.
Those that it's hard for us to love.
So I invite you now to hold someone before God.
Someone that you have a hard time loving.
You can repeat the person's name over and over with your voice or in your mind or just hold this person silently in your heart.
Don't worry about diagnosing the complicated needs or telling God what to do.
And as you hold this person before God,
Hear these words of blessing spoken over himDso ever.
May the light of Christ go before you and behind you,
Beneath you and above you.
On your right and on your left,
When you rise,
And when you lie down,
May the light of Christ be with you.
May the light of Christ be in you.
May the love of God go before you and behind you,
Beneath you,
And above you.
On your right and on your left,
When you rise and when you lie down.
May the love of God be with you.
May the love of God be in you.
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 howling of your name echo through the universe.
May the wave 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.
Gracious and eternal God,
As we rush into a future we don't know or understand,
Give us wisdom.
May we listen and learn with humility,
Trusting that you are always before us,
Calling us,
Wanting to show us the way if only we will calm our anxious egos and follow.
Still our anxious souls to rest in your hope,
Your provision,
Your strength,
And your justice.
Through Jesus,
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.
