Good morning.
Today is Wednesday,
October 14,
2020.
Oh 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.
Psalm 8 says God who was and is and always will be our sovereign.
How majestic is your name in all the earth.
You have placed your glory above the heavens.
From the lips of infants and children you bring forth words of power and praise to answer your adversaries and to silence the hostile and vengeful.
When I behold your heavens,
The work of your fingers,
The moon and the stars which you set in place.
What is humanity that you should be mindful of us?
Who are we that you should care for us?
You've made us barely less than God and crowned us with glory and honor.
You have made us responsible for the works of your hands,
Putting all things at our feet,
All sheep and oxen,
Even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air,
The fish of the sea and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
God who is called the great I am.
Our sovereign.
How majestic is your name in all the earth.
Please repeat these words.
Blessed be the Lord day by day.
The God who bears our burdens.
On Wednesdays,
We pray for our communities.
I invite you now to hold your community before God.
Maybe it is your neighborhood or your school or your church.
But consider a neighborhood,
Consider a community that you're a part of.
And hold your community before God.
Don't worry about diagnosing your community's needs or telling God what to do.
And as you hold your community before God,
Hear these words of blessing spoken over your community.
May the light of Christ go before you and behind you,
Beneath you and above you.
May the light of Christ go before you.
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.
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.
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 joy 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.
God in peace.
