Hello and welcome to Methods,
An online experiment and guided prayer and meditation brought to you by The Restoration Project.
Each episode will focus on a different prayer practice or method,
But we hope to provide you with opportunities to praise,
To wonder,
To give thanks and confess,
And to contemplate the depths of God's goodness and mercy and mystery.
To aid in this process,
We invite you to silence your notifications and to find a comfortable place to sit and reflect on God's presence.
Episode 1 Consider these words as they are read aloud.
The Eternal Father,
Who loved us and set us free from our sins,
Who loves us still with that love that will not let us go,
And who will love us forever,
Calls us to worship him today as the only true lover of our souls.
The Lord stoops to receive the love of our poor hearts.
He calls us to remember the depth of his love for us in Christ.
God seeks our love.
Take a moment to reflect on the width and length and height and depth of the love of God.
That's what he's asking for.
Take a moment to think about the outcome ofAPI Orthodox Bible Session on Correspondence with the Scriptures on 5 November of this fall.
We're Vous hormoneforup wheninjait1 You You We should truly be thankful for the love of God which has been displayed for us most gloriously in Christ in This prayer of thanksgiving.
I will provide prompts to help us express our gratitude for this and other aspects of God's provision Each prompt will be followed by a time for silent meditation and prayer Accepted Lord our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation For the beauty of this world for the wonder of life and for the mystery of love You You You You You You You You You You You You Above all we thank you for your son Jesus Christ For the truth of his word and the example of his life For his steadfast obedience by which he overcame temptation For his dying through which he overcame death and for his rising to life again in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom You You Grant us the gift of your spirit that we may know Christ and make him known and through him at all times and in all places May give thanks to you in all things You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You In the next few moments,
I invite you to engage in a moment of confession,
To prepare our hearts,
Hear these words.
Gracious God,
Our sins are too heavy to carry,
Too real to hide,
And too deep to undo.
Forgive what our lips tremble to name,
What our hearts can no longer bear,
And what has become for us a consuming fire of judgment.
Set us free from a past that we cannot change,
Open to us a future in which we can be changed.
Take a moment to confess your known sins.
Gracious God,
Our sins are too heavy to carry,
Too real to undo.
Forgive what our lips tremble to name,
What our hearts can no longer bear,
And what has become for us a consuming fire of judgment.
Set us free from a past that we cannot change,
Open to us a future in which we can be changed.
Forgive what our lips tremble to name,
What our hearts can no longer bear,
And what has become for us a consuming fire of judgment.
And now take a moment to listen and allow the Spirit to move and guide and convict us of sins that we have yet to acknowledge.
In the name of Jesus Christ,
We pray.
Ask the Lord for wisdom and strength.
Ask the Lord for wisdom and strength to move toward reconciliation if possible in these areas that have just come to light.
Amen.
God,
Your Word claims that when we confess our sins,
You are faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.
We cling to that truth,
And we ask that in spite of our failings,
You would grant us grace to grow more and more in your likeness and image through Jesus Christ,
The light of the world.
Amen.
In your own words,
Celebrate God's forgiveness.
As we'll become our custom,
We will end our time of prayer and meditation with a profession of faith known as the Apostles' Creed.
May this declaration serve to reorient our lives and empower us with the knowledge that we stand together in the blessed and unified community of the saints.
We believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
And in Jesus Christ,
His only son,
Our Lord,
Who is conceived by the Holy Spirit,
Born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified,
Dead,
And buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
The holy Catholic Church,
The communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body,
And the life everlasting.
Amen.
Go in peace,
To love and serve the Lord.
Thank you for participating in this episode of Methods.
Prayers and readings included selections from the Worship Sourcebook and Peter Rollins' work on the Gospel of the Holy Spirit.
Thank you for watching.
I hope you enjoyed this episode.
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I'll see you next time.
Thank you for participating in this episode of Methods.
