Holy Week Friday

 

We stand near the cross, O God— disturbed, distraught, discouraged. Yet we gather here as disciples, those whom Jesus loves. In the face of such suffering, show us the face of our Savior. In the shadow of such evil, show us the light of your grace On this day of great solemnity, let us stand as witnesses to your great love for all the world, revealed in the outstretched arms of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

 

Bartlett, David L.; Taylor, Barbara Brown; Long, Kimberly Bracken (2014-12-31). Feasting on the Word Lenten Companion: A Thematic Resource for Preaching and Worship (pp. 258-259). Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition.

 

Holy Week Thursday  

 

God of love, during Holy Week, we give you thanks for this night Jesus shared with his disciples. Between the public parade and the public charade is this intimate hour. Though even now we do not fully understand, we long to follow his example: to serve as he served, to love as he loved. Jesus promised that if we know these things and do them, we will be blessed. Help us, then, to know and to do all that Jesus taught. Though we betray and deny, we still come seeking a blessing, for this much we do know:  we cannot live unless you bless us. Amen. 

 

Bartlett, David L.; Taylor, Barbara Brown; Long, Kimberly Bracken (2014-12-31). Feasting on the Word Lenten Companion: A Thematic Resource for Preaching and Worship (p. 229). Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition.

 

 

The Creation Waits   

I pray, O Lord, for the earth. Forgive us for the waste, the destruction, the disrespect. Heal the earth, O God. Heal the earth.

 

“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” Romans 8: 20-21

 

A Prayer at Tree-Planting

 

Lord, it may seem odd

That I should pray here, now.

But when I plant trees

I’ve things to say to God.

 

These little trees are Yours,

You know, not just mine.

A redwood grove twelve inches tall

Is hardly anyone’s at all,

I suppose except by faith.

 

A man gets to wondering,

Between bulldozers and fears

Of war, why look ahead

A hundred, even thirty years?

 

I don’t know…except

As these trees grow

I hope my great grandchildren

Or someone’s boys and girls

Play hide-and-seek

Among the towering trunks

And chattering squirrels.

 

 

I hope they hear beauty

In the singing boughs

And birds. I hope they

Breathe clean forest air

And find Your peace.

 

~Richard J. Foster, Prayers From The Heart

 

Prayer for the Making of a Better World  

 

O Thou who compasseth the whole earth with Thy most merciful favour and willest not that any of thy children should perish. I would call down Thy blessing today upon all who are striving towards the making of a better world. I pray, O God especially—

 

For all who are valiant for truth:

For all who are working for purer and juster laws:

For all who are working for peace between nations;

For all who are engaged in healing disease;

For all who are engaged in the releif of poverty:

For all who are engage in the rescue of the fallen:

For all who are working towards the restoration of the broken unity of Thy Holy Church:

For all who preach the gospel:

For all who bear witness to Christ in foreign lands:

For all who suffer for righteousness’ sake.

 

Cast down, O Lord, all the forces of cruelty and wrong. Defeat all selfish and worldy-minded schemes, and prosper all that is conceived among us in the spirit of Christ and carried out to the honour of His blessed name. Amen.

 

John Braillie

 

~Richard J. Foster’s Prayers From The Heart

 

Give Us This Day 

 

“Give us this day our daily bread.” How do I pray those words, Lord? I live in the context of abundance. I simply do not worry about where my next mela will come from.

 

Perhaps I should pray on behalf of those who really and truly live from one meal to the next. And I do pray for them. Yet, action on their behalf is the real prayer for the poor—prayer in action.

 

I do need faith daily, Jesus, and strength and patience and wisdom and love and so much more. And real material needs, too. “Give us this day our daily baby sitter.” Is that how I pray for daily bread?

 

Teach me, Father, a life of daily dependence upon you for all things—even for the bread that is already in the pantry.

Amen.

 

~Richard J. Foster’s Prayers From The Heart

 

Reaching out a hand…and then holding that hand  

 

Matthew 25:40, NIV “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Luke 10:27And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

 

On my way to work in the morning, I see kids on their way to Irving Middle School in my neighborhood. They look so vulnerable, and they remind me of my childhood, getting ready for school and the anxiety that it would sometimes bring. One of my memories is of being five years old and waiting for the bus on the first day of kindergarten, and seeing it pull up in front of our home (instead of at the end of the driveway, which would be where it would park in the years to come) so yellow and gigantic, with all of those BIG KIDS on it. I was petrified, and my mother sensed it. She told the bus driver that she’d be bringing me to school that first morning. In the years to come, while I became comfortable riding the bus, I never got over that “the bus is here, we’re not ready!” feeling when it would arrive early. I can still see it, a silhouette lumbering along the horizon as it came around the township road to our country driveway.

 

Each day, we come across people who are hiding their vulnerabilities, or perhaps not hiding their vulnerabilities…people who are insecure, lonely, depressed, needing help. While reaching out to them and wanting to help them is great, I think we often do it from a standpoint of feeling removed from their situation, or that we’re better equipped to deal with life’s curveballs. We congratulate ourselves that we’ve done our good deed for the day, but we don’t want to get too close. We feel more in control of our own lives, and, while that may be true, I think when we put ourselves in one box and others in a different box, we miss out on wonderful friendships and opportunities to grow AND to show God’s love…opportunities that God has put in our path.

 

Prayer: Lord, help me to open my eyes and notice those who may be vulnerable in our society. Help me realize we are all vulnerable at some point, and in need of love, care, and compassion. Show me opportunities to reach out and really befriend someone in need, not just give them a lift up and then keep them at arm’s length. Amen.

 

Contributed by Donna Gustafson

We Need Disciples   

 

Matthew 28:19 Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”

 

From the beginning God designed the world with the idea that we would participate in the process of filling the earth with blessing. God wants us to be active in the world. God could have filled the earth with goodness without out our assistance. Yet by his creative act, we have both the capacity and the purpose to work with him to reproduce goodness in the world as his children, as extensions of his will in the world.  God wants the world full of goodness, and it is our job to assist in this process.

 

How do we do that? By following Jesus and inviting others into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are extensions of Christ in the world-that is what a Christian is. When we make disciples for Jesus Christ, we are filling the world with goodness. It is important to hear that Jesus commands his followers to make disciples of all nations. As people who believe in Christ, we cannot be satisfied with the status quo, either in our families, our church, or our neighborhoods.

 

“Follow me” is Christ’s call to his disciples and “I will make you fish for             people” (Mark 1:17)

 

Dear Lord: Help us to heed your call to become Fishers of Men. Amen.

 

 

Reprinted from “Daily Devotional Guide March 2010 By Members and Friends of the Congregation

Of Sheldon United Methodist Church”