Salt River, Arizona
Opening Prayer
I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: Your mercies never cease, for Your compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness -Lamentations 3:21-23 (silent reflection) Prayer of the Bible O God, you are my God; with all that I am I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because Your constant overflowing love is better than life, my lips will praise you. I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied in you. -Psalm 63: 1-4 (Free expression of praise and thanksgiving to God) Confession of Sin Out of the depths I call to you, O Lord. O Lord, hear my voice, and let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If you should mark iniquities, O Lord who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you; therefore you are feared. -Psalm 130: 1-4 (Time of silence for confession of sin) The Words of Jesus And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here. -John 14:29-31 (Think deeply on these life-giving words of Jesus) Prayers for Ourselves and Others In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me. -Psalm 18: 6, 19 (Time to bring before God our own needs and the needs of others) Closing Prayer Lord our God, keep us in your Spirit. Surround us with your protection, so that in body and soul we may praise your might and be joyful even in a world full of evil. Shine into our hearts, that we may discern what is right and good and eternal. May you do more than we can ask or understand for those who still walk in darkness far away from you. May your eternal mercy enfold them, and may the earth be filled with thanks to you, the Creator and Father of us all. Amen. -Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt (1842-1919) 
Pristina, Kosovo
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