Wachau Valley, Austria
Opening Prayer
I trust in your loyal love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to you, O Lord, for you have dealt bountifully with me. -Psalm 13:5-6 (silent reflection) Prayer of the Bible O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago in perfect faithfulness -Isaiah 25:1 (Free expression of praise and thanksgiving to God) Confession of Sin O Lord, God of hosts, be with us. For we have no helper in our hardships and tribulations but You. Absolve, forgive, and remit, O God, our transgressions; those which we have committed willingly and those we have committed unwillingly, those which we have committed knowingly and those which we have committed unknowingly, the hidden and manifest, O Lord forgive us, for the sake of Your Holy name by which we are called. -The Agpeya of the Coptic Church (Time of silence for confession of sin) The Words of Jesus The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,” John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. -Mark 1:1-4 (Think deeply on these life-giving words of Jesus) Prayers for Ourselves and Others Jesus, friend of the wounded and the broken, quicken in me empathy and compassion for the needs of the world. Release in me a greater yearning for your healing that is rooted in love and hope. -Apprenticeship to Jesus Community (Time to bring before God our own needs and the needs of others) Closing Prayer O God, seeing as there is in Christ Jesus an infinite fullness of all that we can want or desire. May we all receive from him, grace upon grace; grace to pardon our sins, and subdue our iniquities; to justify our persons and to sanctify our souls; and to complete that holy change, that renewal of our hearts, which will enable us to be transformed into the blessed image in which you created us. O make us all acceptable to be partakers of the inheritance of your saints in light. Amen -John Wesley (1703-1791) 
Bear Flat, Arizona
|
