Opening Prayer
The heavens declare your glory; O God, and the skies proclaim the work of your hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. -Psalm 19: 1-2 (silent reflection) Prayer of the Bible I will exult in You, O Lord; I will rejoice in You, the God of my salvation. You are my strength; You make my feet like the feet of a deer and enable me to go on the heights. -Habakkuk 3:18-19 (Free expression of praise and thanksgiving to God) Confession of Sin O heavenly King, O Comforter, the Spirit of truth, who art in all places and fillest all things; Treasury of good things and Giver of life: Come and dwell in us and cleanse us from every stain, and save our souls, O gracious Lord. -Orthodox prayer (Time of silence for confession of sin) The Words of Jesus And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” -Mark 11:27-33 (Think deeply on the life and words of Jesus) Prayers for Ourselves and Others Lord, help us to bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ -Galatians 6:2 (Time to bring before God our own needs and the needs of others) Closing Prayer To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy. To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forever! Amen -Jude 1:24,25 |