Opening Prayer
Triune God, we praise you, for day by day you bear our burdens, O God of our salvation -Psalm 68:19 (silent reflection) Prayer of the Bible O God, you who made the world and everything in it are Lord of heaven and earth, and you do not dwell in temples built by hands. You are not served by human hands, as though you needed anything, because you yourself give all people life and breath and everything else. -Acts 17:24-25 (Free expression of praise and thanksgiving to God) Confession of Sin Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. -Psalm 32: 1-2 (Time of silence for confession of sin) The Words of Jesus Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” John 11:1-4 (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 Dear Savior, we are Your disciples, and You are teaching us the art of living; but we are very dull and very slow, and beside, there is such a bias in our corrupt nature, and there are such examples in the world, and the influence of an ungodly generation tells even on those that know You. O, dear Savior, do not be impatient with us, but still teach us at Your feet, till at last we shall have learned some of the sublime lessons of self-sacrifice, of meekness, humility, fervor, boldness, and love which Your life is fit to teach us. O Lord, we beseech You to mold us in Your own image. Let us live in You and live like You. Let us gaze on Your glory till we are transformed by the sight and become Christlike among the sons of men. -Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) |