Commentary on this week’s Prayer:
Easter is a season not just a day. As we are now moving past the first week of Easter and into the second, we keep the Good News of resurrection before us. Open your heart to receive new life right now. Easter, after all, has present day implications.
The Watchword for the week:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. I Peter 1:3
The Easter season calls us to celebrate new life.
Loving God, grant that we may be renewed by the Holy Spirit.
Help us to lay aside those things that hold us back from you,
And help us to embrace those things which bring us closer to you and your will for our lives.
Psalm 16
Protect me, O God,
for in you I take refuge.
I say to God, “You are my God;
I have no good apart from you.”
As for the holy ones in the land,
they are the noble, in whom is all my delight.
Those who choose another god
multiply their sorrows;
Their drink-offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names upon my lips.
God is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
I have a goodly heritage.
I bless God who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I keep God always before me;
because God is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also rests secure.
For you do not give me up to Sheol,
or let your faithful one see the Pit.
You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Confession of Sin
Almighty and most merciful God, forgive us for we have ignored the power of the resurrection of our Savior. We have followed too often the devices and desires of our own heart rather than seeking after you. This has separated us from you, and we have hurt even those we love. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done things we ought not to have done, and we are truly sorry. O Lord, have mercy on us. Forgive us our sins as we can honestly confess them to you. Through the power of the resurrection, restore your image in us and create in us a new and clean heart. Make of us a new creation, ready and willing to serve you.
Grant to your faithful people pardon and peace, that we may be cleansed from our sins, and serve you with a quiet mind, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. AMEN.
Take a moment now to read a passage of scripture. If you have a copy of the Moravian Daily Texts you can read that now. If you don’t have access to a Text Book you can view the texts on the right side of your page. Don’t rush over the words, but savor them in your soul. What words or phrases happen to catch your attention? These might be places where God is inviting you to dig deeper. After you have had a chance to ponder those passages and pray for your family, friends, foes, and the needs of a hurting world, continue the prayer as follows:
Together as brothers and sisters in Christ let us profess our faith, saying:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again,
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
We thank you, Lord Jesus, not only for the privilege of believing in you, but of suffering for you as well, so that we may also be glorified with you.
Let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, since as members of the body we were called to peace. And let us be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in us richly as we teach and admonish one another with all wisdom. Whatever we do, therefore, whether in word or deed, let us do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Amen.
Commentary on this week’s Prayer:
Easter is a season not just a day. As we are now moving past the first week of Easter and into the second, we keep the Good News of resurrection before us. Open your heart to receive new life right now. Easter, after all, has present day implications.