Watchword for the Week
Trust in him at all times, pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Psalm 62:8
Gracious God, from the busyness of our day, we pause to remember that we are yours.
You give us our breath, which makes you a part of our every moment.
Magnificent are your ways, and gracious is your will.
May our lives be lived in response to your freely given love.
Psalm 62:5-12
For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from God.
God alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress;
I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.
Those of low estate are but a breath,
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
and steadfast love belongs to you, O God.
For you repay to all
according to their work.
Confession of Sin
We are a wandering people, O God, who seek refuge and protection in the vanity of our world. Accept now our confession of sin and our desire to be closer to you.
Loving God, we seek not to approach your throne of grace based on our own merit, but knowing that you earnestly seek to be in a relationship with us. Forgive us for the times when we have deceived ourselves into thinking that we could find happiness in our lives through material possessions and money. Forgive us for the times when we have deceived ourselves into thinking that even relationships could fill an emptiness in our lives more completely than our relationship with you. Forgive us when we have allowed ourselves to be deceived into following the pattern of living deemed acceptable by our society instead of taking the narrow path that leads us to you. Help us to put our full confidence and trust in you, our rock, and our refuge.
My friends, God is faithful and just. God seeks only to forgive your sins and will not remember them. God asks that you now live a new life. Rejoice, be glad, and give God praise.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. AMEN.
Lord God, Father, hear us as we pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.
With the whole of Christendom, we affirm that the Lord is our God; the Lord is one.
Let us love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength.
Loving God, in the midst of this busy day, help us to remember your profound love for us,
Be close to us as we choose words and actions in our dealings with others.
In the midst of this busy day, help us to remember that we are your ambassadors to the world.
May others see and hear in us the message of your life-giving love.
In the midst of this busy day, help us to remember that in Jesus Christ, you set for us a pattern for living.
Be near to our hearts as we make decisions concerning matters both great and small, for we seek to give all of ourselves to you.
Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glory without fault and with unspeakable joy,
to the only God, our savior, be glory and majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all time, now, and in all ages to come, Amen.