The Watchword for the Week:
Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him. Deuteronomy 30:19,20
In the beginning, darkness covered the earth, and it was a formless void.
But God said, “Let there be light,”
And there was light.
And God saw that the light was good.
In our world, we find darkness,
But when we choose God, the light of Jesus Christ pours into our lives, and the darkness cannot overcome it.
Psalm 119:1-8
Happy are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of God.
Happy are those who keep God’s decrees,
who seek God with their whole heart,
who also do no wrong,
but walk in God’s ways.
You have commanded your precepts
to be kept diligently.
that my ways may be steadfast
in keeping your statutes!
Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
I will praise you with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous ordinances.
I will observe your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
Confession of Sin
If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. In full assurance of faith, let us confess our sins to our gracious God.
Forgive us, Holy God, for we have sinned and fallen short of your intended will for us. Too often, we diminish the power of your love and the ways through which you seek to bring us back to you. This causes us to live an undisciplined and unfocused life which does not bear witness to you. Forgive us when we allow the distractions of this world to hold a more powerful influence on us than your will. It is at these times that we misalign our priorities and find ourselves in places that we should not go. Forgive us when the darkness of our lives keeps us from seeing the light of your redemption and the new life promised for us both today and in the world yet to come.
The good news in Christ is that when we face ourselves and God with the awareness of our need, we are given grace to grow and the courage to continue the journey.
Friends, believe the good news of the Gospel.
In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! 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.
Take time to read today’s Daily Texts. If you do not have a copy of the Daily Texts, you will find today’s texts posted in the margin on your page’s right side (at the bottom of the page if you are on a mobile phone). God speaks to us through the inspiration of scripture, so approach the opportunity to read the texts as a privilege, eagerly anticipating what might be conveyed to you today. How might today’s Word make a part of your life new again? When you have finished praying, continue as follows.
Let us pray together:
Creator of all humanity, we call you Holy and seek to worship you all the days of our lives. We pray that the ways of your heavenly kingdom may be made real in the world that surrounds us. May the bread that we need for today be made available for us and all who are hungry, and may you forgive us just as we are able to forgive those who have sinned against us. In the time of moral testing, may we listen first for your voice calling to us instead of the call of the world. This world, and all that is in it, always has been and always will be yours, help us to lose ourselves to you and your kingdom. Help us to find who we truly are as we walk in your light. Amen.
Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety.
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Let your way be known upon earth;
And help us to choose life in you.
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And by your Holy Spirit, sustain in us a willingness to serve others. Amen.