Lord,
Our day-to-day routines can get so hectic and busy, so full of manufactured urgency. So much so, that sometimes we forget to just pause...to pause, and to thank you for all that is good. Our blessings are many. As we pause, fill our hearts with gratitude, not just in this season of Thanksgiving, but everyday.
Gratitude for the gift of life you breathe into us. For the love we receive in Christ. For the ability and opportunity to pour out love and in turn be loved by others. Prompt us to pause, and be thankful for the opportunity to see the everyday wonders of creation and your kingdom work in our lives. We thank you for our family, friends, and neighbors, whom you wear like a mask. As we walk together, may our care for each other bear the imprint of your grace.
Lord,
We all come to you with burdens this morning.
As we are drawn into a time together in your Word, we ask you to remember us. Not because you have forgotten us, but because when you say you remember your children, you are announcing that you are the God who takes action. You are the God who invades and intervenes in our brokenness and struggles.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
Lord Jesus,
Be the Priest Most High for everyone here today. Be the Christ for everyone here today. Be the faithful friend and the pardoner and the hope of sinners. Speak your resurrection life and assurance into our hearts.
In a world full of distractions and struggles, keep us focused on your love. Have us rejoice and rest in the restoration we receive in the Gospel. Grant us joy in the truth that the good news is not merely historical information, but the living power of the living God.
“The words which I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are life”.
May your renewing word this morning pass from the lips of another... to the ear... to the heart...and to the life, of everyone who hears.
AMEN.