 Opening PrayerO God, you are my God; Earnestly I seek you; My soul thirsts for you; My body longs for you, In a dry and weary land Where there is no water. -Psalm 63:1 (silent reflection) Prayer of the BibleGod gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. -Isaiah 40:29-31 (Free expression of praise and thanksgiving to God) Confession of SinO Lord, you have blotted out my transgressions like a thick cloud and my sins like the morning mist. I will return to you, for you have redeemed me. -Isaiah 44:22 (Time of silence for confession of sin) The Words of JesusOn the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified -John 7:37-39 (Think deeply on these life-giving words of Jesus) Prayer for Ourselves and OthersO Lord, hear my prayer; listen to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, for you will answer me -Psalm 86: 6-7 (Time to bring before God our own needs and the needs of others) Closing PrayerGod, help us to see others not as our enemies or as ungodly but rather as thirsty people. And give us the courage and compassion to offer your Living Water, which alone quenches deep thirst. -Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) Go, sent by the Father into the world to love & serve in the name of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit  photos taken--Top: Lille, France Bottom: Darmstadt, Germany (Evangelical Sister of Mary Kanaan)
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 Opening PrayerBe still, my soul! The Lord is on thy side; bear patiently the cross of grief or pain; leave to thy God to order and provide; in every change He faithful will remain. Be still, my soul: your best, your heavenly friend through thorny ways leads to a joyful end. Katharina Von Schlegel (1697-1768) Hymn: Be Still my Soul (silent reflection) Prayer of the BibleCome and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul. I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. -Psalm 66: 16-20 (Free expression of praise and thanksgiving to God) Confession of SinMay You, O Sovereign Lord, deal well with me for Your name’s sake; because of the goodness of Your mercy, deliver me -Psalm 109:21 (Time of silence for confession of sin) The Words of JesusSome of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” So Jesus proclaimed, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” -John 7:25-29 (Think deeply on these life-giving words of Jesus) Prayer for Ourselves and Others Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah -Psalm 62:8 (Time to bring before God our own needs and the needs of others) Closing PrayerO Lord, help us not to be deceived or led astray by what is false but instead may we follow what is pure and undefiled. You have instructed us that true religion is to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep ourselves unstained from the world. Amen -Adapted from James 1:27 Go, sent by the Father into the world to love & serve in the name of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit  photos taken--Top: Yeghegnadzor, Armenia Bottom: Trosly, France (L'arche original community)
 Opening PrayerI say to God, my rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why I must walk about mournfully because the enemy oppresses me?” -Psalm 42:9 (silent reflection) Prayer of the BibleThe words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times. You, O Lord, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever. On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man. -Psalms 17: 6-8 (Free expression of praise and thanksgiving to God) Confession of Sin“The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light” -Romans 13:12 (Time of silence for confession of sin) The Words of JesusThe one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me? Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” -John 7: 14-19, 23-24 (Think deeply on these life-giving words of Jesus) Prayer for Ourselves and OthersBe cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens -I Thessalonians 5:17 (Time to bring before God our own needs and the needs of others) Closing PrayerLord, give me a pure heart—that I may see Thee, A humble heart—that I may hear Thee A heart of love—that I may serve Thee, A heart of faith—that I may abide in Thee -Dag Hammarskjold Go, sent by the Father into the world to love & serve in the name of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit  photos taken--Top: Belgrade, Serbia Bottom: Nuremberg, Germany
 Opening PrayerOh Lord, You have loved me with an everlasting love; You have drawn me with lovingkindness -Jeremiah 31:3 (silent reflection) Prayer of the BibleThere is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. O God you have made everything beautiful in its time. You have also set eternity in human hearts. -Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11 (Free expression of praise and thanksgiving to God) Confession of SinCome, O thou all-victorious Lord! Thy power to us make known; Strike with the hammer of thy word, And break these hearts of stone. O that we all might now begin, Our foolishness to mourn; And turn at once from every sin, And to our Savior turn! Give us ourselves and thee to know, In this our gracious day; Repentance unto life bestow, And take our sins away. -Charles Wesley (1707-1788) Hymn: Come, O Thou All Victorious Lord (Time of silence for confession of sin) The Words of JesusAbout the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. -John 7: 14-17 (Think deeply on these life-giving words of Jesus) Prayer for Ourselves and OthersThey all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. -Acts 1:14 (Time to bring before God our own needs and the needs of others) Closing Prayer“Blessed Spirit of God, come to us in all Thy fullness and power, to clothe us in our nakedness, to enrich us in our poverty, to inflame us in our feebleness. Be closer to us than breathing, nearer than hands or feet. As lovers live each in each, so live in us and we in Thee. As the fire gives of itself to the molten iron, so give Thy presence to us. Compass our minds with Thy wisdom. Saturate our souls with Thy righteousness. Fire our wills with Thy might. Melt our hearts with Thy love. Do everything at all times to make us wholly Thine until Thy wealth is ours and we are lost in Thee” -Charles Henry Brent (1862-1929) Go, sent by the Father into the world to love & serve in the name of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit  photos taken--Top: Sens, France Bottom: Taize, France
 Opening PrayerIn the silence of the early morning your Spirit hovers over the brink of the day and new light pierces the darkness of the night. In the silence of the morning life begins to stir around me and I listen for the days’s first utterances. In earth, sea, and sky and in the landscape of my own soul I listen for the utterances of your love, O God. I listen for utterances of your love. -Celtic Benediction (silent reflection) Prayer of the Bible Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face, who exult in your name all the day and in your righteousness are exalted. -Psalm 89: 15-16 (Free expression of praise and thanksgiving to God) Confession of SinFor from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” -Mark 7: 21-23 (Time of silence for confession of sin) The Words of JesusAfter this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand. So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” For not even his brothers believed in him. Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. -John 7: 1-7 (Think deeply on these life-giving words of Jesus) Prayer for Ourselves and OthersIt is God’s will that we learn to bear one another’s burdens, for none of us have the wisdom or strength to bear them alone. -A2J Community (Time to bring before God our own needs and the needs of others) Closing Prayer O my God, I ask of you for myself and for those whom I hold dear the grace to fulfill perfectly your holy will, to accept for love of you the joys and sufferings of this passing life, so that we may one day be united in heaven for all eternity. Amen -Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897) Go, sent by the Father into the world to love & serve in the name of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit  photos taken--Top: Gozo, Malta Bottom: Bad Staffelstein, Germany
 Opening PrayerTriune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit may I abide in your fellowship. May you fulfill in me all your promises. I am yours, help me to be ready day and night. Amen -A2J Community (silent reflection) Prayer of the BibleFor the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. -Psalm 95: 3-5 (Free expression of praise and thanksgiving to God) Confession of SinO Lord have mercy on me and forgive me and pull me out of this mire before I become imbedded in it -Psalm 69:14 (Time of silence for confession of sin) The Words of Jesus From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” -John 6: 66-69 (Think deeply on these life-giving words of Jesus) Prayer for Ourselves and Others O Lord, hear my prayer; listen to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, for you will answer me -Psalm 86: 6-7 (Time to bring before God our own needs and the needs of others) Closing PrayerLord our God, through the Spirit grant us community with you, we pray. Help us onward again and again, and help us grow in strength to follow what is true and good. May your goodness and your grace be in our hearts to help us in all practical things. Grant that wherever we live we may have something of the power in which Jesus Christ lived and suffered, in which he died and yet lives again. May the world still learn that it has a redeemer and that it belongs to him, to the glory of your name. Amen. -Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt Go, sent by the Father into the world to love & serve in the name of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit  photos taken--Top: Gozo, Malta Bottom: Nuremberg, Germany
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