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Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

Prayer for the Morning

Dear Lord, I give you my hands to do your work; I give you my feet to go your way; I give you my eyes to see as you see; I give you my tongue to speak your words; I give you my mind that you may think in me; I give you my spirit that you may pray in me. Above all, I give you my heart that you may love in me. I give you my whole self, Lord, that you may grow in me, so that it is you who lives, works and prays in me.

For Each of Us in Our Work

Almighty God, heavenly Father, who makes it possible for me to work and gives every creature its food, declaring your glory and showing your handiwork in the heavens and in the earth; Deliver me, I pray, in my work, from coveting material goods, from falling into the temptation of serving mammon and putting money in the forefront of my life. Help me to perform the work which you have put at my hand, in truth, in beauty, and in righteousness, with singleness of heart as your servant, and to the benefit of my fellow men as well as myself; for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lived and died only to serve us.

Benediction

Eternal God, heavenly Father, you have graciously accepted me as a living member of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, and you have blessed me with the grace of forgiveness through the sacrifice He made for me and for all people. Send me now into the world in peace, and grant me strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart; through Christ our Lord.

(Additional prayers may be found at Prayers for All Occasions.)

God be with you 'til we meet again.

Proverbs 14:10

Luke 1:57-66

The Birth of John the Baptist

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, but his mother answered, "No; he shall be called John." And they said to her, "None of your relatives is called by this name."

And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, "His name is John." And they all wondered.

And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him.

Notes on the Scripture

There is a big surprise in the neighborhood! Old Elizabeth and Zechariah — who has been unable to speak for almost a year now — have had a baby. Their friends and neighbors in the tightly-bound little community are naturally delighted for them.

But then, things start to get a little strange. When the prescribed time comes to circumcise and name the baby, eight days after birth, Elizabeth doesn't want to follow the usual custom of naming him after someone in one of their families. So they double check with Zechariah, who (because he can't speak) writes down that, yes, they should name the child "John". And almost as soon as he writes this down, his power of speech returns, and he begins praising God.

These peculiar events soon become the talk of the town and even the neighboring towns. It cannot be an evil thing, because Zechariah is known to be a devout man and is a priest, to boot. Plus, he has been praising God. So everyone slowly realizes that the child himself is special — their fears that this is some sort of weirdness subside, and the people watch the child and wait, for they have come to realize that he is special to God and might do wonderful things in his life.

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