Land of Beulah. This is a restoration of a panel from the Moving Panorama of A Pilgrim’s Progress, a project to illustrate John Bunyan’s famous allegory, carried out by Frederic Edwin Church, Jasper Cropsey, Daniel Huntington, and others, ca. 1851.
Prayers
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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.
Amen.
Prayer for God to Dwell with Us Today
Holy Jesus, who has promised that if we love you, you and the Father will love us and come to us and make your home with us, I give you my love without reservation. Your words are sacred and I aspire to live by them, this day and always, and I glorify you for your sacrifice of pain and death, made out of your love for us, that all who follow you might find salvation and eternal life.
Bless me this day to live with your Spirit, to resist temptation to evil, and to show your joy and love to all. Make your home with me, that I might be truly blessed, I pray,
Amen.
Confession
Have mercy on me, Oh Lord, for I am a humble and miserable sinner. [At this point, pause to remember specific sins you have committed during the day and speak or think them.] I renounce all of these sins, heavenly Father, and repent of them, and I promise to make every effort not to repeat them.
Have mercy on me, pardon me for these offences and any I might have omitted from forgetfulness or ignorance; in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, I pray for forgiveness. And I pray that your Holy Spirit may dwell with me in the coming day, to comfort me, to give me strength against temptation, and to guide me into the path of righteousness.
Amen.
To Withstand the World
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, do not permit vanity, self-love, sensuality, carelessness, nor anger to rule over me and steal me from Thy love, O my Lord and Creator, all my hope! Do not leave me without a portion of the blessed eternity. Grant also that I may follow Thy Holy example, that I may submit to the authorities placed over me. Grant me the clean soul, the simplicity of heart that makes us worthy of Thy love.
Amen.
unk origin, Mason Barge 5//2017
Blessing
May God the Father bless us; may Christ take care of us; the Holy Ghost enlighten us all the days of our life. The Lord be our defender and keeper of body and soul, both now and for ever, to the ages of ages.
Amen.
by Æthelwold, Bishop of Winchester, 958 A.D.
John Doe singing Bob Dylan’s best-known Christian song, Pressing On.
Let all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.
Acts 20:25-31 (ESV)
Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesian Elders [2]
nd now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.
Notes on the Scripture
Paul’s farewell is a heartfelt and emotional goodbye. He has lived with or near these people, in a small community, for three years. Paul, who must be in his 50’s by now, tells them he will not see them again. We can guess at least two reasons for this. First, he has called them to meet him in Miletus; perhaps Ephesus has become too dangerous for him to return there. Second, he is being led by the Holy Spirit to go to Jerusalem, which is definitely a dangerous place for him. He anticipates trouble.
We get another little insight into how Paul converted people; he says that he warned them “with tears”. Paul was a “people person”; his attempts to save souls involved complete direct contact with others, for however long it took, with great emotional involvement. He was trying to save lives one at a time.
One of the warnings he gives is particularly appropriate to later times: Men from their Christian communities will twist the truth, because they want believers to follow them. Unfortunately, this problem is constant. Men and women in every generation twist the Bible and gather followers, for their personal pride and worldly gain. The greatest protection we have for this is to read the Bible, to know the Bible, and to refuse to ignore the plain meaning of important passages.
Matthew 5:39, 44: I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. . . . [L]ove your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
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Daily Quiz
Top score(s) on the Daily Quiz for Jun 18, 2019 were:
Vavachan Joseph (12) randall martin (12) Tom Kraft (12) Pam Carpenter (11) jimmy teasley (11)
Top score(s) on Match-a-Verse:
Pam Carpenter (9 out of 9) Kathryn Halfman (9 out of 9) Vavachan Joseph (9 out of 9) Greg Flippin (9 out of 9) Norman Daniels (9 out of 9) randall martin (9 out of 9)
