Prayers
Scripture
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.
(Note: Composers frequently repeat, omit, or put phrases out of order.)
O magnum mysterium,
Praise and Thanks this Morning
Hallelujah! The sun has risen again and it is morning! And I have awoken into it, alive, breathing, thinking, knowing that the Son will rise again and I will be saved. What did I do to deserve this day? It is a gift from you. Glory and praise to you, my God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for filling me with life to live another day, for it is you who made me and not me myself.
I resolve to spend this day in the presence of the Holy Spirit, filled with his joy and energy, that I might accomplish your will, my God, and do what I can to deserve the joys of the day, for I know my time here is short. Be with me, oh Holy Spirit, to fill me with the energy and positivity and comfort that only you can bring. In Christ's name I pray that thy will be done,
Prayer of Supplication
Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me, for I am poor and needy. Without you, I have nothing. I pray that this day I will have food, and shelter, and be free of pain and fear. If it is not your will for me to suffer, Lord, I pray that I will not. And above all, cleanse my soul of sin, that I might someday be free of all pain and evil; for, whatever I may bear in this life, I have faith and hope in the life to come, through your goodness and mercy. In Christ's name, I pray,
Benediction
Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, I pray that you direct my way unto you, and make me and all of us to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you; to the end that we may establish our hearts unblameable in holiness before you, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.
Proverbs 2:16-19
So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words,
who forsakes the companion of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God;
For her house sinks down to death,
and her paths to the departed;
none who go to her come back,
nor do they regain the paths of life.
John 6:22-29 (CEV)
What Exactly Does God Want Us to Do?
The people who had stayed on the east side of the lake knew that only one boat had been there. They also knew that Jesus had not left in it with his disciples. But the next day some boats from Tiberias sailed near the place where the crowd had eaten the bread for which the Lord had given thanks. They saw that Jesus and his disciples had left. Then they got into the boats and went to Capernaum to look for Jesus. They found him on the west side of the lake and asked, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"
Jesus answered, "I tell you for certain that you are not looking for me because you saw the miracles, but because you ate all the food you wanted. Don't work for food that spoils. Work for food that gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give you this food, because God the Father has given him the right to do so."
"What exactly does God want us to do?" the people asked.
Jesus answered, "God wants you to have faith in the one he sent."
Notes on the Scripture
The little anecdote in the first part of the lesson shows that human nature hasn't changed in 2000 years. Jesus snuck away after feeding the 5,000, because He wanted to prevent the crowd from proclaiming Him a secular king. He then joined the apostles in their boat, walking over the water to reach them. Now, a curious crowd gets in boats and starts sailing around the Sea of Galilee looking for Him!
The very nice thing about this bit of Scripture is how simple it is. Theologians, numbering in the tens of thousands, have spent their lives trying to tear apart every word, examine every angle, consider every aspect of the Bible, from historical, archaeological, theological, philosophical, and every other possible perspective. They get Ph. D.'s and teach courses. Like the people getting into boats to chase Jesus around the Sea of Galilee, people have never stopped trying to get more of Christ.
But for all the arcane and complex knowledge and theory people have written about, for all the fights and wars between sects of Christianity, the religion can be boiled down to a simple sentence: "God wants you to have faith in the one he sent".
It isn't rocket science. It isn't in the least bit complicated. Have faith in Christ. That is what God wants you to do. If you get that right, everything else will follow.
