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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.

"For Each New Morning"

A Prayer for Lent

Father, through our observance of Lent, help us to understand the meaning of Your Son's death and resurrection, and teach us to reflect it in our lives. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Prayer to Live Christ's Word

Gracious God, Jesus is calling me to a new beginning; to a fresh call to discipleship. You are asking me to deny myself, take up my cross and follow you. It was at my baptism that you claimed me as your child.

Today, I affirm that I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. I surrender my will, my desires and my life to you, O God. I commit myself to your call to discipleship: to pray, study your Word, worship you, invite other people to a life of discipleship, encourage Christians in their life of faith, serve those in need, and give joyfully of the gifts that You first gave me.
This I pray in Jesus' name.

Dedication

God of love, Father of all, the darkness that covered the earth has given way to the bright dawn of your Word made flesh. Make me and all who confess your holy name people of this light. Make me faithful to your Word that I may bring your life to the waiting world. Grant this through Christ our Lord.

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.

This fresco of the Hebrews crossing the Red Sea was found in the "Dura Europos" Synagogue in Syria. It probably dates between 150 AD and 256 AD.
To the left, a Hebrew army walks over flopping fish. In the center, Moses (in a toga) appears under the hands of God, while Aaron stretches his staff over the drowning Egyptians. (Full size)

Proverbs 20:1-3 (The Message)

Exodus 15:1-12 (ESV)

The Song of Moses [1]

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,

“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

The Lord is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a man of war;
the Lord is his name.

“Pharaoh's chariots and his host he cast into the sea,
and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
The floods covered them;
they went down into the depths like a stone.

Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,
your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;
you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.

At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
the floods stood up in a heap;
the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.

The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’
You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;
they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
You stretched out your right hand;
the earth swallowed them.”

Notes on the Scripture

This very early psalm, also called The Song of the Sea, is probably the oldest (i.e., first composed) part of Exodus. Moses' sister, Miriam, taught it to the women of Israel and it would have been a well-known song already when Moses wrote the narrative. Jews reading the Book of Exodus for the first time would have enjoyed coming across it and learning how it came to be written — like hearing "She Loves You" in a film biography of the Beatles.

The song, like many enduring songs, was written in a short period. It gave the Hebrews something to sing for the next forty years and would help to keep their spirits up during a time where despair loomed around every corner, by reminding them of their purpose and heartening them to their ordeal. Also, we must remember that people not yet born who would share this hardship; the song would serve to brand the history into the minds of those who had not lived it.

And they needed heartening. The Israelites have now been tossed into a hostile and primitive world, both geographical and socio-political. They are utterly alone in a desert, a roaming band of marauders; and on either side of them are strong empires (Egyptians and Philistines) used to dealing with such bands. But, unlike most warlike nomads, they are thoroughly unprepared. These are not Tatars or Vikings or Goths. They are sedentary slaves and laborers, not foragers and soldiers accustomed to constant movement and combat.

Yahweh is unmistakably their only hope; and so, this combination of creed, history, and worship is vital to their determination and morale. "The LORD" (original YHWH) "is my strength and my song." God being their "strength" meant more to them than to most of us; for it was every day apparent that, if they did not have God's hand, their own strength was so lacking that they faced quick annihilation. And He is their song; He is at the forefront of their mind and on their lips as they prepare to move forward.

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