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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.

Call to Sunday Worship

O  Lord, I beseech you mercifully to hear my prayers, and the prayers of all your people who call upon you; and grant that we may both perceive and know what things we ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfill them; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Prayer for Forgiveness

Almighty and most merciful Father, I have erred and strayed from your ways like a lost sheep. I have followed too much the devices and desires of my own heart. I have offended against your holy laws. I have left undone those things which I ought to have done; and I have done those things which I ought not to have done; and there is no good in me. O Lord, have mercy upon me, a miserable sinner. Spare all those, O God, who confess their faults. Restore those who are penitent; according to your promises declared to us in Christ Jesus our Lord. And Grant that I and all who confess his holy name may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life; to his glory and not our own,

Adapted from the 1928 Anglican Book of Common Prayer

Prayer to Grow Closer to God

Dear Lord, I am trying to do better and better each day; I am trying to walk with you and do your will, but sometimes it seems like I am slipping backwards no matter how hard I try. And I get confused sometimes; even if I want to do the right thing, I don't always know what it is.

So this is my prayer, heavenly Lord, for your help in straightening out my mind and straightening out my life. Lead me, Lord, and let your Holy Spirit guide me. Even if the correction is painful, help me to keep my mind open to your truth. Let me do your will in my every action, and know your will, that I might do it. Help me not be deceived by false assertions or glib intelligence, by those who would excuse or promote sinful actions, by those who simply do not know; and above all, help me not to deceive myself. Guide me away from excuses and rationalizations when I have sinned, but into your holy truth, that I might know my sin, and correct what I can, and ask forgiveness for what I cannot. By the grace and mercy of holy Christ, I ask this,

by Mason Barge 7/08/13

Meditation

[I will let the Holy Spirit guide me.]

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.

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.

Our Wisdom

1 Corinthians 15:20-28 (ESV)

The Resurrection of the Dead [2]

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.”

But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

Notes on the Scripture

As we saw on Wednesday, Paul emphasized the importance of the resurrection, which is a concept that we all grasp. But . . . what then? Christians often tend to be unclear on exactly what the Bible says about what is going to happen in the future. The five-dollar word for this is “eschatology”, which sounds intimidating but could not be more simple: it's the theological study of what is going to happen next.

We will go to sleep for a time. It does not matter how long, because it will be instantaneous as far as we are concerned. Then, Christ is going to return to the earth to judge the souls of all who have lived. Some will be consigned to a fiery hell, and some will be assigned to an eternal life of joy and peace with God the Father.

Many modern churches tend to steer clear of the concept of hell. There are arguments that it does not exist or, at best, it is simply not mentioned. But Christ himself talks about it often, and the image of hell being “fiery” actually seems to originate with Jesus, the first being Matthew 5:22.

But of all concepts in Christianity, the Trinity seems to be the most misunderstood. Of course, we are probably simply not capable of understanding God, and possibly the difficulty of understanding the inter-relationship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is an aspect of our limitations.

But, as Paul makes plain in this passage, Jesus and God the Father are two different persons. It is hard to miss this point when you read through one of the Gospels, as Jesus repeatedly speaks of God the Father with reverence and submission. After his resurrection, however, Christ was made to rule over the earth. Christ will be subject to the Father.

We must realize that Christ, unlike us, has no resentment about being subject to God the Father. The concepts of ego, ambition, rebelliousness and such, simply do not exist for him. He does not “accept” his submission; he is not resigned to it. The concept is simply absent from him, because he is perfect.

And just so, we must treat our relationship to Christ. He is our friend, our God and our Savior. He loves us enough to die for us. But he is also our Lord. Our hearts must be filled with humility and sincerity if we are to find him.

Resurrection of Christ by Piero della Francesca, c. 1463. Christ is depicted as victorious, a scruffy bleeding King with a crown of thorns. Click the photo to see it full-sized.

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