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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 of Ambrose of Milan

O  Lord, who has mercy upon all, take away from me my sins, and mercifully kindle in me the fire of your Holy Spirit. Take away from me the heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh, a heart to love and adore you, a heart to delight in you, to follow and to enjoy you, for Christ’s sake.

from a prayer by Ambrose of Milan, 388 A.D.

Prayer of Contrition

Have mercy upon me, O God, after Your great goodness: according to the multitude of Your mercies do away my offences. Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin, for I acknowledge my faults, and my sin is ever before me. By the merits of my Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray,

Mason Barge 7/2018 from In God’s Presence, 1929

Prayer of Praise

O  Father, majestic is your name!
From the rising of the sun to its setting your name is to be praised,
Merciful God, gracious Lord.
Hear us in the name of Your Son,
For He has promised that where two or three of us are gathered in Your name
He would be with us and our prayer would be heard.
Hear us in the name of Your Son,
For He is the revelation of Your wisdom, the outpouring of your glory,
The incarnation of your mercy toward us and the whole human race.
To You be the glory,
All praise and honor, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
One God, now and evermore.

~ Hughes Oliphant Old

Prayer For Health and Healing

Almighty God, you are the only source of health and healing. In you, there is calm and the only true peace in the universe. Grant to each one of us your children an awareness of your presence, and give us perfect confidence in you. In all pain, weariness, and anxiety, teach us to yield ourselves to your never-failing care, knowing that your love and power surround us, trusting in your wisdom and providence to give us health, strength, and peace when your time is best, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Nazarene, Vols. 7-9, 1922 Mason Barge /2025

Benediction

Now the God of patience and consolation grant to me, and to all who pray in the name of Christ, to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That we may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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.

Christ Teaching in the Synagogue in Nazareth (detail), 14th century fresco, Kosovo.

What is a Church?

John 8:2-11 (ESV)

Crime and Punishment

arly in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him.

Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.

Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

Notes on the Scripture

In parts of the New Testament —for example, the verses in Galatians where Paul described the necessity of Christian morality (e.g. Galatians 5:19-21)— the moral code the speakers follow appears to adopt the Law of Moses by reference. We thus see that we need to examine the relationship of the Law of Moses to Christianity. There is a fairly simple point that seems to escape many people who read the Bible. Christ did not change the Law concerning sexual relationships; He did, however, abolish human authority for enforcing the Law, at least as a religious matter.

Using as our example the current hot-button issue of homosexuality, one will hear attacks on Christianity quoting, correctly, such verses from the Old Testament as Leviticus 20:13. “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death.” Thus, reason our Bible-bashers, “Christians say that homosexuals should be put to death.”

Since we have used John 8 as our primary text, we should include Leviticus 20:10, because both the accusers and Jesus have it clearly in mind: “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”

When Christ addresses the woman, he does not approve of her adultery. His final words to her are “go and sin no more.” Good advice, certainly; but notice that He did not tell her she was innocent of the charge against her. In fact, by necessary implication, Christ considered her adultery sinful. She was as guilty before Christ as she was before the scribes and Pharisees. He did not approve of her action: He told her, “Don’t do it again.”

He did not abolish the Law. (Matthew 5:17-20) It was, is, and always will be against the Law of God to engage in adultery, homosexuality, masturbation, and other sorts of sexual impropriety. In fact, if anything, Christ made the morality of the Law more stringent: For he told us that even to lust, intentionally, was sufficient to earn the penalty associated with adultery, which is death. (Matthew 5:27-30)

Then why is it wrong to say that Christians think homosexuals should be put to death? When one read the story from John 8, it becomes quite clear. Christ took away all authority for sinful humans to judge others. He brought forgiveness; but the price of being forgiven for one’s sins is the forgiveness of the sins of others. (Matthew 6:14-15) All judgment for sin lies exclusively with Christ Himself. The judgment will be terrible upon the unforgiven, for “these will go away into eternal punishment,” but both guilt and punishment have been reserved to God.

The Bible tells us time and time again: “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1-3 This could not be any clearer. We cannot judge; we cannot punish. Our only option is to forgive, lest we ourselves face judgment.

Biblical Christians thus do not and may not judge the morality of others. The notion that Christians think homosexuals should be put to death (or otherwise punished) is absurd. God will judge as He wills. God will punish whom God will punish and will forgive whom He forgives. But He has given us guidance on the subject, that we might know our sin and avoid it, out of our love for Him; and one of the places He gave it was in the Law of Moses.

Daily Inspiration

“Humility”

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