Living God,
let me walk with confidence in your love this day. Open my heart to feel and cherish your love that embraces me from the cross. Empower me to respond by reaching out to those near and far with your liberating love.
Through the Resurrected Body of Christ, Amen.
Living God,
thank you for those brief and transforming glimpses of your peace. Create in us receptive hearts that remain open to your surprises and presence.
Through the Resurrected Body of Christ, Amen.
RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE,
THERE ARE TIMES WHEN DOUBT IS EASIER THAN FAITH. WHEN LIFE IS HARD AND THE STRUGGLE SEEMS TOO GREAT TO STRUGGLE, I CRY OUT TO YOU. SILENCE IS AN UNWELCOME RESPONSE. IT IS AT THOSE TIMES WHEN MY FAITH STRETCHES AND MY WHOLE SOUL TREMBLES. LIKE A LOST CHILD, I AM VULNERABLE AND SCARED. SHELTER ME IN THE SILENCE AND THE SHADOWS OF MY DOUBT. STRENGTHEN MY FEEBLE FAITH SO THAT I MIGHT ONCE AGAIN RAISE YOUR PRAISE WITH SURE CONFIDENCE.
THROUGH CHRIST, AMEN.
Resurrection and the life,
There is a delicate balance found in your creation. Too little rainfall and the young plants wither and dry up in the unforgiving sun. Too much rain and the sprouts float away. Nature is complex. I don’t help things along. My patterns of consumption and my self-directed appetite contribute to the world out of balance. Restore the balance, O God that I need in my heart and life. Renew the face of the earth, starting with me, so that the abundance of creation might be experienced and cared for by all.
Through Christ, Amen.
Resurrection and the Life,
Help me not to look in the mirror so much. Some days I am captivated by my own beauty or lack thereof. I preen. I fuss. I worry, "how do I look?" I buy into the commercial lie that my worth depends upon such things. I feel discouraged. I'm never going to look good enough.
Help me to put the mirror aside and pick up the cross instead. Let me rest in the sure and certain nature of your love Remind me that my worth is found in you. I am beloved because of you. Form my life around such assurance so that I start to look upon others through the same lens.
Through Christ, Amen.
RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE,
ENLIVEN THE DEAD SPACES OF MY HEART. MOTIVATE THE COMPLACENT SPACES OF MY SPIRIT. ANIMATE THE DORMANT SPACES OF MY RESPONSE. RESURRECT ME - MIND, BODY, AND SPIRIT. MAKE ME NEW SO THAT I MIGHT BE ALIVE AGAIN IN YOUR LOVE, TO BE THE LOVING PERSON YOU CREATED ME TO BE FOR THE SAKE OF OTHERS AND THIS WORLD.
THROUGH CHRIST, AMEN.
O Come Light Divine and shine into the darkness of neglect.
The light from a stable long ago pierces the darkness of this world. In the birth of Jesus, you shine your very being, filled with compassion, mercy, love, and grace. Empower me in these gifts so that I might be a light unto others, particularly those who are forgotten and neglected. Shine through me until that day when your radiance dispels all darkness, and all people can celebrate in the joy of your eternal light.
Through the Resurrected Body of Christ, Amen.
Gracious God, at this Christmas time, you bless us in the celebration of the Christ child. In the baby Jesus, you entered our life’s joys and struggles. You share life with us. Your presence brings love, forgiveness, healing, and hope to our weary should. Let us delight in your goodness and respond by reaching out to our neighbors. Through Christ, Amen.
O Come Creator of celestial light and shine on all creation.
Shine like the sun on a cold, crisp winter's day when the light bounces off freshly fallen snow. Shine the compassion, mercy, and grace of Christ into our hearts so that we might radiate and reflect Christ into this day. Shine into our community so that we might seek that which is pleasing in your sight and live in a way that imitates your Divine love for all creation.
Through the Resurrected Body of Christ, Amen.
O Come Healing Light and shine into our broken bodies.
Although you call me into right relationships with others, neighbors, strangers, and all creation, I find my relationships are broken. I seek and need your healing power. Empower me with your love, compassion, generosity, and mercy. Strengthen me, transform my body by these values so that I might reflect these values into the network of relationships in which I find myself connected.
Through the Resurrected Body of Christ, Amen.
O Come Perpetual Light and shine on those who live in darkness.
Gracious God you remain steadfast in your love throughout the ages. You guided our ancestors in the faith, the Jewish people, from slavery in Egypt to a promised land. Your light provided hope and showed the path of travel. Even in the unknown and uncharted wilderness, you remained present with your love and mercy. Guide and guard us in our wanderings. Shine your light upon our path that we might walk in your walks.
Through the Resurrected Body of Christ, Amen.
O Come Perpetual Light and shine on those who live in darkness. Illumine the dark and scary places of this world with the brightness of your love. As a single candle flickers in the night and casts light that pushes back the night, come to us. Push back the sorrow and despair of our shadowed existence with your great light. Through the Resurrected Body of Christ, Amen.
Living God, we haven’t been the best stewards of your creation. We cut down your forests with a lust to consume that upset the natural order. We don’t consider the costs of our consumption on either creation or our fellow humanity. Make us aware. Help us to repent from our resistant ways so that we might turn toward you and embrace sustainable living. Inspire us to plant and nurture as we harvest and consume. Through the Resurrected Body of Christ, Amen.
Gracious God, thank you for opening your feast of love and grace to me. As I fill my hungry soul with your life, open the closed places of my heart so that I might be better able to share a generous and robust welcome to others. Allow me to anticipate with joy the great and promised day of Isaiah 25:6-9 when you will prepare a feast for all peoples. Through Christ, Amen.
REFORMATION DAY, 2018
Gracious God, thank you for your church that transcends our experiences, preferences, traditions, structures, and location. Through your Word and Sacrament, you form your church anew, and you bless it with your presence and care. Enable us to see an ever expanding visage of mission and connection with others through the communion that you gather in your name. Through Christ, Amen.
Living God, you already know what I need before I ask. You know what is in my heart as well. Allow me the strength of faith to trust in you without words. Help me to rest in your presence and peace. Through the Resurrected Body of Christ, Amen.
Gracious God, though you have wonderfully created each of us, we are not without our flaws. Some of these flaws are visible, and some are not. Often, we seek to hide and bury deep those experiences which have left their marks. Help us to learn the lessons that our bodies have to teach us. Allow us to embody the wisdom within each of us. Give us the strength to embrace our struggles with the sure and certain knowledge that you continue to love us no matter what and that you are ever near. Through Christ, Amen.
Amen.
Gracious God,
as the sun dances between the crimson maples and golden oaks it is easy to sing of your wonder and the beauty of your creation. Praise to you, Creator of all life! In the changing of seasons, open my heart to seek beyond the beauty to experience your presence and the work of your hands in the moments and places that lack the luster of a brilliant fall day. Open my heart with each beat that I may give thanks for all, for you, for this day in all its wonder and challenge. Amen.
Living God, give me the courage and wisdom to see life as you do. Let me look into the eyes of others, especially those who are different on the outside from me, and see your face. Inspire me to actions of hospitality, compassion, and care for them. When I can’t understand where another person is coming from let me not dismiss or judge them. Align me with your love so that I might live the life that you intend. Through the Resurrected Body of Christ, Amen.
Permission granted to share with family and friends. Copyrighted 2017, Walt Lichtenberger
Living God, align my heart to your love. Let me live this day influenced by your life. Where this world tugs me to places that work against your love, give me the strength to rise up and resist. Help me out of my complacency so that I might be active in my care and love of others. Through the Resurrected Body of Christ, Amen.
Permission granted to share with family and friends. Copyrighted 2017, Walt Lichtenberger