Month: May 2017

Tuesday of 5th Week of Easter, 16 May – John 14:27-31 ~ peace of mind and heart

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Opening Prayer

Lord our God, almighty Father, you have absolute power over the world, and yet you respect the freedom of people, even of those who persecute your faithful. Make us realize that our faith does not protect us against the evil which people bring upon one another, but that you want us to build according to your plan a kingdom of justice, love and peace. Help our faith to stand the test when our meager efforts fail. We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Reading: John 14:27-31 (NLT)

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am. I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do happen, you will believe.

“I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the ruler of this world approaches. He has no power over me, but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father….
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Reflection & Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ: Give us your gift of peace of mind and heart; set before us your vision of peace for our hurting souls and wholeness for our fragmented world.

+ We pray for those caught up in violence, anger and brokenness….
Hear our prayers, Lord, and grant us your peace.

+ We pray for those in relationships filled with anxiety and drama….
Hear our prayers, Lord, and grant us your peace.

+ We pray for those divided by racial tension and tribal hatred….
Hear our prayers, Lord, and grant us your peace.

+ We pray for those who are disenfranchised and oppressed….
Hear our prayers, Lord, and grant us your peace.

Lord Jesus Christ: In your mercy, bring your peace and justice to every part of your creation; and, by your grace, infuse our minds and hearts with a peace that overcomes the strife, the quarrels and the social tensions around us.

Make us bearers of your Good News of peace through the power of your Spirit at work within us that the essential “goodness” of creation may be restored and the Father glorified.

Soli Deo gloria!
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“Dona nobis pacem domine” – Choir of Grace Lutheran Church, River Forest, Illinois


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Concluding Prayer – Psalm 145:10-11 (NLT)

All of your works will thank you, Lord, and your faithful followers will praise you. They will speak of the glory of your kingdom; they will give examples of your power.
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+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Monday of 5th Week of Easter, 15 May – John 14:21-26 ~ loving obedience

Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Opening Prayer

Lord Jesus: you have made your home in my heart through the indwelling of your Spirit. Reveal your glory to me – full of grace and truth – that I may become a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to the Father, through loving obedience to your word.

Reading: John 14:21-26 (NLT)

“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”

Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me. I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
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Reflection & Prayer:

Come Holy Spirit:

Teach me and remind me of everything Jesus said and did that I may become a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to the Father through loving obedience to his word.

+ Quiet my heart that I may hear your voice speaking to me; refresh in me your life-giving presence that I may faithfully love and serve you, without reservation, until my life’s end.

+ Give me eyes to see the greatness of your presence around me – in the beauty and wonder of creation, in all that is good and kind, and in friends and strangers alike.

Make me a doer of your word, and not simply a hearer. Infuse new life into my thoughts and actions that I may become a healing presence through my Lord Jesus Christ, who lives with you and the Father, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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“Trust and Obey”


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Concluding Prayer – Psalm 145:2-3 (NLT)

I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.
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+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

A Mother’s Day Prayer

O Heavenly Father:

We praise and thank you this day for your gift of Mothers in this world – for the unconditional love you instill in their souls and the unlimited sacrifices they make for us their children.

  • May you bless the women who are at the beginning of their journey of motherhood with newborn babies and toddlers.
  • May you bless the mothers who are in the midst of teenage years with their children.
  • May you bless the single mother who is challenged to be all things to her children.
  • May you bless the mother who chooses to love and nurture the child of another.
  • May you bless the mothers who continue to guide their children and the next generation as grandmothers.
  • May you bless the mothers who grieve the loss of their children.
  • May you comfort the women who yearn to know the blessing of motherhood.

Continue to bless these women. Keep them healthy in body, mind and spirit. Allow them to tum to you when they struggle in their daily lives. And give them the courage, compassion and vision to meet the daily challenge of motherhood.

For those of us whose mothers now share your heavenly banquet: May you enable us this day to remember a special memory to help us endure the loss we feel from the absence of our mother in our daily lives. Thank you that they are in your presence knowing joy that we cannot imagine.

All this we ask in the name of the one who also knew the loving touch of his own mother Mary, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Saturday of 4th Week of Easter, 13 May – John 14:7-14 ~ just believe

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Opening Prayer

Lord our God, you are distant and unknown, and yet so near that you know us and love us and save us through your Son Jesus Christ. May he be present in us and in our actions that we may do the same works of mercy, truth and loving service and thus become the sign to the world that your Son is alive and that you are a saving God now and for ever. Amen.
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Reading: John 14:7-14 (NLT)

If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!
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Reflection & Prayer:

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for showing us the Father in all that you said and did. Draw me close to you, that I may draw life from you and breathe deeply of your Spirit.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for being the face of the Father here in our midst. Live in me and through me, that I may faithfully fulfill your purpose for my life.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for opening up a new world of possibilities for us. Attune my heart to yours, and my will to yours, that I may successfully intercede for others in your name – and bring glory to the Father.
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“God Who Moves the Mountains” – Dustin Smith


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Concluding Prayer – Psalm 98:3-4 (NLT)

He has remembered his promise to love and be faithful to Israel. The ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God. Shout to the Lord, all the earth; break out in praise and sing for joy!
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+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!