Friday of 7th Week of Easter, 02 June – John 21:15-19 ~ follow me

Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter

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

Opening Prayer

Lord our God, you have appointed shepherds in your Church to speak your word to us and to build community in your name. We pray today: May they be shepherds like your Son who look for those who have lost the way, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the weak strong. May they all be ministers of your tender love and service, as Jesus was, your Son and our Lord.

Reading: John 21:15-19 (NLT)

After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”

“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.

Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”

“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.

A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.

“I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”
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Reflection & Prayer:

Heavenly Father: you have called us by name and have set us apart to love and serve you as faithful witnesses to our risen Savior, Jesus Christ.

Merciful God: we confess that we have not loved you with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Forgive us, for the sake of your Son; and fill us with his same loving passion and obedience even unto death.

Sovereign Lord: unfold your plan for each one of us; you have positioned us in time and place to advance the purposes of your Kingdom. Reveal to us our individual responsibilities, great and small, and empower us with the gifts of your Spirit to fulfill them.

Loving God: abide in us that our practice of love may become second nature to us. Let your loving-kindness prevail and lead us, even where we are not inclined to go, that you may be glorified in all that we do and say through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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“Follow Me” – Casting Crowns

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Concluding Prayer – Psalm 103:1-2 (NLT)

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.
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+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Thursday of 7th Week of Easter, 01 June – John 17:20-26 ~ one in Christ

Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter

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

Opening Prayer

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Father of all who believe in his name: we know that you loved Jesus with a deep and trusting, everlasting love. Let your Holy Spirit pour out this love into the hearts of all believers in Jesus, our Savior. And let this love unite us in one common bond of understanding and mutual respect that we may live for one another and serve one another for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Reading: John 17:20-26 (NLT)

“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!

“O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”
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Reflection & Prayer:

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved other believers as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.

For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us. Make us one in you; let your love flow in us, and through us to one another that the world may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Show us how to worship and pray together, to live and work together, to support one another in our common effort to make disciples throughout the world. Help us to remain in your love in spite of our rivalries, tensions and conflicts.

Lord God: We confess that “there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.” Make us one body, united by the same Spirit, and called to the same glorious hope for the future. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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“We Are One Body” – John Michael Talbot