Tag: Lectio Divina

Thursday of 2nd Week of Easter, 27 Apr – John 3:31-36 ~ believe and live

Thursday of the Second Week of Easter

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

Opening Prayer

Lord our God, your Son Jesus Christ came from you and bore witness to the things he had heard and seen. He could not but bear witness to you. Give us the Spirit of your Son, we pray you, to speak your word and to live it, that we may show Christ, your living Word, to those who have not seen him. We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
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Reading: John 3:31-36 (NLT)

“He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”
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Reflection & Prayer:

He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. – John 3:30 (NLT)

Lord Jesus Christ: sent by the Father to live among us and speak his words of life to us – I believe you are the Christ, the Son of the living God, and that you have given me eternal life.

  • Fill me with your Spirit – that I may appreciate the significance of who you are.
  • Fill me with your Spirit – that I may be open to all that you have planned for me.
  • Fill me with your Spirit – that I may be as quick to forgive, as I am to be forgiven.
  • Fill me with your Spirit – that I may recall and apply your teaching to my life.
  • Fill me with your Spirit – that I may worship you freely and truthfully.

Lord Jesus Christ: the Father has entrusted you with everything, I can do no less. My real life, my true self, is hidden in you; may you increase and I decrease that I may become the person I was made to be. Soli Deo gloria.
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“Jesus” – Chris Tomlin


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Concluding Prayer – Psalm 34:3,8 (NLT)

Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness; let us exalt his name together.
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Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
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+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Wednesday of 2nd Week of Easter, 26 Apr – John 3:16-21 ~ come into the light

Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter

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

Opening Prayer

Lord our God, you loved us so much that you gave us your only Son to save us from ourselves and to give us eternal life.

Do not condemn us, Lord, do not leave us to ourselves and to our little schemes but give us your Son now to stay with us and to make love and justice and peace ever new realities among us, your people reborn in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Reading: John 3:16-21 (NLT)

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”
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Reflection & Prayer:

Ever-loving God: you gave us Jesus, your Son, so that we could believe in him, be saved from our sins, and live in the light of his glory – full of grace and truth.

We praise you with grateful, believing, hearts, Lord – glorify us with the glory of Christ.

  • You have called us into your own marvelous light that we may always see your loving-kindness.
  • You purify and strengthen us through your Holy Spirit to do what is right in your sight.
  • You call us to sacrifice ourselves in the service of others that our worship may be acceptable to you.

At the start of the day fill our hearts with your love; let the praise of your glory be the joy of our lives. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
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“God So Loved the World” – The Gabrieli Choir, Budapest


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Concluding Prayer

I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. I will boast only in the Lord; let all who are helpless take heart. – Psalm 34:1-2 (NLT)
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+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Tuesday of 2nd Week of Easter, 25 Apr – Mark 16:15-20 ~ power outage?

Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter

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

Opening Prayer

Lord God, grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may receive power from on high, and show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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Reading: Mark 16:15-20 (NLT)

And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.
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Reflection & Prayer:

Peanut Gallery: There was a power outage at our house today – nothing serious, only for a couple of hours.

The lights were out, no stove or refrigerator, no music or news, and the garage door wouldn’t open. Our cell phones worked as long as the batteries held out, but we couldn’t recharge them.

I’m over-stating the case. We live in a South Carolina hurricane zone and do know how to cope with power outages.

Still, it got me thinking about today’s reading and the church. Is today’s church trying to function in the middle of a serious spiritual power outage? Have God’s people become powerless? Is a power outage the new normal for the church?

God of power and might: send us your Spirit. Fill your church and your people with your power.

+ Bind us to our Lord Jesus Christ, as the branches draw life from the vine.
+ Send us into the world to preach, teach and heal with the power of your Spirit.
+ Prepare the lost, the sick, the demonized, and the broken-hearted to believe and be baptized.
+ Work through us, Lord, confirming what we do and say by miraculous signs.

God of power and might: we must decrease so that you may increase – for apart from you, we can do nothing. We pray, come Holy Spirit, through our Lord Jesus Christ and for your glory. Amen.
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“Fall Afresh” – Amanda Cook (Bethel Music)


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Concluding Prayer

I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens. – Psalm 89:1-2
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+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Monday of 2nd Week of Easter, 24 Apr – John 3:1-8 ~ come Holy Spirit

Monday of the Second Week of Easter

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

Opening Prayer

Lord God, heavenly Father, you are not far away from me, for in you I live and move and exist, and you live in me through your Holy Spirit.

Be indeed with me, Lord, send me your Holy Spirit of truth and through him deepen my understanding of the life and message of your Son, that I may accept the full truth and live by it consistently.

I ask you this through Christ my Lord.
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Reading:John 3:1-8 (NLT)

There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
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Reflection & Prayer:

Come Holy Spirit – I need your life-changing power; I declare that Jesus is Lord, that He is risen from the dead.

+ Make me an entirely new person; give me new life in Christ Jesus my Lord.
+ Overcome all opposition to your transforming power, both within me and around me.
+ Change how I look at the world around me, how I respond to my friends and foes alike.
+ Give me wisdom and understanding, that I may both hear and obey your Word.
+ Fill me with the wonder of a new-born infant, where every day is an exciting new adventure.

Come Holy Spirit – fall afresh on me. Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me. Through my Lord Jesus Christ, who lives in unity with you and the Father, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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“Come Holy Spirit” – Israel and the New Breed


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Concluding Prayer

I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. I will boast only in the Lord; let all who are helpless take heart. – Psalm 34:1-2 (NLT)
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+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

2nd Sunday of Easter, 23 Apr – John 20:19-31 ~ sent to serve and save

Second Sunday of Easter

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

Opening Prayer

Heavenly Father, you gather your people on the Lord’s Day to celebrate the One who is the First and the Last, the living One who conquered death. Grant us the strength of your Spirit so that, having broken the chains of evil, calmed our fears and indecision, we may render the free service of our obedience and love, and reign in glory with Christ.
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Reading: John 20:19-31 (NLT)

That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Jesus Appears to Thomas

One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

Purpose of the Book

The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.
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Reflection & Prayer:

Lord God: I believe that Jesus is the Messiah, your Son, and that through him I will have life, now and forever, by the power of his name.

“As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”

  • Thank you for including even me in your commission to bring the Good News of the Gospel to the whole world.
  • Show me how I can bring the Good News of the Gospel to the people right here in my neighborhood.

“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven.
If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

  • Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.
  • As freely as I have received your forgiveness, may I freely give that same forgiveness to others.

“Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

  • Give me a servant’s heart and a willing spirit to respond to the needs of the people around me.
  • Make me a credible witness to the saving, transforming, power in the name of Jesus.

Lord God: strengthen me by the power of your Spirit that I may join you in your mission to serve and save the world. Through my Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, in unity with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Soli Deo gloria!
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“Come As You Are” – David Crowder


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Concluding Prayer

I thank you Jesus, my Lord and my God,

  • that you have loved me and called me, made me worthy to be your disciple,
  • that you have given me the Spirit, the One sent to proclaim and witness to your resurrection, to the mercy of the Father, to salvation and pardon for all men and women in the world.

You truly are the way, the truth and the life, the dawn without a setting, the sun of justice and peace.

  • Grant that I may dwell in your love, bound to you like a branch to its vine.
  • Grant me your peace so that I may overcome my weaknesses, face my doubts and respond to your call and live fully the mission you entrusted to me, praising you forever.

You who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
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+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!