Tag: Worship

Morning Reading: Luke 15:1-10 NLT – lost and found

Reading: Luke 15:1-10 NLT

Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!

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So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’

“In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’

“In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus – give me your passion and welcoming spirit for lost souls… near and far away. And use this Easter season to bring them home. To you be all honor and glory. Amen.

Hymn: “Softly and Tenderly” – Will L. Thompson (1880)

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me; see, on the portals he’s waiting and watching, watching for you and for me. Come home, come home; you who are weary come home; earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling, O sinner, come home!

Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading, pleading for you and for me? Why should we linger and heed not his mercies, mercies for you and for me? Come home, come home; you who are weary come home; earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling, O sinner, come home!

Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing, passing from you and from me; shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming, coming for you and for me. Come home, come home; you who are weary come home; earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling, O sinner, come home!

O for the wonderful love he has promised, promised for you and for me! Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon, pardon for you and for me. Come home, come home; you who are weary come home; earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling, O sinner, come home!

Morning Reading: Luke 14.16-24 (NLT) – guest invitations

Reading: Luke 14.16-24 NLT

Hearing this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, “What a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God!”

"The poor invited to the feast"jesusmafa (1973) Cameroon
“The poor invited to the feast”
Jesus MAFA (1973) Cameroon

Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’ But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I now have a wife, so I can’t come.’

“The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.’”

Prayer: Lord Jesus – excuses, excuses, excuses… and you are having none of it. Help me to live each day with the end in mind – a banqueting table in the Kingdom of God. May I keep my eye on the prize… and be ready to drop everything when the invitation comes. To you be all honor and glory. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “The Kingdom of God” – Paul Baloche

Palm Sunday: Philippians 2:5-11 ESV – make yourself nothing

Reading: Philippians 2:5-11 ESV

made himself nothing
Erik Hall, “Immanuel”
Digital painting – Gicleé on canvas

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Prayer: Lord Jesus – you made yourself nothing so that we could become something… a holy people… a people belonging to God… a people who have received God’s mercy. As we approach this Holy Week of Passion, may we walk with you from the Mount of Olives to the Upper Room… on to Gethsemane and through the Court system… then along the Via Dolorosa to the Cross… and finally to the Empty Tomb. May we empty ourselves of all pride and privilege – even the basic instinct of self-preservation – and make ourselves nothing so that we might join the heavenly throng proclaiming “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Amen.

Spiritual Song: “Above All” – Lenny LeBlanc

Morning Reading: Luke 14:7-14 NLT – guest seating

Reading: Luke 14:7-14 NLT

When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, he gave them this advice: “When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited? The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table!

"The Supper with Simon"Philippe de Champaigne (c1656)
“The Supper with Simon”
Philippe de Champaigne (c1656)

“Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”

Prayer:  Lord Jesus – once again you challenge me to see life through your eyes. Help me to welcome people into my life and love them, not because they can do something for me, but because they are made in your image – to honor them, is to honor you. May you receive all honor and glory. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “The Table of Grace” -Phillips, Craig & Dean (YouTube)

Morning Reading: Luke 14:1-6 NLT – Sabbath work

Reading: Luke 14:1-6 NLT

sabbathOne Sabbath day Jesus went to eat dinner in the home of a leader of the Pharisees, and the people were watching him closely. There was a man there whose arms and legs were swollen. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in religious law, “Is it permitted in the law to heal people on the Sabbath day, or not?”

When they refused to answer, Jesus touched the sick man and healed him and sent him away. Then he turned to them and said, “Which of you doesn’t work on the Sabbath? If your son or your cow falls into a pit, don’t you rush to get him out?”

Again they could not answer.

Prayer: Lord Jesus – you are Lord even of the Sabbath. Give us your heart and mind – to reverence the Father and pace our lives by resting… and yet be sensitive to the needs of those around us by acts of mercy. Holy Spirit – give us the discernment to know when to be still… and when to act. Heavenly Father – we would join with those who keep your commandment to remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “The Sabbath Song” – Loretta Weinberger