March 15, 2021
OPENING PRAYER
Lord God Almighty: Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things in your law. Open my ears, that I may tremble at your Word. Open my lips, that my mouth may declare your praise. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation. For you I wait all the day long.
CONFESSION OF SIN & PRAYER FOR GRACE
O Lord, you promise to work all things for my good, Yet I confess that instead of delighting in your grace, I find reasons to be unhappy. I have filled my life with busyness and scheduled myself into exhaustion. I have been quick to judge others and slow to forgive them. Open my eyes to Your glory which is all around me, and to Your love which is smiling through all things. Renew in me a sense of wonder in You and your good creation. Amen.
OT READING: Lamentations 4:1-11
THE LORD’S PRAYER
NT READING: Matthew 21:1-17
PRAYER OF ADORATION:
Lord Jesus, I adore you as the triumphant, glorious, and reigning King. You are Israel’s true messiah and creation’s true ruler. I bow before you today in humble worship.
PSALM READING: Psalm 12
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
O Lord: I live in a time when “vileness is exalted among the children of men.” I need today the moral courage to call sin sin, and to name wickedness for what it is. And I need the grace to start with myself. This Psalm speaks of flattering lips and a double heart - and I am not free from guilt in these areas. I sin with my lips, and my heart is prone to turn from you. So today, guard the gate of my mouth, that I may speak words of truth and blessing. And strengthen the resolve of my heart, that I may stay close to you and not turn to idols and false comforts. Bring your grace and mercy to bear in the world through your people. Where there is evil to be confronted, give us the courage to confront it. Where there is good to be done, give us the grace to act. Help my eyes be open and my soul aware of the opportunities around me today to act for your glory.
BENEDICTION
And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and always, until the day of Christ's return.