March 19, 2021
OPENING PRAYER
O Lord, you have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn me away in anger. Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
CONFESSION OF SIN & PRAYER FOR GRACE
Almighty God: I cannot keep silent about my sin; when I do, my bones waste away and your hand is heavy upon me. So I will acknowledge my sin to you, and I will not cover my iniquity. Today, I acknowledge the sin of ENTITLEMENT. I live with a demanding spirit that grabs, clutches, and expects, rather than with a generous spirit that thanks you and blesses others. Forgive me, O Lord, by the mercy of Jesus, who did not regard equality with you as something to be grasped, but emptied himself that I might be filled. Fill me up today with the freedom and joy of grace, for Your name’s sake: Amen.
OT READING: Ecclesiastes 8
THE LORD’S PRAYER
NT READING: John 12:1-11
PRAYER OF ADORATION:
Jesus, you are more precious than anything else. What can I offer you that is worthy of you? What can I give you that is not already yours? I worship you because you accept the humble sacrifices of your people and bless their praise.
PSALM READING: Psalm 126
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Thank you, Lord, that you are the God who restores your people. This psalm is a song of ascent sung by travelers on their way up to worship at your temple. As they reflect on their history with you, they remember the overwhelming joy of coming home from exile. Their captivity was great, and great was their deliverance, because it was executed by your great and mighty hand. Help me remember my own deliverance today. Let me look to the prisons from which I’ve been set free. At my first conversion what a release from captivity I experienced. I’ll never forget it. Since then, from many troubles, from depression of spirit, from miserable backsliding, from grievous doubt, I’ve have been emancipated; sometimes quickly and sometimes gradually. I remember the joy which followed each emancipation. As I do my work today, keep the joy of your great deliverance alive in my heart. Amen.
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.