April 3, 2021
Day 40 of Lent - HOLY SATURDAY
OPENING PRAYER
O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know my thoughts before I think them. You know my words before I speak them. You know my past, my present, and my future. Awaken me now, to seek you while you may be found, to call upon you while you are near, and to live a life that brings glory to your name.
CONFESSION OF SIN & PRAYER FOR GRACE
Lord Jesus: on this day, I confess my lack of joy. Your resurrection has changed the world! It is the most joyful news in all of history! Yet I remain Stoic or even despondent, not allowing the joy of the resurrection to permeate my disposition. Forgive me, Lord Jesus. Help me to rejoice! Especially today, as I prepare for worship on Easter Sunday, fill my heart with joy and life and my body with exuberant gladness. Let my joy be contagious, and my gratitude evident, through the grace of your Holy Spirit: Amen.
OT READING: Job 14:1-14
THE LORD’S PRAYER
NT READING: Matthew 27:57-66
PRAYER OF ADORATION:
Lord Jesus: I praise you for the quiet anticipation of this day. Death could not hold you, sin could not defeat you, Sheol could not contain you. I adore you as the one who tasted death for me.
PSALM READING: Psalm 31
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Lord Jesus: how unsurprising that the words you spoke from the cross were the words of Scripture. The Scriptures were your life; let them be mine as well. This Psalm concludes, “Be strong, and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord!” As I wait for Easter Sunday tomorrow, let my heart take courage. And remind me that in one way, all of life is Holy Saturday. We are always looking back and looking forward. So let me anticipate the new heavens and the new earth in the same way I anticipate the morning. Let the joy of Easter Sunday remind me of the eternal joy that awaits all who hope in you. 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.