Monday, October 24







Luke 1 : 27-37

   
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph,
of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
28 And the angel came in unto her, and said,
Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee:
blessed art thou among women.
29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying,
and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not,
Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb,
and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest:
and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34 Then said Mary unto the angel,
How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said unto her,
The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest
shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall
be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived
a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her,
who was called barren.
37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.




Today's Prayer...



Dear Father in heaven,,

We thank you that with our poor, faulty, sinful,
and death-ridden lives we may find shelter in your love.
We thank you that we are your children.
We thank you that whatever we are, however depressed we are
about ourselves and the inadequacy of our own nature,
we are still your children.
Give us your Spirit, we pray.
Give us your Holy Spirit, penetrating our whole nature, our flesh and blood,
keeping us firm in faith under all temptation and distress.
Give us your Spirit to fill us with hope as we look to the future,
to fill us with certainty in our Lord Jesus Christ, who was,
and is, and is to come, whose victory is before our eyes so that we
never waver or become afraid.
Give us your Spirit so that we may live in this certainty and prepare ourselves
more and more for your coming into the world.
May we come to know that your loving-kindness is at work today,
that in the end your deliverance will come quickly,
to the glory of your name.



In the Name of the Most Holy we
pray in Jesus' Name

Amen

Thursday, November 03







Psalm 112 : 1-7

   
1 Praise ye the Lord.
Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord,
that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
2 His seed shall be mighty upon earth:
the generation of the upright shall be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches shall be in his house:
and his righteousness endureth for ever.
4 Unto the upright there ariseth
light in the darkness:
he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
5 A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth:
he will guide his affairs with discretion.
6 Surely he shall not be moved for ever:
the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.
7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings:
his heart is fixed,
trusting in the Lord.




Today's Prayer...



Lord our God,

Rule over us in strength,
and grant us your light.
Let your Spirit be with us to confirm what has already
taken place in our hearts,
so that we have joy and trust even under all the
strain and stress of this life.
Shine into the darkness of the world.
Shine for all people.
May we be shown more and more clearly
what we have been created for.
Strengthen our faith for the future,
our faith in everything good,
for however hidden the good may be,
it must at last come to the light.
May we and all the world bring
praise and honor to you.



In the Name of the Most Holy we
pray in Jesus' Name

Amen

Friday, November 04







Exodus 14 : 14-20

   
14 The Lord shall fight for you,
and ye shall hold your peace.
15 And the Lord said unto Moses,
Wherefore criest thou unto me?
speak unto the children of Israel,
that they go forward:
16 But lift thou up thy rod,
and stretch out thine hand over the sea,
and divide it:
and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground
through the midst of the sea.
17 And I, behold,
I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians,
and they shall follow them:
and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh,
and upon all his host, upon his chariots,
and upon his horsemen.
18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord,
when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh,
upon his chariots,
and upon his horsemen.
19 And the angel of God,
which went before the camp of Israel,
removed and went behind them;
and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face,
and stood behind them:
20 And it came between the camp of the
Egyptians and the camp of Israel;
and it was a cloud and darkness to them,
but it gave light by night to these:
so that the one came not near the other all the night.



Today's Prayer...



Lord our God,

We thank you that you have redeemed us
and that we may feel united with your holy ones,
those in heaven and those on earth who are
gathered around Jesus Christ,
a people growing in number and strength from year to year.
We thank you that we too belong to them,
and we ask you to keep our hearts aware of this unity
so that we may be joyful,
redeemed people who find ever greater deliverance,
full of praise and thanks,
full of certainty and joy.
Grant this to us, for we are your people,
born out of your power as Savior and gathered
for the sake of your kingdom.
Guard your gifts and your powers within us.
Continue your redemption of the whole world until
joy floods through our whole being and we can praise
you for the life you have already given us here on earth.



In the Name of the Most Holy we
pray in Jesus' Name

Amen

Saturday, November 05







Hebrews 3 : 12-19

   
12 Take heed, brethren,
lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief,
in departing from the living God.
13 But exhort one another daily,
while it is called To day;
lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we are made partakers of Christ,
if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice,
harden not your hearts,
as in the provocation.
16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke:
howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.
17 But with whom was he grieved forty years?
was it not with them that had sinned,
whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
18 And to whom sware he that they
should not enter into his rest,
but to them that believed not?
19 So we see that they could not enter in
because of unbelief.


Today's Prayer...



Lord God Almighty,

Whose eyes keep watch over the whole world,
we come before you with the evil from our surroundings
still clinging to us.
Grant that our lives may be in your hands.
Give us your strength to find the way,
even through suffering and distress.
For we are yours, O Lord our God,
and you have chosen your people to be strong
and to be freed from all evils.
Help us, we beseech you.
May we know that you are with us and may
your Word bring us blessing,
to the glory of your name forever.



In the Name of the Most Holy we
pray in Jesus' Name

Amen

Sunday, November 06







Micah 7 : 15-20

   
15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt
will I shew unto him marvellous things.
16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might:
they shall lay their hand upon their mouth,
their ears shall be deaf.
17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent,
they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth:
they shall be afraid of the Lord our God,
and shall fear because of thee.
18 Who is a God like unto thee,
that pardoneth iniquity,
and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage?
he retaineth not his anger for ever,
because he delighteth in mercy.
19 He will turn again,
he will have compassion upon us;
he will subdue our iniquities;
and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob,
and the mercy to Abraham,
which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.


Today's Prayer...



Lord our God,

Your kingdom is coming.
Your help reaches us.
However much we must suffer, we look to you,
for you have given us your promise.
You have promised that all shall go well with us.
You have promised that while still on earth your people
may have strength to trust in you and wait for you
in patience and joy.
So lay your hands upon us,
O Lord our God,
and let your redeeming strength be revealed in us.
You know all our needs.
You see into each heart and know how to help,
as you have promised.
Bless us and help us, and may your name be honored among us.
May your kingdom come,
and your will be done on earth as in heaven.



In the Name of the Most Holy we
pray in Jesus' Name

Amen