Today at 4:30 we will ring our church bells for one minute as a memorial to the people who have lost their lives to covid 19. This has been a trying year for so many, and we pause to offer prayers for those who are grieving the loss of loved ones and share in the sadness for those who have died. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers.
Psalm and Prayer of the Day January 19, 2021
Psalm 123
1 To you I lift up my eyes,
O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
2 As the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
until he has mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4 Our soul has had more than its fill
of the scorn of those who are at ease,
of the contempt of the proud.
From the Mission Year Book:
The pandemic has ushered in a time of bewilderment but also a golden opportunity, according to the Rev. Dr. Paul H. Lang, author of “The Pilgrim’s Compass: Finding and Following the God We Seek.”
“It seems to me that this moment of pandemic is an invitation for us to pause and rethink, to recalibrate, to reorient to wonder about that basic fundamental question of what is it we think we’re doing, and is what we’re doing useful to us and to the world at the moment?” Lang said.
He was the featured speaker at a recent webinar co-sponsored by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators and Westminster John Knox Press. Carl Horton, Peacemaking’s Coordinator for Mission, served as the host.
Lang’s presentation, “A Look at COVID-19 Through the Lens of Christian Pilgrimage,” provided insight into this sometimes-confusing period when staying close to home to avoid the coronavirus is juxtaposed with a desire to continue bearing fruit for God’s kin-dom.
“The world that was so ordered and made sense to us even just a few months ago is not as orderly now, and we’re trying to figure out faith in the context of that,” said Lang, who’s pastor and head of staff at First Presbyterian Church in Fargo, North Dakota.
Many people find their days altered significantly because of the pandemic, often working from home and worshiping by videoconference instead of rushing to in-person meetings.
“Our stress level about work may be very high, but the pace of day-to-day interactions with others has slowed significantly, and that does give us a chance to try to make sense of what is, it seems to me, a pretty bewildering landscape,” said Lang, who’s also executive director of The Institute of Church Renewal.
The sources of bewilderment are many. Pastors, educators and others who are used to being surrounded by people on a regular basis are having to rethink how they operate in an era of social distancing. At the same time, many Americans have questions about job security, how schools will operate this fall and what will happen to the stock market.
“You add to that the civil unrest that’s happening really worldwide now but certainly within the United States,” Lang said. “Many of us in our communities have an opportunity to rethink who we are and what we’re doing and whether or not we’ve been adequately engaged in the sacred work of hearing the voices of those who’ve been long silenced and responding to those in a faithful and compassionate way.”
Consider taking time as an individual to acknowledge that “I don’t know how to be out in this wilderness, but I trust that God is with me in this, and I’m going to be paying attention to see what God is doing with me and in me out here in the wilderness,” Lang said. “Then you come to new understandings that you would have found harder to get to if you’d been living in a world that wasn’t quite so bewildering.”
Watch the webinar by clicking here.
The work of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program is made possible by gifts to the Peace & Global Witness Offering. Peacemaking is one of the Compassion, Peace and Justice ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency.
Darla Carter, Communications Associate, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Let us join in prayer for:
PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Lorraine Brown, Office of the General Assembly
Andrew Browne, Board of Pensions
Let us pray:
Loving God, your Son identified himself with the most overlooked. Guide and bless efforts to discover and exalt the presence of Jesus in the lives of those whom the world has abandoned. We ask this in the name of the Christ who welcomed the children into his arms. Amen.
Psalm and Prayer of the Day January 18, 2021
Psalm 135
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
give praise, O servants of the Lord,
2 you that stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing to his name, for he is gracious.
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his own possession.
5 For I know that the Lord is great;
our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatever the Lord pleases he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.
7 He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth;
he makes lightnings for the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
8 He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both human beings and animals;
9 he sent signs and wonders
into your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan—
12 and gave their land as a heritage,
a heritage to his people Israel.
13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
your renown, O Lord, throughout all ages.
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people,
and have compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
they have eyes, but they do not see;
17 they have ears, but they do not hear,
and there is no breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them
and all who trust them
shall become like them.
19 O house of Israel, bless the Lord!
O house of Aaron, bless the Lord!
20 O house of Levi, bless the Lord!
You that fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
he who resides in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
From the Mission Year Book:
The Presbyterian constitution directs believers “to manifest more visibly the unity of the body of Christ” (G-5.0101). Our daily reading from Ephesians suggests the way of Christian unity is made by speaking truth with love in a way that grows the body of Christ. Sunday’s readings included Paul’s writing to the church in Corinth where Paul is constantly challenging natural divisions with a greater goal of being the Body of Christ.
Paul recognized that division is a cancer, a deadly disease, that when allowed to spread wreaks havoc and destruction among the people of God. Paul makes one thing clear: Although we may be blessed and gifted in different ways, we share a common source. He wants the Corinthian church to understand the main point: God blesses us in a variety of ways not for ourselves and our glory but for the common good of the church.
There is equality in the kingdom of God. Regardless of the labels, categories and hierarchies outside of the church, within the church, we are all one body. It is this “oneness” that provides a space for difference. Paul points out that we are all different; not one member of the body has superiority or can claim that another member is less or more vital. This is the hope of our faith that, as we continue to appreciate the differences of others, we embrace our own differences. When we can embrace our differences, we can make a more joyful noise, a greater impact for the kingdom, and contribute more fully as our best selves. The work of Christian unity affirms that it is not our similarities, but our differences that make us vital in God’s economy!
Rev. Denise Anderson; Coordinator of Racial and Intercultural Justice; Compassion, Peace & Justice; Presbyterian Mission Agency
Today’s Focus: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins
Let us join in prayer for:
PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Kendra Bright Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
Christian Brooks, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Let us pray:
Loving God, you are the uniting force in a diverse world. Enrich us so that we model the value of being diverse people united by your Spirit. In Christ we pray. Amen.
Sermon Podcast – January 17, 2021 – Baptism of the Lord
Preached by Rev. Lou Ellen Hartley. Based on Psalm 29; Mark 1:4-11.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Worship Video – January 17, 2021 – Baptism of the Lord
Psalm and Prayer for January 15, 2021
Psalm 51
To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.
5 Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.
6 You desire truth in the inward being;[a]
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right[b] spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing[c] spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you have no delight in sacrifice;
if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
17 The sacrifice acceptable to God[d] is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,
19 then you will delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Prayer:
Saving God, we praise you for your love which we have known through Jesus Christ. Today we thank you for
the Holy Spirit’s comfort when we and others suffer…
the ministry of Word and Sacrament…
all those who are in the healing professions…
opportunities to give…
(other prayers of thanksgiving may be offered).
We know you hear and receive our prayers of thanks and praise as well as our prayers for the burdens on our hearts. Today we pray for
those subjected to tyranny and oppression…
those who are wounded and injured…
those who face death…
those who may be our enemies…
the church in Latin America…
(other prayers of intercession may be offered). Amen
Psalm and Prayer of the Day January 14, 2021
Psalm 97
1 The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be glad!
2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him,
and consumes his adversaries on every side.
4 His lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
and all the peoples behold his glory.
7 All worshipers of images are put to shame,
those who make their boast in worthless idols;
all gods bow down before him.
8 Zion hears and is glad,
and the towns[a] of Judah rejoice,
because of your judgments, O God.
9 For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.
10 The Lord loves those who hate[b] evil;
he guards the lives of his faithful;
he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light dawns[c] for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!
Prayer of the Day (from Daily Prayer, WJK Press)
Loving God, as the rising sun chases away the night, so you have scattered the power of death in the rising of Jesus Christ, and you bring us all blessings in him.
Especially we thank you for
the community of faith in our church…
those with whom we work or share common concerns…
the diversity of your children…
indications of your love at work in the world…
those who work for reconciliation…
(other personal prayers of thanksgiving)…
Mighty God, with the dawn of your love you reveal your victory over all that would destroy or harm, and you brighten the lives of all who need you.
Especially we pray for
families suffering separation…
people different from our ourselves…
those isolated by sickness or sorrow…
the victims of violence or warfare…
the church in the Pacific region…
(other personal prayers of intercession)..
Amen.
Psalm and Prayer of the Day January 13, 2021
Since returning from the Christmas holiday, we have been sporadic in creating our Psalm and Prayer of the Day posts. Pastor Lou Ellen will return to providing these each weekday with the hopes that these devotional moments help bind us together as a church family and give us hope and purpose each day.
Psalm 147:1-11
1 Praise the Lord!
How good it is to sing praises to our God;
for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.
2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted,
and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
6 The Lord lifts up the downtrodden;
he casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on the lyre.
8 He covers the heavens with clouds,
prepares rain for the earth,
makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He gives to the animals their food,
and to the young ravens when they cry.
10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;[a]
11 but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.
A note about today’s prayer. One of the ways these daily prayers can be helpful is they follow a set model. Similar to our prayers of the people on Sunday mornings, usually these daily prayers include prayers for creation, our communities, the church, the suffering, and society. Prayers which were written decades ago seem as if they were written last week. Still, we pray for our world and offer thanks for God’s blessings with faith in God’s providence and care, for each generation and in our lives each day.
Prayer of the Day
For this day, o gracious Lord, we offer thanks. Today we are grateful for…
the gift of sunshine and rain which nourishes your creation;
the gift of your Spirit which renews our hearts and minds;
those who work in the healing fields – doctors, nurses, counselors, and technicians;
your church in her many forms around the world;
(Personal thanksgiving….).
We are grateful you hear our prayers of concern. Today we pray for…
those impacted physically and financially by the pandemic…
those who are grieving the loss of loved ones…
those who are in need of healing in mind, body, and spirit…
those who are in leadership that they will have courage and wisdom as they lead us and work for the general welfare of society…
the church as she ministers in your name…
(Personal prayers of concern…).
AMEN
Sermon Podcast – January 10, 2021 – The Value of Showing Up
Based on Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-12. Preached on Epiphany by Rev. Lou Ellen Hartley.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download