Our Congregation at Prayer

An Order of Meditation and Prayer

(If you are a family meeting together, say the words in bold together.)

Invocation

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

(At the sign each Christian may make the sign of the cross over his / her heart, remembering this is the name into which we are baptized. Or the family leader may make the sign of the cross.)

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

Maker of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ,

His only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell.

The third day He rose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.

From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

(Everyone says the verse together. Spend up to two minutes learning the verse by heart. Then the leader reads the Bible lesson.)

Bible Readings

Date / The Gospel of John
September 27 / Worship at Lord of Love
Monday / John 7:25-447
Tuesday / John 7:45-8:11
Wednesday / John 8:12-30
Thursday / John 8:31-41
Friday / John 8:42-59
Saturday / John 9:1-12
October 5 / Worship at 8:00 or 10:30
See you in church!

Weekly Prayer: Everlasting God, You have ordained in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals. Grant that as Your holy angels always serve and worship You in heaven, so by Your direction they may help and defend us here on earth; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power and the glory are Yours,

now and forever. Amen

Petitions for Daily Prayer:

·  Sunday: Almighty God, as You watch over Your Church and all Christians with Your holy angels, continue to guard us from all evil, that no affliction or temptation would cause us to depart from the places where You deliver Your gifts of faith and forgiveness: the altars, fonts and pulpits where You make and keep us Your own.

·  Monday: Almighty God, all authority that exists derives from You. Bless those whom You have placed into positions of public authority, that by their good works they might bring about justice, defend the helpless, punish evildoers and provide for the welfare of all people.

·  Tuesday: Almighty God, by Your mercy lavished upon us in Holy Baptism, You have made us Your children. Because You desire to draw all people to Yourself eternally through Your Word and Sacraments, use us, Your children, as lights in the world to cause others to see our hope and good works and desire to know You.

·  Wednesday: Almighty God, everything that exists has its source in You, our Creator. Bless those whose vocations are to study Your creation in the fields of scientific and medical research, that by their efforts we might exercise loving dominion over Your creation. Lord,

·  Thursday: Almighty God, Jesus humbled Himself to the point of death on the cross for our good. Through Him, You provide for all our needs of body and soul. In mercy, abide with those who suffer afflictions, pain, sorrow, depression, anxiety or other maladies. Remember [especially ______and] all who need our prayers.

·  Friday: Jesus died on a Friday. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your holy life and sacrificial death for me.

·  Saturday: Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen.


Catechism for the Week

The Ten Commandments

The Fourth Commandment
Honor your father and mother,
that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth. / All learn
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God that we do not dishonor or anger our parents and others in authority, / Gr. 1+
but honor, serve, and obey them, and give them love and respect. / Gr. 3+

Talk about the Catechism:

The first commandment to deal with people is about our home. What are we to learn at home?

·  that father and mother are to take the lead in teaching children – children will only learn to be obedient if their parents insist that they be obedient!

·  that children are to have in their heart the attitude of love, honor, and respect to their parents, and that their actions are to be actions of obedience and service.

Shouldn’t children be allowed to choose for themselves?

·  the Word of God never says that children will turn out okay if they grow up undisciplined. It says the opposite, however: “out of the heart come evil thoughts – murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” (Mt. 15:19) Sin springs up naturally in us, obedience is learned

Isn’t rebellion natural?

·  yes, in fact it is the natural way of Satan. Did you ever think about this – the first sin (the one that came before he led the humans to sin) was the sin of rebellion by the devil and the evil angels against God

·  then think about this – what is the way of Jesus? He came in obedience, obedience to His human parents, to the laws of the Temple and of the land, and to His Father.

Parents are the front line of the way of God

·  it is to them that the task falls to teach obedience to this commandment, and from this commandment to learn obedience to teachers, police, President, and ultimately to God