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Written by William Lohe (1808-1872), a Lutheran pastor, writer, and founder of the Deaconess Movement.

Glory to God in the highest,

and peace to his people on earth.

From the rising of the sun to its setting,

the name of the Lord is to be praised!

Almighty and gracious God, merciful Father,

let the light of your face shine on us, your humble servants.

Increase in us true knowledge of your grace and mercy

which you have freely given us in Jesus Christ, your dear Son.

Move us to praise and confess you as our Lord and our God

for the salvation of people everywhere,

together with your Son and the Holy Spirit,

and glorify and praise you with all our hearts,

with all the company of heaven, in word and deed;

through your dear Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Amen.

I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. [Psalm 69:30]

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Written by Andrew Wilson, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from his book “Remaking the World.”

The fundamental equality of human beings, and their endowment with inalienable rights by their Creator, are essentially theological beliefs. They are neither innately obvious axioms nor universally accepted empirical truths nor rational deductions from things that are. There is no logical syllogism that begins with undeniable premises and concludes with “all people are equal” or “humans have God-given rights.” … We are inclined to see equality and human rights as universal norms, obvious to everyone who can think for themselves. But in reality, they are culturally conditioned beliefs that depend on fundamentally Christian assumptions about the world. Friedrich Nietzsche made this point with angry brilliance: the obsession with alleviating the suffering of the weak and marginalized, within an ethical framework that valorizes humility, fairness, charity, equality, and freedom (as opposed to nobility, pride, courage, and power), is the result of the “slave morality” introduced by Christianity, with its crucified Savior and its claims about weak things being chosen to shame the strong. Coming from a very different angle, Yuval Noah Harari shows how human rights, likewise, have no foundation if they are not rooted in Christian anthropology. “There are no such things as rights in biology,” he explains. Expressed in biological terms, the Declaration of Independence would read very differently: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men evolved differently, that they are born with certain mutable characteristics, and that among these are life and the pursuit of pleasure.” … Equality and human rights are “sacred” truths, not “self-evident” ones. They are irreducibly theological, grounded in specifically Judeo-Christian beliefs about God and his creation of humans in his image, and there is no particular reason why societies with different theological foundations should not reach very different conclusions. Many have.

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.[Galatians 3:26-28]

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Today’s prayer is from the Book of Common Prayer.

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. [Colossians 2:1-3]

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Written by DeLano Sheffield, a contemporary writer and business resource specialist for Goodwill.

What are you certain of? Many are convinced that 80% of things that never happen will happen; this is demonstrated by the worry associated with it. But what about the things that will happen? How convinced are you of what is to come?  If you knew that no matter what might happen everything is going to be all right, what would your outlook on life be? What would your plans for the year look like? … You will inevitably have success at some point in an aspect of your life. Those successes should be held in the right perspective in light of Christ’s accomplishment once for all. Also, inevitably a real failure of some sort will occur. No matter how deeply real the failure is, or the lingering effects, they cannot overshadow that there is a courtroom where all your failures are paid for. What is true for you in your confession is also true for every other disciple of Christ also. Like Paul, you are empowered to encourage others with the very thing you are experiencing also. Come what may, the unexpected turns in the story, the carefully thought-out decisions or horribly carried out plans for you and for all who have called upon the name of the Lord, there is at least one victory that no one can remove.

No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:37-28]

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Today’s prayer is a traditional Scottish blessing.

If there is righteousness in the heart,

there will be beauty in the character.

If there is beauty in the character,

there will be harmony in the home.

If there is harmony in the home,

there will be order in the nation.

If there is order in the nation,

there will be peace in the world.

So let it be.

I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly. [Psalm 40:10]

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Written by Junius Johnson, a contemporary philosopher, theologian, professor, and author.  This excerpt was written from a commentary on  C.S. Lewis’ book “The Great Divorce.”

So this whole book [The Great Divorce] is concerned with motivating the inescapable and irreducible truth that we must all of us make a choice. The choice can be ignored, but not forever; it can be delayed, but not indefinitely. In the end, to choose not to choose would still be to make a choice, because of the nature of the choice. It is not a choice between God and Satan, or even God and the self: it is the choice between submission to God or not. If we fail to choose to submit to God, eventually we will find that we have chosen not to submit.  This is the only true dualism in the universe, this is the only dichotomy that isn’t false. Absolutely everything is divided according to what is done about that choice. Lewis’ clearest and most famous example of it is the following passage: “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says in the end, ‘Thy will be done.” The divorce is the impossibility of avoiding or relativizing this choice.

The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.  [Romans 8:7]

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Written by Ruth Haley Barton, a contemporary author and spiritual director. This is adapted from Ted Loder’s “Guerrillas of Grace.”

Holy One, there is something I wanted to tell you, but there have been errands to run, bills to pay, arrangements to make, meetings to attend, friends to entertain, washing to do… and I forget what it is I wanted to say to you, and mostly I forget what I’m about or why. O God, don’t forget me, please, for the sake of Jesus Christ.

Eternal One, there is something I wanted to tell you, but my mind races with worrying and watching, with weighing and planning , with rutted slights and pothole grievances, with leaky dreams I keep trying to plug up; and my attention is preoccupied with loneliness, with doubt, and with things I covet; and I forget what it is I wanted to say to you, and how to say it honestly or how to do much of anything.

O God, don’t forget me, please, for the sake of Jesus Christ. Almighty One. There is something I wanted to tell you, but I stumble along the edge of a nameless rage, haunted by a hundred floating fears and … I forget what the real question is that I wanted to ask. and forgot to listen anyway because you seem unreal and far way, and I forgot what it is I have forgotten.

O God, don’t forget me, please, for the sake of Jesus Christ. O Father in heaven, perhaps you’ve already heard what I wanted to tell you. What I wanted to ask is forgive me, heal me, increase my courage, please. Renew in me a little of love and faith, and sense of confidence, and a vision of what it might mean to live as though you were real, and I mattered, and everyone was sister and brother. What I wanted to ask in my blundering way is don’t give up on me, don’t become too sad about me, but laugh with me, and try again with me, and I will with you, too. What I wanted to ask is for peace enough to want and work for more, for joy enough to share, and for a awareness that is keen enough to sense your presence here, now, there, then, always.

For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath. [Deuteronomy 4:31]

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Written by Meg Bucher, a contemporary author.

Jesus is love. The compassion overflowing in His heart for the people He came to save was displayed in all kinds of miracles! However, I imagine the comfort of His presence was miraculous as well, for those who had the privilege to befriend Him on earth. The apostle John was Jesus’ earthly best friend. And He wasn’t shy about it either! He refers to himself often as “the one whom Jesus loved.” In a final moment of compassion on the cross, Jesus tells John to take care of His mother, Mary.  In our everyday lives, there are people God has placed in our paths to care for. It’s important for us to move throughout our lives with awareness for others so that we can lend the same compassionate care to them Jesus does for us daily. His heart is moving on our account. The cross is all the proof we’ll ever need to remind us how He compassionately saved us for eternity. 

Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.”[ John 20:25] 

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Written by Mark D. Roberts, a contemporary author.

Gracious God, thank you for creating human beings in your image. Thank you for the value this gives us no matter how old we are. No matter how old I am, Lord, may I know that you have a purpose for my life. Moreover, may I also affirm the worth of others, whether they are young, old, or in between. 

I pray today for your church, Lord, that we will be a uniquely intergenerational community in our culture. May we know and love each other even if we are from different generations. And may we work together for your kingdom purposes.  To you be all the glory! Amen.

He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time  [2 Timothy 1:9].

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