Proper 16 (C, E)
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VI, Cycle B
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: 1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43 (C)
Solomon is overwhelmed by his sense of the presence of God, having had the Ark of the Covenant moved to the house which he has built. A cloud is said to have settled over the gathering of the elders, which may refer to a sense of awe and inadequacy as the people contemplated their awareness of divine presence.
To consider a sermon on this passage, we might refer to the promise that so long as the kingly succession from David remained faithful, God would continue that succession. So, too, one might contend that so long as we walk in the way of the Lord, we too will know God's empowerment. The trouble with that, of course, is that most of us don't walk in the way of the Lord most of the time, yet God continues to be faithful to us, even when we're not faithful to him. Solomon did, however, intimate some understanding of that when he prayed, "O hear in heaven your dwelling place; heed and forgive" (v. 30). Here again we encounter the ancient worldview of God dwelling in heaven.
I would probably choose verse 27b for a sermon: "Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built." Here we come to the fact that God is greater than the measure of our minds. It behooves us, therefore, not to be too sure we have all the answers in the faith. The reason I could never be a fundamentalist is because I frankly acknowledge that there are so many answers I don't have. I well remember the day I overheard my then five-year-old daughter playing with the neighbor's daughter of the same age. They were out on our breezeway, discussing the complexities of life in their respective homes. Both were happy enough, but they were philosophizing at a five-year-old level about the meaning of things and it was hilarious. Yet I suspect when God hears some of our theological debates, he must get the same kind of a laugh.
Lesson 1: Joshua 24:1-2, 15-18 (RC); Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-25 (E)
Lesson 2: Ephesians 6:10-20 (C)
We know Paul wrote these words while he was in prison, in chains. He was surrounded by Roman soldiers and, seeing their armament, used same as an analogy for the Christian. But having used the various elements of armament available to the soldiers, he then reminded the people that their greatest weapon against the powers of darkness is prayer itself.
The people of Paul's time believed unequivocally in evil spirits of a variety of kinds. They had no doubt at all that there was an evil force at work trying to destroy them. There was a lot of superstition at work then. But there can be no doubt to those of us who are honest about ourselves that we too feel at times in the grip of negative, hurtful forces. We may have different names for this disturbing reality, but one thing is sure: we need the power of God's Spirit to overcome the evil in this world.
Paul proposes that prayer must have three characteristics in order to prevail against the evil in the world. First, it must be constant. Second, it must be intense. Third, it must be unselfish. This will be the focus of a sermon -- prayer which has these characteristics.
Lesson 2: Ephesians 5:21-32 (RC); Ephesians 5:21-33 (E)
Gospel: John 6:56-69 (C); John 6:60-69 (RC, E)
While at one level we seem to have followers of Jesus turning away when told of the flesh-eating responsibilities, my guess is that Jesus would never have intentionally used language designed to disgust and turn away those very people he sought to save. My guess is that the emphasis on the need to follow Jesus in the matter of cross bearing and new styles of life is what sent many people away. He wanted everyone to receive him. But he also knew that to present the requirements of the faith in any but the bluntest terms might deceive his early followers into seeking the benefits of this new access to God while having no intention at all of accepting its conditions.
What would happen in a typical congregation today if someone forcefully offered the blessings of God's Spirit, then immediately also demanded that all members must change many of their habits, such as drinking, smoking, and gossiping; that they must spend an hour a day in prayer; that they steadfastly refuse to go to the country club; that they must go on strict diets to get their weight down where it belongs; that they must double or triple their church pledges? You get what I'm saying. If a preacher were to tell people that these were the conditions of continued membership in the church, most of the members would be gone in a hurry. Yet that's a modern analogy to what Jesus was really saying.
I don't, of course, recommend that any of us be quite so flat-out about the requirements of the faith. After all, we're not Jesus. But I do think this might be an appropriate occasion to remind our congregations of the demands of the faith according to Jesus. He did, after all, teach such things as constant prayer and worship, treating the body as a temple, leading a life of discipline, speaking and acting always in ways that are loving toward others, giving generously to needy causes, bearing suffering courageously, and doing everything we can to build up the community solidarity which today we call the Church.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Like The Wideness Of The Sea"
Text: 1 Kings 8:27b
Theme: My sermon title is a take-off on the old hymn: "There's a wideness in God's mercy like the wideness of the sea. There's a kindness in God's justice, which is more than liberty." That hymn also includes the words: "For the love of God is broader than the measure of our mind." How can we ever adequately understand the nature of God? The answer to that is that we can't. Not understand. We can, however, experience it. I like Dr. Weatherhead's analogy of the ocean and a teacup. He observes that we can carry a teacup down to the water's edge, dip out a bit of it, and take it to a laboratory. There we can taste it, test it, discover much about its composition. But it gives no hint of the plunging depths of the ocean, nor of its thunderous power, nor what awesome forces work within those depths.
That's an analogy to Jesus. Jesus is, if you will, the ocean in a teacup. By knowing him, we discover the nature of God, and that the essence of that nature is love. But there is infinitely more to God than our little minds can ever know. So, we need never fear to ask God for anything.
1. We know that God is love.
2. Pray, knowing that anything can happen. "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of," wrote Lord Tennyson.
3. God always answers. If the answer is "No!" it's because God has a better idea for us. More often the answer is "Yes! But we'll do it my way."
4. We can face life in the sure knowledge that God is in charge, however disturbing the seeming evidence to the contrary. And there is every reason to believe that at the heart of creation are love and justice. That is, just love and loving justice.
Title: "Trace The Rainbow"
Text: Ephesians 6:16-20
Theme: Paul addressed a people who faced troublesome times. He assured them that they were armed by God for the days ahead and they need not fear. They may "trace the rainbow through the rain, and know that morn shall tearless be." For with them is prayer, that enormous power, the enormity of which we only dimly suspect. Let the evil spirits rage against us. Let those hostile forces in our often dangerous world attack us if they will. We have already won the battle when we receive within ourselves the powers of light and love. Of course there will be pain, and setbacks, and discouragement. If human growth always comes at the price of those very forces, then the effect of our troubles can only be that, with God, we will become greater than we might otherwise have been. To quote Lord Tennyson again: "Therefore, let thy voice rise like a fountain for me night and day."
1. Prayer must be constant. This doesn't mean we should become religious fanatics. It means we should lead our daily lives with a sense of God's presence. It means we should make our choices, speak our words, do our work, with an awareness of the obligations we assumed when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior.
2. Prayer must be intense. I think Paul meant here what Jesus meant when he told us to persevere in prayer. All of us have prayed for something which didn't seem to happen. He meant we are to keep on praying anyway. I have witnessed to this in reporting that when I was praying to find my way in life, I promptly got fired from a job I loved. I continued praying to find my way in life and had an anxiety attack. I continued praying to find my way in life and had a business failure. I continued praying to find my way in life and was called to the ministry. But had I not been fired, then forced to look deeply within, then found that my business pursuit was not right for me, I would never have found my true path. Now I'm happy.
3. Prayer must be unselfish. Pray for others. I would enlarge on this to observe that on a few occasions I have felt hard feelings against another individual. Maybe three or four times in my life. I found that by praying for those people, not praying that they change or that they see my side, just praying for their welfare and happiness, my own feelings of a negative kind were erased. Intercession for someone else or for others is an indispensable part of true prayer. As Shakespeare would have said, "It is twice blest; it blesseth him who gives and him who receives." I would also urge that this prayer is to influence how we treat people, so that the love of God which flows into us in prayer flows out of us in the marketplace and the home.
Title: "Tell It Like It Is"
Text: John 6:56-69
Theme: Before composing a sermon, I would firmly remind myself that I am to think of myself as sitting in the congregation, any words spoken are directed at me as well as to the rest of the congregation. One thing I hope we all have learned is that preachers who keep themselves and their congregations reminded that we are sinners too, just like them, win converts. These days, preachers who sound like they have already succeeded and "you lucky folks could be just like me" are usually objects of amusement and, possibly, disdain by most congregants.
Now, to the sermon. True, God is love. True, Jesus placed his primary emphasis on the promise of God that prayer changes things, and we can come to him in our weariness, and nothing will be lost, and good things will happen at the last. But there are demands on us as well. Perhaps this is a good time to remind ourselves what a Christian owes to God.
1. We owe faithful conduct in daily life. I am to be a teller of truth, a person of kindly treatment of others. I am to refuse to be vengeful, refuse to say disparaging things about decent people in their absence. I am to fulfill my duties, whatever those may be, with fidelity. I am to give a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. I am to give the other person a boost when needed. I am to go the second mile when asked for help.
2. We owe generosity. God has been good to me. Part of my earthly possessions are in my care so that I can see to the needs of those who are in need. What I give away will always bless the recipient and me as well. But that requires trust on my part. I am to sacrifice my time, my money, my energies for other people.
3. We owe praise and love to God. Jesus told us we are to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength" (to quote one version of the passage). There are many Sundays when we would like to stay home from church, but the role of corporate worship is important in our religious life according to the Bible, and that can only work for us if we go to church regularly. We owe God personal, private worship as well. Think of your child. What if he or she never called, never visited? What if the only time your son ever made contact was to ask for money? Don't you imagine that's how God feels when we make no time for him?
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
A friend came to me a few years ago. Filled with bitterness, his days were filled with floor-pacing anger as he reflected on the fact he had recently been fired from a very good job. His anger toward the man who fired him knew no bounds. But after we had processed his feelings long enough that he had calmed down, I told him there was only one solution to his problem. He must pray. He must not, however, pray to get even, or to find some winning solution. Later, perhaps, for that. No, he must pray for that other man. He must pray that the other man be happy and healthy. He must steadfastly refuse to pray anything negative about that man.
Two years passed. One day my friend came to my office, beaming. It had been difficult at first, but he had done as I advised. Slowly, his bitterness had subsided. Finally, he had been able to put on a happy face and begin a search for a new position. What do you know? He found a job he liked better than the one he lost. He was happy in that job, and celebrated the belief that prayer had seen him through a terribly difficult situation.
____________
Somewhere I heard a story about an old man who seemed to be dying. As his family gathered at his bedside, he grew paler, gasping for breath. Finally, he tried to speak but his voice was too weak to be heard. His son, wanting to hear his father's apparently last words, leaned closer. Still unable to hear, he leaned closer yet as his father's words were unintelligible. But at last, with one gallant effort, the old man managed to make himself heard. "You're standing on the oxygen hose, and I can't breathe," he said. How many well-meaning people there are like that in our churches.
____________
C. S. Lewis, whose book Mere Christianity has exerted such a powerful influence among our government leaders in Washington, had this to say. "God made us. Invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on gasoline, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on himself. He himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from himself because it is not there. There is no such thing."
____________
Harry Emerson Fosdick told of the time he was trying to prepare a sermon on prayer. As he sat in an easy chair in front of a roaring fire, he glanced over to one of his treasures, a book once owned by Hugh Latimer, who was burned at the stake in Oxford centuries ago. At that time, Latimer had courageously faced his death, declaring, "We shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England as, I trust, shall never be put out." Fosdick then said he imagined Latimer turning to him and saying:
So you are going to preach on prayer. What do you know about praying? I am going now from my knees to the stake. Have you any idea what tremendous moral issues prayer, when it is earnest, can present to a man's conscience? You modern preachers have made prayer safe, easy, comfortable, fitted for narcotic purposes. Tell them something about dangerous praying, in which one's duty becomes the compelling will of God which cannot be escaped. And you there, in your overstuffed chair, if you are going to preach about praying, experience it a little!
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 84 (C) -- "How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord...."
Psalm 33 (RC) -- "Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous."
Psalm 16 (E) -- "Perfect me, O God."
Prayer Of The Day
In confidence we come to thee, O Lord, asking assurance in our faith, asking direction in our decision making, asking strength in our difficult work, and asking love in our relationships. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
Lesson 1: 1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43 (C)
Solomon is overwhelmed by his sense of the presence of God, having had the Ark of the Covenant moved to the house which he has built. A cloud is said to have settled over the gathering of the elders, which may refer to a sense of awe and inadequacy as the people contemplated their awareness of divine presence.
To consider a sermon on this passage, we might refer to the promise that so long as the kingly succession from David remained faithful, God would continue that succession. So, too, one might contend that so long as we walk in the way of the Lord, we too will know God's empowerment. The trouble with that, of course, is that most of us don't walk in the way of the Lord most of the time, yet God continues to be faithful to us, even when we're not faithful to him. Solomon did, however, intimate some understanding of that when he prayed, "O hear in heaven your dwelling place; heed and forgive" (v. 30). Here again we encounter the ancient worldview of God dwelling in heaven.
I would probably choose verse 27b for a sermon: "Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built." Here we come to the fact that God is greater than the measure of our minds. It behooves us, therefore, not to be too sure we have all the answers in the faith. The reason I could never be a fundamentalist is because I frankly acknowledge that there are so many answers I don't have. I well remember the day I overheard my then five-year-old daughter playing with the neighbor's daughter of the same age. They were out on our breezeway, discussing the complexities of life in their respective homes. Both were happy enough, but they were philosophizing at a five-year-old level about the meaning of things and it was hilarious. Yet I suspect when God hears some of our theological debates, he must get the same kind of a laugh.
Lesson 1: Joshua 24:1-2, 15-18 (RC); Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-25 (E)
Lesson 2: Ephesians 6:10-20 (C)
We know Paul wrote these words while he was in prison, in chains. He was surrounded by Roman soldiers and, seeing their armament, used same as an analogy for the Christian. But having used the various elements of armament available to the soldiers, he then reminded the people that their greatest weapon against the powers of darkness is prayer itself.
The people of Paul's time believed unequivocally in evil spirits of a variety of kinds. They had no doubt at all that there was an evil force at work trying to destroy them. There was a lot of superstition at work then. But there can be no doubt to those of us who are honest about ourselves that we too feel at times in the grip of negative, hurtful forces. We may have different names for this disturbing reality, but one thing is sure: we need the power of God's Spirit to overcome the evil in this world.
Paul proposes that prayer must have three characteristics in order to prevail against the evil in the world. First, it must be constant. Second, it must be intense. Third, it must be unselfish. This will be the focus of a sermon -- prayer which has these characteristics.
Lesson 2: Ephesians 5:21-32 (RC); Ephesians 5:21-33 (E)
Gospel: John 6:56-69 (C); John 6:60-69 (RC, E)
While at one level we seem to have followers of Jesus turning away when told of the flesh-eating responsibilities, my guess is that Jesus would never have intentionally used language designed to disgust and turn away those very people he sought to save. My guess is that the emphasis on the need to follow Jesus in the matter of cross bearing and new styles of life is what sent many people away. He wanted everyone to receive him. But he also knew that to present the requirements of the faith in any but the bluntest terms might deceive his early followers into seeking the benefits of this new access to God while having no intention at all of accepting its conditions.
What would happen in a typical congregation today if someone forcefully offered the blessings of God's Spirit, then immediately also demanded that all members must change many of their habits, such as drinking, smoking, and gossiping; that they must spend an hour a day in prayer; that they steadfastly refuse to go to the country club; that they must go on strict diets to get their weight down where it belongs; that they must double or triple their church pledges? You get what I'm saying. If a preacher were to tell people that these were the conditions of continued membership in the church, most of the members would be gone in a hurry. Yet that's a modern analogy to what Jesus was really saying.
I don't, of course, recommend that any of us be quite so flat-out about the requirements of the faith. After all, we're not Jesus. But I do think this might be an appropriate occasion to remind our congregations of the demands of the faith according to Jesus. He did, after all, teach such things as constant prayer and worship, treating the body as a temple, leading a life of discipline, speaking and acting always in ways that are loving toward others, giving generously to needy causes, bearing suffering courageously, and doing everything we can to build up the community solidarity which today we call the Church.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "Like The Wideness Of The Sea"
Text: 1 Kings 8:27b
Theme: My sermon title is a take-off on the old hymn: "There's a wideness in God's mercy like the wideness of the sea. There's a kindness in God's justice, which is more than liberty." That hymn also includes the words: "For the love of God is broader than the measure of our mind." How can we ever adequately understand the nature of God? The answer to that is that we can't. Not understand. We can, however, experience it. I like Dr. Weatherhead's analogy of the ocean and a teacup. He observes that we can carry a teacup down to the water's edge, dip out a bit of it, and take it to a laboratory. There we can taste it, test it, discover much about its composition. But it gives no hint of the plunging depths of the ocean, nor of its thunderous power, nor what awesome forces work within those depths.
That's an analogy to Jesus. Jesus is, if you will, the ocean in a teacup. By knowing him, we discover the nature of God, and that the essence of that nature is love. But there is infinitely more to God than our little minds can ever know. So, we need never fear to ask God for anything.
1. We know that God is love.
2. Pray, knowing that anything can happen. "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of," wrote Lord Tennyson.
3. God always answers. If the answer is "No!" it's because God has a better idea for us. More often the answer is "Yes! But we'll do it my way."
4. We can face life in the sure knowledge that God is in charge, however disturbing the seeming evidence to the contrary. And there is every reason to believe that at the heart of creation are love and justice. That is, just love and loving justice.
Title: "Trace The Rainbow"
Text: Ephesians 6:16-20
Theme: Paul addressed a people who faced troublesome times. He assured them that they were armed by God for the days ahead and they need not fear. They may "trace the rainbow through the rain, and know that morn shall tearless be." For with them is prayer, that enormous power, the enormity of which we only dimly suspect. Let the evil spirits rage against us. Let those hostile forces in our often dangerous world attack us if they will. We have already won the battle when we receive within ourselves the powers of light and love. Of course there will be pain, and setbacks, and discouragement. If human growth always comes at the price of those very forces, then the effect of our troubles can only be that, with God, we will become greater than we might otherwise have been. To quote Lord Tennyson again: "Therefore, let thy voice rise like a fountain for me night and day."
1. Prayer must be constant. This doesn't mean we should become religious fanatics. It means we should lead our daily lives with a sense of God's presence. It means we should make our choices, speak our words, do our work, with an awareness of the obligations we assumed when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior.
2. Prayer must be intense. I think Paul meant here what Jesus meant when he told us to persevere in prayer. All of us have prayed for something which didn't seem to happen. He meant we are to keep on praying anyway. I have witnessed to this in reporting that when I was praying to find my way in life, I promptly got fired from a job I loved. I continued praying to find my way in life and had an anxiety attack. I continued praying to find my way in life and had a business failure. I continued praying to find my way in life and was called to the ministry. But had I not been fired, then forced to look deeply within, then found that my business pursuit was not right for me, I would never have found my true path. Now I'm happy.
3. Prayer must be unselfish. Pray for others. I would enlarge on this to observe that on a few occasions I have felt hard feelings against another individual. Maybe three or four times in my life. I found that by praying for those people, not praying that they change or that they see my side, just praying for their welfare and happiness, my own feelings of a negative kind were erased. Intercession for someone else or for others is an indispensable part of true prayer. As Shakespeare would have said, "It is twice blest; it blesseth him who gives and him who receives." I would also urge that this prayer is to influence how we treat people, so that the love of God which flows into us in prayer flows out of us in the marketplace and the home.
Title: "Tell It Like It Is"
Text: John 6:56-69
Theme: Before composing a sermon, I would firmly remind myself that I am to think of myself as sitting in the congregation, any words spoken are directed at me as well as to the rest of the congregation. One thing I hope we all have learned is that preachers who keep themselves and their congregations reminded that we are sinners too, just like them, win converts. These days, preachers who sound like they have already succeeded and "you lucky folks could be just like me" are usually objects of amusement and, possibly, disdain by most congregants.
Now, to the sermon. True, God is love. True, Jesus placed his primary emphasis on the promise of God that prayer changes things, and we can come to him in our weariness, and nothing will be lost, and good things will happen at the last. But there are demands on us as well. Perhaps this is a good time to remind ourselves what a Christian owes to God.
1. We owe faithful conduct in daily life. I am to be a teller of truth, a person of kindly treatment of others. I am to refuse to be vengeful, refuse to say disparaging things about decent people in their absence. I am to fulfill my duties, whatever those may be, with fidelity. I am to give a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. I am to give the other person a boost when needed. I am to go the second mile when asked for help.
2. We owe generosity. God has been good to me. Part of my earthly possessions are in my care so that I can see to the needs of those who are in need. What I give away will always bless the recipient and me as well. But that requires trust on my part. I am to sacrifice my time, my money, my energies for other people.
3. We owe praise and love to God. Jesus told us we are to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength" (to quote one version of the passage). There are many Sundays when we would like to stay home from church, but the role of corporate worship is important in our religious life according to the Bible, and that can only work for us if we go to church regularly. We owe God personal, private worship as well. Think of your child. What if he or she never called, never visited? What if the only time your son ever made contact was to ask for money? Don't you imagine that's how God feels when we make no time for him?
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
A friend came to me a few years ago. Filled with bitterness, his days were filled with floor-pacing anger as he reflected on the fact he had recently been fired from a very good job. His anger toward the man who fired him knew no bounds. But after we had processed his feelings long enough that he had calmed down, I told him there was only one solution to his problem. He must pray. He must not, however, pray to get even, or to find some winning solution. Later, perhaps, for that. No, he must pray for that other man. He must pray that the other man be happy and healthy. He must steadfastly refuse to pray anything negative about that man.
Two years passed. One day my friend came to my office, beaming. It had been difficult at first, but he had done as I advised. Slowly, his bitterness had subsided. Finally, he had been able to put on a happy face and begin a search for a new position. What do you know? He found a job he liked better than the one he lost. He was happy in that job, and celebrated the belief that prayer had seen him through a terribly difficult situation.
____________
Somewhere I heard a story about an old man who seemed to be dying. As his family gathered at his bedside, he grew paler, gasping for breath. Finally, he tried to speak but his voice was too weak to be heard. His son, wanting to hear his father's apparently last words, leaned closer. Still unable to hear, he leaned closer yet as his father's words were unintelligible. But at last, with one gallant effort, the old man managed to make himself heard. "You're standing on the oxygen hose, and I can't breathe," he said. How many well-meaning people there are like that in our churches.
____________
C. S. Lewis, whose book Mere Christianity has exerted such a powerful influence among our government leaders in Washington, had this to say. "God made us. Invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on gasoline, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on himself. He himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from himself because it is not there. There is no such thing."
____________
Harry Emerson Fosdick told of the time he was trying to prepare a sermon on prayer. As he sat in an easy chair in front of a roaring fire, he glanced over to one of his treasures, a book once owned by Hugh Latimer, who was burned at the stake in Oxford centuries ago. At that time, Latimer had courageously faced his death, declaring, "We shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England as, I trust, shall never be put out." Fosdick then said he imagined Latimer turning to him and saying:
So you are going to preach on prayer. What do you know about praying? I am going now from my knees to the stake. Have you any idea what tremendous moral issues prayer, when it is earnest, can present to a man's conscience? You modern preachers have made prayer safe, easy, comfortable, fitted for narcotic purposes. Tell them something about dangerous praying, in which one's duty becomes the compelling will of God which cannot be escaped. And you there, in your overstuffed chair, if you are going to preach about praying, experience it a little!
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 84 (C) -- "How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord...."
Psalm 33 (RC) -- "Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous."
Psalm 16 (E) -- "Perfect me, O God."
Prayer Of The Day
In confidence we come to thee, O Lord, asking assurance in our faith, asking direction in our decision making, asking strength in our difficult work, and asking love in our relationships. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
