Our Congregation at Prayer

An Order of Meditation and Prayer

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

(At the sign of the cross () each person may make the sign of the cross over the heart, remembering that we are baptized in the name of the Triune God.)

Invocation

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

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 Matthew
July 23 / Worship at Lord of Love
Monday / Matthew 27:57-66
Tuesday / Matthew 28:1-10
Wednesday / Matthew 28:11-20
Thursday / Romans 1
Friday / Romans 2
Saturday / Romans 3
July 30 / Worship at 8:00 or 10:30
See you in church!

Weekly Prayer: God of all power and might, You are the Giver of all that is good. Help us love You with all our heart, strengthen us in true faith, provide us with all we need, and keep us safe in Your care; 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: Father, make us strong for the fight against our own sinful nature. Help us to crucify our sinful passions and gain the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ

·  Monday: Raise up witnesses in this and every place to faithfully proclaim Your Word. Bless all our pastors and church workers as they work where You have called them.

·  Tuesday: Bless our nation and its citizens. Give us good leadership, satisfying work, loving families, and a quiet and peaceable life that glorifies Your name

·  Wednesday: . Make us good stewards of Your creation until that time when You set it free from its bondage to decay and give it to us anew in the kingdom of Your Son.

·  Thursday: Watch over the sick and all who suffer from any malady of mind or body [especially ______]. Give them patience and endurance in their trials and, if it be Your will, return them to health.

·  Friday: Jesus died on a Friday. Your gracious and sacrificial work is my salvation, Lord Jesus. I thank You again today, but I will never thank You enough.

·  Saturday: Father, we thank You all the faithful believers who have gone before us. Bring us at last with all Your saints into the full freedom of Your Kingdom

· 

(This is the morning prayer. If you have evening devotion, the morning prayer is in your Catechism, or in the hymnal, page 151.)

Luther's Morning Prayer

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

I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger. Keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. Into Your hands I commend my body and soul and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the wicked foe may have no power over me. Amen.


Catechism for the Week

The Sacrament of Holy Communion

As the head of the family should teach them

in the simplest way to those in his household.

The Institution of Holy Communion

What is the sacrament of Holy Communion? / All learn
It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ for us Christians to eat and to drink. / All learn
Where is this written?
The holy Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and the Apostle Paul tell us: Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night He was betrayed, took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to His disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” / Gr. 2+
Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; this is My blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” / Gr. 4+

A Saint from the Past – July 28

Johann Sebastian Bach, Kantor

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) is acknowledged as one of the most famous and gifted of all composers past and present in the entire western world. Orphaned at the age of ten, Bach was mostly self-taught in music. His professional life as conductor, performer, composer, teacher, and organ consultant began at the age of 19 in the town of Arnstadt and ended in Leipzig, where for the last 27 years of his life he was responsible for all the music in the city's four Lutheran churches. In addition to his being a superb keyboard artist, the genius and bulk of Bach's vocal and instrumental compositions remain overwhelming. A devout and devoted Lutheran, he is especially honored in Christendom for his lifelong insistence that his music was written primarily for the liturgical life of the church to glorify God and edify his people.