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

(You or your family may say The Apostles’ Creed together. The words are on page 19 of the hymnal Christian Worship.)

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

Weekly Prayer: Merciful Father, Your kindness caused the light of the gospel to shine among us. Use us now as instruments of Your love to reach out with the message of salvation to all people. Bless those who labor in the mission fields, and grant success to their witness that many may be freed from sin, 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

Petitions for Daily Prayer:

·  Sunday: Thank You, Heavenly Father, for Your mission to me and to all believers in the world today. Strengthen us to be missionaries to others.

·  Monday: O Lord, watch over all servants in Your Church. Bless pastors, teachers and staff ministers, that they may go with the Gospel where we cannot go, that they may teach faithfully and use the Sacraments according to Your will.

·  Tuesday: Thank You for the service of missionaries in foreign lands who are on the cutting edge of Gospel proclamation. Keep them safe in dangerous lands, protect and strengthen their families and open up many hearts to hear the message that Jesus is Savior and Lord.

·  Wednesday: Through Holy Baptism, You call children from unbelief to faith. Let our congregation be an instrument of reaching out to children and adults with the saving Sacrament.

·  Thursday: Bless those who labor in the mission fields of North American outreach. Our nation has become a mission field, to hear the Gospel. Help us to reach our countrymen and neighbors who are lost in sin.

·  Friday: Jesus died on a Friday. We thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your sacrificial life and death, for in You alone we are saved.

·  Saturday: Heavenly Father, during this week, Your missionary outreach has been foremost in our prayers. We close this week asking Your blessing on every effort to speak the saving name of Jesus, to defend Your truths in the public forum, and to bring many more to confess Jesus’ saving name. Bless our congregation at prayer that we may also be a congregation at work in Your Kingdom.

Bible Readings

Date / The Gospel of John
October 12 / Worship at Lord of Love
Monday / John 12:1-26
Tuesday / John 12:27-50
Wednesday / John 13:1-20
Thursday / John 13:21-38
Friday / John 14:1-14
Saturday / John 14:15-31
October 19 / Worship services at 8:00 or 10:30
See you in church!

Catechism for the Week

The Ten Commandments

The Sixth Commandment
You shall not commit adultery. / All learn
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God that we lead a pure and decent life in words and actions / Gr. 1+
and that husband and wife love and honor each other / Gr. 3+

Let’s talk about the Catechism:

What is God protecting in this commandment?

·  He is protecting your life and heart. How?

o  Our sex drive is so strong that we can easily be led astray by the power of sexual passions – led to have one unsatisfying relationship after another, to sexual immorality, guilt and shame. By this Commandment, He puts boundaries in place that protect us.

·  He is also protecting your marriage, other people’s marriages, your conscience and even your health

·  God is also protecting children. How?

o  God intends that children have a mother and father, not a confusing alliance of who is a parent, nor two fathers or two mothers. He intends to place children in a family and have mother and father love and honor each other in that family.

Can anyone keep this Commandment?

·  We can keep the plain and direct purpose of the Commandment: to have sexual relations within marriage and to have no extra-marital or pre-marital sexual relations

·  We cannot keep this or any other Commandment perfectly. Jesus made our sin against this Commandment clear by teaching us: I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

·  One more answer to this question – Yes! Someone can and has kept this Commandment, and that is Jesus. We’re all dependent on His obedience to be the righteousness that we gain from Him!