Day 169 | Friday, 4 September 2020

Day 169 - Audio Version

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Day 169  |  Friday, 4 September 2020

 COVID-19 update.  As of September 3rd, at 4:00Pm there have been 479 cases in the county with 159 in battalion 3 and now 246 in battalion 1 with 10 deaths total.

 A Beginning – Psalm 23
“We are led beside still waters. We are fed at a huge banquet table.  We are accompanied through valleys of shadow and death.  We are guided to do justice and righteousness.  We are anointed, blessed and filled.  We sing of God's goodness and mercy.”

 An Invocation:
“Lord, you are immortal, you are invisible, in light inaccessible, hid from our eyes.  At times we wish we could see you more clearly, that we didn't have to rely so much on the unseen and the unheard.  We long for the day we can see you face to face.  Until that time, Lord, teach us to trust. Amen.”

 A Prayer of Confession – Peace
“Awesome and disturbing God, you breathed life into each of us and called us to walk on the paths of peace. You filled us with compassion and courage, yet we often act with caution and timidity. We know your intentions for justice, yet we keep silent too often or yield to the complexity of issues and do nothing.  We are overwhelmed with your love yet are hesitant to mention your name to another. We have been forgiven much, yet we harbor old resentments, hold on to past hurts and turn away from reconciliation.
God, you are awesome in your love for us. Restore us to clear thinking, fill our hearts with compassion and lead us to bold action. Let us be peacemakers, creation-protectors and praise-singers. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.”

 An Affirmation of Faith – The Blessings (adapted from Matthew 5:3-10)
“We believe that those who feel their spiritual need will be found in heaven.

We believe that those who mourn the neglect of God's purposes will know the Messiah's comfort.

We believe that those who seek the gentleness and humility of Christ will have a share in his kingdom.

We believe that those who seek God's salvation will be saved.

We believe that those who offer to others what they themselves have received from God will be doubly blessed.

We believe that those who are single-minded will enjoy spiritual fellowship with the Father.

We believe that those who seek the reconciliation of the world will show their moral kinship to the God of peace.

We believe that those who know the suffering of a servant will be found in heaven.”

 A Blessing:
“In what do we believe?
 We believe in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit.
May God, triune and true, be with all of us. Amen!”
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 Quotation:
“The simplicity which proceeds from the apprehension of God in the Bible and elsewhere, the simplicity with which God himself speaks, stands not at the beginning of our journey but at its end.” -Karl Barth
 Today: For those in our county who are testing positive with COVID-19