Day 351 | Friday, 5 March 2021

Day 351 - Audio Version

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Day 351 | Friday, 5 March 2021

 A Lenten Beginning
“Now is the time to wake from our sleeping, throw off our fears, discard our excuses.  Now is the time to walk toward freedom, to believe in new life, to turn away from dead ends, to live new possibilities, to sing new songs.  Now is the time to open our hearts to our awesome God.”

 A Lenten Invocation
“O divine, Companion, be our holy Guest.  Reveal the depths of your love in the midst of our darkest nights.  Show us the path of hope when all we can see are dead ends.  Give us a taste of living water in the midst of our dryness.

O loving God be our holy Guest and redeem this time.
We invite you in the name of Jesus, our Savior.  Amen”

 A Prayer of Confession
“Whose words echo in our ears? Are they the words of our consumer culture with catchy jingles and clever rhymes? Are they the words of our past, remembering every put-down, every angry word? Are they the words of our inner doubts where we hear that we will never amount to anything?

Holy One, open our ears to your words. Let us find comfort for our need, hope for our future, challenge for our journey. Let us hear blessing and love enough to drown out the cheap temptations. Give us reassuring words to face our fears and follow Christ along the path to Calvary. Amen.”

 A Lenten Prayer
“Loving God, your love for us is deep, holding strong even as we struggle for truth, even as we gamble on other paths, even as we are ready to give in to temptation. Walk with us this Lenten season and help us see beyond the flashy, beyond the smooth pitch, beyond the quick fix.

Keep our eyes focused on Jesus, who knew temptation, disappointment and pain, yet remained faithful to the One who is always working for good. Hold us in your grace, tender God, and bring us to Easter with open hearts and ready lives. Amen.”

 A Lenten Affirmation of Faith
“(Matthew 16:24-26; 1 Corinthians 1:18, 21, 23a, 24b, 25; Galatians 6:14)

We believe Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?"

We believe that the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For ... we proclaim Christ crucified ... Christ the power of God and

the wisdom of God. For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.

Therefore, we affirm our desire to never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to us, and our-selves to the world.”
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 A Lenten Blessing
“Happy are those whose sin is forgiven! May you be filled with peace, knowing that our merciful Lord has offered you forgiveness and new life.”