Week of May 31, 2009, Psalm 104:24-35

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from Psalm 104, verses 24-35 – a psalm of praise:
24 O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
27 These all look to you to give them their food in due season;
28 when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
30 When you send forth your Spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works—
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.
35b Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!

Dear Lord, how great and many are Your works! Your mind is awesome, and You have made all things in Your wisdom. The workings of Your creatures – all of them, known and unknown – are brilliant and spectacular – all the living things, both small and great, in the seas, on the earth. They all look to You to give them their food in due season. When You open Your hand, they are filled with good things.

Lord, when You hide Your face, they – we are dismayed. When You take away their breath, they – we die and return to the earth. When You send forth Your Spirit, they are created. When You speak the Word, creation happens, and You renew the face of the earth. As You speak the Word, Lord, into each one of us, strengthen us, renew us, fill us with Your Spirit.

May Your glory, Lord, endure forever. May You rejoice in Your works. May You rejoice in the things that You created – including humankind, including us. May You rejoice in the things we do! May the things I do, Lord, please You. I will sing to You, Lord, as long as I live. I will sing and give praise to You, my God and Savior, while I have being. May my meditation, my thoughts, my reflections be pleasing to You, Lord, for I rejoice in You and give You thanks and praise.

Thanks for Your love that surrounds me, Your power that strengthens me, Your Spirit that empowers me, Your presence that fills me – always. Amen.

The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you His strength and His great peace. In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You may leave a message or prayer request by emailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.

May God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be with you now and always.

Week of May 24, 2009, 1 John 5:9-13, Psalm 1

Two Scripture readings for Sunday – the first is from 1 John 5:9-13 – where the writer, John, tells about God giving us eternal life, through His Son, Jesus:
9 If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. 10 Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

The second reading is the psalm for Sunday which is Psalm 1 – a psalm that tells us about choices we make - living and delighting in God’s Word, or not:
1 Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers;
2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night.
3 They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.
4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Son, Jesus, who died for us, who took our sins on Himself. Jesus, You give us eternal life, as we believe in You, as we look to You for all things, as we live in the excitement of Your presence with us each day. May we reflect on Your word, meditate on it, draw strength from it. For You, Lord Jesus, are the Word – the Word made flesh – living with us through Your Spirit – each day.

Thanks for Your love, Your peace, Your strength, Your presence with us – always. Amen.

The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you His strength and His great peace. In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You may leave a message or prayer request by emailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.

May God be with you now and always.

Week of May 17, 2009, Psalm 98

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is Psalm 98 – a psalm and song of response to God:
1 O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.
2 The Lord has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.
7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it.
8 Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy
9 at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.

Dear Lord, we give You praise and thanks, singing a new song to You, for You have done marvelous things. Your right hand and Your holy and mighty arm have strength and power. You come to us with a steadfast love and faithfulness. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory that You bring, the evidence of Your power and glory in creation.

So we make a joyful noise to You, O Lord, singing songs and praises, with all kinds of instruments, joyfully bringing our praise and thanks to You, the King, the Lord, our Lord. Let the seas roar their praises, the floods clap their hands, the hills sing together for joy in Your presence, O Lord.

For You come to judge the earth, the whole world in righteousness and equity and all fairness. You come to each of us with Your love, Your power, Your presence, Your joy. Thanks, Lord, for Your presence with us always. Amen.

May the love of the Lord Jesus draw us to Himself;
May the power of the Lord Jesus strengthen us in His service;
May the joy of the Lord Jesus fill our souls;
May the fire of the Holy Spirit bring comfort to you, guide you in your decisions, and fill you
with a fervent desire to serve Him better.
And may the blessing of the almighty and most merciful God - Creator, Word and eternal Holy Spirit - be upon us and remain with us always.
In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You may leave a message or prayer request by emailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.

May God be with you now and always.

Week of May 10, 2009, John 15:1-8

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from the gospel of John, chapter 15, verses 1 to 8 – the time when Jesus was sharing with His disciples what it meant to be a disciple and where Jesus talked about the image of a vine and branches.
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

Dear Lord, thanks for bringing Your word to each of us in images. Thanks that in this time of spring and regeneration and renewal that we see in the creation around us, from winter to spring, from snow to green grass and leaves again, we are reminded that You bring freshness and renewal to us also.

As the vine, Jesus, keep us entwined with You, bearing fruit, trimmed, pruned, to grow and mature, to a deeper abiding with You. Jesus, we get our life from You, just as the vine gives life to the branches. May we never be cut off from You, Lord, but always abiding with You, drawing our strength and hope from You. For You are our sustaining power and presence in all that we do.

Jesus, thanks for Your love, Your peace, Your power, Your presence with us always. Amen.


The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you His strength and His great peace. In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You may leave a message or prayer request by emailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.

May God, who sustains and protects us, be with you now and always.