Week of May 2, 2010, Revelation 21:1-6

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from the book of Revelation, written by John who had a vision of the end of times. This passage is about the new Jerusalem, new life, and God’s part in it and the promises for the future for each of us:
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

5He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

6He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.

Dear God, we praise and worship and exalt You. We thank You, for the hope that Your Word brings to us – a new Jerusalem, the bride – the Church prepared for the Bridegroom, for Jesus. The promise of Your presence in our midst in the future is already realized. For You are Emmanuel, God with us – even right now. You are our God, and we are Your people, and You live in our midst. You are alive in Your Word. You are alive in Your creation, showing us Your glory and Your power. You are alive in Your people, as Your hands and feet, giving voice to Your Word, bringing Your hope to those around us.

Jesus, we are hungry and thirsty, and You lead us to the springs of the water of life, empowered by Your Spirit, filling us, drawing us to Yourself, leading us, guiding us, encouraging us to serve in Your world.

Thanks, Jesus for Your love that You surround us with, Your comfort as You wipe tears from our eyes, Your peace that You bring to us, Your presence with us always. Amen.

May the Lord bless you as you go on your way. May He go before you to show you the way. May He go behind you to encourage you. May He go beside you to guide and befriend you. May He always be above you to watch over you. And may He be within you to give you 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 we be more and more aware of God’s presence with us each day.

Week of April 25, 2010, Psalm 23

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is Psalm 23, a favorite and familiar psalm. From the New Century Translation, this psalm is a prayer and reminds us who God is and who we are in our relationship with God.
1You, LORD, are my shepherd. I will never be in need.
2You let me rest in fields of green grass.
You lead me to streams of peaceful water,
3and you refresh my life. You are true to your name,
and you lead me along the right paths.
4I may walk through valleys as dark as death,
but I won't be afraid. You are with me, and your shepherd's rod makes me feel safe.
5You treat me to a feast, while my enemies watch.
You honor me as your guest, and you fill my cup until it overflows.
6Your kindness and love will always be with me each day of my life,
and I will live forever in your house, LORD.

Dear Lord, You are my Shepherd who watches over me, tends to me, protects me. Because You care so much for me, I will never be in need.

You bring me rest as in fields of green grass. You lead me to streams of water that bring peace, and You refresh, restore, and renew my life.

You are true to Your name as Shepherd, Protector and Provider, and You lead me along the right paths.

As I walk through tough times, You teach me not to be afraid, for You are always with me guiding and protecting.

You bring me to the table where You have prepared a feast and You honor me as Your guest, and You fill my cup to overflowing with love, peace and joy.

You bless me with Your kindness and love every day of my life. My greatest hope is that I will live forever in Your house, Lord, and that is Your promise.

Thanks for Your love, Your peace, Your presence with me always. Amen.

May the Lord bless you as you go on your way. May He go before you to show you the way. May He go behind you to encourage you. May He go beside you to guide and befriend you. May He always be above you to watch over you. And may He be within you to give you 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 you know God’s presence and power with you more and more each day.

Week of April 18, 2010, Psalm 100

A scripture for this celebration Sunday is Psalm 100, a psalm of joy and praise, coming into God’s presence:
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Dear God, we come into Your presence with joy, with shouts of joy, worshiping You with gladness and coming to You with joyful songs, with hearts filled with praise. You call us, God, to know You, to know You better, to understand more fuller the relationship that You desire with Your people, that relationship that You have desired with people since You created humanity, as is so well described in the Old and New Testament, Your Word revealed to us.

You are our God, who loves us and provides for our needs. We are Your people, the sheep of Your pasture. Your encouragement to us to come – come with a thankful heart into Your courts offering praise and thanks to You. For You are the Lord who is good, Your love endures forever, and You are faithful, continuing that faithfulness through all generations.

Thanks, Jesus, for Your enduring love, Your faithfulness in mercy and grace, Your profound peace and 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 we be more and more aware of God’s presence and God working in our lives each day.

Week of April 11, 2010, John 20:19-31

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from the Gospel of John, chapter 20, verses 19-31, the story of Jesus appearing again to the disciples after the resurrection, and Thomas is with the group this time:
19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"
But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
28Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
29Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
30Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Jesus, thank You for bringing joy. Thank You for bringing peace. Thank You for the Spirit with us in our midst. Thank You, that when we doubt or when we have questions and frustrations, You do not leave us or abandon us, but You come to us. You are truly and fully God, and truly Man, who experienced excruciating suffering and death for each one of us, and You who come to us showing us Your humanity with the nail holes and the hole in Your side from the spear. This we can understand. We can see the miracle of You standing in the midst of Your disciples.

Jesus, thank You for offering Your hands to each one of us, so we can identify with the suffering that You suffered. You call us to Yourself, abandoned and suffering alone. Sometimes we feel the same, abandoned and alone, and You identify with us. You identify with all our hurts. You are fully God and fully Man.

Thank You, Jesus, that You went to the cross for all, for each one of us. Thank You for that love that is so evidenced in the cross. Thank You for Your peace in the midst of doubt and questions. Thank You for Your presence with each of us when we feel alone. And thanks for the absolute certainty of hope because of Your resurrection. We are truly Easter people. 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 you be more and more aware of God’s presence and power in your lives as you live each day.

Week of April 4, 2010, John 20:1-18

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from the Gospel of John, chapter 20, verses 1-18 – the Easter narrative:
1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"
3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
10Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"
"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." 14At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
16Jesus said to her, "Mary."
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
17Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "
18Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Jesus, we are overwhelmed. You are alive. You are risen from the dead.

As this has occurred 2,000 years ago, it is just as powerful and meaningful now. It is the most amazing Sunday of the year. Without this action, our lives are meaningless. Because You are alive, we are more alive, living the promises of Your Words, living the abundant life, living in joy and hope, because You are risen from the dead.

You are our Savior, our Redeemer, suffered and died for each one of us, now alive. Help us to die to our own desires, our sins, our own motives, and rise each day to new life in You, Jesus.

Thank You, Jesus, for Your overwhelming love, Your promises in Your Word, Your peace that You bring, Your presence with us always. Amen.

May the Lord bless you as you go on your way. May He go before you to show you the way. May He go behind you to encourage you. May He go beside you to guide and befriend you. May He always be above you to watch over you. And may He be within you to give you 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 you know God’s presence with you more and more each day as you live in the Easter promises of eternal life.