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| As we enter the fourth week of Easter, our churches remain vigilant in response to COVID-19. As we discern a faithful way forward, may we continue to find encouragement through our daily prayers, spiritual discernment, and a shared reading of the Scripture.
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| | Monday, Fourth Week of Easter
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| God’s Covenant with Abram (Genesis 12:1-8, NRSV)
The Home Daily Bible Readings for Monday through Saturday are selected in support of the Sunday lesson in the Uniform Lessons Series, ©Spring 2020.
12:1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord.
You Are Blessed (Matthew 5:1-10, NRSV)
Today’s Gospel lesson is selected from the Book of Common Worship: Daily Prayer (Louisville, KY:Westminster/John Knox, 1993).
5 1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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| | We are thankful for another day
By Rev. Dr. Jean Hawxhurst, Ecumenical Staff Officer, Leadership Development, The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church
Hebrews 11:1 and 3: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen… By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.”
Holy and generous God, blessed are you, who created the whole universe out of pure love and joy. We come before you again today with all that we are, both beautiful and frail. We are thankful for another day, for breath in our lungs and the warmth of sunshine in the air. We know all we have is blessing, and all we are is designed to witness to you. Still, we confess, after so many weeks sheltering at home, we are weary. We are tired of sitting in front of a computer; we miss hugs and handshakes; and we want to go back to what used to be normal. All that wanting tempts us to despair, anger and fear. We confess, knowing apart from you and your strength and grace, we are weak. So, we ask you to send your Spirit to us anew today. Pour out your peace on each of your children, all over your world. Fill us again with strength, and courage, and commitment. Burn away the fear, and replace it only with you. Because only in you do we find real hope and the real joy of your creation. We open ourselves again today to you, with trust and confidence.
That is our prayer, and we offer it to you in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.
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