“Glory be to you, O Lord”
Almighty and gracious God, you have made yourself known to us in a multitude of ways, and each of those ways invites us to respond to you with grateful hearts.
You have been present with us even before our thoughts and words and feelings ever turned toward you.
You created us in your own image, redeemed us with your love, and have always sustained us with your grace.
When we think of you gracious God, we think of your compassion and tender mercies toward us all, and we are humbled with gratitude.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto Him and bless His name.
For the Lord is good: His mercy is everlasting: and His truth endures to all generations.
All Thy works shall praise Thee, O Lord, and Thy saints shall bless Thee. They shall abundantly utter the memory of your great goodness and sing of your righteousness.
Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise you. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Almighty God, you have walked with everything and everyone since the beginning of all creation. Your Presence has brought wholeness, joy, and divine energies. Today, we ask that your Presence would help us recognize the divine gifts and graces of our beloved older adults. Guide us to appreciate this love and ministries offered by our elders.
We may be of differing ages, O God, but we honor the ways our older adults teach us, provide faithful role models, bring joy to our gatherings, and draw more than a few smiles from time-to-time. Come, smile with us, Gracious God, as we praise You and honor our aging friends.
Gracious God, we give you thanks for those who taught us the faith, who shared their beliefs with us. We are grateful for all those who have set examples for us to follow. Help us to know that same fire of your Spirit.
For those of us who are younger in years, let us learn from those who have traveled further on their journeys of faith. For those of us with much to share, let us be good teachers and models of your unending love. As we learn from each other, we ask that we may all come to more clearly know your presence and power in our lives.
Holy God, you created us to enjoy a full and an abundant life, but we have devalued and demeaned people who are aging and elderly in our society and communities. We have cast them aside into institutions and have ignored them in our communities.
Lord, forgive us for not seeing the value and the wisdom of elderly people in our midst. Forgive us for demanding that they step aside from valued work and from mentoring the younger generations.
You have said that gray hair is a blessing, yet we look upon our elderly as a problem and try to find ways to disinherit them from society. God, forgive us and remind us that one day we will be traveling the same journey.
May we look with compassion and love upon those people who have been blessed with long and abundant living. May we find joy in walking together with them as we learn from them and seek their wisdom for our lives. In Christ’s name, who came to give us the abundant life all of our years. Amen
Almighty and Gracious God, we join together with thankful and humble hearts to confess our sins. Too often, we let the world’s sinful ways set our agendas. Regardless of our ages, the temptations to sin are overwhelming.
We trustfully ask that You will not cast us off in our old age and when divine care is especially needed. Forgive us of our unrighteous attitudes,
behaviors, and judgments, O God. Let the Holy Spirit strengthen us for the Christian paths that need to be travelled and Christian service that needs to be done.
Please cleanse us from all evil and restore us to a faith that is worthy of your Presence in our lives. We lift all these burdens to You and offer our thanksgiving in Jesus Christ’s holy name. Amen.
Watchword for the Week:
The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes. Psalm 19:8
Watchword for Today:
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. Psalm 146:8
Doctrinal Text:
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to
which he has called you. Ephesians 1:18
Prayer for Today
Eternal Father, open the eyes of our hearts to love you more and our ears to hear you better. Our hope, most loving Father, is to fulfill your calling to share your wondrous love. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN
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