Last Sunday Morning Devotion for 2023
Your Weekly Reset and Renewal
Good Sunday morning,
Here’s a devotional to encourage you and help you draw closer to God on this last day of the year. May the Lord richly bless you in the upcoming year… and have a great day and week too!
Great supplicants have sought the secret place of the Most High, not that they might escape the world, but that they might learn to conquer it. (Samuel Chadwick)
This Week’s Scripture
· Exodus 12:1-14
· Psalm 149
· Romans 13:1-14
· Matthew 18:15-20
Adoration
Psalm 149:4
For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with salvation.
How Firm a Foundation (verse 1)
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
What more can he say than to you he hath said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
(“K” in Ripon’s Selection of Hymns)
Take time now to offer God your praise and worship.
Confession
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:11-12)
O merciful Father, who in compassion for thy sinful children didst send thy Son Jesus Christ to be the Savior of the world: Grant us grace to feel and to lament our share of the evil which made it needful for him to suffer and to die for our salvation. Help us by self-denial, prayer, and meditation to prepare our hearts for deeper penitence and a better life. And give us a true longing to be free from sin, through the deliverance wrought by Jesus Christ our only Redeemer. Amen. (The Book of Worship for Church and Home)
As David did in Psalm 139, ask the Lord to search you and know you through and through. Confess the sins God brings to mind, knowing you are forgiven and that He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
Thanksgiving
Almighty God of heaven and earth, I will sing a new song of praise and thanksgiving to you this day. You are my Maker and my King, and you alone are worthy to be praised. I will rejoice in you for you are good. You take pleasure in your people and you adorn the humble with salvation. I pray that my greatest desire would be the exultation of your glory. May your praise ever be upon my lips and may I always seek your honor above all pursuits. I thank you gracious God, my heavenly Father, for your tender love and mercy in my life. I will indeed sing a new song of praise and thanksgiving to you this day. In the name of my blessed Redeemer I pray. Amen. (based on Psalm 149)
Spend some time reflecting on the prayer of thanksgiving above and then thank God for who he is and the many ways he has poured out his goodness and grace in your life.
Supplication (Petitions – prayers for yourself)
· Give me greater knowledge, depth of insight, and understanding of God’s Word.
· Remind me daily of who I am in Christ. Let me be defined by who God says I am, not the world around me.
· Guide me into greater understanding and faithfulness of God’s call in my life.
· Today’s events and interactions with others, planned and unplanned
· Other needs
Supplication (Intercession – prayers for others)
· My family
· My pastor(s), church staff, and missionaries
· Those wrestling with anger, anxiety, or the overwhelming desire to please people at all costs
· Other needs
O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer’s praise! (Charles Wesley)
Please make sure to share today’s devotional with your friends.
The Lord’s Prayer: Amen and Amen
The Heidelberg Catechism: Lord’s Day 52
127. Question: What is the sixth petition?
Answer: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. That is: In ourselves we are so weak that we cannot stand even for a moment.[1] Moreover, our sworn enemies-- the devil,[2] the world,[3] and our own flesh[4]-- do not cease to attack us. Wilt Thou, therefore, uphold and strengthen us by the power of Thy Holy Spirit, so that in this spiritual war[5] we may not go down to defeat, but always firmly resist our enemies, until we finally obtain the complete victory.[6]
[1] Ps. 103:14-16; John 15:1-5. [2] II Cor. 11:14; Eph. 6:10-13; I Pet. 5:8. [3] John 15:18-21. [4] Rom. 7:23; Gal. 5:17. [5] Matt. 10:19, 20; 26:41; Mark 13:33; Rom. 5:3-5. [6] I Cor. 10:13; I Thess. 3:13; 5:23.
128. Question: How do you conclude your prayer?
Answer: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. That is: All this we ask of Thee because, as our King, having power over all things, Thou art both willing and able to give us all that is good,[1] and because not we but Thy holy Name should so receive all glory for ever.[2]
[1] Rom. 10:11-13; II Pet 2:9. [2] Ps. 115:1; Jer. 33:8, 9; John 14:13.
129. Question: What does the word Amen mean?
Answer: Amen means: It is true and certain. For God has much more certainly heard my prayer than I feel in my heart that I desire this of Him.[1]
[1] Is. 65:24; II Cor. 1:20; II Tim. 2:13.