Sunday Morning Devotion

Your Weekly Rest and Reset

“Let God have your first awaking thoughts; lift up your thoughts to Him reverently and thankfully for the rest enjoyed the night before and cast yourself upon Him for the day which follows.” (Richard Baxter)

Adoration

Psalm 27:4
One thing have I asked of the Lord,
    that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
    and to inquire in his temple.

John 17:3 - And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

“Oh, there is, in contemplating Christ, a balm for every wound; in musing on the Father, there is a quietus for every grief; and in the influence of the Holy Ghost, there is a balsam for every sore. Would you lose your sorrow? Would you drown your cares? Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead’s deepest sea; be lost in his immensity; and you shall come forth as from a couch of rest, refreshed and invigorated. I know nothing which can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of sorrow and grief; so speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead.” (Charles Spurgeon)

(Take time now to offer God your praise and worship.)

Confession

“Almighty and most merciful Father, We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us. But in thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou those, O God, who confess their faults. Restore thou those who are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake; That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.” (Book of Common Prayer, 1552)

(Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness. Ken Boa)
  
Thanksgiving

We give you hearty thanks for the rest of the past night and for the gift of a new day, with its opportunities of pleasing you. Grant that we may so pass its hours in the perfect freedom of your service, that at eventide we may again give thanks unto you. Amen.  (Eastern Orthodox Prayer; The United Methodist Hymnal, #676)
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(Ask the Spirit to search your heart and mind and then spend some time thanking God for who he is and the many ways he has poured out his goodness and grace in your life.)
 
Supplication (Petition – prayers for yourself)

·         Growth in Christ
o   Greater desire to know and please Him
o   Greater love and commitment to Him
o   Grace to practice His presence
o   Grace to glorify Him in my life
·         My activities for this day
·         Special concerns

(From Ken Boa’s Hand Book to Prayer)
 
Supplication (Intercession – prayers for others)
·         My Family
·         Churches and Ministries
o   My local church
o   Other churches
o   Evangelism and discipleship ministries
o   Educational ministries
o   Special concerns

(From Ken Boa’s Hand Book to Prayer)
 
So help us to live life in love, in service, and in fidelity, that we may come to the end in peace, and enter into blessedness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (William Barclay)

Make sure to share this devotion with a family member or friend

My Only Comfort in Life and in Death

The Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day 1

*Guilt * Grace * Gratitude

1. Question: What is your only comfort in life and death?

Answer: That I am not my own,[1] but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death,[2] to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.[3] He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil.[5] He also preserves me in such a way[6] that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head;[7] indeed, all things must work together for my salvation.[8] Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life[9] and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him.[10]

[1] I Cor. 6:19, 20 [2] Rom. 14:7-9. [3] I Cor. 3:23; Tit. 2:14. [4] I Pet. 1:18, 19; I John 1:7; 2:2. [5] John 8:34-36; Heb. 2:14, 15; I John 3:8. [6] John 6:39, 40; 10:27-30; II Thess. 3:3; I Pet. 1:5. [7] Matt. 10:29-31; Luke 21:16-18. [8] Rom. 8:28. [9] Rom. 8:15, 16; II Cor. 1:21, 22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13, 14. [10] Rom. 8:14.

2. Question: What do you need to know in order to live and die in the joy of this comfort?

Answer: First, how great my sins and misery are;[1] second, how I am delivered from all my sins and misery;[2] third, how I am to be thankful to God for such deliverance.[3]

[1] Rom. 3:9, 10; I John 1:10. [2] John 17:3; Acts 4:12; 10:43. [3] Matt. 5:16; Rom. 6:13; Eph. 5:8-10; I Pet. 2:9, 10.

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