Daily Prayer for May 4, 2021
Daily Prayer for May 4, 2021

Prayer: Our Father, we thank you for a new day to serve you and glorify you with our lives. We are grateful to you for your redeeming and renewing work in our lives as you conform us more and more into the very image of your Son and our Savior. As your people, we desire to be holy and to live each moment glorifying you. We long to see the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. Therefore, be kind to us and work in us more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness. Please help us to love you and love one another. Please help us to demonstrate joy that can only come from you regardless of our circumstances. Please grant us more kindness to others and to speak evil of no one. Please cause us to live more faithfully before you with our lives. Forgive us, Father, for the many ways in which we wander from your Word and grant us more of your Spirit that we may serve you with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We pray these things in the name of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Put Away All Self-Assurance
Put Away All Self-Assurance

Meditation for the day taken from Everyday Prayer with John Calvin, written by Donald McKim:

Scripture: Daniel 9:16-19

The passage for today is the completion of the prayer of Daniel that began in 9:4. What is evident from these verses is the dependence Daniel places on God as he confesses the people's sin and pleads for help. It is a great temptation to emphasize our worthiness before God as we pray. Sometimes we think that God will look at our behavior and somehow give the nod to them in our prayers. Yet, Daniel writes, "For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy." (9:18). The fact is that we have no inherent righteousness. The only righteousness we have is that which is possessed by Christ and imputed to us. The only reason we can boldly pray and ask our Father for anything is that the Savior has secured that access through his perfect righteousness. When we pray, we stand naked and bare before him. It is a humbling thought, but it must be held in mind and heart as we pray. Thus, McKim writes, "We come before God in complete humility and with a focus on God's glory -- never on our own." Calvin comments, "Anyone who stands before God to pray, in his humility giving glory completely to God, [must] abandon all thought of his own glory, cast off all notion of his own worth, in fine, put away all self-assurance -- lest if we claim for ourselves anything, even the least bit, we should become vainly puffed up, and perish at his presence." (65).

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William Hill
Daily Prayer for May 3, 2021
Daily Prayer for May 3, 2021

Prayer: Almighty God, we thank you for a new day in which your mercies are refreshed in our lives. Your faithfulness to your people is new every morning, and as a God of truth, we have great confidence in your promise to sustain us and help us on our journey. We are thankful for your Word and how it encourages us in our daily lives as we pilgrim as exiles in this world. While we long for the day in which we will enjoy your presence in the New Heavens and the New Earth, we plod on in this life with the sure hope of your love and favor for us. Your word tells us that you created us and called us by name. In that, we are told how much you love us and care for us. Your Word tells us that you will be with us through the various trials of this life, and your continual presence strengthens us. Your Word tells us that we are precious in your sight and loved with an infinite love. We are grateful beyond words for your sustaining care and kindness displayed to us. Though we are sinful creatures and offer our best labors mingle with sin, we know that you accept us in Christ. Through your adopting work, you are pleased to call us sons and daughters. Thank you, Father, for your care and help us today to glorify you out of gratitude for all you do for us each day. We pray these things in the name of the Savior, your Son, and our Lord. Amen.

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Prayer Is the Chief Exercise of Faith
Prayer Is the Chief Exercise of Faith

Meditation for the day taken from Everyday Prayer with John Calvin,” written by Donald McKim:

Scripture: Daniel 9:1-10

Daniel 9 is a prayer offered by Daniel as he was in exile in Babylon. The opening verses of the chapter set the stage for Daniel's prayer as he recounts the circumstances of God's people. As he reflects on the words of Jeremiah the prophet, he is painfully aware of the trial that his people face and the discipline they are currently experiencing. As a result of the anguish of his soul, he turns to pray and plead with the God of heaven. The example of Daniel should encourage us to do the same. When we are facing difficulties, we should turn to the Lord in prayer. Nothing else will do. We must learn to plead our case before the Lord. Calvin comments, "God does not here promise his children earthly blessings, but eternal life, and while they grow torpid and cast aside all care and spiritual concern, he urges them the more to earnestly to prayer. For what benefit do God's promises confer on us, unless we embrace them by faith? But prayer is the chief exercise of faith...For the true proof of faith is the assurance when we pray that God will really perform what he has promised." (64). Life for Daniel and the church of old was hard and they were under God's discipline. Yet, Daniel reflected on the promise of God to return the people to their land. This reflection turned to prayer and that a demonstration of his great faith in God and his promises.

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Daily Prayer for the Lord's Day, May 2, 2021
Daily Prayer for the Lord's Day, May 2, 2021

Prayer: Almighty God, we praise your name today because you are good and kind to your people. You have given us your Word in which we hear your voice and know your will. We thank you that you have given us ears to hear and hearts to respond to your commands. We thank you that through the primary and ordinary means of grace -- that preaching of your Word -- we hear the living voice of the Lord Jesus speaking. As he speaks, He ministers to his people as the Good Shepherd of the sheep. We confess that there are times when we do not listen and heed the things the Spirit declares to his church. We confess that we fail to prepare our hearts and minds to hear your Word. We are ashamed at how dull of hearing we often are as we sit under your Word. Forgive us, Lord. Please cause us to hear you today, the Lord's Day. Please cause us to listen diligently and meditatively so we may bring forth fruit of your Word in our lives and glorify you. We pray these things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Worship Preparation for May 2, 2021
Worship Preparation for May 2, 2021

Call to Worship: Isaiah 60:1-5
Confession of Faith: the Apostles’ Creed
Hymns and Psalter Selections:

  1. I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art #282

  2. The Lord’s My Shepherd #23A

  3. Almighty God, Your Word is Cast #173

Sermon: Mark 4:21-25

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is the purpose of light?

  2. How is the Word of God “light?” See Ps. 119:105. What are the implications of this verse?

  3. If the things hidden in the Old Testament are now manifest in the New, what should we do with this information?

  4. Why does Jesus exhort the listeners to hear? Who is able to hear?

  5. Where does Christ speak, primarily? See WLC 160.

  6. Why does Jesus say, “to the one who has, more will be given?” In the context of this passage, to what is he referring?

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Redeeming the Time
Redeeming the Time

At our most recent prayer meeting, I mentioned the following video and commend it to you. I encourage you to watch this prayerfully and thoughtfully and consider the wisdom that it contains. We can learn much from those who have gone before us.

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Daily Prayer for April 29, 2021
Daily Prayer for April 29, 2021

Prayer: Our great and gracious God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we praise your name today because you are good and kind to your people. Throughout all ages, you have proven yourself to be patient and good to us. As we read your Word and observe the many ways in which you cared for your people. Your Word describes the events that prove your faithfulness. You brought your people out of the land of sin and bondage and safely across the Red Sea. You provided their daily bread as they journeyed to that land of promise. There, in that land, you went before them and conquered all their enemies. You patiently tolerated stiff-necked people and gave them a king. Throughout all ages, you continued to labor and work and offer yourself to the church of old. Today, we continue to witness your kindness to undeserving people. You have given us your Son, and through him, we have peace with you. He is our older brother, and he ministers for us today. He is carefully and patiently guiding his church and promises our safe arrival in a better country. We praise you, our God, that though we too wander, we know that your faithfulness to us is new every day. Forgive us, Father, for our tendency to stray. Thank you for being good to us. We pray these things in the name of Christ. Amen.

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prayerWilliam Hill