Holy Spirit

Resurrect us with resurrection power

/ Eric Mathews / 1 Comment

Icon of the Resurrection, Bulgarian Icon, via Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0

 
We pray that this Easter there will be a brand new beginning for all of us.
Grant that our ugly pasts will be buried
  and that we might arise in the newness of life
  as new people who are making a fresh and a genuine new commitment
  to walk with the risen Christ.
May the risen Christ save lost souls, convert us sinners, and teach us
  that we are no longer captives to the sins which bind and blind us.
Have mercy on the sick and suffering.
Heal those who are physically, mentally, and spiritually sick.
Comfort the bereaved and grief-stricken.
Empty out tombs of despair, discouragement, and defeat.
Resurrect us with resurrection power.
Raise us to new levels of powerful and victorious living.
Bless the preaching of your Holy Word.
Burn our altars of prayer with the fire of the Holy Ghost.
Give us the boldness to tell the world that Jesus, our savior, is not dead
  but the living Lord of history.
In Jesus’ name, we pray.
Amen.

J. Alfred Smith, Sr, 1931-2025, African American Pastor in California

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Romans 6:8-11

And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 
We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, 
    and he will never die again. 
Death no longer has any power over him.  
When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. 
But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 
So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin 
    and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
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Question

How can the resurrection of Jesus give you power to face your everyday challenges?

The New Commandment

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Christ Washing the Feet of His Disciples, Unknown author c. 1210, Wikimedia Commons
 
Jesus, you gave us the new command to love each other
    just as you loved your disciples.
We are eager to imitate you in loving our brothers and sisters, but like Peter,
    our efforts are often more words and good intentions
        than action and sacrifice…
We want to offer ourselves fully in friendship
    but when the relationship becomes costly we disengage.
We want to reach out to those different from ourselves
    but tend to stay within our safe routines.
And when relationships lead to hurt or betrayal
    we withdraw to protect ourselves
    and fail to keep your commandment.
You know this about us.
You know that we are weak and made of dust.
 
Oh, pour out an extra measure of faith upon us!
Empower us with the supernatural ability to love 
    just as you loved.
 
But more than that, bless our flawed, timid expressions
    and communicate them through your Holy Spirit,
    so that those who we begin to love,
    know that, in fact, they are loved
    completely
    by you
just as you loved your disciples, and us, unto the end.
 
Eric Mathews
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John 13:1, 34
 
It was just before the Passover Festival.
Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
 
A new command I give you: Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  
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Questions

When have you experienced the love of Jesus through another person?
Who is someone you can show the love of Jesus to?

Evening Prayer of Forgiveness

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Repentance of Mary Magdalene and Peter, El Greco, via Wikimedia Commons
 
O Lord Jesus Christ . . . .
    be merciful and forgive me, Your unworthy servant,
    if somehow I have sinned this day as a human,
    or rather as an inhuman.
Forgive my voluntary and involuntary sins,
    the ones I committed in knowledge or in ignorance,
    the ones that have been done
    out of evil influences and carelessness
    and my great indolence and negligence.
Forgive me, O Lord,
    if I have taken an oath by Your holy name
    or if I have violated my oath;
    if I have sworn in my mind
    or if I have somehow irritated You;
    if I have stolen
    or if I have lied;
    if a friend came to me and I ignored him
    or if I have distressed and embittered my brother . . . .
    if I looked upon vain beauty
    and my mind was attracted by it;
    if I was overly talkative about improper things
    or if I busied myself with faults of my brother
    and condemned him
    while overlooking my own innumerable faults;
    if I have neglected my prayer
    of if I have brought to mind any other evil thing.
Forgive me, O God,
    your useless servant,
    all these and whatever other things
    I have done and do not remember.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
    for You are good and You love mankind,
    so that I, the prodigal one,
    may go to bed and fall asleep
    glorifying You,
    together with the Father
    and Your all-holy, good and life-creating Spirit,
    now and ever and unto the ages of ages.
Amen.

St. Ephrem the Syrian c. 306-378, Syrian hymn writer and theologian

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Psalm 130:1-4

Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;
     Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
    to my cry for mercy.
If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
    Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
    so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
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Question

Thinking though today, what is something you did or didn’t do that you could ask forgiveness for?

responding to temptation

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The Temptation by J. Kirk Richards, 1999 via Pinterest
 
You, Lord Jesus, knew great power,
to heal, to transform,
to proclaim the reign of God.
So you met with great temptations.
The wrong way, glittering and possible, was open;
you could rule if you chose,
in majesty and wonder,
more victorious than Alexander,
more imperial than Caesar.
     But you said No,
     simply, decisively, for ever, for us.

We pray for the Church, tempted like its Head.
When the Church seeks political power,
     Jesus, stay with us.
When the Church longs to become wealthy,
     Jesus, speak to us.
When the Church strives to impress with splendor,
     Jesus, give us simplicity.
When the Church wanders from the way of sacrifice,
     Jesus, hold us.
When the Church listens to the call for cheap grace,
     Jesus, keep us always in your way.

Holy Spirit of God, enable us to respond to temptation
with the strength of your Word within us,
so that we may hold firm to our calling
and take your better way in faithfulness.

Bernard Thorogood, 1927-2020, English minister United Reformed Church
The Complete Book of Christian Prayer
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Matthew 4:8-10

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain 
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 
“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 
‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’
 
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Question:

In what ways do you see your Church being tempted to compromise? 

Let the Word be conceived in me

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The Annunciation, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1898, via Wikimedia Commons
 
​Let the Word, I pray, be to me,
   not as a word spoken only to pass away,
   but conceived and clothed in flesh, not in air,
   that he may remain with us.
Let him be, not only heard with the ears,
   but to be seen with the eyes,
   touched by the hands and borne on the shoulders.
Let the Word be to me,
   not as a word written and silent,
   but incarnate and living.
That is, not traced with dead signs upon dead parchments
   but living impressed in human form
   upon my chaste womb;
   not by the tracing of a pen of lifeless reed,
   but by the operation of the Holy Spirit.
Let it thus be to me,
   as was never done to anyone before me,
   not after me shall be done.

Bernard of Clairvaux 1090-1153 French Benedictine abbot
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1 John 1:1-2

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
    which we have seen with our eyes,
    which we have looked at and our hands have touched—
    this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it,
    and we proclaim to you the eternal life,
    which was with the Father and has appeared to us.
 
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When has the presence of Jesus been offered to you?
When have you offered the presence of Jesus to someone else?

Create in me an empty space

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mosaic by Christ City Church, Memphis, TN
 
 
With prayerful pleas
   and Advent songs of longing,
   I await the birth of God’s Anointing One.
Come, O Gift of heaven’s harmony,
   and attune my third ear,
   the ear of my heart,
   so that I may hear,
   just as Mary, faithful woman of Israel, heard.
O God, the time is short,
   these days are too few,
   as I prepare for the feast
   of the birth of Mary’s son.
Busy days, crowded to the brim,
   with long lists of gifts to buy,
   and things that must be done.
Show to me, also your highly favored child,
   how to guard my heart
   from noise and hurry’s whirl,
   so that I might hear your voice
   calling my heart to create an empty space
   that might be pregnant with heaven’s fire.
Quiet me within,
   clothe my body in peacefulness,
   that your Word
   once again may take flesh-
   this time, with me-
   as once it did in holy Mary,
   long Advent days ago.

Edward Hays 1931-2016 American Catholic Priest
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Luke 1:34-35

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered,
The Holy Spirit will come on you,
    and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
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How do you quiet your heart to hear God’s voice this advent season?
Plan a time this week to pray and listen for God to speak to you.

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Send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations

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Savault Chapel, France, Benh LIEU SONG, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
 
Lord Jesus,
Master of both the light and the darkness,
    send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.
We who have so much to do
    seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.
We who are anxious over many things
    look forward to your coming among us.
We who are blessed in so many ways
    long for the complete joy of your kingdom.
We whose hearts are heavy
    seek the joy of your presence.
We are your people,
    walking in darkness,
    yet seeking the light.
To you we say, “Come Lord Jesus!”

Henri Nouwen 1932 – 1996 Dutch Catholic priest and author
source
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Isaiah 42:6, 16

I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
    I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people
    and a light for the Gentiles

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
    along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them
    and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
    I will not forsake them.
 
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What is one way that you can prepare your heart this Advent season? 

Prayer before reading Scripture

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Christ Taking Leave of the Apostles, by Duccio via Wikimedia Commons
 
We praise and thank you
    glorious Lord Jesus Christ,
    for being present among us and in us.
In us you praise the Father
    with the voice of the Spirit,
    whom you have given us.
Lord, may this voice of the Spirit
    be roused in us
    as we listen to the words of Scripture
    in a manner that is worthy and fitting,
    appropriate to the meaning of the text and
    in harmony with what is revealed to us.
Make us ready to recognize
    how we can correspond
    to the teaching and example proposed to us.
For you are God, living and reigning
    for ever and ever. Amen.
 
Carlo Maria Martini, SJ, 1927-2012,Italian Biblical Scholar
 
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When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. 
He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. 
He will tell you about the future. 
He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.
All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said,     
  ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’

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may the Holy Spirit work in the Church today

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Heavenly Father, in the mighty name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    we want to thank you for the Church which is your own creation.
We want to thank you for the way you have enabled your servants,
    by the power of the Holy Spirit, 
    to propagate your Gospel throughout the world.
We thank you for the zeal that you implanted 
    in the hearts of those early missionaries
    who brought the good news to foreign lands like Africa.
It is our prayer, Almighty God, 
    that the power of the Holy Spirit may work in the Church today, 
    that the hearts of the people may grow from strength to strength,
    that they may be able to withstand the obstacles that come their way
    in their endeavors to make your word reach all corners of the world.
Revitalize your Church and let your presence 
    be with all who are called by your holy Name.
Help each of us to live according to your will 
    so that your glory may be found in your Church.
Let everyone in the Church have zeal to exalt your Name.
 
Prayers Encircling the World, slightly modified
 
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So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria 
    had peace and was being built up. 
And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, 
    it multiplied.
 

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Come Holy Spirit

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Pentecost Light by Lawrence OP via flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
 
Come, oh come, most gracious comforter of afflicted souls
    and helper in tribulations.
Come, cleanser of sins and healer of wounds.
Come, strengthener of the weak,
    comforter of the downtrodden.
Come, teacher of the humble
    and destroyer of the proud.
Come, devoted father of the orphan,
    gentle protector of widows.
Come, hope of the poor, reviver of the sick.
Come, stay of the navigator,
    post of refuge for the shipwrecked.
Come, singular glory of those who live,
    singular salvation of those who die.
 
Come, most Holy Spirit, come,
    and have mercy on me.
Make me fit for you.
And graciously reach down to me 
    so that my insignificance 
    may be pleasing to your greatness,
    my weakness to your strength,
    according to the multitude of your mercies
through Jesus Christ my Savior
who lives with the Father in unity 
and reigns forever and ever. 
Amen.
 
Anselm of Canterbury, c. 1033-1109, Benedictine monk and archbishop
 
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If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, 
    how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

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