Our Congregation at Prayer

A Guide for Meditation and Prayer at Home The Reformation of our Lord’s Church November 2-8, A.D., 2014

An Order of Meditation and Prayer (If you are a family meeting together, say the words in bold together.)

Invocation In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

(At the sign each Christian may make the sign of the cross over his / her heart, remembering this is the name into which we are baptized. Or the family leader may make the sign of the cross.)

The Apostles’ Creed (You or your family may say The Apostles’ Creed together. The words are on page 19 of the hymnal Christian Worship.) (Everyone says the verse together. Spend no more than two minutes each day learning the verse by heart. Then continue with prayer and the Bible reading.)

Bible Learn-by-Heart : John 8:31-32 “If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Weekly Prayer: Gracious Lord, our Refuge and Strength, pour out Your Holy Spirit on Your Church. Keep them steadfast in Your Word, protect and comfort them in all temptations, defend them against all their enemies, and bestow on Your people Your saving peace; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen The Lord’s Prayer Petitions for Daily Prayer:

 Sunday: Lord God, heavenly Father, You are our mighty fortress. In You we find our strength, our protection and our peace through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Through the shield of faith, protect us from the flaming arrows of the evil one, knowing that with the sword of the Word of God the gates of hell cannot prevail against us  Monday: The old evil foe has sworn to harm us, to deceive us and to lead us away from You, O Lord. His attacks are strong from without; his inroads into the Church are often subtle. We cannot conquer him with our good works or with our own power. On earth is not his equal. We praise You for sending Jesus, who fights for us.  Tuesday: Through His holy cross, Jesus has forever conquered Satan, toppling his kingdom of darkness and setting us free. Protect Your Church, purchased by the blood of Jesus, from Satan’s attacks. Continue to raise up faithful pastors, warriors in Your Kingdom, who proclaim Jesus and His cross as our only hope and joy.  Wednesday: All have sinned and fallen short of Your glory, O Lord. Good works can not avert our doom. But by Your Word, You declare us righteous at Baptism. At our Baptism, You make us Your own, grant us faith and cloth us with Your robe of righteousness. Cause us to return to our Baptism each day through the confession of our sins, holding to Your promise that we are justified by faith apart from works of the Law.  Thursday: Continue to shine the Gospel into this present darkness. Remove all that would obscure Your light from the world – let it break forth anew in a constant reformation of Your Church. Send out Your light and Your truth in Your Church, and let them bring us to Your holy hill.  Friday: Jesus died on a Friday. We thank You, Lord Jesus, that Your agony brings us peace; Your condemnation brings our rescue, Your death gives us life.  Saturday: Lord, You have charged Your Church with the work of angels, to proclaim Your eternal Gospel to all who dwell on earth, to sing good news to every people, tribe, language and nation. Let Your Word not come back to You empty, but accomplish that which You desire, leading forth in joy all who trust in You.

Bible Readings

Date The Gospel of John November 2 Worship at Lord of Love

Monday John 20:11-18 Tuesday John 20:19-29

Wednesday John 20:30-21:14

Thursday John 21:15-25

Friday Galatians chapter 1

Saturday Galatians chapter 2 Worship services at 8:00 or 10:30 November 9 See you in church!

A Saint from the Past: Johannes von Staupitz

On Saturday, November 8, the Church remembers John Staupitz, Luther’s Father Confessor

Johannes von Staupitz (ca. 1469-1524) vicar-general of the Augustinian Order in Germany and friend of Martin Luther, was born in Saxony. He studied at the universities in Leipzig and Cologne and served on the faculty at Cologne. In 1503, he was called by Frederick the Wise to serve as dean of the theological faculty at the newly founded University of Wittenberg. There Staupitz encouraged Luther to attain a doctorate in theology and appointed Luther as his successor to be professor of Bible at the university. During Luther’s early struggles to understand God’s grace, it was Staupitz who counseled Luther to focus on Christ and not on himself. (from Treasury of Daily Prayer, CPH, p. 893)

Catechism for the Week The Ten Commandments

The Ninth Commandment All You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. learn What does this mean? We should fear and love God that we do not scheme to get Gr. 1+ our neighbor’s inheritance or house or obtain it by a show of right, but do all we can to help him keep it Gr. 3+

The Tenth Commandment You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, workers, All animals, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. learn What does this mean? We should fear and love God that we do not Gr. 4+ force or entice away our neighbor’s spouse, workers, or animals, but urge them to stay and do their duty. Gr. 6+

Let’s talk about the Catechism:

What does it mean to “covet”?  It means to want something so much we are dissatisfied with what God has given us. It is the opposite of being content I don’t hurt anyone else if I covet, do I?  You’ve come to understand the first point of these Commandments when you grasp this! You do not commit coveting against your neighbor, you commit it against yourself! God is guarding your own heart in these Commandments.  We can’t help but notice, however, that coveting does lead to other sins. It is the “gateway” sin. Coveting our neighbor’s spouse can lead to adultery. Coveting our neighbor’s possessions can lead to theft. Coveting our neighbor’s fame leads to lying.