Almighty God,
We praise and thank you for this day. For your good and beautiful creation we see all around us. We thank you for all the blessings you bestow on us. May this truth be always on and in our hearts: that the God who breathed and spoke this world into being, in love, He created, made, and formed each and every one of us.
Lord,
In seasons of uncertainty, disruption, and discomfort, grant us comfort in you. Grant us the comfort that whatever the age, your children are in your hands, the One who is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega. Grant us comfort in you and in your promise that we are yours, and you hold us in your hands. Hold fast to us, Lord, with your wounded hands that protect, guide, and heal.
King Jesus,
In a world obsessed with self, turn us to you that we might be turned outward in love and mercy toward our neighbors.
In a world that demands we cloak ourselves in outrage, make us quiet beacons of your grace.
In a world whose lifeblood, at times, seems to be lies and corruption, make us a mouthpiece of truth.
In a world that demands we take and consume, and turn our hearts and hands to give as you do.
Through your Word, pour out the mercy and hope of your Kingdom. Pour out your Word and free us from the bondage of self that we might walk in the light of the Lord for your purposes.
AMEN.