Woodlake Lutheran Church

As we continue to maneuver church life in the pandemic, we at Woodlake Lutheran invite you into a time of Morning Prayer. The following practice may be done individually, or with one or two in your household leading the whole family in a time of prayer.   Begin with centering yourself in a quiet space. Take three slow breaths. After this, speak these words: Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, O God, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Praise to the blest and holy Trinity, one God, who gives us life, salvation, and resurrection.

Jeremiah 31:31-34

³¹The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ³²It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. ³³But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. 

Psalm 46 

¹God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 

²Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be moved, and though the mountains shake in the depths of the sea; 

³though its waters rage and foam, and though the mountains tremble with its tumult. 

⁴There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 

⁵God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be shaken; God shall help it at the break of day. 

⁶The nations rage, and the kingdoms shake; God speaks, and the earth melts away.  

⁷The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. 

⁸Come now, regard the works of the Lord, what desolations God has brought upon the earth; 

⁹behold the one who makes war to cease in all the world; who breaks the bow, and shatters the spear, and burns the shields with fire. 

¹⁰“Be still, then, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.” 

¹¹The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Romans 3:19-28

¹⁹Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. ²⁰For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. ²¹But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, ²²the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, ²³since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; ²⁴they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; ²⁶it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.²⁷Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. ²⁸For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.

John 8:31-36

³¹Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; ³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” ³³They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?”³⁴Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. ³⁵The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. ³⁶So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” 

Pray 

O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Bless 

Almighty God bless us, and direct our days and our deeds in peace. Amen.