My beloved hairdresser and confessor, Debbie Bickings, said this morning that she was reading in her prayer book each day and this was her New year's Resolution. I said she was praying the "Office" and she nodded like she does when she does not understand but wants to be agreeable. It reminded me that the Lutherans are far more knowledgeable about the "office" even if they don't name it so than their lower church Baptist brethren and sisteren.
Benson addresses the main problem by pointing out that people will get up and jog before the sun is up and after it goes down but won't take a minute--dawn to dusk--to pray. He writes: "We will not do these things in the name of love or discipline, devotion or worship. We will not even do it for selfish reasons or even as a reliable way of self-actualization, to put it in its least favorable context." He continues that this generation will preside over the death of the church if you believe what the naysayers predict. They say that we cannot spread the gospel in this world. But the witness of the past is that we can!
VERSICLE: "Come, let us reason together!"
VERNITE: "Accept the willing tribute of our lips and teach us your ways." The Psalter
COLLECT: Formal or corporate prayer
Teach us, O God, what you would have us say and do in order to carry your kingdom to all those who struggle to find you in their midst. Convince us that we must bear our share of the load of responsibility for bringing in the kingdom. Teach us to openly hear the words in Galations, "Bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." Help us to heed to the words of the Model prayer, "Thy Kingdom come."
CANTICLE: Hymn of Praise "To The Work" written by Fanny J. Crosby
To the work! To the work! We are servants of God,
Let us follow the path that our Master has trod,
With the balm of his counsel our strength to renew,
Let us do with our might what our hands find to do.
Toiling on, toiling on, toiling on, toiling on
Let us hope, let us watch and labor till the Master comes.
READING OF SCRIPTURE -- (Daddy's sermon) "The Christian Pioneer"
Text: "Now the Lord said unto Abraham, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee." Gen 12:1
Introduction:
Here is God's call to a man to a specific task.
He did not call him to a beaten path, but to pioneer. "Where?" asked Abraham.
Stories of pioneers thrill everyone.
1. Abraham's call:
Obedience. left home
Unselfishness. Gave Lot his choice.
Courage. Detested robber kings (Genesis 14:14)
Benevolence. Gave tithes. (Gen. 14:20)
Incorruptibility. Refused pay for services. (Genesis 14:23)
Mighty in prayer. (Genesis 18:23-33)
Faith. Offered Isaac. (Hebrews 11:17)
2. The Call of Men Today. Some say all frontiers gone.
Still many fields open for the investment of life.
a. To lead into an understanding of the values of the spiritual - material conflict.
b. To find the balance between God and man.
c. To show the way in social adjustment.
d. To pioneer in sacrifice.
3. The ultimate destiny of the pioneer:
a. Traveled
b. Had difficulties
c. Found the promise.
What is my prayer for today?
Lord, I ask you to show me what you would have me to do. Help me to realize that this is my time in the kingdom and so long as I have breath, I shall use it for thy purposes. For some people, I am that pioneer who can show them the way. Help me to be a part of the solution and not to contribute to the problem. Help me not to relegate this mission to those younger or to someone I deem to be more faithful or more attuned to the modern ways.
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