Psalm 103 reminds us to praise the Lord and not forget all his benefits, and today we gather to remember and celebrate the transforming love and grace of Jesus. We began by reflecting on how Jesus changes lives—he wipes away tears, redeems brokenness, and offers forgiveness freely. This is not just a story from the past, but a living reality for each of us. We are called to let Jesus change our lives, to let his love and grace shape who we are and how we live.
As we worship, we remember those who have gone before us and the ways our community has shown compassion and hospitality in times of loss. We confess our sins, acknowledging that we often choose conflict over harmony, death over life, and our own way over God’s. Yet, God’s mercy is greater than our failures, and in Christ, we are made alive and forgiven. This forgiveness is not just for us to receive, but to share with others, embodying kindness, compassion, and love in our daily lives.
The readings from Psalm 138 and Colossians 2 remind us that God’s steadfast love endures forever and that we are to continue walking in Christ, rooted and built up in faith. We are warned not to be taken captive by empty philosophies, but to remember that in Christ, we have fullness and freedom. Our baptism unites us with Christ’s death and resurrection, erasing the record of our sins and triumphing over all that would hold us captive.
We explored the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer, especially the petition, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This is a dangerous prayer, for it asks God to overturn the broken systems of our world and to replace them with his kingdom of grace, mercy, and justice. It is a prayer that challenges us to recognize that things are not as they should be, both in the world and in our own hearts. Praying for God’s will to be done means surrendering our desires and trusting that God’s way, though sometimes uncomfortable or costly, is ultimately good.
We are invited to be living witnesses of God’s kingdom, showing the world what it means to follow Jesus through acts of kindness, compassion, and sacrificial love. As we gather at the table, we are reminded of Christ’s sacrifice and the vision of God’s kingdom breaking into our midst. We go forth filled with bread and wine, body and blood, grace and goodness, to serve the Lord and our neighbors, trusting that God’s kingdom is coming and his will is being done, even now.
Psalm 138 (ESV) — > I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased. All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord, for they have heard the words of your mouth, and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord. For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.
Colossians 2:6-15 (ESV) — > Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Matthew 6:9-13 (ESV) — > Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
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