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I join with all who are praying *
to the Father, through the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening Prayer
You died that we might be forgiven, Lord; but that was not the end. You plundered death, and made its jail-house shudder - strode into life to meet Your startled friends.
We have a dream that all the world will meet You, and know You, Jesus, in Your living power, *
that someday soon all people everywhere will hear Your story, and hear it in a way they understand.
- Celtic Daily Prayer
Observe a time of silence before the Lord
(1 – 5 minutes)
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Scriptural Theme
As we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.
Sing to the Lord a song of praise
(acapella, or accompanied by instruments / recorded music)
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Praying 1 Corinthians 15:44-54 (New International Version)
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.
The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed -- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. *
For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
Response to the Scripture
Where O death is your victory? Where O death is your sting? Death has been swallowed up in victory - forever.
Draw near to God’s throne of grace
with the thanksgivings, prayers, & intercessions that are on your heart
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The Spirit and the Bride say *
“Come!”
Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly. *
As we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.
Praise / prayer / silence / sing a new song
(follow the leading of the Holy Spirit)
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Ending Prayer
May we, like you, delight to give
extravagantly of ourselves
and of our goods
to the least and to the lost—
lost to their own selves,
lost on the way to who knows what anymore,
but not lost to You*
may we give even to those
who may not fully appreciate what we have given,
but who nonetheless deserve the best and the finest,
so that we might acquire
a heart of generosity that knows no bounds,
that gives without expectation of return,
that offers the entire pantry of our lives in joy*
because we know to whom belong:
to a gracious Father in heaven
who owns the cattle on a thousand hills,
whose Son generates an excess of wine and a surfeit of bread,
exceeding all requirements of necessity,
and who gives us his Spirit without measure,
flooding our hearts with the love of the Eternal Godhead,
thereby enabling us to become emissaries of divine bounty
in a world that dares us to believe otherwise
and tempts us to live in any other way but generous-without-strings.
We pray this in the name of the One
who makes us rich by becoming poor for our sake.
Amen.
- W. David O. Taylor
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
( Adapted by Christ the Reconciler from Season 5: Easter Bridge Prayer – “Jesus Our Bridegroom King” )