Good morning! Pick up a Bible and work through all or part of the prayers, scripture, questions, and reading below. May the Lord bless you as you do so. As a result of this season, may the Spirit of God work in us to shape us to be more like Christ in humility!

— Praise: (1)
God our helper, help us to “Be” more like Jesus.
show us your holy ways and teach us your paths.
By your Holy Spirit
open our minds
that we may be led in your truth
and taught your will.
Then may we praise you
by listening to your Word
and by obeying it.
Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

— Scripture:
Come Holy Spirit, open our minds and hearts as we read your word:
Matthew 5: 1-12

— Answer these four questions:
What does this passage say about God?
What does this passage say about people?
As a result of this reading, what is one step God is inviting you to take?
Who is one person you will tell about that step today?

— Response: (2)
In our world, bent under the weight of sin,
Christ gathers a new community.
Satan and his evil forces seek whom they may confuse and swallow;
but Jesus builds his church, his Spirit guides, and grace abounds.
The church is the fellowship of those who confess Jesus as Lord.
She is the Bride of Christ, his chosen partner,
loved by Jesus and loving him:
delighting in his presence, seeking him in prayer,
silent before the mystery of his love.
Our new life in Christ is celebrated and nourished
in the fellowship of congregations
where God’s name is praised,
his Word proclaimed, his way taught;
where sins are confessed, prayers and gifts are offered,
and sacraments are celebrated.

— Devotional: (3)
When God was merciful to us, we learned to be merciful with our brethren. When we received forgiveness instead of judgment, we, too, were made ready to forgive our brethren. What God did to us, we then owed to others. The more we received, the more we were able to give; and the more meager our brotherly love, the less were we living by God’s mercy and love. Thus God himself taught us to meet one another as God has met us in Christ. [(See Romans 15:7]
The fact that we are brethren only through Jesus Christ is of immeasurable significance. Not only the other person who is earnest and devout, who comes to me seeking brotherhood, must I deal with in fellowship. My brother is rather that other person who has been redeemed in Christ, delivered from sin, and called to faith and eternal life.
Not what a man is in himself as a Christian, his spirituality and piety, constitutes the basis of our community… Our community with one another consists solely in what Christ has done to both of us…
I have community with others, and I shall continue to have it only through Jesus Christ.

— Closing Prayer: (4)
God, you know all things
you know our thoughts and needs better than we ourselves.
Accept the prayers that we now offer
and strengthen us to do your will,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

(1) From The Worship Sourcebook, 2004, Faith Alive Christian Resources.
(2) From The Worship Sourcebook, 2004, Faith Alive Christian Resources.
(3) On Community – From “Life Together” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer found in Devotional Classics by Richard Foster and James Bryan Smith.
(4) From The Worship Sourcebook, 2004, Faith Alive Christian Resources with original edits.