Good Morning! Get a Bible and start working through all or part of the prayers, scripture, questions, and reading below. May the Lord bless you as you do so. May you rejoice in the gift of this day. And may the Spirit of God work in us to shape us to give and pray with the love and humility of Jesus!

— Praise: (1)
(Read this aloud if you are able.)
Father, Son, Holy Spirit; Three in One both now and forever.
You are the sovereign God who holds my future.
You are the suffering God who knows my pain.
You are the covenant God who claims me. I am your child.
You are the creator God who made me. You tell me who I am.
You are the Redeem God who saved me. You overcame my sin and set me free.
You are the Sustainer God who transforms me. You are changing me to be more like Jesus.
Remind me, remind us, who we are and who you are today.
Through Christ, hear our prayers. Amen!

— Scripture:
Come Holy Spirit, open our minds and hearts as we read your word:
Matthew 18:1-9

— 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)
God, apart from you, who in this world can live without sin?
Forgive us our pride.
Forgive us our sins.
Help us forgive those who have sinned against us.
Lead us away from temptation.
Lead us to trust you like a child.
Lead us into the fullness of life in your Kingdom.
Through Christ the King we pray. Amen.

— Devotional: (3)
“Measuring our Faith”
I think it’s wise to completely eliminate talk about how much faith we have, or how we need more faith. All too often when we say these things we aren’t talking about faith at all but a feeling we have. When we define faith as a feeling – of belief, or of piety – what we’re actually measuring is not faith but an emotion. Faith is not a feeling. It is simply an act of assent, of openness, and often doesn’t feel like much at all. Faith has to do with what God is doing, not with what we are feeling.
When I start measuring my faith, I’m doing it from my point of view – and I’m always looking at the wrong things. If instead I try simply to be attentive to what God is doing, I become more and more aware of what he’s doing – and that’s a lot. Jesus said that God gives the Spirit without measure (John 3:34). He doesn’t dole it out. There’s immensity here, extravagance- but I never get that picture if I’m measuring things from my side.

— Closing Prayer: (4)
Almighty and most merciful God,
from you comes every good and perfect gift.
We give you praise and thanks for all your mercies.
Your goodness has created us, your bounty has sustained us,
your discipline has chastened us, your patience has borne with us,
your love has redeemed us.
Give us a heart to love and serve you,
and enable us to show our thankfulness for all your goodness and mercy
by giving up ourselves to your service
and cheerfully submitting in all things to your blessed will,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.

(1) Original.
(2) Original
(3) By Eugene Peterson, from the collection Practical Christianity, edited by LaVonne Neff and others.
(4) From The Worship Sourcebook, 2004, Faith Alive Christian Resources.