Opening Prayer: Almighty God, help me to grow in my understanding of Your grace, and accept more fully Your forgiveness offered through Your Son, in whose name I pray. Amen.

Read: Psalm 130
Reflect: Why does the Psalmist cry from the depths? What is the Lord’s response to the Psalmist? What does it mean to wait for the Lord? How should we live in light of the Lord’s forgiveness?

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself.

Hymn: “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind”
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful minds;
In purer lives Thy service find;
In deeper reverence, praise.

In simple trust like theirs who heard,
Beside the Syrian sea,
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word,
Rise up and follow Thee.

Drop Thy still dews of quietness
Till all our strivings cease.
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.

Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm.
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire,
O still small voice of calm!

Closing Prayer: Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen! Praise the Lord” Ps. 106:48

Opening Prayer: Almighty God, help me to grow in my understanding of Your grace, and accept more fully Your forgiveness offered through Your Son, in whose name I pray. Amen.

Read: Psalm 51
Reflect: What is the Lord looking for from people? Why doesn’t the Lord particularly want a sacrifice? How can we give the Lord that which is valuable to Him?

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself.

Hymn: “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind”
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful minds;
In purer lives Thy service find;
In deeper reverence, praise.

In simple trust like theirs who heard,
Beside the Syrian sea,
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word,
Rise up and follow Thee.

Drop Thy still dews of quietness
Till all our strivings cease.
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.

Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm.
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire,
O still small voice of calm!

Closing Prayer: Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen! Praise the Lord” Ps. 106:48

Opening Prayer: Almighty God, help me to grow in my understanding of Your grace, and accept more fully Your forgiveness offered through Your Son, in whose name I pray. Amen.

Read: Matthew 13:44-46
Reflect: In what ways is the Kingdom very valuable? In what ways is the Kingdom sought after? Where are people in the world looking for the Kingdom? How might people stumble upon it? What are we doing to make the Kingdom easy to find, and appear valuable?

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself.

Hymn: “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind”
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful minds;
In purer lives Thy service find;
In deeper reverence, praise.

In simple trust like theirs who heard,
Beside the Syrian sea,
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word,
Rise up and follow Thee.

Drop Thy still dews of quietness
Till all our strivings cease.
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.

Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm.
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire,
O still small voice of calm!

Closing Prayer: Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen! Praise the Lord” Ps. 106:48

Opening Prayer: Almighty God, help me to grow in my understanding of Your grace, and accept more fully Your forgiveness offered through Your Son, in whose name I pray. Amen.

Read: Matthew 13:31-35
Reflect: Why does Jesus compare the Kingdom to such small things? What is the significance of these small things that grow? In what ways is the Kingdom very small? In what ways does the Kingdom grow?

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself.

Hymn: “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind”
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful minds;
In purer lives Thy service find;
In deeper reverence, praise.

In simple trust like theirs who heard,
Beside the Syrian sea,
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word,
Rise up and follow Thee.

Drop Thy still dews of quietness
Till all our strivings cease.
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.

Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm.
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire,
O still small voice of calm!

Closing Prayer: Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen! Praise the Lord” Ps. 106:48

Opening Prayer: Almighty God, help me to grow in my understanding of Your grace, and accept more fully Your forgiveness offered through Your Son, in whose name I pray. Amen.

Read: Matthew 7:1-5
Reflect: Why is it so difficult for us to not judge other people? What reasons does Jesus give for not judging others? How would society have to change in order for humans to abide by this teaching?

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself.

Hymn: “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind”
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful minds;
In purer lives Thy service find;
In deeper reverence, praise.

In simple trust like theirs who heard,
Beside the Syrian sea,
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word,
Rise up and follow Thee.

Drop Thy still dews of quietness
Till all our strivings cease.
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.

Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm.
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire,
O still small voice of calm!

Closing Prayer: Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen! Praise the Lord” Ps. 106:48