Prayer: Almighty God and Father, we thank you and praise you for knowing what we need and giving us your law to guide us and direct us. Though we often wrestle with our sinful desires and fall short of your glory, we are grateful that you do not leave us to our own devices. Though we are weak creatures, we have a firm foundation rooted in the love and mercy of your Son and our Savior. Through your Word, we learn of our great need to come apart from the world and dwell in unity with our brothers and sisters of our common faith. Through those times in which we publicly go to the house of the Lord to praise you and hear from you, we are reminded that this world is not our home. We are further reminded that we are pilgrims and exiles in a strange land. Like the patriarch Jacob, we have been exiled to live as sojourners in a country that does not want us. Through the Lord’s Day, we are reminded that your Son has gone before us to prepare for us a better country — a land that we pray will come quickly. Thank you, Father, for your gracious reminder each week of your love for your people. Please grant us a zeal to love the Lord’s Day, and may it be used by your Spirit to give us courage and strength to persevere until the appearing our Lord Jesus Christ These things we pay through his name. Amen.
Scripture Meditation: Gen. 2:1-2; Ex. 20:8-11; Is. 58:13-14
