“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty; heaven and earth are full of your glory; glory be to you, O Lord most high. 

   O God, I ask for your blessing on this day of rest and refreshment. Let me rejoice today in your worship and be glad as I sing your praise. Do not let me concentrate today on the refreshment of my body rather than my spirit. Let my spirit be refreshed today as well as my body. Give me grace to gather myself together and center my heart on you. Help me to step aside for a little while from the busyness of life and think about its meaning and its end. Today, may Jesus Christ be the companion of my thoughts so that his divine humanity may take deeper root within my soul. May he be in me and I in him, just as you, Father, were in him, and through him may be in me; and so I may rest in you. 

   O Lord, you are the source and ground of all truth, the Light of Lights. You have opened the minds of men and women to understand the world and its secrets; guide me in the time I spend reading today. Give me grace to choose the right books and to read them in the right way. Give me wisdom to be selective, as well as strength to persevere. Let the Bible have its rightful place, and grant that as I read I may be alive to the stirrings of your Holy Spirit in my soul. 

   I pray, O God, for all those who are seeking you earnestly today, and for every group of men and women who are meeting together to praise and magnify your name. Whatever their way of worship, I ask you in your love to accept their sincere offering of prayers and praise, and lead them into life eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

After listening to Sunday’s sermon, you may have lingering questions or ideas. Part of walking with Jesus means that we walk with others who follow Jesus, and it is often beneficial to sort through these lingering thoughts together. The following questions have been designed to help you consider more deeply what Sunday’s message may mean for your life with God, with other believers, and with your neighbors.