^{Saturday, May 16, 2020}

The Word of God for the people of God:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written:  “For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are counted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.   (Romans 8:35-39)

Eternal God, You have declared in Christ the completion of all Your purpose of love.
We pray for the tempted and despairing . . .
the sick and handicapped . . .
the aged . . .
the ministries of care and healing . . .
those who mourn . . .
the departed . . .

We give thanks for the triumphs of the gospel that herald Your salvation, the signs of renewal that declare the coming of Your kingdom, the human lives that reveal Your work of grace . . .  for the unceasing praise of the company of heaven, the promise to those who mourn that all cares shall be wiped away, the pledge of death destroyed and victory won . . .  for our foretaste of eternal life through baptism and holy communion, our hope in the Spirit, the communion of saints . . .

May we live by faith, walk in hope, and be renewed in love, until the world reflects Your glory and You are all in all.  Even so, come Lord Jesus.  Amen.

–Pastor John