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6/9/2019

Day 21: Loving your Enemy: Rest and Trust

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Scripture:
And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. - Genesis 2: 2-3

Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. - Exodus 20:8

Prayer:
On this day God, I offer myself to you. Take away any need I have to be busy. May I be present to the people I love, disengage from work, and remember that you are the God of love, whose burden is light. Amen

Challenge:
To rest and connect with the value of recharging.

6/8/2019

Day 20: Loving your Enemy: Living Forgiveness

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Scripture:
“I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” - John 15: 5

Prayer:
God, thank you for giving us Jesus as the perfect example of loving God, neighbor and enemy. I trust you to be with us as we try to emulate him and to forgive us when we fail. Amen.

Challenge:
To make a plan to put the practices you’ve learned into your everyday life and to pray again for you enemies.

6/7/2019

Day 19: Loving your Enemy: Relinquishing Power

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Scripture:
Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this:He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed; but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. - Psalm 37: 1-9

Prayer:
Holy One, I offer my anger, holy or otherwise, to You. Take all of it, what I know and what I don’t, along with any apprehension I have to hold on to it. Transform it and make it into what you want. Deepen my reliance upon you and make me trust. Direct my actions toward good, showing me ways to love you, the ones I oppose, and myself. Amen

Challenge:
To give the power your hold over your enemies to the One who has power, God. And to continue to pray for your enemies.

6/6/2019

Day 18: Loving your Enemy

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Scripture:
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. - Matthew 5:7

Prayer:
Merciful God, come to my assistance. Show me the way to mercy so I may experience the depth and power of your love that proclaims that I am forgiven. And by so doing, may I forgive myself and others. In Christ's name I pray. Amen

Challenge:
To forgive yourself and remember that no failing needs to separate you from forgiveness. And to pray for those you consider your enemy.

6/5/2019

Day 17: Loving your Neighbor

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Scripture:
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. - Matthew 7:1-5

Prayer:
God, I offer to you the ways I have fallen short, Whether I have sinned boldly or not, forgive me for my trespasses and shortcomings. Show me the way forward and shape me in the ways that would point others to the power of your transformational love. Amen

Challenge:
To confess to God the faults that contribute to your troubles. And to pray again for you enemies.

6/4/2019

Day 16: Loving your Enemy: Mourning Comes

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Scripture:
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. - Matthew 5: 4

Prayer:
God, I offer the people who are weighing me down to you. If the pain I have is holding me from deeper love, please show me the way to acknowledge it, transform it, and ultimately be a testament to your goodness and love. Amen

Challenge:
To pray and offer God any pain or fear that is undergirding anger toward others. And to pray again for those I call my enemies.

6/3/2019

Day 15: Loving your Enemy: The Opposite

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Scripture:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? - Matthew 5: 43-47

Prayer:
Thank you, God, for your call to love those who persecute, and for the way it gives us a picture into your extravagant grace. Amen

Challenge:
To “do the opposite” toward your enemies. Pray for them today.

6/2/2019

Day 14: Loving Neighbor: Rest

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Scripture:
Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in plowing time and in harvest time you shall rest. - Exodus 34: 21

Reflection Questions:

Where have you seen evidence of God at work in your life?
How has God been speaking to you throughout the week?

Prayer:
God, search my thoughts and heart. Help me to rest in you, to remember how much you love me. Today, give me a heart of worship and connect me to the gift of my life. Amen

Challenge:
To rest on the sabbath and worship with your faith community.

6/1/2019

Day 13: Loving Neighbor: A Peach Cake

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Scripture:
He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”- Mark 12: 41-44

Reflection Questions:

How are you investing your resources and your time?
Is there a place where you are being called to sacrifice?
Who could you get to know who isn’t in your normal circles?

Prayer:
God, make me aware of my surroundings today and the way that I give to the world. Open my heart to give more fully to all those around me today. Amen

Challenge:
To see the way your give to the world.

5/31/2019

Day 12: Loving Neighbor: A Bigger Circle

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Scripture:
For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light— for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” - Ephesians 5:8-14
Reflection Questions:

Do you have attitudes toward groups or a person that are hindering your ability to love?
What are you hiding from the world?

Prayer:
God, reveal to me the ideas or biases that prevent me from greater love of you and my neighbor. Instill in me a willingness to grow, to stretch, and allow your Light to transform my darkness. Amen

Challenge:
To let go of previously held ideas that keep you away from greater love.

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21 DAYS OF Prayer

Day 21: Loving your Enemy: Rest and Trust

Day 20: Loving your Enemy: Living Forgiveness

Day 19: Loving your Enemy: Relinquishing Power

Day 18: Loving your Enemy

Day 17: Loving your Neighbor

Day 16: Loving your Enemy: Mourning Comes

Day 15: Loving your Enemy: The Opposite

Day 14: Loving Neighbor: Rest

Day 13: Loving Neighbor: A Peach Cake

Day 12: Loving Neighbor: A Bigger Circle

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Office Hours
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Telephone
732.254.7361
Fax
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Email
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21 DAYS OF Prayer

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Archives

Categories

Sunday morning in-person worship at 10:00 am Worship Service on Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/aldersgateUMCEBYouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@aldersgateumcnj1154/streams

Office Hours​Tues-Friday 9 am - 2:00 pm

Telephone​732.254.7361Fax​732.254.7413

Email​Office@aldersgateumcnj.org

Sunday morning in-person worship at 10:00 am
Worship Service on Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/aldersgateUMCEB
YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@aldersgateumcnj1154/streams

Office Hours
Tues-Friday 9 am - 2:00 pm

Telephone
732.254.7361
Fax
732.254.7413

Email
Office@aldersgateumcnj.org