Tag Archives: victory

Breath Prayers Based on Mark 16

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summer in the scriptures- Mark (4)

Silently pray the phrase after IN on your breath in. Then silently pray the phrase after OUT on your breath out. Take your time. Breathe deeply. Choose one, a few, or all of them as is most helpful to you. ⁠

How do breath prayers help you?

Share a breath prayer you’ve written.

IN: Glory to you, O Christ
OUT: Triumphant over death

IN: Glory to you, O Christ
OUT: Triumphant over sin

IN: Glory to you, O Christ
OUT: Triumphant over evil

IN: Glory to you, O Christ
OUT: Triumphant over shame

IN: Glory to you, O Christ
OUT: Triumphant over injustice

IN: Glory to you, O Christ
OUT: Triumphant over fear

IN: Glory to you, O Christ
OUT: for sacred, imperishable, eternal salvation

IN: Glory to you, O Christ
OUT: we proclaim you risen, just as you said

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For the next few months, I’m reading a chapter from the Gospels each day. This is part of the Summer in the Scriptures reading plan sponsored by the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. Click Here for the reading plan.

You’re most welcome to read along and to join the Facebook discussion group, Summer in the Scriptures. You don’t need to be a Methodist or attend a Methodist church. All are welcome and all means all.

As part of the Facebook group, I’ve been supplying prayers based on the day’s reading. Feel free to post your prayers and observations based on the readings here or there as well.

May the grace of the Gospels, the challenge, and the call, inspire us to great faith and great good works in Jesus’ name. – Lisa <><

Breath Prayers Based on Matthew 16 © 2020 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting with proper attribution.
Please leave a comment for information and permission to publish this work in any form.

Raise a Hallelujah, another prayer of praise

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Say it aloud- Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
The same word is said all over the world

Hallelujah!
A word of praise and belief
A word of trust and hope

Hallelujah!
A word beyond circumstance
A word beyond words

Hallelujah!

Jesus, we raise to you a Hallelujah!
Your victory is secure
It is true, eternal
Nothing can touch it
Nothing can stop it
Hallelujah!

Jesus, we raise a Hallelujah because of your presence
Your presence with us in the midst of the storm
In the midst of the need

Your presence with us in the middle of the night
Your presence with us in the brightness of day
Your presence with us in every breath
Hallelujah!

You are near
You are good
You are strong to save
Hallelujah!

This prayer was inspired by the song Raise a Hallelujah by Jonathan David Helser and Melissa Helser, Bethel Music

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Raise a Hallelujah, another prayer of praise © 2020 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting with proper attribution.
by Lisa Degrenia (www.revlisad.com)
Please contact Lisa for information and permission to publish this work in any form.

Refuge, Strength, Near: A Prayer Based on Psalm 46

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god refuge strength Psalm 46-1

Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Psalm 46:7
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Psalm 46:11
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Holy and Mighty God
You are our refuge and strength
You are near- a present help well proved

You are victorious over every conflict-
every division, destruction, and deficiency
The conflict between nations
The conflict within my own nation
The conflict in my city
My family
Your church
The conflict in my heart

You are my refuge… my refuge… my refuge
You are my strength… my strength… my strength
You are near… near… near
A present help well proved

I am in awe before you
I am safe and seen before you
I am humble
I need you
I am grateful
I am yours
I am still

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Refuge, Strength, Near © 2020 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
Based on Psalm 46

You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting with proper attribution.
by Lisa Degrenia, revlisad.com
Leave a comment for information and permission to publish this work in any form.

Celebrating Your Life and Witness, a resource for preplanning the worship services following your death

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Ria Munk on her Deathbed, Gustav Klimt (1912), Oil on canvas

Ria Munk on her Deathbed by Gustav Klimt. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

There’s a growing trend to not have a funeral or memorial service following the death of a loved one.

Hear my plea- have the service!

Those who remain need it. It’s a critical part of a healthy grieving process. We need to stop, gather, remember, and give thanks in a season of death. It’s a mile marker moment. If we don’t stop, it will chase us.

Christians have even more reasons to gather. We stand on thousands of years of tradition. Good, meaningful, helpful traditions. Traditions of gathering as a community to lament, gathering to embrace the consolation of Christ, gathering to hear the testimony of a faithful Christian witness, gathering to claim Christ’s victory over death and offer of eternal life.

Here’s the heartbreaking part- I’ve sat with many Christian families who tell me their dying loved one told them “don’t go to the bother” of a service or “don’t go to the expense”. They think they are doing their loved ones a kindness, but the truth is they aren’t.

Here’s another heartbreak- If your worship planning is left up to family members who do not value your faith, there may be no service at all. These dear ones don’t understand how meaningful and vital this type of worship experience is.

Think about how not having a service would affect your friends who are believers. Think of the opportunity lost for your own family to hear about your faith and what Christ makes available to them as well.

In my tradition, a worship service following the death of a loved one does not have to be complicated or expensive or formal. It can be in a church or funeral home or cemetery, but it can also be on the beach or in a living room. It can be both faith-full and welcoming for those yet to believe.

The important thing is to stop, gather, remember, and give thanks.

Take time to pre-plan the worship service following your death. To do so is a tremendous gift to your loved ones since they will not have to make these decisions in the midst of grieving. To do so is a witness to your faith in the promises of Christ.

Click the link below for resources to help you pre-plan. Feel free to leave questions or ideas in the comments. I pray these resources are a blessing and a balm to you and those you love. – Lisa <><

CLICK HERE for a pdf of the following resources

  • Descriptions of the different types of worship services which may take place following a death. Remember, there’s no one right way to remember and give thanks for a life. Different types of services and locations are often combined at the preference of the family.
  • Descriptions of the different parts of a worship service to help in your planning.
  • A worksheet to record your planning decisions
  • A worksheet to help you write your testimony

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Celebrating Your Life and Witness, a resource for planning the worship services following your death © 2019 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
Leave a comment for information and permission to publish this work in any form.

The Songs of Christmas: Savior of the Nations, Come (Matthew 1, John 1, Philippians 2)

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Sermon Series song music christmas 1110 x 624

Do You Hear What I Hear? The Songs of Christmas
November 28: Savior of the Nations, Come by St. Ambrose (340-397)
Scripture References: Matthew 1:18; John 1:10-14; Philippians 2:5-7
Theme: Christ, the Heroic Racer

Savior of the Nations, Come by St. Ambrose
Savior of the nations, come, Virgin’s Son, make here Your home!
Marvel now, O heav’n and earth, That the Lord chose such a birth.

Not by human flesh and blood, by the Spirit of our God,
Was the Word of God made flesh—Woman’s offspring, pure and fresh.

Here a maid was found with child, Yet remained a virgin mild.
In her womb this truth was shown: God was there upon His throne.

Then stepped forth the Lord of all from His pure and kingly hall;
God of God, yet fully man, His heroic course began.

God the Father was His source, back to God He ran His course.
Into hell His road went down, back then to His throne and crown.

For You are the Father’s Son who in flesh the vict’ry won.
By Your mighty pow’r make whole all our ills of flesh and soul.

From the manger newborn light shines in glory through the night.
Darkness there no more resides; in this light faith now abides.

Glory to the Father sing, Glory to the Son, our king,
Glory to the Spirit be now and through eternity.

Prayer:
All Hail our Heroic Savior, Jesus Christ
Heroic to leave perfection and glory
Heroic to choose an impoverished, bloody birth
Heroic to become frail flesh
Divine, yet disregarded, disowned, destroyed

Heroic to pioneer the path of mercy, grace, and new life
Heroic to run the race, to persevere, to win our victory
Heroic to give everything to make us whole and holy

We stand to honor and revere you
We bow in humility and thankfulness
We step out in faith to follow your lead. Amen.

Additional Resources:

Matthew 1:18
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah[a] took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

Philippians 2:5-7
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.

John 1:10-14
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son,[b] full of grace and truth.

The hymn affirms the same themes about Jesus Christ as the Nicene Creed
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human.

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CLICK HERE for a pdf of the Christmas Song Devotional Readings.

The Christmas Story is full of singing. Mary sings. Zechariah sings. Simeon sings. The angels sing. Over the centuries we’ve continued to celebrate with songs of our own, songs born from the joy of Christ’s coming.

This holy season, to prepare our hearts again for the coming of Christ, we’ll reflect on the poetry of these meaningful songs. Some will be old friends. Others will be new. My prayer is that their beauty and power draw us closer to Jesus, the babe of Bethlehem, the Risen King. And that the grace of drawing near fulfills in us Christ’s power of new life.

Suggestions for Reflection on Each Song Lyric in the Christmas Devotion:

  • Find a quiet place to sit. Take a couple of deep breaths.
  • Read the song lyrics several times slowly, savoring the words.
  • Ask yourself:
    • What is the big idea?
    • Why is it important?
    • How does this truth connect with my life?
  • Have a conversation with God about this truth.
  • Invite God to use this truth to birth something new in you this holy season.

Additional Ideas:

  • Journal your reflections
  • Draw, paint, or create some other kind of art based on your reflections
  • Find a scripture or two which inspired the song or where brought to mind by the lyrics
  • Sing or listen to the song
  • Share the song or just the lyrics on social media or face to face

I look forward to hearing your comments. – Lisa <><

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Savior of the Nations, Come reflections © 2018 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
Leave a comment for information and permission to publish this work in any form.