Luke 17:20-37 | Not Yet... So What Now?

May Jesus Christ, the King of the World,
make His reign known through your life.

May His Kingdom’s present reality
be a constant reminder for you
to reflect His love and grace into this world
and invite others to know our King.

May His Kingdom’s future fulfillment
move you to focus your heart
away from the things of this present, fleeting age,
so that you may cling to that which is good and right and eternal
as you offer your life continually to the One who holds eternity.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance to you and give you peace.

Luke 2:22-40 | Dedication

May your Creator God
give you peace in knowing
that He fulfills all His promises.

In receiving this peace, may your comfort
not lead you to complacency,
but instead, may it lead you,
as Mary, Joseph, and Jesus,
to dedicate yourself to God.

May your eyes be open to the work of God,
so that you may recognize the blessings
of a salvation and a Spirit
that goes with you daily.

In knowing His presence with you,
may you rejoice and praise God as Simeon.

May you share the good news with others as Anna.

May knowing Christ
compel you to live a life
that is marked by His character.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance to you and give you peace.

Luke 2:1-21 | God is with Us

May our Immortal,
Preeminent, Almighty God
fill you with the hope, joy,
peace, and love of Christ.

As light spreads from row to row
and person to person,
may it remind you of the One
who in infinite power, majesty, and strength
chose to come near to His beloved children
in the form of a Child Himself.

May the closeness of the light
and the sharing of its glow
stir in you a gratefulness
for the closeness of our King
and a yearning to share the love He radiates
with all those He places in your path.

This Christmas,
may you know the love of your Savior,
who was the King robed in swaddling clothes
and enthroned in a manger,
the Lord whose triumphal entry
was proclaimed to lowly shepherds
out in the fields at night,
and the Immortal God who chose
to be dependent upon a young couple
finding shelter in a barn in Bethlehem.

May knowing the love of Jesus
be like the carrying of your candle now,
which not only brings comfort, warmth,
and vision in the darkness,
but also connects you to the family of God
that surrounds you now.

May we join together in worship,
giving glory to our greatest gift—
Immanuel, God with us.

Luke 1:46-80 | In Response to Mercy

May you know this week
the mercy of our God,
who not only welcomes us in,
but descends in humility
to reach us at our own level.

May encountering this great mercy and love
move you to echo the praises
of Mary, Elizabeth, and Zechariah,
declaring God’s glory
and speaking into this world
the earth-shaking and upside-down power
found in Christ our King.

May the power of our Lord
who chooses to reveal His wonders
through the voice of God
heard in the cry of an infant
remind you that as surely
as He kept His covenant with Israel,
so, too, will He keep His promise to us
of new life and resurrection
through His Son.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance to you and give you peace.

Luke 1:5-25 | Expectant Hope

May the God who hears all of our prayers
remind you that He is with you
even in your waiting.

May you know each day as an opportunity
to cultivate a constant conversation
with the Lord.

Especially in these days of busyness
and the often-hurried times of the holidays,
may you be reminded of the power
of turning to the Lord in prayer.

As you go about your days
anticipating the Lord’s moving,
may He lead you to repentance
and prepare your heart
for the way that He will act.

May you have expectant hope
in God’s faithfulness,
knowing that He fulfills His promises,
that His steadfast love is for us,
and that our God is with us.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance to you and give you peace.

Luke 1:1-4 | The Weight & Wonder of the Word

May God your Creator enable you to see
the weight and wonder of His Word.

May the gift of Scripture be a guiding light for you.

As the whole of its story
points to Christ our Lord,
so may your life find its focus
always on Him.

May the wonders of God’s handiwork in Creation
and the longing in your heart for a Creator
serve to reveal His heart to you day by day;
but may these things also always move you
to return more passionately to Scripture
to learn from and walk in His ways.

May the Lord awaken in you
a desire to know the Bible thoroughly
and a longing to be molded by it continually.

May the Lord give you a certainty about its truths
so that you may handle the Word rightly
and walk in the freedom
of the purpose you have found in your Savior.

May your life be ever shaped by the living Word of God.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance to you and give you peace.