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New every morning is your love, great God of light, and all day long you are working for good in the world. Stir up in us desire to serve you, to live peacefully with our neighbors and all your creation, and to devote each day to your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

"A Liturgy for Morning Prayer," Upper Room Worshipbook

Used by permission from the Book of Common Worship, © 2018 Westminster John Knox Press. All rights reserved. This prayer appears in “A Liturgy for Morning Prayer” in Upper Room Worshipbook.

 

Today’s Reflection

Everyone is a storyteller. . . . From the first time a baby grunts and reaches for a cookie before he has finished his pureed green beans, he has begun to tell a story (albeit nonverbally) of choice and desire. When a parent asks a child what happened today at school and refuses to take “Nuthin!” for an answer, the child begins to frame her experience as a narrative. The astute parent knows that persistently asking the question, “Then what happened?” helps drive the sequence of events that become the story of the day. Stories arise at bedtime when a parent or grandparent opens a book and reads aloud or turns off the light and creates a world of historical or completely imaginary characters and events, a world in which both teller and listener take part until one or the other falls asleep.

—Michael E. Williams, Spoken into Being: Divine Encounters Through Story (Upper Room Books, 2017)

Today’s Question

What Bible stories capture your imagination? Join the conversation.

Today’s Scripture

Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the wealth that will belong to me.’ So he divided his assets between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant region, and there he squandered his wealth in dissolute living. . . . ”
—Luke 15:11-13 (NRSV)

Prayer for the Week

Gracious God, thank you for being the original author of the greatest story ever told. Guide us as we learn to tell our own stories and discover how they connect with your story and with the story of humanity. Amen.
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.

Something More

Join us for Light from Afar: Experiencing Advent Around the World, an online journey that celebrates the diversity of Advent traditions. Learn more and receive a discount on registration here.

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

Looking for lectionary-based resources? Learn more about The Upper Room Disciplines.

4 Comments

  • robert moeller Posted November 6, 2023 6:36 am

    On the cross talking to a criminal, with Thomas, Peter, Mary Magdalene, Lazarus, Martha and Mary, in his home town, and the many parables.
    It’s hard to pick a favorite.
    Communion and remembering saints/loved ones yesterday went well.
    Hope for a walk with Russ this morning. Later some necessities shopping. Lovely weather.
    Thank You, Lord.

  • Rusty Posted November 6, 2023 8:16 am

    For me, today, I think it’s the story of the hemorrhaging woman in Mark, Chapter 5. The woman has been living in invisibility (deemed by her culture to be “unclean’) for over a decade. Yet, Jesus sees her and knows her. Quoting from the book “Who Does He Say You Are?” by Colleen C. Mitchell, “He healed her and loved her because she dared to believe he would.”
    Lord, please help me to dare.

    • Ally Posted November 6, 2023 6:04 pm

      Amen, Rusty.

  • Julie Posted November 6, 2023 9:52 am

    Noah and the ark. To have such faith in the Lord. To believe that he alone has been chosen due to his obedience and faith. Then to see the land covered in water for so long and trust in the Lord again to dry the waters and continue to favor him by helping him to survive in the land after it has flooded.

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