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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

Our faith is not something that we can simply take on and take off. The challenge is for our faith to be fully integrated into our lives. Our Lenten journey opens a path of faithfulness that invites our whole self to be present to and with God.

—Stephanie B. Dunn, Draw Close: A Creative Companion for Lent (Upper Room Books, 2024)

Today's Question

How might your Lenten journey strengthen your commitment to living a life that fully reflects your faith? Join the conversation.

Today's Scripture

I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
—Romans 12:1 (NIV)

Prayer for the Week

God, give us the gift of imagination to see a world where pain and suffering are no more, that we might walk on your path of peace-making and justice. Amen. [prayer from Draw Close by Stephanie B. Dunn]
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.

Something More

What is Lent? When is Lent? Why do we set it apart? Learn more about this special season by reading Lent 101.

Lectionary Readings

  • Deuteronomy 26:1-11
  • Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
  • Romans 10:8b-13
  • Luke 4:1-13

Read the lectionary texts courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library here.

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

2 Comments | Join the Conversation.

 

Today's Reflection

Lent is a season of repentance, of coming face to face with our mortality. It is often a somber time, when our prayers and our hymns trudge along to indicate our penitence. Is there a place for celebration in Lent? Yes, there is.

—Stephanie B. Dunn, Draw Close: A Creative Companion for Lent (Upper Room Books, 2024)

Today's Question

What role does repentance play in your faith? How might repentance lead to deeper joy and renewal during the Lenten season? Join the conversation.

Today's Scripture

I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the Lord.
—Psalm 116:17 (NRSVUE)

Prayer for the Week

God, give us the gift of imagination to see a world where pain and suffering are no more, that we might walk on your path of peace-making and justice. Amen. [prayer from Draw Close by Stephanie B. Dunn]
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.

Something More

What is Lent? When is Lent? Why do we set it apart? Learn more about this special season by reading Lent 101.

Lectionary Readings

  • Deuteronomy 26:1-11
  • Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
  • Romans 10:8b-13
  • Luke 4:1-13

Read the lectionary texts courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library here.

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

2 Comments | Join the Conversation.

 

Today's Reflection

If we are to practice faithfulness throughout our lives, we must be mindful that God sees the world differently than we do. To align oneself with God’s heart, a person must pursue a life of character and integrity.

—Stephanie B. Dunn, Draw Close: A Creative Companion for Lent (Upper Room Books, 2024)

Today's Question

What does it mean for you to practice faithfulness in both the big and the small moments of life?
Join the conversation.

Today's Scripture

The Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
—1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)

Prayer for the Week

God, give us the gift of imagination to see a world where pain and suffering are no more, that we might walk on your path of peace-making and justice. Amen. [prayer from Draw Close by Stephanie B. Dunn]
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.

Something More

What is Lent? When is Lent? Why do we set it apart? Learn more about this special season by reading Lent 101.

Lectionary Readings

Ash Wednesday

  • Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
  • Psalm 51:1-17
  • 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
  • Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Read the lectionary texts courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library here.

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

4 Comments | Join the Conversation.

 

Today's Reflection

Our Christian faith holds space for us to acknowledge that many things can be true. Our world is overwhelmed with conflict and violence. And yet, we know that peace and justice are possible.

—Stephanie B. Dunn, Draw Close: A Creative Companion for Lent (Upper Room Books, 2024)

Today's Question

How can you deepen your trust in God’s promise that, even in the midst of turmoil, peace and justice are possible? Join the conversation.

Today's Scripture

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
—Matthew 5:9 (NIV)

Prayer for the Week

God, give us the gift of imagination to see a world where pain and suffering are no more, that we might walk on your path of peace-making and justice. Amen. [prayer from Draw Close by Stephanie B. Dunn]
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.

Something More

What is Lent? When is Lent? Why do we set it apart? Learn more about this special season by reading Lent 101.

Lectionary Readings

  • Deuteronomy 26:1-11
  • Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
  • Romans 10:8b-13
  • Luke 4:1-13

Read the lectionary texts courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library here.

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

3 Comments | Join the Conversation.

 

Today's Reflection

In the season of Lent, our own brokenness and the brokenness of the world are laid before God. We lay our sins before God, knowing that, in our humanity, we often miss the mark in our love for God and neighbor.

—Stephanie B. Dunn, Draw Close: A Creative Companion for Lent (Upper Room Books, 2024)

Today's Question

How does the season of Lent invite you to reflect on God’s mercy and love? Join the conversation.

Today's Scripture

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
—1 John 1:9 (NIV)

Prayer for the Week

God, give us the gift of imagination to see a world where pain and suffering are no more, that we might walk on your path of peace-making and justice. Amen. [prayer from Draw Close by Stephanie B. Dunn]
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.

Something More

What is Lent? When is Lent? Why do we set it apart? Learn more about this special season by reading Lent 101.

Lectionary Readings

  • Deuteronomy 26:1-11
  • Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
  • Romans 10:8b-13
  • Luke 4:1-13

Read the lectionary texts courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library here.

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

4 Comments | Join the Conversation.

 

Today's Reflection

Following Jesus does not mean holding in our imagination the memory of someone who lived two thousand years ago and trying to apply his teachings to our times. No, following Jesus means following the risen Lord, who is with us at this moment, drawing us more fully home into ever-deepening communion with God.

—Henri J. M. Nouwen, A Spirituality of Homecoming, edited by John S. Mogabgab (Upper Room Books, 2012)

Today's Question

What spiritual practices draw you home and into communion with God? Join the conversation.

Today's Scripture

[Jesus said,] "I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
—Matthew 28:20 (NIV)

Prayer for the Week

Living God, thank you for making a home in us. Help us to live in awareness of your presence and to reflect your love in all we do. Amen.
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.

Something More

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday next week! Experience scripture, God, and your faith in imaginative new ways this season with the new interactive devotional Draw Close: A Creative Companion for Lent. Learn more here.

Lectionary Readings

Transfiguration Sunday

  • Exodus 34:29-35
  • Psalm 99
  • 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
  • Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a)

Read the lectionary texts courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library here.

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

7 Comments | Join the Conversation.