Faithful Renewal

June 19, 2020

DAILY READING

Lamentations 3:23

FIELD NOTES

Each night as we fall to sleep, we yield up our lives to the grace of God.  We might not give that a thought!  As children, we prayed, “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep.  If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” We simply trust that we will wake up in the morning to a new day filled with blessings and often challenges.  

I wanted to be a hippie but didn’t quite make it.  I was raised in a military family and those two cultures were miles apart.  I cried with pride every time the Star-Spangled banner was played, and I could feel my heart and gut pulled poignantly toward the sounds of folk music.  Cat Stevens’ “Morning Has Broken” was one of my favorites. Imagine my surprise and delight to find it in our hymnbook!  According to Wikipedia ‘it is a Christian hymn first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and was inspired by the village of Alfriston in East Sussex, then set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune, Bunessan.  

Every day we are gifted a fresh beginning. We are renewed by God’s re-creation and invited to participate.  Listen to Cat Stevens. Does he pull at your heart? Listen here.

Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing
Praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the Word

Sweet the rain’s new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dew fall on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where His feet pass

Mine is the sunlight
Mine is the morning
Born of the One Light Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning… 

Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing
Praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the Word

PRAYER GUIDE

Thank you, Lord.

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT CHALLENGE

For the duration of our sermon series, we are offering daily prompts for applying the wisdom from the scriptures to our everyday lives. Each week focuses on how we can encourage those around us and bear fruit! This week we are focusing on the fruit of faithfulness.

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23

Take a moment to meditate on this verse. What hope is God offering you today? Who is he putting on your heart to pray for?

To learn more about the Fruit of the Spirit challenge, click here.