St. Nicolai Notes

PRAISE AND GLORY: PRAYERS OF PRAISE ENGAGING THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST STATEMENT OF FAITH

DAY 27 - FRIDAY

God calls us into the Church to resist the powers of evil.

O Good and Gracious God,

of whom angels declare, “Holy, Holy, Holy,”

we worship You with our whole identity

and rejoice that You have called us to be like You,

to imitate You as beloved children,

and to perfect love toward our enemies

even as You loved us when we were your enemies.

As your people we rejoice that you enable us

to discern idolatry and injustice and uproot them from our lives.

We praise You for empowering us to stand as prophetic witnesses

against every structure of power that profits or thrives

by practicing strategies of death that heighten fear,

undermine courage, paralyze

or otherwise diminish and devalue the lives

of people created in your image and for your glory.

We thank You, Holy One,

that You give us patient endurance in this struggle

and that the defeat of every form of evil

has been assured by the victory You won

through the cross of Jesus the Christ.  Amen.

Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-8; Deuteronomy 6:1-9; Matthew 5:43-48, 22:34-40; Ephesians 3:7-11, 5:1; Romans 5:10; 1 Corinthians 13:4-7