PrayerBits for Sunday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Sunday

Scripture lesson:        Matthew 22:1-14 Taking God's offer seriously

Time to reflect: The “bad guys” here are of two types: those who couldn't be bothered to attend the Kings banquet, and the one who didn't respect it properly. The first set were “too busy.” The last guy was there, but not willing to make an effort to be appropriate.

Moving through the day: God has called us to come and be a part of the great banquet – do we give God excuses? Or do we take God for granted and treat God with disrespect?

Scripture:

  Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

 "Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'

 "But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

 "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

 "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless.

 "Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

 "For many are invited, but few are chosen."

PrayerBits for Saturday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Saturday

Scripture lesson: Philippians 4:1-9      Euodia and Syntyche

Time to reflect: As a part of his beautiful and heartfelt closing and benediction he has to also encourage two people who were struggling with each other. Paul loved them both and wanted them reconciled.

Moving through the day: Who do you need to be reconciled with?

 

Scripture:

Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!

Exhortations

 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow,help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

PrayerBits for Friday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Friday

Scripture lesson: Psalm 106 :1-6, 19-23 “The Golden Calf”

Time to reflect: In a youth Bible Study group, they decided, accurately, that two of the things that led to the Golden Calf were impatience with God and a desire for something more tangible in their religion.

Moving Throughout the day: In your life or the life of your congregation do see either of these two human tendencies? Pray for strength to resist these temptations.

 

Scripture:

  Praise the LORD.
       Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
       his love endures forever.

  Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the LORD
       or fully declare his praise?

 Blessed are they who maintain justice,
       who constantly do what is right.

 Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people,
       come to my aid when you save them,

that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones,
       that I may share in the joy of your nation
       and join your inheritance in giving praise.

 We have sinned, even as our fathers did;
       we have done wrong and acted wickedly.

At Horeb they made a calf
       and worshiped an idol cast from metal.

  They exchanged their Glory
       for an image of a bull, which eats grass.

 They forgot the God who saved them,
       who had done great things in Egypt,

  miracles in the land of Ham
       and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

  So he said he would destroy them—
       had not Moses, his chosen one,
       stood in the breach before him

PrayerBits for Thursday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Thursday

Scripture lesson: Exodus 32:1-14 The Golden Calf incident

Time to reflect: “When the people saw that Moses delayed...” Moses took too long, they wanted action NOW. So they tried to make a super classy throne for God (that was the purpose of the golden calf, to be a throne for God.) Acting impetuously almost got them wiped out.

 

Moving through the day: Think about a time when you were impetuous or impatient with God. Give a prayer of thanksgiving that you didn't get what you deserved.

 

Scripture:

When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him."

  Aaron answered them, "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me." So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt."

  When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD." So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

  Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.'

  "I have seen these people," the LORD said to Moses, "and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation."

  But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. "O LORD," he said, "why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, 'It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.' " Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

PrayerBits for Wednesday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Wednesday

Scripture lesson: Psalm 84 A doorkeeper

Time to reflect: A song in honor of the Temple. Do we feel this way about our church? When do we move from honoring God's house, to honoring the house itself?

Moving through the day: Meditate on the idea of honoring God through tangible things like a building.

 

Scripture:

How lovely is your dwelling place,
       O LORD Almighty!

  My soul yearns, even faints,
       for the courts of the LORD;
       my heart and my flesh cry out
       for the living God.

  Even the sparrow has found a home,
       and the swallow a nest for herself,
       where she may have her young—
       a place near your altar,
       O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
       they are ever praising you.
       Selah

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
       who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
       they make it a place of springs;
       the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

  They go from strength to strength,
       till each appears before God in Zion.

  Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty;
       listen to me, O God of Jacob.
       Selah

Look upon our shield, O God;
       look with favor on your anointed one.

  Better is one day in your courts
       than a thousand elsewhere;
       I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
       than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

  For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
       the LORD bestows favor and honor;
       no good thing does he withhold
       from those whose walk is blameless.

  O LORD Almighty,
       blessed is the man who trusts in you.

PrayerBits for Tuesday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Tuesday

Scripture lesson: Isaiah 25:1-9 Who does God honor more?

Time to reflect: How much the Bible holds up attitudes and ideas that are contrary to human nature and our wishes. “For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress.” Do we align with the strong and mighty or the weak and poor?

Moving through the day: Pray on behalf of the weak and poor. Not just in general but people you know, people you have seen.

O LORD, you are my God;
       I will exalt you and praise your name,
       for in perfect faithfulness
       you have done marvelous things,
       things planned long ago.

 You have made the city a heap of rubble,
       the fortified town a ruin,
       the foreigners' stronghold a city no more;
       it will never be rebuilt.

  Therefore strong peoples will honor you;
       cities of ruthless nations will revere you.

  You have been a refuge for the poor,
       a refuge for the needy in his distress,
       a shelter from the storm
       and a shade from the heat.
       For the breath of the ruthless
       is like a storm driving against a wall

  and like the heat of the desert.
       You silence the uproar of foreigners;
       as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
       so the song of the ruthless is stilled.

  On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare
       a feast of rich food for all peoples,
       a banquet of aged wine—
       the best of meats and the finest of wines.

  On this mountain he will destroy
       the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
       the sheet that covers all nations;

  he will swallow up death forever.
       The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
       from all faces;
       he will remove the disgrace of his people
       from all the earth.
       The LORD has spoken.

  In that day they will say,
       "Surely this is our God;
       we trusted in him, and he saved us.
       This is the LORD, we trusted in him;

PrayerBits for Monday

PrayerBits

A bite sized devotional program
produced by the West Side Presbyterian Church

Monday

Scripture lesson: Luke 14:7-14 How not to be embarrassed

Time to reflect: This is a cute parable about “pride goeth before a fall.” But more than saving face, being humble is an important way of life that Jesus promoted in so many ways.

Moving Through The Day: In what situations you find yourself that you could take a humble position and role even though you might “deserve” a higher ranking?

 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."