Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, you faced temptation with confidence in God, suffering with serenity, loneliness with the assurance that your Father would not forsake you, and the cross with an inner spirit of peace. You endured all things that we might be saved…prepare us for whatever life brings of joy or sorrow so that, being sure of your love, we may be confident of your eternal presence. Amen.
—Anonymous
TEXT
John 10:40-41 NLT
He went beyond the Jordan River near the place where John was first baptizing and stayed there awhile. And many followed him. “John didn’t perform miraculous signs,” they remarked to one another, “but everything he said about this man has come true.”
Closing Prayer
Lord, God, the God of all goodness and grace, you are worthy of a greater love than we can give or understand; fill our hearts with such love towards you which overcomes laziness and fear, that nothing may seem too hard for us to do or to suffer as we obey you; and grant that in loving you we may become daily more like you, and may finally obtain the crown of life which you have promised to those who love you, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
— Anonymous