Time of Preparation
Begin by taking inventory of your surroundings. Are things in your vicinity conducive to a time of personal worship? Are there any changes or adjustments (turning off tech, making yourself comfortable) you need to make before you begin?
When you are ready, take some time to sit in silence and prepare your heart for worship. Ask God to clear away any distractions that might keep you from being truly present in this moment.
A Call To Worship
On Mondays we focus in on the invitation to approach God in worship.
The Hebrew Psalter is a book of worship, so starting from today we will be focusing on a passage from the Psalms on Mondays. So many of the Psalms serve effectively as a Call to Worship, in fact, at one congregation we served we started each service with a reading from the Psalter. For our purposes here we will use Psalm readings as adapted by the Book of Common Prayer.
May these ancient words of praise and invitation serve to draw your eyes to the One who will be walking with you every day this week.
A Reading from the Psalter
We begin at the beginning. Read through the Psalm slowly and prayerfully, either silently or out loud. Pay attention to the movement of your soul and the longings of your heart as you read. How does it stir you to worship? What focus might you find from this Psalm for this coming week?
Psalm 1
Refrain: The Lord knows the way of the righteous.
Blessed are they who have not walked
in the counsel of the wicked,
nor lingered in the way of sinners,
nor sat in the assembly of the scornful.
Their delight is in the law of the Lord
and they meditate on his law day and night.
Like a tree planted by streams of water
bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither,
whatever they do, it shall prosper.
The Lord knows the way of the righteous.
As for the wicked, it is not so with them;
they are like chaff which the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked shall not be able to stand in the judgement,
nor the sinner in the congregation of the righteous.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked shall perish.
The Lord knows the way of the righteous.
Christ our wisdom,
give us delight in your law,
that we may bear fruits of patience and peace
in the kingdom of the righteous;
for your mercy’s sake. Amen
Common Worship: Daily Prayer, material from which is included here,
is copyright © The Archbishops' Council 2005 and published by Church House Publishing
CALL TO WORSHIP: I Will Delight (lyrics here)