Saturday & Sunday, October 24/25, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

Benediction

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways.
The Lord be with all of you.”
—2 Thessalonians 3:16 (NRSV)

May the peace of God be with you
May the favor of the Lord upon you rest
May His grace upon you shine
And give you light in darkest times
May the peace of God be yours

May the love of God be with you
May your faithful trust in Him never fail
May He shower you with grace
May you feel His warm embrace
May the love of God be yours

May the joy of God be with you
May you spring up living water in your soul
May you run and never tire
May His will be your desire
May the joy of God be yours

May the hope of God be with you
May He lift your spirit up on angel's wings
May your very presence be a fragrant offering
May the hope of God Father Son and Spirit
May the blessings of God be yours
May they be yours

Curtis Stephan
© 2005 SPIRITANDSONG.COM PUBLISHING

SONG OF BENEDICTION: Benediction

Friday, October 23, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

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.

Commission

In this final movement, we are encouraged and equipped for the work God would have us do.

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory
that will be revealed in us.”
—Romans 8:18 (NIV)

Today’s song appeared a while back on the Facebook page of someone who today knows the fullness of what Paul writes in Romans 8:18. I happened on it as I scrolled through her page, reading about the struggles of so many years that are now finished. What struck me in every post was that despite hardship I can’t begin to understand, her love for Jesus never wavered. Sometimes we are humbled by those who trust Jesus so completely even in the midst of many “present sufferings.”

To trust when things are relatively easy is a good and faithful thing. To trust when things are painfully hard is a gift and a witness. For all those who have modeled trust to us in the most difficult times, we are thankful. And we pray, “Lord grow that kind of trust in us.”

SONG OF COMMISSION: ‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus (lyrics here)

Thursday, October 22, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

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.

Assurance

In this third movement, we receive the good news of the gospel: we are forgiven.

“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
—Hebrews 8:12 (NIV)

One part of grace I have always struggled to understand is the idea of God no longer remembering sin. It’s reflected in this verse from Hebrews, which quotes Jeremiah, and it also appears in Isaiah. In Isaiah it’s declared that our sin is “blotted out,” while Micah describes God “treading our iniquities underfoot.” I wrestled with this concept for many years. If I, who am mortal, remain aware of my sin, how could the Eternal God forget it? It made no sense.

Interestingly enough, it was a song that brought this idea into clarity for me—”Don’t You Remember?” by Wayne Watson*. It imagines a conversation between a person and God about how their sin has been dealt with:

How does it work that omniscient God
Can wipe the slate so clean?
That if you looked for a single spot
A single spot could not be seen?
Oh, still I've got page after page after pitiful page
Locked in my memory
Then I heard Him when He said to me:

“Don't you remember I promised to forgive you,
Gone as far as east from the west?"
And don't you remember I promised to be faithful
To wash away the sin you confess?
You know I'd really like to help you out
But I don't even know what you're talking about
It's not so much that I don't remember
But it's more that I choose to forget.”

Something clicked in me when I heard that song—that God chooses to forget, rather than fails to remember. That’s an important distinction, and more than that, it reveals the depth of his love for us. When we are clothed with the righteousness of Jesus, that’s what God sees. That’s what God remembers. That’s what makes it possible for him to see us as if we never sinned.

Truly remarkable, isn’t it? Spend some time reflecting on this unbelievably true word—he remembers our sins no more. We come to the cross in ashes, but there we receive the beauty of grace.

*after the devotional song you’ll find a link to the Wayne Watson song

SONG OF ASSURANCE: At the Foot of the Cross (lyrics here)

BONUS SONG OF ASSURANCE: Don’t You Remember? (lyrics here)

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

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.

Confession

In this second movement, we simply see ourselves for who we are: people who need God.

“I will bring that group through the fire
    and make them pure.
I will refine them like silver
    and purify them like gold.
They will call on my name,
    and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘These are my people,’
    and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”
—Zechariah 13:8-9 (NLT)

Scripture often speaks of God in the language of flame. “Our God is a consuming fire,” says the writer to the Hebrews (12:29). The Song of Songs says love burns like “the very flame of the LORD” (8:6). Malachi pictures the Lord as a refiner who sits patiently over the crucible, watching the silver until the dross is gone.

We usually hear “fire” as a word of judgement, but the refiner does not light the fire to destroy the silver. He lights it because he wants the silver to be purged of anything foreign, any blemish that might mar it. The heat is how the refiner’s love behaves when it meets what is not yet pure.

The 17th century Spanish mystic known as St. John of the Cross uses this imagery of purifying fire powerfully in his poem “The Living Flame of Love.”

Oh, living flame of love
How tenderly you wound
My soul within its inmost centre!
No longer so elusive,
Finish then, if you will
And rend the veil of this most sweet encounter.

The flame is loving, the wound is tender. God’s calls us to a place of bitter, painful honesty with ourselves and with him, knowing that only there can his love burn away all that is not of him. It is not easy. It is most necessary.

How have you encountered God’s living flame of love? Are you able to be thankful for those tender wounds? What would it look like for you to go deeper in that work, asking him to “rend the veil” and draw you even closer?

SONG OF CONFESSION: Refiner (lyrics here)

Tuesday, October 20, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

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.

Encounter With God

In this first movement, we simply seek to see God for who He is: the One worthy of worship.

“Surely God is my help;
  the Lord is the one who sustains me.”
—Psalm 54:4 (NIV)

In the first movement of worship we focus on the grandeur and glory of God Almighty. Most often this is reflected in hymns that focus on his role as Creator and King—we worship the One who has made us and rules over his creation.

But in this opening moment of worship we can also speak to how God has revealed himself in his actions through history. He is also the God who helps his people, who intervenes on their behalf and provides for their needs. These truths, too, are part of declaring his worthiness.

Today’s song is a well-known classic hymn. The recording offered is an instrumental one, and the lyrics are below the video. You’re invited today to engage in a bit of “prayerful hymn reading”—as you listen to the instrumental, read the lyrics of the hymn slowly and prayerfully. What words and phrases catch your attention? If any of the lyrics stand out for you, sit with that word or phrase in extended prayer, letting it stir you to worship the God who helps.

SONG OF ENCOUNTER: O God Our Help in Ages Past (lyrics below)

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home:

Under the shadow of your throne
Your saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is your arm alone,
And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood
Or Earth received her frame,
From everlasting you are God,
To endless years the same.

A thousand ages in your sight
Are like an evening gone,
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be thou our guard while troubles last
And our eternal home.

Monday, October 19, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

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 use the Hebrew Psalter to focus in on the invitation to approach God in worship.

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 34:1-8

Praise for Deliverance from Trouble

I will bless the Lord at all times;
    his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
    let the humble hear and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me,
    and let us exalt his name together.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me
    and delivered me from all my fears.
Look to him, and be radiant,
    so your faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor soul cried and was heard by the Lord
    and was saved from every trouble.
The angel of the Lord encamps
    around those who fear him and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good;
    happy are those who take refuge in him.

CALL TO WORSHIP: O Taste and See (lyrics here)

Saturday & Sunday, October 17/18, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

Benediction

 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
—John 14:27 (NIV)

Today’s benediction is a traditional Celtic blessing set to music by Keith Duke.

Peace to know, peace to live;
peace to show and a peace to give.
It's a peace to share and a peace that cares;
my peace I give unto you, my peace.

SONG OF BENEDICTION: My Peace

Friday, October 16, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

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.

Commission

In this final movement, we are encouraged and equipped for the work God would have us do.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
—Ephesians 2:4-10 (NIV)

At one time or another, most Christians have probably experienced a troubling shift during a season of intentional spiritual pursuit, such as reading through the Bible in a year, or taking a devotional prayer journey—a shift that changes the nature of what we’re doing and the reason we’re doing it.

In short, what was meant to be “devotion” becomes “work.” What began with an earnest and heartfelt desire to draw closer to God becomes less about communion and more about obligation. When that happens the shift can turn us around and push us in the opposite direction from where we started. We act as though the “success” of our journey depends on our performance, and when that belief takes over we find ourselves drifting off the path.

This is a very tender place, and in this tender place God invites us to humble our hearts before him. Whenever we begin to think that our spiritual growth is primarily dependent on our own effort, God invites us to stop whatever it is we’re doing and simply gaze upon the cross of Christ. Only in being reminded of Christ’s work can we find what we need to stop focusing on ours.

Today we’re going to do just that, by allowing a wonderful, yet little-known, hymn of the cross serve as our invitation to remember that this journey is not about our work or our worthiness. It is about Christ’s work and his worthiness alone. As you read, be sure not to rush through the lyrics. Allow these words to become your own humble prayer of re-centering.

This particular recording features one instrumental verse before the vocals begin. You might wish to use that time to be still, breathe deep, and begin in a spirit of prayer. Focus on the cross, whether with your eyes or with your heart, and know that the one who traveled to that cross willingly is more than able to turn us around when we’ve strayed from the path.

SONG OF COMMISSION: Not What My Hands Have Done (lyrics here)

Thursday, October 15, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

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.

Assurance

In this third movement, we receive the good news of the gospel: we are forgiven.

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
—Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)

As a movie guy, I love a good sequel. In a way, that’s how I think about today’s song. It kind of serves as a sequel to one of the most beloved hymns of all time, “Amazing Grace.” In the lyrics, the singer finds that God’s grace continues to be a source of wonder—it “still amazes.”

One of the important lessons of this song for me is this: I hope I never get to the place where God’s grace fails to amaze me. I never want to find myself taking it for granted. I want it to remain new and wondrous and fresh and surprising and…well, amazing.

Spend some time today in prayer basking in the grace and mercy of God, and ask him to always keep your hearts aware of how remarkable it truly is.

SONG OF ASSURANCE: Your Grace Still Amazes Me (lyrics here)

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

If you are new to our Mid-Week Worship devotional, learn more about it here.

Songs used in the Mid-Week Worship devotional are added each week to a Spotify playlist.
You can follow it here.

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.

Confession

In this second movement, we simply see ourselves for who we are: people who need God.

“Toward the scorners he is scornful,
    but to the humble he shows favor.”
—Proverbs 3:34 (NRSVUE)

One of the most powerful prayers I’ve ever encountered is the 19th century “Litany of Humility,” usually attributed to Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val of Spain. It is a hard prayer to pray, but it is absolutely surgical in the way it exposes the human heart in all of its ego and sin.

As one author put it: “The Litany of Humility…exposes my ego in a way few prayers do. It asks God to strip away my deepest attachments—not to material things, but to reputation, my sense of self-worth, my need for validation.” The key phrase there is “strip away,” but remember that even this is something God does out of love. He desires us to be whole, so he removes from us the things that are contrary to his way, the things that look nothing like Jesus.

The Litany of Humility is a tool for offering those things to him. Take a few moments to ponder the words of this prayer before listening to the beautiful rendition of it by Thomas Muglia.

Lord Jesus. Meek and humble of heart,
Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honored,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being praised,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected,
Deliver me, Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

SONG OF CONFESSION: Litany of Humility (lyrics here)