Welcome to the Advent – Ash Wednesday 2017-18 Edition of the Prayer Guide. We’re excited you are joining with us in prayer as we journey through the seasons of Advent and Ordinary Time, leading us to Ash Wednesday.
You can follow through this prayer guide chronologically, with a new page for each week leading you through morning and evening prayer and daily scripture readings and reflection. We have included two new elements in this edition: Family Prayer and a Call to Action. We believe that prayer can be central to our rhythms of family life, so the Family Prayer section offers the morning and evening prayer in simplified language to help you in including younger children in family prayer times. Praying together as a family may look messy and chaotic, but we encourage you to give it a try!
We’ve also included a section called Call to Action, which is an invitation into hospitality, community, and mission. As we delve into God’s word and spend time in prayer experiencing a deeper awareness of His love for us, there flows a natural response to pour out His love to those around us. The Call to Action offers some really practical ways that we can love and serve those around us. Consider how you can help people to feel seen, known, rested, and well-fed, asking God to lead you by his Spirit. We offer suggestions here, but really the possibilities are endless! Partnering with Jesus on His mission in our city is central to our calling, so as we journey into Advent and forward into the New Year, let’s be intentional in shifting our focus to how we are serving our community and city. Often the most simple expressions of love can be profound.
Finally, at the end of the Advent section you will find a compilation of ways that you can mark this season of preparation in your homes, in our church, and in our city.
You can download and view the pdf version below
Download and view the pdf below.