Welcome to the Vintage Prayer Day. At Vintage we know that we are desperately dependent on God and we want to honor Him by fully entering into this Easter weekend that represents the climax of our spirituality. We want to renew our vows to God by going back to the basics of repentance and faith in Christ. We invite you to lay down all that clutters your mind and heart and welcome the Holy Spirit into this time.

Listen and join in singing and worshiping to this meditative song.
(Meditative singing: Singing is one of the most essential elements of worship. Short songs, repeated again and again, give it a meditative character. Using just a few words they express a basic reality of faith, quickly grasped by the mind. As the words are sung over many times, this reality gradually penetrates the whole being. Meditative singing thus becomes a way of listening to God. Taize.com)

Bless the Lord

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Bless the Lord my soul, and bless God’s holy name.
Bless the Lord my soul, Who leads me into life.

Take time to confess your sins against God and neighbor. Silently, come before God and let him search your mind and heart. Don’t be afraid to sit in silence for a few minutes. Speak out what you need to confess and when you can speak it with your heart, read this prayer.

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and be what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name.

Amen

Meditate on this image as you read these words of forgiveness.

Charlie Mackesy: The Prodigal

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life.

Amen

Read the Scripture below. Check out the note below on lectio divina, or praying the Scriptures. Let the truth of the psalm settle into your heart as you read it several times.
(lectio Devina: “…a Latin term literally meaning “divine reading.” It is a method of reading the Bible that involves listening with the heart….Lectio Divina was practiced in a communal way by Christians in the early church… In lectio divina we turn to a passage of the Bible – usually no more than a few verses – and read it over and over, very slowly, reflecting on each word or phrase, all the while paying attention to the impact the words have on our hearts. In this way we are “praying the Scriptures.” (Smith, The Good and Beautiful God 108)

A reading from Psalm 130:3-6 (The Message)
If you, God, kept a record of wrongdoings, who would stand a chance?
As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit and that’s why you’re worshiped.
I pray to God – my life a prayer – and wait for what he’ll say and do.
My life’s on the line before God – with God’s arrival comes love, with God’s arrival comes generous redemption.

Listen to this song and let the Holy Spirit minister to your heart and mind.

All Who Are Thirsty

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All who are thirsty, all who are weak
Come to the fountain, dip your heart in the stream of life
Let the pain and the sorrow be washed away
In the waves of His mercy, as deep cries out to deep.

Come Lord Jesus come
Holy Spirit Come

A reading from John 12:23-33
Jesus said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to receive glory. What I’m about to tell you is true. Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only one seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves his life will loose it. But anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it and have eternal life. Anyone who serves me must follow me. And where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

My heart is troubled. What should I say? ‘Father save me from this hour?’ No. This is the very reason I came to this hour. Father, bring glory to your name!” Then a voice came from heaven. It said, “I have brought glory to my name. I will bring glory to it again.” The crowd there heard the voice. Some said it was thunder. Others said an angel had spoken to Jesus. Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now it is time for the world to be judged. Now the prince of this world will be thrown out. But I am going to be lifted up from the earth. When I am, I will bring all people to myself.” He said this to show them how he was going to die.

Spend at least 3 minutes in Silence. Listen for God to speak to you through the Holy Spirit. You may choose to meditate on the image below which represents the life from death wheat/seed image of the Scripture above.
(Silence How is it possible to reach inner silence? Sometimes we are apparently silent, and yet we have great discussions within, struggling with imaginary partners or with ourselves. Calming our souls requires a kind of simplicity: “I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.” Silence means recognizing that my worries can’t do much. Silence means leaving to God what is beyond my reach and capacity. A moment of silence, even very short, is like a holy stop, a sabbatical rest, a truce of worries. http://www.taize.fr/en_article12.html)

Use this prayer to help you contemplate on the cross, the “source of our spirituality.” Pray for God to help you to see Christ’s death and resurrection not as “isolated to a time centuries ago in a far-off land and culture,” but as a reality present to our time and place. (Webber, Ancient-Future Time 124)

Read the words in parenthesis; speak the bold words

(Let us contemplate Jesus the Lord: instead of the joy meant for him, he endured the cross, disregarding its disgrace.)
—We worship you, Lord, upon the cross.

(O Jesus Christ, born in humility to confound the proud and to raise the humble, )
—We worship you, Lord, upon the cross.

(You lived among us, healing the sick, proclaiming Good News to the poor and freedom to prisoners. )
—We worship you, Lord, upon the cross.

(You came to unbind the chains of every slavery, friend of the humble, bread of hungry hearts,)
—We worship you, Lord, upon the cross.

(Jesus, full of patience and goodness, you showed forgiveness and kindness to the very end. )
—We worship you, Lord, upon the cross.

(Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, you call to yourself all who are weary and burdened. )
—We worship you, Lord, upon the cross.

(Jesus, you came into the world to serve and to give your life; you were betrayed for money, dragged before judges and nailed to the cross. )
—We worship you, Lord, upon the cross.

(Jesus, Lord of the universe, by your resurrection from the dead you are alive at the Father’s side and there you prepare a place for us. )
—We worship you, Lord, upon the cross.

Spend a few minutes meditating on this image of the cross and reading this quote about Christ’s resurrection.

Christ is Risen: The world below lies desolate; Christ is Risen: The spirits of evil are fallen; Christ is Risen: The angels of God are rejoicing; Christ is Risen: The tombs of the dead are empty; Christ is Risen indeed from the dead, the first of the sleepers, Glory and power are his forever and ever.
–St. Hippolytus (AD 190-236)

Praise God for the coming promise of the Resurrection. Use one or more of these songs to worship and celebrate the cross, Christ’s defeating of death and His promise of Kingdom life in Him now and forever.

Lead me to Cross: by Hillsong United

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I Will Rise: Chris Tomlin

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Nothing But The Blood: Matt Redmen

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Christ is Risen: Matt Mayer

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This concludes your 30-minutes of focused prayer, but this does not mean we can cease praying! Please continue to take time to connect with God in prayer and please continue to pray for Vintage Church.

If you have completed this prayer time in less than 30 minutes or would like to continue to pray for Vintage & for the World, check out this extended prayer page…