Mount Calvary Lutheran Church - Lititz, PA
Mount Calvary at Prayer 1/7/2024
Mount Calvary at Prayer is a weekly devotional and catechetical guide for use in the home and the congregation. Mount Calvary at Prayer unites the congregation around the same sections of the Word of God and Catechism and gives a common language for prayer and meditation upon the Scriptures. It is prepared by the pastor each week and distributed in the Sunday bulletin. It lives from the themes established on each Sunday of the church year and it looks forward to the coming Sunday. It helps families and individual Christians in prayer, reading the Scriptures, and learning the Catechism at home. It teaches the congregation to use the Bible, Catechism, and hymnal as daily devotional companions for the Christian faith and life. It is a useful tool in the pastor’s ongoing catechesis of the congregation and is the recommended devotional guide for every board or committee of the congregation.
Locations & Times
Mount Calvary Lutheran
308 Petersburg Rd, Lititz, PA 17543, USA
Monday 8:00 AM
The Order of Meditation and Prayer
Pray and confess out loud as much from the order and meditation and prayer as you are able, or as your family size and ages dictate. Learn by heart the verse, catechism, and hymn of the week.
Theme: Jesus is Baptized to Fulfill All Righteousness
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian* Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
*Christian: the ancient text reads “catholic,” meaning the whole Church as it confesses the wholeness of Christian doctrine.
Psalm of the Week Psalm 85(ESV)
1 Lord, you were favorable to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you covered all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.
4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us!
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
but let them not turn back to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 Yes, the Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him
and make his footsteps a way.
Verse of the Week
1 Corinthians 12:3, “No one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.”
The Catechism of the Week: The Creed - The Third Article: Sanctification
“I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.”What does this mean?I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.
Daily Bible Readings (Optional 2nd Reading)
Monday
Jacob and Esau—Esau Sells His Birthright—Genesis 25:19-34 Habakkuk 1
Tuesday
Isaac and Abimelech—Genesis 26:1-11 Habakkuk 2
Wednesday
Isaac Blesses Jacob—Genesis 27:1-29 Habakkuk 3
Thursday
Esau Does Not Receive the Blessing—Genesis 27:30-45 Zephaniah 1
Friday
Heaven Is Opened at Bethel—Genesis 27:46—28:22 Zephaniah 2
Saturday
Look ahead to Sunday’s Readings (Hymns:395, 371, 636 & 408, 394)
Amos 9:11-15; Psalm 111; Romans 12:6-16a; John 2:1-11
Prayers for the Week
Collect for the Baptism of Our Lord
Father in heaven, at the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River You proclaimed Him Your beloved Son and anointed Him with the Holy Spirit. Make all who are baptized in His name faithful in their calling as Your children and inheritors with Him of everlasting life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Daily Themes for Prayer
Sunday
For the joy of the resurrection among us; for the fruit of faith nourished by the Word and the Sacraments
Monday
For faith to live in the promises of Holy Baptism; for one’s calling and daily work; for the unemployed; for the salvation and well-being of our neighbors; for schools, colleges, and seminaries; for good government and for peace.
Tuesday
For deliverance against temptation and evil; for the addicted and despairing, the tortured and oppressed; for those struggling with sin.
Wednesday
For marriage and family, that husbands and wives, parents and children live in ordered harmony according to the Word of God; for parents who must raise children alone; for our communities and neighborhoods.
Thursday
For the Church and her pastors; for teachers, deaconesses, and other church workers; for missionaries and for all who serve the Church; for fruitful and salutary use of the blessed Sacrament of Christ’s body and blood.
Friday
For the preaching of the holy cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and for the spread of His knowledge throughout the whole world; for the persecuted and oppressed; for the sick and dying.
Saturday
For faithfulness to the end; for the renewal of those who are withering in the faith or have fallen away; for receptive hearts and minds to God’s Word on the Lord’s Day; for pastors and people as they prepare to administer and receive Christ’s holy gifts.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther's Morning Prayer or Evening Prayer
Luther's Morning Prayer
I thank you, my Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen
Luther's Evening Prayer
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
The Hymn of the Week: “All Christians Who Have Been Baptized” LSB #596
Pray and confess out loud as much from the order and meditation and prayer as you are able, or as your family size and ages dictate. Learn by heart the verse, catechism, and hymn of the week.
Theme: Jesus is Baptized to Fulfill All Righteousness
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian* Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
*Christian: the ancient text reads “catholic,” meaning the whole Church as it confesses the wholeness of Christian doctrine.
Psalm of the Week Psalm 85(ESV)
1 Lord, you were favorable to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you covered all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.
4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us!
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
but let them not turn back to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 Yes, the Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him
and make his footsteps a way.
Verse of the Week
1 Corinthians 12:3, “No one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.”
The Catechism of the Week: The Creed - The Third Article: Sanctification
“I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.”What does this mean?I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.
Daily Bible Readings (Optional 2nd Reading)
Monday
Jacob and Esau—Esau Sells His Birthright—Genesis 25:19-34 Habakkuk 1
Tuesday
Isaac and Abimelech—Genesis 26:1-11 Habakkuk 2
Wednesday
Isaac Blesses Jacob—Genesis 27:1-29 Habakkuk 3
Thursday
Esau Does Not Receive the Blessing—Genesis 27:30-45 Zephaniah 1
Friday
Heaven Is Opened at Bethel—Genesis 27:46—28:22 Zephaniah 2
Saturday
Look ahead to Sunday’s Readings (Hymns:395, 371, 636 & 408, 394)
Amos 9:11-15; Psalm 111; Romans 12:6-16a; John 2:1-11
Prayers for the Week
Collect for the Baptism of Our Lord
Father in heaven, at the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River You proclaimed Him Your beloved Son and anointed Him with the Holy Spirit. Make all who are baptized in His name faithful in their calling as Your children and inheritors with Him of everlasting life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Daily Themes for Prayer
Sunday
For the joy of the resurrection among us; for the fruit of faith nourished by the Word and the Sacraments
Monday
For faith to live in the promises of Holy Baptism; for one’s calling and daily work; for the unemployed; for the salvation and well-being of our neighbors; for schools, colleges, and seminaries; for good government and for peace.
Tuesday
For deliverance against temptation and evil; for the addicted and despairing, the tortured and oppressed; for those struggling with sin.
Wednesday
For marriage and family, that husbands and wives, parents and children live in ordered harmony according to the Word of God; for parents who must raise children alone; for our communities and neighborhoods.
Thursday
For the Church and her pastors; for teachers, deaconesses, and other church workers; for missionaries and for all who serve the Church; for fruitful and salutary use of the blessed Sacrament of Christ’s body and blood.
Friday
For the preaching of the holy cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and for the spread of His knowledge throughout the whole world; for the persecuted and oppressed; for the sick and dying.
Saturday
For faithfulness to the end; for the renewal of those who are withering in the faith or have fallen away; for receptive hearts and minds to God’s Word on the Lord’s Day; for pastors and people as they prepare to administer and receive Christ’s holy gifts.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther's Morning Prayer or Evening Prayer
Luther's Morning Prayer
I thank you, my Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen
Luther's Evening Prayer
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
The Hymn of the Week: “All Christians Who Have Been Baptized” LSB #596