Devotions on the Seven words from the cross and a prayer of the church

The Prayer of the Church & the Lord’s Prayer

P:      Heavenly Father, you are a just God who accepts nothing less than perfection.  All too often we fail to realize how much our sins offend you.  We forget that the wages of sin truly is death.  We forget that there actually is a hell.  Lead us to recognize the seriousness of our sinfulness.  Lead us also to admit our inability to make things right with you.

C:     Teach us to look to you as the only one who can make us just and right.

P:      Today we are reminded not only of your justice but also of your love.  You did not spare you own Son but gave him as a ransom for each one of us.  Comfort us with the knowledge of this great love.  Give us the peace that the forgiveness of sins brings.

C:     When we feel our guilt, point us to the cross, where our guilt was washed away in Jesus’ blood.

P:      Lord Jesus, we thank you for paying the debt that we could not pay.  We thank you for coming to earth so that we could be with you forever in heaven. 

C:     For being our perfect substitute, we thank you, Lord Jesus.

P:      Son of God, you offered up your body as an unblemished sacrifice for sin and commended your spirit into the hands of your Father.  Teach us to cast the cares of this brief life on our heavenly Father and commit our bodies and souls to his love.

C:     Give us the courage to face death, knowing that it is the gate to our home in heaven.

P:      Hear us, Lord, as we offer our personal thanks for the forgiveness that you have given us and for the home that you have won for us.

      Silent prayer

P:      The cross was once and instrument of death.  It is now a sign of life.

C:     Dear Savior, we humbly kneel at the cross in awe of your power and of your love.  Amen.