Let us pray that the light of Christ may shine
upon the Church, the world, and all people according to their need.

A brief silence

Heavenly
Father, thank you for the Light of the World, your dear Son Jesus! Thank you
that in him, you reveal your mercy and loving-kindness to all people. Thank you
that in him, you reveal yourself as Lord and God of every kindred, nation, and
tribe, until the world ends and Christ is all in all.

Lord, in your
mercy, please hear our prayer.

Make your Church a faithful steward of the
mysteries of Christ. Raise up faithful pastors and teachers of your Word and
holy Sacraments. May the Church’s worship, fellowship, and acts of charity be
as frankincense, gold, and myrrh offered to her infant Redeemer.

Lord, in your
mercy, please hear our prayer.

Make this congregation a place
where even sinners, strangers, and Gentiles encounter the living Christ. Shape
us into “magi” who eagerly seek, study, and worship Jesus. And send us home “by a different way” – as his
disciples and his sisters and brothers.

Lord, in your
mercy, please hear our prayer.

As you guarded the magi from Herod’s malice, we pray that
you would protect and bless your Church wherever it suffers from the malice of
persecutors or the scorn of its despisers.

Lord, in your
mercy, please hear our prayer.

We pray on behalf of scholars and teachers;
scientists and philosophers; and especially seminary professors and students. Increase their numbers and
their zeal for seeking your truth! Give them grace to adore you, the source of
truth and wisdom. And give them generous hearts, to freely share their wisdom, knowledge, curiosity, and faith.

Lord, in your
mercy, please hear our prayer.

Put your Spirit upon the leaders of this and every
nation, that they may faithfully bring forth and establish justice throughout
the world. Give them the wisdom and the will to rightly protect and provide for
their people, especially those who are like “bruised reeds and faintly burning
wicks.” Make them prefer mercy over might; righteousness over renown; and
integrity over influence.

Lord, in your
mercy, please hear our prayer.

We lift before you the men and women in the armed
forces, and those are police, first responders, and others charged with
protecting life and liberty. Grant them such integrity and courage that those
whose lives are most in danger may call on them with confidence. Bring them
safely home to their loved ones; and heal those who are wounded in body, mind
or soul.  

Lord, in your
mercy, please hear our prayer.

Bring the light of Christ to everyone who dwells in the
shadows of suffering, sin or sorrow, especially those we lift before you now,
including: {list}. Give competence, compassion, and patience to everyone
charged with their care; and grant health and hope according to your merciful
wisdom.

Lord, in your
mercy, please hear our prayer.

We thank you for the lives of all your faithful servants
who through word and example have been stewards of your Gospel. Give to us
wisdom and devotion, so that we seek your will throughout our earthly life; and
give us the strength and the means to do it. And, in your good time, lead us
“by another way” to the eternal home and inheritance you have prepared for all
who are redeemed by your beloved Son. For there, we will adore your glorious
wisdom and delight in your merciful love in the power of your Holy Spirit
forever.

Lord, in your
mercy, please hear our prayer.

All these things, and whatever else you see that
we need, grant to us, dear Father, for the sake of your Son, our Savior Jesus
Christ. Amen.

“Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman.  But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband” (1 Corinthians 7:1-2).

This is not a law, although some
make it so.  It is a principle of looking
at your behavior and what motivates you to sin. 
The real issue is in seeing things from God’s perspective and then
allowing that insight to govern how you behave. 
What immoralities do you struggle with? 
Are you on guard to make sure what you struggle with does not rule what
you do or how you do it?

Lord, You know where I have issues in my life and you allow them to
remain for a purpose.  Guide me to have
eyes that see and a willing spirit that will work, as You lead, to understand
how there are things in my life that govern how and why I behave the way I
do.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way of life
that I might continue on the path of becoming like Jesus.  Guide me in the way I should go.

Lord Jesus, You know all that is
needed.  You came to fulfil the law and
we need add no others.  Guide me away
from legalism and into a life of faith. 
Lead me to live according to Your Word and no other.  Help me see even amidst these words of
Scripture the truths You have revealed once for all.  Guide me, Lord Jesus, in the salvation You
have prepared that I might walk in Your salvation.  Amen.

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who
is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  For you have been bought with a price:
therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

If you are walking with the
Lord, do you not know that the Holy Spirit is in you?  Why do you grieve the Spirit as if you are
walking on your own?  Do not be afraid,
but walk knowing that you never walk alone. 
Be guided by the Holy Spirit which is in you that you may learn how to
walk as Jesus walked.  The Lord is
Sovereign and He will be Sovereign in eternity. 
Live knowing you have been redeemed.

Holy Spirit, You have come that all who walk in Your presence would
grow in the Christ-life.  Take away those
hindrances that cause me to walk by my own power that I might walk instead by
Your leading.  Teach me what is good and
profitable and what hinders my faithful walk by Your leading.  You have created all things for a
purpose.  Teach me from Your inspired
word the purpose for all things.

Lord Jesus, You have given us the example of how to live.  Let me not see these things in a trivial way, nor dismiss them, but live seeking to be like You.  Guide me, O Lord, in the way of truth that I would now and forever abide in Your goodness, mercy and salvation.  Lead me to be faithful in small things so that I may learn how to be faithful in big things.  Lead me today, Jesus, where I need to go.  Amen.

“But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.  Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man
commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body” (1
Corinthians 6:17-18).

Sin compounds as it goes
inward.  Ultimately, sin ends up tearing
down such that the man becomes nothing. 
Sin seeks to erase the image of God which is in each person.  If this were possible, man would be
nothing.  Pride, the inward sin, destroys
and eternally kills.  Join with the Lord
and be as He would have you be.  Know
that He will make you into the image of Christ.

Lord, teach me the greater things that I would learn to abide in You
knowing that You are abiding in me. 
Guide me according to Your truth that I would walk in Your ways all the
days of my life.  Lead me, O Lord, that I
may be led by You and not by myself or any other.  Guide me according to Your Word to live into
the calling You have given me, for You are the Creator of all life.

Lord Jesus, You have come to lead
the way.  In You alone is the hope of
every human.  Guide me this day in the
upward call You have given me.  Abiding
in me, walk with me each step, teaching me to walk with You each step that I
may learn what You would teach me this day. 
Help me now and always to see through the sin of this world in order to
cling to You alone.  Amen.

“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then
take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it
never be!  Or do you not know that the
one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “The
two shall become one flesh” (1 Corinthians 6:15-16).

Through the Lord we are made
family in the body of Christ.  The Lord
intends a tight and everlasting bond.  You
choose your friends, but your family are chosen for you.  This is why the Lord teaches us to pray, “Our
Father.”  The Lord has a reason for why
He does what He does.  He has reasons for
all of His laws.  Come to the Lord and learn
from Him that You may walk in His ways and be His family.

Lord, I make things more difficult than they need to be.  I also do not live as though everything is
Yours and all things are in Your hands. 
Guide me, O Lord, in the way of truth that I may now and always live
according to Your purposes.  Teach me
Your ways, Lord, that I would walk with You now and forever in the way of truth
which You established from the beginning.

Lord Jesus, You know the
struggles I have in this life.  Lead me O
Lord in the way You know I need to go that I would now and always walk with
You.  Abide in me so that I may see in
You those things I need and follow in Your example.  Teach me to become as You lived, knowing that
what I will be shall be revealed, but that I will then be like You.  Amen.

“Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do
away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord,
and the Lord is for the body.  Now God
has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power” (1
Corinthians 6:13-14).

Get your priorities
straight.  We live in a time that accentuates
the physical pleasures, and living for what feels good.  This is not helpful; it is destructive.  When you do not have the right priorities,
you wander and stray.  The Lord comes and
asks you to follow Him, and you will need your full attention to be on
Him.  Come then and learn to not be
distracted by this world.

Lord, help me to clear my mind that I may see the many ways I am attracted
to those things which grab my attention. 
Lead me to learn to meditate and ponder on the greater things.  Guide me in Your goodness to know that in You
is all hope.  May I learn to listen as
You speak, go where you send me, and do what You would have me do.  Lead me in the way of salvation.

Lord Jesus, You alone are the
Savior.  In You alone is there hope.  You have modeled the godly life and called
for me to follow You.  Lead me in the way
I should go that I may now and always abide in Your teaching.  Grant that I would be an example of godly
living, practicing what You give me to do so that others may know that I am
Yours.  Lead me, Lord, wherever You know
I need to go.  Amen.

“Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified,
but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit
of our God. All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable.
All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything” (1
Corinthians 6:11-12).

Notice what is said here.  The law no longer matters: not in the sense
of its condemnation.  All baptized and
walking in forgiveness by the cleansing blood of Jesus are among the
redeemed.  Do not live in the former way,
but into the upward call of the Lord Jesus. 
Learn to become like Him and grow in His likeness.  This is the calling for everyone who walks in
the way of truth.

Lord, I want to make laws out of everything.  I see a pattern and then want to say that
this is the way things are.  Instead,
help me to look to You knowing that You alone know all things and are shaping
the universe according to Your will. 
Lead me, O Lord, in the way of goodness that I would now and always
humbly abide in You as You abide in me, walking ever closer with You into
eternity.

Lord Jesus, You alone have paid
the price for all of my sins.  It really
doesn’t matter that I can’t fully keep the Law as long as I am walking,
abiding, and dwelling in Your forgiveness. 
Lead me today and every day according to Your goodness that I would
humbly abide with You and You with me. 
Lift me up to see more clearly that I would not fall into the traps of
the wicked one, but walk freely with You. 
Amen.

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom
of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,
nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards,
nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians
6:9-10).

Is your identity in yourself, or is it in the Lord?  Do you live working to gain what you desire, or are you living abiding in the Lord?  This is not some law re-expressed.  This is a declaration of living in the salvation which Christ alone makes possible.  Are those who “were” going to be in heaven?  Yes, because that will include all of us.  The question is: what is your identity?

Lord, help me see that there is not a particular lifestyle that is damning, for they all are.  We are sinners in need of redemption.  Lead me into the life that knows that true life is found only in You.  Guide me to simply abide in You and You in me.  Help me to see that salvation is not by merit or chosen lifestyle, but through the shed blood of Christ.  I need to be led in righteousness.

Holy Spirit, guide me according to Your goodness in the way of everlasting life.  I too am included in this list.  Remove from me those behaviors in my life which hamper my godly growth so that I may learn to simply abide in Your grace and mercy.  Grant me honesty in my spirit to see that only by Your leading will I overcome these things that have separated me from You.  Holy Spirit, lead me now and forever.  Amen.

“Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits
with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?  On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and
defraud. You do this even to your brethren” (1 Corinthians 6:7-8).

Why is it so important that you
think you are right?  Even if you are,
what will it accomplish?  Yes, if one is
harming the fellowship, remove them, but do not do so simply because you
believe them wrong.  Following the Lord
is not about being right; it is about putting on the righteousness of
Christ.  You do not know all the Father
is up to, so relax and let God be God.

Lord, teach me to be discerning so that I do not live my life in such a
way that I feel I must assert what I believe to be right.  I only need to look at the history of the
church to see how much damage has been done in the name of “right.”  Lead me into a life that seeks to be in
harmony with Your will and Your ways. 
Guide me into a life that seeks to mirror Christ in all things.

Lord Jesus, You know all that is
needed.  You are the Savior, I am not.  Guide me in the way You know will feed my
soul and guide me along Your pathway. 
Help me to be humble, knowing that there is more than enough contention
in this life.  Teach me to be at peace with
all insofar as I am able.  Help me to be
content in all of life’s circumstances, turning to You for the right way to
respond in every case.  Amen.

“I say this to your shame.  Is it
so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between
his brethren, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before
unbelievers?”  (1 Corinthians 6:5-6)

What kind of people are those
who follow Christ supposed to be?  Are we
to quarrel with one another, asserting dominance and fighting over trivial matters?  Following Christ is about learning to put on Christ
and seek the Father’s will in all things. 
Sinners abound in the church, but are you going to follow the crowd, or
follow Christ?  Be earnest in your
commitment to Christ.

Lord, teach me the way to go.  The world tugs at me and I am tossed about by the waves of ideas in this world.  Simplify my thinking that I would walk humbly with You and learn.  Teach me the better portion that I would abide in Your presence and purpose.  When wronged by a neighbor, teach me how to respond as You would respond that I may grow to be more like You in all things.

Lord Jesus, I need the salvation
which only You can provide.  Help me to
see more clearly those times and places where I do act like the world.  Show me the way in which to deal with the
daily struggles that will strengthen me in faith and charity.  Guide me, O Lord, according to Your purposes
that I would now and forever humbly abide in You and Your ways.  Teach me to be like You in all things.  Amen.