Morning Prayer and Worship

Get an ad-free feed of the podcast with a monthly contribution of any amount! It’s Thursday of Ordinary Time, Proper 18 in the Church Calendar . September 12, 2024. Our general order and lectionary come from the Book of Common Prayer Daily Office . Introduction (00:00) Is He Worthy? (Andrew Peterson, Ben Shive) (01:05) Prayer of Confession (03:25) Is He Worthy? (continued) (04:13) Psalm 50 (05:35)...

Get an ad-free feed of the podcast with a monthly contribution of any amount! It’s Wednesday of Ordinary Time, Proper 18 in the Church Calendar . September 11, 2024. Our general order and lectionary come from the Book of Common Prayer Daily Office . Introduction (00:00) More (Ben Ward, Stephanie Osorio) (01:10) Prayer of Confession (02:38) More (continued) (03:14) Psalm 119:49-72 (04:27) Glory to...

Get an ad-free feed of the podcast with a monthly contribution of any amount! It’s Tuesday of Ordinary Time, Proper 18 in the Church Calendar . September 10, 2024. Our general order and lectionary come from the Book of Common Prayer Daily Office . Introduction (00:00) The More I Seek You (Zach Neese) (01:05) Prayer of Confession (02:43) The More I Seek You (continued) (03:18) Psalm 45 (04:37) Glor...

Get an ad-free feed of the podcast with a monthly contribution of any amount! It’s Monday of Ordinary Time, Proper 18 in the Church Calendar . September 9, 2024. Our general order and lectionary come from the Book of Common Prayer Daily Office . Introduction (00:00) More Precious than Silver (Lynn DeShazo) (01:01) Prayer of Confession (02:28) More Precious than Silver (continued) (03:12) Psalm 41...

I’m out of town this week, so I’m scheduling several short devotions with music for Morning Prayer. I hope the change will be refreshing! I will be back next week with regular episodes. Stay up to date in our Facebook group. Get an ad-free feed of the podcast with a monthly contribution of any amount! It’s Thursday of Ordinary Time, Proper 17 in the Church Calendar . September 6, 2024. Our general...

I’m out of town this week, so I’m scheduling several short devotions with music for Morning Prayer. I hope the change will be refreshing! I will be back next week with regular episodes. Stay up to date in our Facebook group. Get an ad-free feed of the podcast with a monthly contribution of any amount! It’s Thursday of Ordinary Time, Proper 17 in the Church Calendar . September 5, 2024. Our general...

I’m out of town this week, so I’m scheduling several short devotions with music for Morning Prayer. I hope the change will be refreshing! I will be back next week with regular episodes. Stay up to date in our Facebook group. Get an ad-free feed of the podcast with a monthly contribution of any amount! It’s Wednesday of Ordinary Time, Proper 17 in the Church Calendar . September 4, 2024. Our genera...

’m out of town this week, so I’m scheduling several short devotions with music for Morning Prayer. I hope the change will be refreshing! I will be back next week with regular episodes. Stay up to date in our Facebook group. Get an ad-free feed of the podcast with a monthly contribution of any amount! It’s Tuesday of Ordinary Time, Proper 17 in the Church Calendar . September 3, 2024. Our general o...

I’m out of town this week, so I’m scheduling several short devotions with music for Morning Prayer. I hope the change will be refreshing! I will be back next week with regular episodes. Stay up to date in our Facebook group. Get an ad-free feed of the podcast with a monthly contribution of any amount! It’s Monday of Ordinary Time, Proper 17 in the Church Calendar . September 2, 2024. Our general o...

I will be out of town next week, so I’m scheduling several short devotions with music for Morning Prayer. I hope the change will be refreshing! I will be back the second week of September with regular episodes. Stay up to date in our Facebook group. Get an ad-free feed of the podcast with a monthly contribution of any amount! It’s Friday of Ordinary Time, Proper 16 in the Church Calendar . August...

Psalm 18 has one of my favorite verses in all of the Bible: “He delivered me because He delighted in me.” It’s one of those scriptures that doesn’t seem real. We hear a lot about us delighting in the Lord (which we should!). But, hearing about the Lord delighting in us, not just tolerating us, but taking delight in being with us…this is staggering. I love the picture of me delighting in Him and Hi...

The Scripture talks about looking for a city, a heavenly city, not made by human hands. Fashioned by the hands of God. This is our seeking, this is our heart’s desire. I love celebrating Augustine in the Church Calendar today because he was looking for this city. He gave us so much. So much language, so many concepts. So much spiritual imagination. Let’s seek the city of the living God! Get an ad-...

What a great song by Rich Mullins: “Sometimes By Step.” In its simplicity, it captures the rhythm of walking with God and learning from Him. The day in and day out. The mundane as well as the mountaintop. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. I am gentle and humble in spirit.” This is one of the rhythms the Daily Office teaches me. The year by year, week by week. Being formed in the image of J...

So many times I sense the Lord leading me down a road. Down a path. And I resist. “Not there, Lord…” The crazy thing is that He has promised to always walk with me. And He’s walked with me down some doozies. Why don’t I trust Him to lead me down the perfect road? Just right. Exactly the way. Exactly what is needed…what I need. Lord, help us go where You lead. Help us go there with You.  Get an ad-...

To never be hungry again. To never be thirsty again. It doesn’t really seem all that possible. Even if we’re talking about “spiritually.” It seems the human condition is more and more and more.  Achieve and receive and then ask for (demand) more. Greedy, not grateful. But Jesus points to a completely new way. A new way of being human. A human being, an image bearer of God Himself, that is satisfie...

Get an ad-free feed of the podcast with a monthly contribution of any amount! It’s Thursday of Ordinary Time, Proper 15 in the Church Calendar . August 22, 2024. Our general order and lectionary come from the Book of Common Prayer Daily Office . Today on Morning Prayer (00:00) Introduction (00:32) Here I Am to Worship (Tim Hughes) (01:57) Prayer of confession (04:28) Here I Am to Worship (continue...

TONIGHT: 700th episode celebration Wednesday, August 21 at 10pm central at benwardmusic.com/facebook ! Get an ad-free feed of the podcast with a monthly contribution of any amount! It’s Wednesday of Ordinary Time, Proper 15 in the Church Calendar . August 21, 2024. Our general order and lectionary come from the Book of Common Prayer Daily Office . Today on Morning Prayer (00:00) Introduction (00:3...

Stay tuned for our Wednesday night live 700th episode celebration in our Facebook group! If I’m honest, I don’t like to be led. I like to lead the way! Go for it. Carve a path. But Jesus keeps calling us back to Himself: “Take My yoke upon you and learn of me.” He wants to lead us down paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake. Can we lay it all down and simply be led? Get an ad-free feed of the...

It’s our 700th episode!!! Stay tuned for our Wednesday night live celebration in our Facebook group! I forget sometimes about how awesome and powerful and wonder-ful God is. He is closer than a brother, loves as our Father, and is always present. But, He is still the creator of the universe. Nothing is impossible for Him - He’s so powerful. “The rhythm and the wonder of Your lightning and Your thu...

Fear and faith are powerful words. Fear so often freezes us in place. It doesn’t let us move forward. Doesn’t let our journey continue. Frozen. Ugh. I love singing the first line of today’s worship song: “Out of fear and into faith…You lead me here by Your grace.” I want to thaw out my fear that has me stuck in place and follow Jesus into the journey He has for me. The journey into faith. The jour...

As we celebrate Mary today in the Church Calendar, let’s remember her heart for the Lord. How she believed even when it didn’t make sense. How she trusted that God could and would do the impossible. How she saw the fulfillment of the promises of God in her life. May we respond to the Father as she did. May we see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Today. Get an ad-free feed of the...

So much discussion in today’s Gospel reading of worship and spirit and truth. How the particulars of where and when and how to worship are fading away and what is left is the Father, us, spirit, and truth. That’s what I want more and more. Let’s walk that way. In that direction. Get an ad-free feed of the podcast with a monthly contribution of any amount! It’s Wednesday of Ordinary Time, Proper 14...

The Psalmist says over and over…”The Lord is king over all the earth…let the people be glad!” When the Lord reigns, when He is recognized and king and surrendered to with full hearts, it’s good news. It’s the best news of all. Wrongs are made right, justice is brought, compassion and mercy and kindness rule all of our lives. Let us begin by declaring Him king of our hearts and lives. And may we se...

So much about coming into the light in a ll our scripture readings today. Hiding from the light, coming all the way in. We can be at so many different places, in so many different seasons. What I think it’s trying to get at is how freeing it is to be in the light. In His light. Just step into it. It is for freedom that He has set us free. Let’s pray together today! Get an ad-free feed of the podca...

Happy to share with you a song I wrote with Stephanie Osorio with a brand new verse. This song starts by saying to the Lord, “I’ll love you with all my heart, soul, mind, strength.” Then it moves to, “I’ll love my neighbor.” But, as my son Harper reminded me, we don’t stop there as followers of Jesus. There had to be one more verse: “I’ll love my enemy.” I hope the song is a blessing. I always pos...