Jesus, You came to earth from heaven to take on flesh and dwell among us as You became the supreme example of God in the flesh, pouring out Your grace upon grace. In Your humanness You were victorious in the raging battle against the spiritual forces of evil when faced with temptations and trials common to all people. We stand in glorious victory as we follow Your example and hold to Your unchanging truths. We come alongside those who are grieving loss and enduring heartache in the midst of this glorious season, for it is in keeping with the season of giving, that we give ourselves in faithful prayer toward these in grief. It is in the loving name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.

Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.

In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.

This is what the Lord says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.