Have you heard how to have peace?
How to receive Faith, Word, Grace, Truth?
It’s all about Jesus.
The peace of being with Christ is for you during Advent, Christmas, New Year and absolute everlasting life! If you aren’t in faith connecting with the Bible yet, you can receive that gift which is all about Jesus. The Helper-Counselor gently guides those with Him now and hereafter. Those without Jesus, eventually are separated from Love to restless suffering. Seize the day to receive, not reject, His inspired Word—opportunity for strength and comfort of a future without tears!
My help comes from the Lord when I connect with His family in
- The Church
- Excellent Study Bible
- Archives and live streaming
- Prayers and encouragment
The Creator is pure, perfect Love for you. Jesus’s perfect humanity, suffering, death—plus, His resurrection and ascension to heaven—makes undeserving sinners right for victory! He casts out fear, gives light, repentance, joy, gratitude!
Advent/Christmas/New Year card design
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| Folded card front, partially opened |
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| Unfolding card with space to write and sign |
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| Opened card, showing folds |
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| Flat design printed one side of sheet |
Litany of prayers (as shown above)
O Lord, O Christ, have mercy. God the Father in heaven, hear us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy. Be gracious to us. Spare us. God the Holy Spirit, Help us, good Lord.
- From all sin, from all error, from all evil;
- From the crafts and assaults of the devil; from sudden and evil death;
- From pestilence and famine; from war and bloodshed; from sedition and from rebellion;
- From lightning and tempest; from all calamity by fire and water; and from everlasting death:
Good Lord, deliver us.
- By the mystery of Your holy incarnation; by Your holy nativity;
- By Your baptism, fasting, and temptation; by Your agony and bloody sweat; by Your cross and passion; by Your precious death and burial;
- By Your glorious resurrection and ascension; and by the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter:
Help us, good Lord.
- In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death; and in the day of judgment:
Help us, good Lord.
We poor sinners implore You
to hear us, O Lord.
- To rule and govern Your holy Christian Church; to preserve all pastors and ministers of Your Church in the true knowledge and understanding of Your wholesome Word and to sustain them in holy living; To put an end to all schisms and causes of offense; to bring into the way of truth all who have erred and are deceived;
- To beat down Satan under our feet; to send faithful laborers into Your harvest; and to accompany Your Word with Your grace and Spirit:
- To raise those who fall and to strengthen those who stand; and to comfort and help the weakhearted and the distressed:
- To give to all peoples concord and peace; to preserve our land from discord and strife; to give our country Your protection in every time of need;
- To direct and defend our president and all in authority; to bless and protect our magistrates and all our people;
- To watch over and help all who are in danger, necessity, and tribulation; to protect and guide all who travel;
- To grant all women with child, and all mothers with infant children, increasing happiness in their blessings; to defend all orphans and widows and provide for them;
- To strengthen and keep all sick persons and young children; to free those in bondage; and to have mercy on us all:
- To forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers and to turn their hearts; to give and preserve for our use the kindly fruits of the earth; and graciously to hear our prayers:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, we implore You to hear us.
Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy.
Grant us Your peace.
—Edited by Elizabeth Knaus, revised from pages 288–289 of The Lutheran Service Book, Concordia Publishing House, origin: The Litany by Martin Luther, 1529
Hymns teach the Word
The one who sings prays twice
—Saint Augustine
About this Christmas card design
My card design was inspired by a FaceBook post submitted by the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) invitation to pray the Litany every Wednesday. Repetitive phrases are omitted to fit it on 8.5x11 inch stationery, folded to fit A2 size envelopes, available at FreshRetroGallery. Circle/banner/rose downloadable art is available in grayscale, full color and the solid black version I used here and hand-colored. I watercolor-painted the green border and holly. The prayer is set in narrow columns for easy readability. This original fold was fun to create. Learn how to make a simpler French-fold card that also works great with A2 envelopes. Hey, why not write a Christmas letter to send with photo cards? Check out 60 sheets of stationery (without envelopes).
Immeasurable, infinite…
Thank God! Ideas, important information, inspiration, intelligence, integrity…blessings are for you in the Word, the Bible!
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7
