Maundy Thursday: Jesus’ Love
Today’s Verses:
1 John 4:7-8 ESV
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Tonight, we remember the night Jesus washed feet, broke bread, and gave a command: “Love one another as I have loved you.” This is what Maundy Thursday is about—mandatum, the mandate to love.
John tells us clearly: love isn’t just what God does; it’s who He is. And we see that love most clearly in Jesus—kneeling to serve, breaking bread for sinners, and walking toward the cross for a world that didn’t ask Him to.
As we gather this evening—maybe around an altar, maybe at a table—Christ calls us again to love. Not just in word, but in action. In humility. In forgiveness. In sacrifice.
Because to love like Christ isn’t optional for the Christian. It’s the mark of knowing Him.
.Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Lord Jesus, You loved us to the end. Teach us to love one another in the same way. Make us humble, make us forgiving, and make us faithful. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
The photo above is licensed through Unsplash+