Morning Chapel Prayer Playlist
Morning Chapel Prayer Today
Worship leader Goke…
Good morning. Welcome to Morning Prayer Today, 2nd of April, 2026.
Praying Psalms 91…
I feel in my heart to read the 91st Psalm before we start worshiping. By the way, yesterday was the 91st day of this year. And I’ll just read it over us.
Psalm 91…
We dwell in the secret place of the Most High.
We abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
We say of the Lord, He’s our refuge and our fortress, our God in Him we trust.
Surely He delivers us from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.
He covers us with His feathers and under His wings we take refuge.
His truth is our shield and buckler.
We shall not be afraid of the terror by night nor of the arrow that flies by day.
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noon day.
A thousand may fall at our side and 10,000 at our right hand, but it shall not come near us.
Only with our eyes shall we look and see the reward of the wicked.
Because we have made the Lord who is our refuge, even the Most High, our dwelling place.
No evil shall befall us, nor shall any plague come near our dwelling.
For He, the Lord, has given His angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways.
In their hands, they bear us up lest we dash our feet against the stone.
We shall tread upon the lion and the cobra.
The young lion and the serpent, we trample under foot.
Because we have set our love upon Him and because He has set His love upon us.
Therefore, He will deliver us.
He will set us on high because we have known His name.
We shall call upon Him and He will answer us.
He will be with us in trouble.
He will deliver us and honor us.
With long life will the Lord satisfy us and show us His salvation.
And just a little bit of Psalm 92…
It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to your name, O Most High.
To declare your loving kindness in the morning and your faithfulness every night on an instrument of 10 strings, on the lute and on the harp with harmonious sound.
For you, Lord, have made me glad through your work.
I will triumph in the works of your hands.
Oh Lord, how great are your works? Your thoughts are very deep.
Oh Lord, how great are your works? Your thoughts are very deep.
Hallelujah. And we just worship you, Lord.
Pastor Heather…
Today is considered Holy Thursday. Or if you grew up in a religious home, maybe you heard the term Maundy Thursday, When I was little, I was like, “Monday Thursday? That doesn’t make any sense.” Maundy, which is a Latin word, which means command. Because this is Jesus’ command; He gave a new command, right? To love others as He loved us.
The foundation of our faith…
But I just wanted to quickly walk through what happened on this day. We’re heading into Easter. We’re heading into the crucifixion, the resurrection of Jesus and celebrating that and what that means to us. And obviously that is the foundation of our faith, right? Everything that we believe is founded on that.
What would you say or do on your last day on earth?
But what happened today, Thursday? It was the last day that Jesus had with His disciples, the last full day. And so if today was your last day to live, what would you do? Who would you talk to? What would you say? That would be a pretty important day, right?
And so let’s just go through real quick. And I am going to lead us to a place where we’re going to just worship Him. We’ll pray for Easter. We’ll pray for our services. But I really want to reverence going into what this day means, what Friday means, what Sunday means… Traditionally. Why we celebrate these days and that we can get out of sometimes the busyness of “Who’s going to cook the ham and make the cheesy potatoes?” And “I got to clean the house before the family comes over.” Or “We got to get to service, we got to serve, we got to get the family ready.” And all those things are good things, but the real heart of why we celebrate what we celebrate.
Holy Thursday…
So we have Holy Thursday. I want to start off with one of my favorite parts which is Mary and Bethany. And so, right before they have their final meal, right before the Last Supper, there’s this beautiful act of worship. Mary anoints Jesus’ feet. She breaks open her alabaster jar, something that was worth a year’s wages. And she pours it out on Him. No hesitation. No holding back. While others in the room were saying “That’s wasteful. This could have been used for a better thing,” Jesus called it beautiful.
So beautiful in fact, that this act of worship is in every single Gospel. And as you read a little bit more into this, this is one of my favorite acts in the Bible. This happened more than once. It, for sure, happened two times: once in Simon the Leper’s house and once in Lazarus’s house. And so some people say it either happened two times with two different women, or possibly three times with three different women. One time it’s Mary, Lazarus’s sister. One time, it’s Mary, a woman of ill reputation. So possibly Mary Magdalene. Another time, there’s no name. It’s just this woman, right? That if He knew the sinful woman that was touching Him, He would’ve said something.
So all that to say, these acts of worship were so important. Jesus said, “Leave her alone.” He stuck up for her: “Leave her alone. What she’s done is going to be preached throughout all the world. She’s anointing Me for My burial.” He called it worthy.
And you think of that. He knew what was coming. And He allowed her to pour out that fragrance upon Him. And people say that while He’s in Gethsemane, while He’s being beaten, while He’s hanging on the cross, that fragrance of her beautiful worship He could smell. Our worship is so important to Him.
The Last Supper…
Then we go into the last supper, which we now call communion. Our way of remembering that time. And you think, here’s Jesus and He is gathered around the table with His disciples. But they’re not just His disciples, they’re not just His followers. They had become His friends. They “did life” with Him. Every day. In and out. They were with Him. They became His friends.
One of Jesus’ last acts on earth was to share supper with His disciples…
“I have longed with passion and desire to eat this meal with you.” He wanted this moment. He waited for this moment. He longed with passion for this moment with His believers. There was connection there. There was intimacy there. And Jesus speaks the words that we now hear every time we take communion. He takes the bread, He breaks it, and He says, “This is My body given for you.” He takes the cup and says, “This is My blood poured out for you.” He’s pointing forward, right? He’s pointing to what is about to happen. The disciples were a little slow on the pickup. They just didn’t fully understand what was coming. Even though Jesus told them many times, “I will be crucified. I will rise again.”
But here He is again. He’s having this final moment with them, this moment of intimacy, and He’s saying, “I’m about to give everything for you. My body is about to be broken for you. My blood is about to be poured out for you.”
One of Jesus’ last acts while on earth was to clean the disciples’ feet!
And then He does something that’s so beautiful. The Son of God gets on His knees and He washes their feet… dirty, stinky, dusty feet. They walked in sandals those days. And, of course, Peter says, “No, no, no, don’t wash my feet.” We probably would’ve done that too, right? Because there’s something so uncomfortable about letting somebody see your dirt, see your mess, be that close to you, and humble themselves enough to wash your feet.
But this is who Jesus is.
He’s saying there’s nothing too dirty, too broken, too shameful that I won’t kneel down and wash it away, that I won’t come close to you and wash you through that. That’s His love.
One of Jesus’ last acts on earth was to give a new command…
And then He gives them a new commandment in John 13:34, “Love one another as I have loved you. I give you a new commandment.” So again, here we are. His final moments. His final words to be speaking. And what are some of these important things He’s speaking? A new commandment I give you: love one another as I have loved you. Love like this. Like how I’m showing you. Sacrificial, humble, unconditional. This is how the world will recognize Him, not just by what we believe, but by how we love.
One of Jesus’ last acts on earth is that He prayed for us!
And then you may have never caught this, but before they leave for Gethsemane, Jesus prays for you. He prays for us! Yes, He prays for the disciples, but then He prays for us. And in John 17:20–23, I’ll read out the New King James.
It says…
“I do not pray for these alone (His disciples), but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.” That’s us. So Jesus is about to go to this horrendous death, crucifixion and He takes a minute and prays for us. We were on His heart. We were on His mind that day. And I just think that’s such a beautiful picture that He thought of us…
“That they all may be one as you, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in us that the world may believe that you sent Me and the glory which you gave Me, I have given to them that they may be one just as we are one. I in them and you in Me, that they may be perfect in one and that the world may know that you have sent Me and loved them as you have loved Me.”
One of Jesus’ last acts on earth was to think about us…
Jesus prayed for us before He went into that garden. We were on His mind. He prayed that we would know His love, that we would walk in unity, and that we would be one with Him as He is with God.
The Garden of Gethsemane…
Then they leave the table and they go to the Garden of Gethsemane. And this is where we see the weight. Jesus carried the weight of what’s coming and He’s in agony and He is so distressed. He’s sweating drops of blood. And He prays, “Father, if there’s any other way, let this cup pass for Me.” But then, “Not My will, but yours be done.”
This is where He chooses to take that cup for you, for me, in that garden, through that pain. And, of course, the disciples were sleeping. I’d like to say I wouldn’t be sleeping, but it was the middle of the night. I probably would’ve fell asleep too. But He still loves them. He loves them through all of it, right? And He loves us through all of it. Even our times where we’re not connected.
Personal experience…
We went to Israel in February and I got to sit in the Garden of Gethsemane. I got to sit under an olive tree and just close my eyes and just picture. And it’s such a powerful thing to think Jesus sat somewhere in this garden. And what He went through, just the emotional torment of knowing what’s coming.
But He chose it!
He chose to press into that because He knew the price that had to be paid to have our hearts. And then, of course, we know everything that happens next. And that’s what we’re going to be celebrating this weekend. Betrayal, arrest, false accusations, mocking, beating a crown of thorns pressed into His head and the cross—six hours of unimaginable suffering, nails, separation.
One of Jesus’ last acts on earth is that He forgave us: “Father, forgive them…”
And yet even there, His heart is still thinking of us and He says, “Father, forgive them.” This is a love on full display. And then that’s not the end. Of course, we know. He dies and then that veil is torn in the Holy of Holies. And that’s a symbol that we now can come boldly into His presence, boldly into the Holy of Holies, where only priests could go once a year. We can go boldly in there because of the sacrifice that He made.
The tomb looked final…
They placed His body in a tomb. And I got to stand where they believed that tomb was and put my hand on that wall and just feel the weight of that little cave to think that He was possibly laid in that place, right? The stone was rolled in front of Him and everything looked finished, everything looked final. And I always think of the disciples and how scary that moment must have been. This Man that they thought was going to be King was going to reign in the natural. This is how they saw it. Now He has been killed and they’re hiding and they’re scared.
On the third day, He arose!
But, of course, we know what happens. Three days later, He raises again—alive, victorious, forever King, and He appears to them. And one of my favorite parts is like, all the disciples are hiding in that room. And it says He walked through the walls and appeared to them.
And some of us have some walls that He needs to walk through. Maybe we’re guarding our hearts from things, we’re guarding ourselves from things. But allow Him to walk through those walls and say to you, “Peace! Have courage. I’m here. Touch Me, see Me, feel Me? I’m real. I rose from the dead.” And He paid that price for us. Amen.
This is why He is holy…
And when we were singing about “holy, holy, holy,” this is why we worship Him. This is why He is holy. He gave Himself for us, right? Among other things. There’s so many reasons to call Him holy. He’s beautiful. He’s perfect. He’s the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the creator of the universe, the lover of our souls. There’s so many reasons.
