Father, thank you that you invite us to come to you, no matter the state of our lives. You abound in mercy, showing undeserved grace to us over and over again. You are rich in love, a love so deep that You paid the greatest cost through Christ to restore us to Yourself, so we could enjoy You and glorify you forever. Your ways are wonderful and good, and you are full of wisdom – and we delight that it is your good pleasure to reveal it those who humble themselves.

We confess our worship self-sufficiency… we consider our own abilities to be our greatest asset, and quietly prefer trying harder rather to coming to you in faith and awareness of our need. We aren’t very eager for you to do immeasurably more than we can ask or even imagine.

We confess our love of money and possessions – they blind us as we trust You so little to provide what we need. So we go after security, comfort and convenience over using our resources for the good of others in radical and sacrificial ways. We confess our hard heartedness towards the poor – most of the time we surround ourselves with people who are just like us, and so little compassion is left for those who are most vulnerable, who are sometimes difficult to love, but who are people You care so deeply about. We look the other way, and we rationalize the way we distance ourselves and are stingy with our help and our sharing of the good news. We confess how slow we are to confess our sin, and so quick to judge others for the slightest thing. We prefer our pride over the humility you desire, and are eager to compare ourselves to others to find the ways we are superior to them.

We confess that we are more concerned about how we come off to others, in our various interactions, our appearance, and our so-called-reputations, instead of being eager to make Jesus known in all we do. We dwell on people are not meeting our needs, instead of how we can seek to serve them as You have served us through Christ. .

But as we confess all these things, we turn towards you and see even more clearly the depth and breadth of your forgiveness. You know our hearts, more than we ever will, and yet You still chose to give up Your son Jesus for us, to take our very sin and brokenness upon Himself, to cancel the penalty against us. Father, we have no adequate words to describe our gratefulness. As we receive your forgiveness, help us to give to You our best and deepest love, and our very lives.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. By your Spirit through the truth in Christ, may your holy, triune name be proclaimed, treasured, savored, exalted here at Restoration Church. Holy Spirit fill us afresh that we might be united in the gospel of our Lord Jesus. Give us the grace to forgive each other as you have forgiven us. Give us the wisdom to speak truth into each other’s lives. Give us the compassion to weep with those who weep. Give us the boldness to speak the gospel to our friends, neighbors, coworkers and classmates. Give us the humility to sacrificially serve one another. Give us the patience and persistence required to build our brothers and sisters up into maturity in Christ Jesus. Yes, Lord, work here at Restoration Church. In the name of Jesus we ask that you would build us up. For the fame of your hallowed name, use our ministry, use our members to make disciples that delight in the supremacy of Jesus Christ.

Father, we realize that our church is a small chapter in your story; we’re but one church laboring here in DC and we praise you for other churches faithfully proclaiming the good news of Jesus here in our city. We pray for Pillar DC as they covenant together this morning. Cause them to rejoice in your goodness. Use Pillar to advance your gospel. We also pray for Steven Lee as he begins to plant near Howard University. Help him shepherd his wife and family well during this transition. Give him persons on peace in his community and use his gospel proclamation to build a church for the fame of Christ. And we pray for GraceDC, GraceDC Meridian Hill, and GraceDC Mosaic. We praise you for healthy church planting church like Grace. Give their pastors much grace and wisdom and favor as they seek to make much of Jesus. Yes, Lord, work among these healthy churches for the fame of your hallowed name.

We pray for the current conflict in Gaza. We pray for an end to the bloodshed and lasting peace in that region. We pray for the victims on both sides of the conflict. We pray that you would comfort them and heal their wounds, both mental and physical. We pray that they would know that you hear their cries and your heart breaks to watch their suffering. We pray that they would know that you are able to understand their pain, as you are all too familiar with the sufferings of this world, as you witnessed the crucifixion of your own son at the hands of this world. We pray for wisdom and humility for the government leaders involved in the resolution of this conflict. We pray that peace would be their foremost concern.

We pray for the situation in West Africa. We pray for the families of those who have lost loved ones. We pray that they would take refuge in you, Oh Lord, and would believe the truth that Christ has conquered sin and death and that one day diseases such as Ebola will be no more. We pray for those who are currently infected. We pray their treatment would be effective at halting the advancement of the disease. For those who do not yet know you, Lord, we pray for their salvation. We pray that they would repent of their sins and trust in you.

We pray for the situation in Iraq.We pray for those currently being persecuted. We pray they would be protected from further abuse. We pray they would no longer have to live in fear. We pray that their wounds, both mental and physical, would be healed. We pray for the Christians being persecuted. Help them to believe that while they are cursed by men, that they are indeed blessed for their sufferings. Help them to believe that when they cry out for help, that You hear their voices and are near to their crushed spirit. Help them to rest in the promise that one day soon You will take them to that glorious Land where tears and death and mourning and fear shall be no more.

We pray for the perpetrators. We pray that they would be restrained from committing further evil deeds. We pray that they would repent of their evil ways and turn to Christ for salvation. Yes, Lord, though we find the acts of these men despicable, we pray that they, too, might repent and receive the same Grace that we have been shown in Christ. We pray that, as with us, you might reconcile these, your enemies, to Yourself by the blood of Christ.

Father, we pray that we would be faithful in praying for those who are suffering, that we would care for those in need, and that the brokenness of this world would create in us a longing for Christ’s return.

In Jesus’ Name We Pray, Amen.