Eternal God, we come to you this morning praising your holy name. You are worthy to be praised. All blessing and honor and glory and power and dominion be to your name. You are rich in love, and You’re slow to anger. Your name is great, and Your heart is kind. You are the fountain of every blessing. Holy triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit, eternally love giving and glorifying one another. Self-sufficient. Holy. Sovereign. Glorious. Mighty. Yes, Lord we praise you this morning.

Father, fill us with your Holy Spirit that we might know you, and your eternal Son, Jesus Christ more deeply for this is eternal life. Holy Father, keep us in your name, that we may be one even as you and Christ are one. Sanctify us Lord, sanctify us in the truth; your word is truth. Open they eyes of our heart to understand the depths of Scripture and rest in Jesus that our joy might be fulfilled. Send us into the world with great joy to share the good news of the gospel.

Father, we pray for those hurting and broken. Some here today are filled with pain and suffering, emotional and physical. Great Physician would you mend these wounds. Apply the balm of the gospel to the hurting; ease the pain of those suffering physical ailments. In the name of Jesus, bring healing in ways that only you know best. And we pray not just for those in this room, but for those around the world battling trials, suffering and sorrow. As we read the news our hearts break as we see terrorism and racism and violence and war. The suffering of the world is ever before our eyes. Forgive us for being so numb, so calloused, so unconcerned; cause these things that break your heart to break ours. We pray for racial peace in this country. We pray for religious peace and national peace around the world.

Father, we pray for our own government. As elected officials at the national, state, and local level begin new terms, grant them wisdom and insight. Help them rule with a sense of justice and to do what is right for well-being of the people. Father, as these officials and as supreme court judges have so often make decisions in weighty, complex polarizing ethical matters, would you grant them conviction to do what is right in your eyes, not just what is wanted. We thank you that we live in a country where freedom exists. Show us how to use our freedom wisely and how I’m to show proper respect to everyone, including those elected officials with whom we disagree.

Thank you for raising up men and women to serve as police officers and firefighters and other first responders. Thank you for those serving in the military in this country and in others, seeking to protect the welfare of citizens. We thank you have gifted men and women to serve and to protect your image bearers.

Lord God, we pray for our own church this morning. That you would continue to protect and deepen the unity we have. Cause us to always lay aside personal preference that we might have gospel unity. Cause us to treasure Christ above all things, delighting in his supremacy. Help us by your Spirit to behold your glory in the face of Christ. Give us the grace to serve one another selflessly, rebuke each other graciously, spur each other on eagerly. We pray for our sister Paola. Make your Word sweet to her and grow her in the gospel. We pray for J and L Bruce; we praise you for the work you’re doing in their lives and ask that the joy of the Lord would take root all the more. Thank you for the labors of M.H. and W. K. as they serve our church in so many unseen ways. Thank you for the labors of each Community Group leader. As we start back Community Groups this week, use these gatherings to develop new relationships and deepen existing ones. Use our time in Community Groups to help us care for one another and to labor and strive to present everyone mature in Christ Jesus.

Father, as we come to you this morning, we confess that we are not perfect; we have sinned against you. Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We confess that we are prideful and self-righteous. We confess that we get sinfully angry and carry around bitterness in our hearts. We confess that we are greedy. We confess that we discipline our children not out of love but impatience. We confess that we lie to protect our image. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. We thank you for the perfect life, sin-paying death, and life-giving resurrection of Jesus. Thank you for the mercy and forgiveness found in him alone. Fill us with your Spirit that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name.