Holy, righteous, mighty and merciful God, we lament and cry out to you this morning with the Psalmist: “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever…Arise O God, defend your cause; remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day…Yet God my King is from old, working salvation in the midst of the earth…Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, O Lord, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.”

 

Father of mercies, we pray for Baton Rouge, Minneapolis and Dallas this morning. We pray for the continued healing of Orlando; and we pray for our grieving nation as a whole and for all the global turmoil so many face daily. Bring peace and reconciliation and healing and unity. May your church – your church in the Middle East and China and Korea and Australia and Chile and the United States – be a counter-cultural beacon of hope during times like these; churches filled with all types of people worshiping you together.

 

We pray for those who have suddenly and tragically lost loved ones this past week; some in our very own congregation; others all together unknown to us; but all experiencing heartache and pain. Bring comfort to the families of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. We pray for the families of Lorne Ahrens, Michael Smith, Michael Krol, Patrick Zamarripa, and Brent Thompson. And yes, Lord, we pray for the family of Micah Johnson – comfort these families deeply affected by sudden tragedy. Bring them hope and peace.

 

We also pray for justice to be served. In the name of Jesus, we pray that no one would be unjustly killed – whether police officers or African-American men. Cause all those who serve as police officers to use their power and authority with justice and humility being servants of peace and preservers of life. Cause all those who courageously speak out for the marginalized to speak with boldness and kindness; with deep conviction and compassion for all your image bearers.
Father, for the glory of your name, equip the church to be a foretaste of heaven, a place where all peoples worship together in unity rejoicing at the King who has ransomed a people from every tribe, tongue and nation. I praise you Lord for the ways this happens at Restoration. We praise you this morning for other churches in DC where this is so evident. Bless Anacostia River Church and Grace Mosaic and Redeemer City and Grace Covenant and NCC and the District Church. Grant us, Lord, grant us all gospel unity in all of our diversity; in our racial and ethnic diversity, in our generational diversity, in our different person preferences and personalities, showcase the breath and length and height and depth of your manifold glory as we come together to worship you, our great and gracious triune God – Father, Son and Spirit.

 

We praise you for those who serve our church so well helping others know and follow Jesus. We praise you for gospel zeal of W and J&T. We thank you, God, for selfless service of J and W. We praise you for the many years of consistent gospel presence in our sister E. As she leaves for Wyoming, prepare a church family for her there. Build her up in Christ and continue to use her to help others matures in Jesus as well.

 

Above all, we praise you that we serve a living King with a heartbeat this morning. We praise you for King Jesus. We praise you that Jesus brings justice. We praise you that Jesus entered into our suffering. We praise you that Jesus confronted racial tensions. We praise you that Jesus set an example for us in how to be wrongly treated. We praise you that Jesus knows our weaknesses and sympathizes with us. We praise you that Jesus suffered for sin, our sin. We praise you that Jesus knows and enjoys the glories of heaven, and will bring us, all of us who trust in him, to be with him in the presence of God, where he will wipe away every tear from our eyes, where death will be no more, no mourning, no crying, no pain. We praise you for this good news of forgiveness and hope and reconciliation. We praise you for the refuge of Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Holy Spirit, search our own hearts this morning. Keep us back from self-righteousness thinking somehow that problems are only “out there” and not “in here,” in our own hearts. Reveal our sin to us. By your sovereign grace, uproot any prejudice or racism lurking in our hearts and minds. Smash the idols of our hearts that cause us to mistreat others, to not trust you our God and look elsewhere for satisfaction. We confess our indifference to sin and the hurt of others. We confess our anger that is too often fueled by our selfish shallowness rather than your infinite glory. We confess that we gossip and slander and judge without taking time to consider the position of others, even our brothers and sisters in Christ. We confess that we often run to things other than you looking for hope and healing. We confess that we are like the Israelites who so quickly forget your mercy and grace and provision and turn to other things, to other people looking for what only you can provide. We repent. Forgive us our sin, O Lord, we ask in the name of Jesus.

 

We rest this morning in your marvelous grace. We rejoice in the hope of eternal with you, our God. We rejoice in the hope that in a wicked world, we can actually be the righteousness of God in Christ. All of this because of your grace in Jesus. How marvelous! How wonderful! In the matchless name of Christ we pray. Amen.