Father, this morning we rejoice: Christ is risen from the dead, trampling over death by death. We praise you for the baptism of D, C, C and A. What a joyful celebration as we remember the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Use us, Lord, use us to see many more people come to trust and treasure Jesus Christ and be baptized proclaiming the good news of all that Jesus purchased for us. For those here this morning that have been baptized, cause this day to be a day of remembering; a day of remembering your grace to them as they came to know Jesus; a day of remembering your grace to them through this church and other faithful churches that shared the gospel with them and built them up in Jesus Christ.

Holy, triune God, there is no other God beside you. You are the Lord and there is no other. You are God and there is none like you. We rest in your promises. We rejoice in the promise that in your presence there is the fullness of joy. Holy Spirit, remind us of all that we have in God and make us long for heaven all the more. We worship you this morning, Lord.

As we do, as we sing songs of praise and pray prayers of adoration, we are reminded of our divided hearts. Far too often our worship is inconsistent. Worshipping you one moment then doubting you the next. Far too often our worship is not wholehearted. Worshipping you one minute then thinking about how we can’t wait for church to be over so we can get on with our day. You have called us to set our minds on things above, yet we willfully and continually think about and find ultimate comfort in things of this earth. We forget who you are. We neglect to dwell on your promises. We pursue the fleeting pleasures of this world in food, immorality, and entertainment. We stare at screens instead of savoring your word. We repent of our folly and foolishness. We confess our sin and idolatry.

Holy Spirit, help us put to death the remaining sin in our hearts. Sever the weeds of sin that entangle us at the root. Give us bold faith that gazes at the cross longer than we linger over our own sins. Satisfying God, entice us with the good news from heaven so that our worship erupts from hearts captivated by Christ Jesus. Clear our spiritual vision; remove any blindness to sin that we might see and savor Jesus above all things.

Cause Restoration Church to be a body marked by joy and contentment. Use us to minister the gospel to each other. Use us to generously speak words of encouragement to our fellow covenant members. By your grace, help us to not grumble but to graciously serve others. For your glory, open our eyes to how we can build others up in our everyday interactions. Let no corrupting talk come out of our mouths. Grant us self-control so that gossip and slander have no place among us. Let us be quick to point out grace in each others’ lives rejoicing that this is evidence of your presence among us.

Lord we praise you for all that you are doing among us. We praise you for the selfless service of J and E as they clean up and tear down each week. We praise you for W’s desire to serve those who are new to our church. We praise you for the dozens of discipling relationships that are present within our body. Thank you for the grace of Christ that is evident among us. Help us to think about the harvest from our gospel labors that will come in due time, if we do not give up.

We thank you that we live in a nation where we can freely worship. We pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. Use the murderous evil against Pastor Yohan in India to be blood-soaked gospel seeds that take bear fruit for decades to come. We pray for the wrongfully imprisoned Christians in Sudan. Give them boldness to advance the gospel even as they sit in prison cells. In your sovereign goodness, use persecution against Christians for gospel promotion. In your sovereign goodness, save those who persecute Christians and turn them into church planters. In your scandalous grace, take terrorist and turn them into pastors. As the next ISIS suicide bomber walks to his assignment, bring him to repentance and faith that he might not die, but bring others to life by spreading the gospel. Do this Lord. We plead in the bold name of Jesus. Do this for the glory of your name.

You save with everlasting salvation. You save with scandalous grace. You save for the glory of your name. You save for the eternal satisfaction of your people. Don’t let the gospel become small to us. Don’t let the amazingly gracious good news of the gospel become dull to us. Awaken us. Don’t let us live comfortable, safe lives that flow down the river of the American Dream. Cause us to hope in the reality of heaven.

We praise you that your gospel is going forth through our sister church Covenant Life in Tampa this morning. As they send out D and B to plant The Heights church, bless these brothers and their wives and children. Use them to make much of Christ Jesus in Tampa and beyond.

We praise you for your word. We praise you for the book of Isaiah. Use our brother Nathan to encourage us as he helps us graze in the pasture of your word. We pray all of this in the bold, strong name of Jesus. Amen.