Heavenly Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus Christ, the name of your eternal son, the only name worthy before your throne. And we praise you for Who you are. You are righteous and good; you are glorious and mighty; you are beyond comprehension yet near to all who trust in your grace for salvation; you are perfect, holy, just, pure, lovely, excellent and worthy of praise. We praise you for you what you have done. You are the Creator and Redeemer. You have saved us through the perfect, sin-atoning cross of Christ and his triumphant resurrection from the dead. We praise you for what you will do – bring heaven to earth restoring all things back to the way they were always supposed to be; your people in your presence forever and ever. Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven we pray.

Holy Spirit, we praise you for the gospel unity here at Restoration Church. We rejoice that you, in your kindness, shape and mold us, degree by degree, that we might increasingly treasure Jesus above all things. Continue to use this church body to magnify the name of Jesus. We pray that our church would be marked by unity in our diversity; that each member would intentionally get to know and serve others who are different from them; that we would form meaningful, Christ-exalting relationships that cross racial, socioeconomic and generational boundaries. We pray we would all give generously to our gospel ministry. Mark us, O Lord, will a zeal to help others follow Jesus. We praise you for the many discipling relationships among our members. Holy Spirit, use dinner tables and coffee meetings and car rides and conversations before and after church to spur us on toward faithfulness in all thing. Give us opportunities to share the good news of Jesus with those who do not know Christ as Savior. Grant us boldness and an eagerness to speak of Christ, even when it’s uncomfortable.

We praise you for the wedding of A & K. From the very outset of their marriage, grant them the grace to serve each other sacrificially; use their marriage to wonderfully display the gospel. We thank you Lord for your manifold grace and mercy that’s evident in the lives of W and E & J, D and J. We praise you Lord for the many ways these members and others speak the truth in love making the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Father, we not only rejoice with those who rejoice, we weep with those who weep. We pray for those who are hurting among us, for those who feel lonely and like no one cares. Remind them of all that they have in Christ. Bring brothers and sisters around them to walk alongside of them. We hurt for those battling anxiety and worry, those who are sad and downcast. Give us the grace and insight to compassionately serve our weak and weary brothers and sisters. Holy Spirit, gives us helpful, Christ-saturated words to bring hope and healing to souls; and give us the grace to know when to say nothing at all. For the fame of Jesus, let us be a church that talks freely about our sins and struggles, a place where sin is confessed and confronted, but not condemningly judged; a place where the gospel flows from one person to another. We praise you for the many ways this already happens and ask for you to make it continue all the more.

And we rejoice that we are not alone here in DC. We praise you for other churches that seek to advance the gospel. May your grace be upon Capitol Hill Baptist and GraceDC and The Well in Silver Spring. Use The District Church and Redeemer City to make disciples. Grant our brothers G and D wisdom as they plant Veritas Church, and S and T insight as they pastor Pillar Church. We pray for Washington International and Embassy Church and 4^th Presbyterian and National Community Church and All Nations DC and Arabic Baptist Church. Lord, we praise you for saints from other congregations that eagerly serve Christ and desire to see others delight in his supremacy.

And we rejoice that this gospel is going forth globally. Use our partnership with R & E to get the gospel to a people group that does not know you. Sustain R & E, J & J and W & C in their gospel labors. We pray for the International Mission Board. Grant David Platt and Sebastian Traeger much wisdom as they lead the effort to support 5,000 missionaries around the globe. Lord, for the glory of your name, raise more men and women up from Restoration Church to take the gospel to the nations.

Holy God, this morning we thank you for your Word. Thank you for the book of Philippians and all it has taught us this past six months. Let us not just know more things, but love more deeply; shape not just our actions, but our affections that we might love you with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.