Oh Lord, our God, salvation belongs to you. The angels, rightfully sing your praises even now, and so we join in, with them. One voice of a throng that joyfully sings to you.

You are timeless, oh God, and yet you graciously enter time.

Your power is immeasurable, and yet you are tender.

You are set apart, and yet you stepped in.

You are faithful, and yet you are patient with us when we are not.

You are just, and yet you are also gracious.

You are love, and yet you love us when we do not love you.

How wonderful are you, oh God? Time does not permit us to consider the excellencies of your glory. If we had a thousand days to do nothing but consider you, we would not begin to have enough time. You dwell in unapproachable light and reign over the universe. As we slept last night you were doing 10,000 things. As we pray now, you receive the praise and thanksgivings of millions. How good it is to think upon you, Lord. How good it is. Because you are the definition of goodness, glory, and love. You are God, the only God.

And, yet so often, Lord we do not set our thoughts upon you. We are slow to think on you, slow to speak of you, slow to lift our voices in praise to you. Some of us were slow to come to this gathering this morning. We are want to pray. Want to sing. Want to encourage others in Christ. Oh Lord, you are magnificent, and we are dull.

So often, Lord, we confess that we’d rather talk about the circumstances of our lives…our jobs, our sleepless nights, family matters, or more trivial matters like what we had for dinner last night, before we speak of you to others. Forgive us Lord, for how often we act as though you were light and fluffy when in fact we know that you are deep and heavy. Forgive us for our disinterest in you. Forgive us for our disinterest in speaking of you to others that need to hear of you. Forgive us for our fears that, too often, protect our self-image before we promote the image of Christ in others. Our allegiance is all too often focused on ourselves and not enough on you or the good of our neighbor.

Forgive us, Lord, for sexual immorality, for greed, for gossip, and for slander. Forgive us for our lack of thankfulness. Forgive those that have not served the church, but only sustainably received from her. Forgive those who have not given to the church or to the poor and the needy. God, we are a mess. We admit it. We need your grace; and oh how glad we are to know that you generously provide it for us in Christ.

Thank you that in Christ all of our sins are forgiven. By His blood the penalty of our trespasses are dealt with, once and for all. Thank you that in Christ we are free from the guilt of our sin and free to then love as you loved us.

Thank you for ways A and E loved others this week as you loved them. Thank you for A and M, and the ways they loved each other as you loved them. Thank you for A and H who strive to know you and make you known. Thank you for J and M and the way they have shown us Jesus. Thank you for C, M, C, and T who loved you by praying to you this week. Oh Lord, we have so much to be thankful for.

Towards that end, we pray to you, our Sovereign God. Seeking you to move for the sake of your glory.

For North Wake Church in Wake Forest, NC, as they continue their preaching series on love, will you give their people new and profound insights into the depth of your love for them and from that, will you move them to love their neighbor’s sacrificially

Here in D.C., we pray for Redeemer City Church, bless their time in the letter to Timothy. Show them the hope of Christ and the aim of their charge as love…keep them faithful as they seek to stand firm in the grace of Christ. Bless our brother K and our sister M as they are here with us. May they sense your love for them among us so that they might be refueled to go back to the saints at Redeemer City this week knowing and believing that they are not alone in the great task of making disciples. Remind them that they are not alone. You are with them, and so are we.

Father, we pray for the pastors that were part of the training in Nairobi this past week. As they learned about prayer, the sufficiency of Scripture, church discipline, and church membership from pastors K, C, and V, among others, I pray that this would result in more and more and more healthy churches that proclaim Christ not only there in Kenya, but also in the other countries of Africa. Reclaim pastors and churches that bought into the lie of the health, wealth, and prosperity Gospel and lead them into beautiful cities that reflect the supremacy of Christ.

As we pray for the church in Africa, we pray for our brother D in Uganda, Lord, as he is receiving death threats from family members for placing his faith in Christ, would you strengthen him and cause him to testify boldly about the truthfulness of Christ? Would you turn his wife and children to you as well? Show them in the suffering of their husband and father that Christ is better than this world.

Lord, we pray for the Christian teens in Nigeria that are currently gathered in a camp. Would you use this camp to help them forgive their attackers. May friendships be formed and may love, compassion, and courage be given to them as they return to their home where they will likely face more attacks because of their faith in Christ.

Jesus, teach your church, here in America and around the world, that we are citizens of heaven. Teach us the words of Peter, that we should not be surprised at fiery trials that come upon us. Remind us of your words, Jesus, that if the world rejected you, they will reject us. Teach us these things, Lord, so that we will more fervently pray, and more fervently engage those that don’t know you–so that they can come to see that, you, Jesus, are more valuable than gold, silver, or any other earthly comfort or acclaim. Make the members of this church, bold evangelists that say, “take the world, just give me Jesus.”

We love you, Lord, and we need you. You are our true north–our Lord, our Savior, our friend. You’re all we have. Give us more of yourself this week as we engage you in Community Groups and discipling relationships. Give us more of your grace even now as our brother K comes to feed us your word.

You are a Good, Great, and Glorious King. Reveal those things even more to us now.