Worship through Prayer
We come to you this morning God, praising you for the joy of salvation. We praise you for good news of great joy that is for all the people. We lift our hearts with the heavenly host saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” We praise you Holy Spirit because you open the eyes of our hearts that we might know the hope of the glorious riches found in the gospel; what we might hope in the Christ-savoring joys of heaven. Yes, Lord, we praise you this morning for you who you are.
And we pray for those around the world who do not know you. We pray for the BKs who do not even have a published Bible to read about you. Give the workers and translators wisdom and favor and faithfulness and perseverance as they work on bring this Bible to completion. We pray for the 1.2 MM Bedouin people of Saudi Arabia and the Yazidi people in Syria and Iraq. Send workers to labor for the gospel among these unreached people groups.
We pray this morning for our friends and family members and classmates and coworkers who do not know or trust in Christ for salvation and satisfaction. Use us, Lord, use us to boldly proclaim the joy of salvation found in Christ. Use the members of Restoration to advance the gospel to those who don’t yet know Jesus. Give us the grace to live risky lives for the gospel. Help us renounce the idols of comfort and safety and the American Dream. Give us the grace to walk across the street and go across the seas to make much of Christ.
Inflame our hearts with such a deep joy in Christ and unquenchable passion for the fame of Jesus that we adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. Holy Spirit, shape us, mold us, change us that we might herald the excellencies of Jesus with every fiber of our being. We pray that you’d also use Redeemer City Church and All Nations DC and National Community Church and Christ our Shepherd to make much of Christ Jesus. We praise you for other churches in this city that make much of Jesus.
Father, we come to you confidently this morning, not because of our goodness, but because of your grace to us in Christ. Jesus, our wonderful Savior, we thank you for the wondrous grace and love in bearing our sin in your own body on the cross. May your cross be to us the tree that sweetens every bitterness in our lives; the rod that blossoms hope and beauty; the vine that connect us to you our only source of strength. We confess our sin to you this morning; we confess that we struggle to live joyful, faithful, obedient lives. Selfishness is in the very fabric of our flesh, and we struggle to choose love for others over pleasing ourselves.
Father, forgive us for the self-gratifying and self-exalting lives we lead. Forgive us for the greed that surfaces this time of year as we think more about what we’d like to receive than what we already have. Forgive us for withholding forgiveness when you have so freely forgiven us. Forgive us for our attitude toward you, finding you dull and boring only because our sin has numbed us to truly enjoy who you are.
We praise you for the forgiveness we have in Christ. Increase our joy in the cradle, cross, and crown of Christ. Increase our wonder and admiration for all that was accomplished in the life and death of Jesus. Melt our hearts with the wonders of the incarnation and crucifixion and resurrection until our self-exaltation gives way to delight in blood-bought salvation.[1]
We pray for the children among us Lord. Help us raise them in the instruction and discipline of the gospel. Give us the grace to model what it looks like to follow Jesus not just in our obedience, but also in our repentance. Keep us from being too proud to ask our children for forgiveness when we sin against them. Father, if there are parents here this morning that need to do just that today, give them the grace to do so. Help the young ones among us trust and treasure Christ from an early age. Use them to teach us to not be become old and crusty and too rigid. Cause their laughter and fun and joy to be contagious that we might smile at the simple beauties of life.
We pray for those here this morning struggling with fear. Help them look the Christ and your faithfulness knowing that you are a God who always answers your promises. We pray for those here this morning dealing with shame and guilt. Point them to Jesus who took every bit of their shame as he hung naked on the cross and drank the cup of wrath dry that they might be clean and pure and loved by you, our eternal Father. We pray for those who are tired and weary. Give them rest in Christ reminding them the hardest work of all, our salvation, is already complete.
As we continue to think about Christ this Advent season, help us joyfully anticipate Christmas Day and the wonder of the “fullness of God in bodily form.” Fill us, we pray, with hope, peace, joy and love. We pray all of this in the name of our glorious Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Amen.
[1] Previous two paragraphs, adapted from and spurred on by Prone to Wander, 142-43.
Worship through Prayer
Magnificent God and Father, we greet you this morning with glad, yet some of us, troubled hearts. We recognize you as the Supreme Being. The Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. The Author of all good things. The Maker and Sustainer of the Universe, the One for Whom All things must answer to. You, God, are the Greatest of all Realities…nothing finds its meaning without you. We praise you for all that you have been and will be for us in Jesus.
We pray with heavy hearts. Some of us pray Believing, yet we need help in our Unbelief.
Some of us pray in glad hearted praise and some of us pray in poor hearted anguish.
Some of us pray wondering if you are real and some of us pray having been leveled this week by your presence and all encompassing reality.
If we were to search for Love, Hope, Peace, and Kindness, Safety and Security…where would we go? To WHOM would we go? There is no field, no fortune, and no figure that we can confidently approach and find these things but in you.
So, some with trembling knees and some with guilt ridden consciences and some with peace filled hearts we enter the veil, this morning. Oh how good it is to know that inside this veil, we are welcomed by you God, because we come pleading the Blood of Christ. He alone is what makes it possible to be heard…so hear us, we pray Lord…hear us as we sit at your feet…pleading!
Pleading forgiveness from our sins. Would you forgive us Lord for our prayerlessness this past week? We wake up and hurry about our days hardly taking any notice of you. We give ourselves to accomplishing tasks without hardly taking any mind of you. We claim to be in Christ and yet we hardly even speak to You…and yet we are quick to speak to a thousand lesser loves in a given day. We would rather play games or suffer the news on our phones riding to work than we would to pray. We would rather listen to music at the conclusion of our days than we would like to sit in silent reflection on the innumerable ways your mercies met us.
If some of us were being honest, I'm sure that we might confess to you that the reason we don’t pray is because it seems to accomplish very little. It is a waste of time…a rude, obligatory task that is akin to cleaning the dishes or taking out the trash. Oh, Lord, how much does our prayerlessness reveal about our hearts? The weight is to heavy to consider.
We confess that we would rather watch TV than pray. We confess that we would rather sleep than pray. We confess that we would rather talk to friends than pray. Our hearts are sometimes so twisted…we would rather read the Bible to satisfy our guilty consciences than spend 10 minutes in unhindered prayer towards you. We cannot hardly remember when the last time we fasted was and we certainly cannot call to mind the last time we spent more time in praise and adoration than we did in asking you to fulfill all of our wishes.
Merciful Father…have mercy on your prayerless children...like those disciples…not only teach us how to pray…but teach us to ENJOY prayer. In the coming week, give us endurance in prayer…give 5 or 10 of us the opportunity to be refreshed by your presence in prayer. Make it 20 or 30 of us!! Oh God, we beg you…weigh heavy on our consciences this week…REMIND us, that you are no heavy handed Father…but tender hearted friend.
I ask that this church would be a church that is known for its prayer. Not just on Sunday mornings, but on Tuesday nights at CG…and in the bedrooms of those that are married before they lie down to sleep. May we pray over our meals, but may we also pray over offices, our children, and our friends who don’t yet know the glories of Christ. May we pray over the way we spend our money, and the way we spend our times of leisure.
Yes, and Lord…at the risk of sounding contradictory…would you have us to pray in such a way that is not self-seeking? Give us joy in praying for our enemies and for those that rule over us. Give us gladness in praying for things that may never affect us in the least. Remind us that our prayers should reflect Your intentions and not just our own. Remind us in our prayer lives that this world is not about us…and remind us, that the sooner we understand that, the sooner we will know what it means to live before you.
We don’t depend upon you as we ought…we confess that to you…our prayerlessness or our slowness to pray reveals our indifference towards you.
But oh the JOY it is to know…that your forgiveness is as generous as the waters of the oceans. How good it is to know that while we do not pray, you do not withhold your love for us. How good it is to know that while we seem to have so little time for you, you have a great deal of time for us. How good it is to know that your love for us is not dependant upon our love for YOU!!
How good it is to know that with you there is forgiveness…and how good it is to know that forgiveness was accomplished with the blood of your very own Son…who gave us life so that we ruined sinners might have life.
Even as I close this prayer, Lord, remind us that you will be happy to have us visit you again whenever we please. Be glorified in the prayers of your people. Be glorified in the dependance of the Saints at Restoration Church in prayer, this week. Use those prayers this week to not only sanctify us…but use them to remind us of your Infinite Goodness…of your power, and your glory. We love you God...thank you for the privilege of Prayer…receive it in the Name of your Beloved Son who ransomed us to be a people for HIS own possession. We pray in the Name of the One that made prayer possible…Christ Jesus, the Lord…our Hope…our Peace…Amen.
God's No To Andrew's Yes
What happens when you desire to go to the global mission field, but all the doors close in your face? Listen to what our brother Andrew learned about God and himself when God said "No" to his "Yes."
Worship through Prayer
Dear Lord, we come to you today, in spite of the chaos in the world and circumstances of our lives, to celebrate who you are. You are the everlasting God, the Almighty One, the King of Kings, the Creator of all life, the Sustainer of all life, and the gracious Author of new life in Christ Jesus. We are gathered here to marvel at your Word and the great news of the Gospel, for the work done by Christ Jesus when he died on the cross, and for the glorious victory over death accomplished when he rose from the grave. We praise you, for who could have imagined that the Holy One of Israel, the Alpha and Omega, the God of the Universe would also be merciful enough to send his only Son to die for us. We thank you and praise you for the work done in your worthy son, Christ Jesus.
We admit, God, that we are not worthy. We have nothing of worth in and of ourselves to bring before you today. This week we have lacked self-control, overindulging and taking good gifts and twisting their purpose. We have been insubordinate to those you have placed over us, not granting the benefit of the doubt to our leaders when much greater benefits have been given to us. We have quarreled needlessly over silly issues, and failed to show gentleness to those around us. We have forgotten you by forgetting to read your Word, we have forgotten the Gospel by not extending grace to others who have wronged us, and we have forgotten your faithfulness by not being faithful, in thought or deed, to our spouses. On top of all this, we sometimes convince ourselves that we have the ability to change it all. But we can’t.
God we thank you that you can. We thank you that your goodness and loving kindness appeared and saved us according to your own will, not because of anything we had done. We thank you that you have assured us of our standing by once and for all crushing sin and death on the cross. By separating our sins as far as the east is from the west. By calling us to become heirs with your Son Christ Jesus in your Kingdom. Help us to not forget that the good work you started in us will be completed, you have promised us this. Help us to remember that we are no longer slaves to sin and death, you have bought us. Help us to stand firmly on the hope of salvation we have in Christ Jesus, that never fails, you have assured us of this.
Father, we come to you this morning in the name of Jesus, our Lord, our Savior, our righteousness, our comforter and defender. We praise you that Jesus is at your right hand. We praise you that you have put all things under his feet. We praise you that he is head of the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
We ask in the name of Jesus that you would continue to build our church up into maturity in Christ. Shape each member to look more like Christ this week. As the children learn about Zacchaeus this morning, take your word and plant it deep within their hearts that it might bear fruit in the days and years to come.
Give us a spirit of unity in the bond of peace. Holy Spirit, fill us up that we might think of others better than ourselves. Give us the grace to forgive freely and fully. We pray for the C family. Help R and C to model Christ in their marriage as they raise C and A in the gospel. We thank you for our sister E.C. and the many ways she serves our church behind the scenes; grant her a deep joy in Christ this week. We pray for our brothers J.F. and J.F. and B.S. Cause them to be men who lead and serve with their face like a flint toward Christ.
We thank you for our brother Nathan and his faithfulness to proclaim your word. Give him joy as he studies week after week. Change him and shape him and mold him so that the words he speaks come from a heart melted by the grace of the gospel.
Father for the glory of your name in Christ Jesus, use this church to display your manifold wisdom; to adorn the beautiful doctrine of God our Savior. Use this church to encourage those already trusting in Christ, to declare and display the gospel to those who do not yet know Christ. Use our church to comfort the hurting, to be patient with the doubting, to graciously call back the wayward.
Do all of this that your name might be hallowed; that Jesus Christ might be exalted; that our joy might be full. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.