Worship though Prayer
Gracious Father, we come to you in the sin-covering, life-giving, heaven-opening name of Jesus Christ. We marvel that we get to commune with you, our gracious and merciful God. For the glory of your name, continue to fill Restoration Church with unity. Holy Spirit, bind us together and give us the grace to put our personal preferences below gospel priority. Holy Spirit, fill us afresh, and make our lives attractive with the beauty of the gospel. In our conversations with friends, neighbor, co-workers and classmates help us be wise, sensitive and grace-filled. Use our ministry to see people come to know and trust and treasure Jesus Christ.
This week, Lord, as Community Groups start back we ask that you would use our times together to help us delight in the supremacy of Jesus Christ. We praise you for the leaders and the hosts who serve us each week. Give N&A, H&L, D&M, K&N, J&T, B&M, D&J, R&S, H&K, L, C&T, W&T, myself and P, give us all a deep joy in using what you have given them to build up the body of Christ. Use our Community Groups as a place where we build each other up in maturity in Christ, a place where we mutually serve one another, and as a place where we encourage one another on our mission for Jesus.
We pray for the advancement of the gospel globally. Raise up indigenous believers and church planters among the BKs. We pray for our teams going overseas; use them Lord to be an encouragement to the workers on the ground. Use us, use our resources to get the gospel to the Ks. We pray for 20 Schemes as they labor to plant churches among Scotland’s poorest neighborhoods. Raise up many young men and women to give their lives to the schemes of Scotland. We pray for our brother A, M. For the glory of your name Lord, use them, use us, to plant a Spanish speaking church in Columbia Heights. Use us to see many people come to faith in Jesus. In your gracious providence, bring other men along side A to serve as leaders in this gospel work.
We praise Lord that we do not labor alone. We praise you for Capitol Hill Baptist Church and The Well in Silver Spring. Continue to grant faithfulness to Redemption Hill and Christ our Shepherd and Church of the Advent. Bless our brothers and sisters at Washington International Church and NCC and Redeemer Arlington.
And we all pray together…
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom,
and the power and the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
Worship through Prayer
Father, we praise you this morning…as servants of the Lord we praise you, we offer you blessing, honor, and ALL glory…for you alone are worth it, Lord. We bless your Name from today as we will do forever more in the New Jerusalem. And we ask that your name and your Glory be heralded from the rising of the sun to its setting.
You, Lord are high above all nations…and your glory is above the heavens. As we are in the throws of an election year here in our own country we are mindful that you are not elected and you are the ultimate ruler of all that are elected.
Who is like you, oh Lord our God? You raise the poor from the dust and you lift up the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes. Blessed is the man who fears you for fearing you…being in awe of you…gladly sitting beneath you as our authority is the beginning of wisdom.
And yet we oftentimes do not do that. Though we confess with our lips that Jesus is Lord our lives do not match up with that confession. Have mercy on us Lord. How thankful we are to know that you are a God that forgives. So forgive us…
Forgive us for our cold and dull hearts, forgive us for apathy. We take the name of Christ and yet all too often we are enamored by the world. We say we love Jesus and yet we don’t enjoy communing with Him in prayer. We say we love your word, and yet we often don’t memorize and/or meditate on it. We claim to be changed by His love and yet we are often more guided by lesser loves. We are not as prone to discipleship & evangelism as we ought to be and we are slow to even bring up the name of Jesus in our personal conversations amongst fellow brothers and sisters. We are too prone towards gossip, sexual immorality, greed, and laziness. We often are guided by the passions of our flesh more than we are guided by your good, pleasing, and perfect will. We often stumble into our days hardly taking any notice of your Redemptive rule, not only in this world, but in our lives. We are so clumsy with our faith, Lord…have mercy on us in our sin. Forgive us for our cold, dull, and oftentimes apathetic Hearts and grant us deeper convictions born out a deeper love to you and cause us to live as those that are guided by the Truth and not be blown about in this world by every wind of doctrine. Or worse, be blown about by whatever it is that pleases us the most.
Father, how thankful we are for forgiveness…oh how freshly we are reminded of our need for it. And with you Lord, there is forgiveness. And how glad we are to know that not only do you grant forgiveness, you grant ABUNDANT forgiveness to sinners like us! Lord you sent your Son to not only pay the penalty for our sins, and not only to remove our sins, and yes, not even to only purchase us out of our sins…but you sent your Son to wash ALL of our sins away as white as snow in order that we might be received into glorious presence as sons/daughters. We are the prodigal that has been welcomed back home after running from you…we are the ones that have received a robe when we should have received ridicule…we are the ones that received a ring, when we should have received your scorn. We are the ones that are received back as family with a room in your house, when we should have been banished, left to find a home of our own. Your Grace is abundant! Your Love is astounding and therefore we hope in you Lord. Our hope is in you…its not in us, its not in the world, its in you.
So, we pray that you would grant wisdom to the leaders of our country. Be they governmental leaders, emergency personnel, educational leaders, or even parental leaders. Please, Lord, move in them in such a way as to accomplish your will. Grant that they would strangely move in accordance with the beauty of your character in order that peace might be had in a world that so desperately needs it. Help us to know our role in that great endeavor.
Work in the midst of business leaders in places like Ethiopia, Somalia, and Djibouti, and give them diligence and insight to build a sustainable food industry that would be able to supply the people and not need outside support.
Work in the midst of the leaders of local churches to call their people to pray and labor towards a kind of harmony that would go on to eradicate racism that exists here in America, but also around the world. Give those of us that exist in the dominant cultures around the world to understand the experiences of those that struggle in the minority cultures so that we can learn to be compassionate and see a world that doesn’t make value judgments based upon the color of one’s skin or the cultural or family background of an individual.
Oh Lord, plant churches and strengthen churches to be the beacon of light around the world that might serve as a picture of what life is supposed to be like--free from prejudice and full of pleasure in the all satisfying love of Christ, our hope and great reward.
Thank you for the many that are so faithfully being these kinds of people in this church. We are encouraged and inspired by the example of the many couples that are pursuing adoption because they have seen their adoption in Christ. We are encouraged by those that are caring for foster children because they have understood how Christ has taken them in. Thank you for the many faithful saints pursuing Christ in discipleship here at Restoration Church and grow us ALL to lean into the harvest of Tenleytown, Cleveland Park, Cathedral Heights, Friendship Heights, American University, Georgetown, & GW.
Thank you Father for the ways M has done that for now 5 years. How she has sacrificially given of her time, talents, and treasures so that others might come to DELIGHT in your Redemptive Rule. Oh Father how good it was to receive our sister here as a co-laborer. You have used her and you have manifested your manifold beauties through her. Go before her and do as you did here as she leaves to serve you there.
And thank you Father for M & L. These two have served as pillars in the life of our church for years. They have served you by serving us as Community Group leaders, disciplers, children’s ministry leaders, and encouragers to the leadership of this church. Grant that they would continue pursuing Christ as they leave this place. Go before them and provide a church where they can serve and be served. Let them not grow weary in doing good, but may we soon learn that they are thriving all the more where they are.
Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for Jesus…He is all we have…were it not for Him we would be colossal failures…but with Him we can do all things. Thank you again for Grace, for Mercy, and for Love. We praise you Father…we praise you.
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Encouragement from Madeleine as the Nali's Say Good-bye
Dear Restoration Church,
Worship through Prayer
"Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we worship and adore you. God we praise you that you are wise always choosing what is best. God we praise you that you are holy completely separate from sin. God we praise you that you are love giving of yourself. God we praise you that you are just always doing what is right. God we praise you that you are true never lying or deceiving. God we praise you that you are unchangeable forever loyal and perfect. God we praise you that you are eternal having no beginning and no end. Yes, Lord, we praise your majestic name for who you are in all your splendor and beauty.
We praise you for giving us the Bible, your perfect Word. We praise you that the Bible is authoritative; perfect in all it says telling us what is right and good. We praise you that the Bible is clear and can be understood by children, yet is also beautiful to capture the hearts of the most learned. We praise you that the Bible is sufficient and it alone is enough to teach us about Jesus and the joy and salvation found in him. We praise you for your Word; help us to trust it and treasure it and mediate upon it as it points us to Jesus.
This morning Lord we praise you for the supreme joy and delight found in Jesus Christ. We praise you for rescuing us from the slavery of sin. We confess that we rebelled against you. We have dishonored you with our thoughts, words and deeds. Forgive us, Lord. We repent of our sexual immorality and impurity; we repent of our idolatry and jealousy; we repent of our fits of anger and our divisiveness; we repent of our gossip and slander; we repent our envy and drunkenness; we repent our laziness and selfishness. We praise you that it’s your grace that leads us to repentance that we might taste the heavenly joys of Christ. We praise you that because of Jesus, through his sacrificial death and life-giving resurrection and victorious ascension, sin is conquered, Satan is defeated, and death is destroyed. Birth in us a deep hope and longing for heaven that our minds would be set on things above.
We pray for those here this morning that are worried and anxious. Holy Spirit, calm their spirit with the comforts of Christ. We pray for those here this morning harboring bitterness. Holy Spirit, remind them of how much Christ has forgiven them. We pray for those here this morning feeling ashamed and guilty because of something they’ve done. Holy Spirit, point the to Jesus and wash them afresh in the purity of the gospel. We pray for those here this morning that have been grievously sinned against and taken advantage of. Holy Spirit, remind them of what it means to be a precious child of the Father. We pray for those here this morning struggling with substance abuse, for those who are weary of fighting a particular sin. Holy Spirit, birth in them the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience and self-control. We pray for those here this morning who are not trusting in Jesus alone for salvation. Holy Spirit open their eyes that they might behold the glory of Jesus and be fully satisfied in him.
For your namesake, O Lord, advance the gospel far and wide. From the underground churches in China to the public churches in Venezuela, hallow your name. Get the gospel to the 25MM unreached Pashtun people in Pakistan and to the 20MM Kurmi people in India. For the glory of your name, continue to use this church to raise up gospel workers to take the good news of Jesus to our neighbors and to the nations.
Father, we look at the world around us, and the brokenness is tangible. We pray for an end to elective abortions. We pray for hope and healing for those who have been forced or chosen to have an abortion. That probably includes some here this morning. Use us, Lord, as a place of grace and compassion. We pray for an end to modern day sex-slave trafficking. We pray for an end to domestic abuse. Heal those here Lord who have tasted these things first hand. We pray for an end to terrorism and religious persecution – not just against Christians, but against all faiths. Bring about peace, for you are a God of peace. We pray for an end to racism. We pray specifically for our minority brothers and sisters who bear the weight of systemic injustices, both seen and unseen. Give us the humility to bear each other’s burdens; to weep with those who weep.
Give wisdom and justice to national leaders all over the world; give prime ministers and presidents and kings and queens and dictators a deep desire to bring about human flourishing. We pray for the government here. Grant President Obama and Congress and elected officials integrity and humility and boldness to do what is right, what is the good for the people they are entrusted to lead and serve. Grant us the humility to respect those in leadership even when we disagree with them. We thank you that we find ourselves in a place of peace and order. Let us not take that for granted but be wise making the best use of our time.
Father, you have given us so many good gifts – the N. family, this church, children to disciple, songs to sing. We praise you. Cause these gifts to make us long for heaven, to yearn for you the great Gift Giver. Remind us of the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ. Holy Spirit, point us to Jesus that we might find our greatest delight in him as we labor here and look forward to heaven. We pray all of this in the name of Christ. Amen.
DC127 July Newsletter
For the past few years, Restoration Church has been increasingly involved with supporting DC127, a movement of churches in the city caring for families in crisis. This happens through supporting children in foster care, and helping to prevent families from entering the foster care system. You can learn more about DC127 here: www.dc127.org.
In the past, Restoration has prayed for this work, provided needed items like clothes and diapers for other families in the church network who were caring for children, mentored kids in foster care, and become host homes for children whose parents need support. Each month, we'll be providing updates about the ways Restoration Church members are serving and ways you can be praying for these situations. We'll also share more information about ways to learn more and opportunities to serve in this work.
To hear more from members at Restoration about their experiences serving with DC127, check out the church life podcasts found here:
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Megan or Whitney
Upcoming Events
DC127 Foster Family and Volunteer Panel
July 27th 7:00pm-8:00pm
The District Church Office (right next to the Shaw Metro)
1616 7th St NW
Washington, DC 20001 US
Thinking about fostering or Safe Families is daunting, and you probably have a lot of questions. That’s why DC127 is bringing together a current foster family, Host Home, and Family Coach to share about their experiences and answer your questions.
All of the panelists have already served families or currently have children in their home. They’ll be able to answer what it’s like to actually care for a child in your home or serve a family. Whether you’re just thinking about getting involved or already signed up to volunteer, this is a great chance to hear directly from the folks on the front line.
If you have any questions, please reach out to info@dc127.org or call at 202-670-1145.
Members’ Meeting
August 14th 5:00pm
Washington International Church
While many of you have heard about DC127, we know there’s been a lot of church growth and change in membership over the past two years. We want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to hear about why we are involved in DC127 and opportunities to serve, so at the members’ meeting, we’ll spend some time talking through this. After the meeting, Whitney and Megan will be available to discuss any additional questions you may have.
One City, One Hope
September 30 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Chinese Community Church
500 I St NW
Washington, DC 20001 US
Every year, churches from around the Washington, DC area come together to pray for children in foster care and families in crisis. In the past, it has been an encouraging time to join together with other believers in the area to pray for our city. Look for more information on this in the future.
Prayer Requests
Katherine and Whitney continue to help a team of volunteers across the DC127 church network to support a mom by caring for her 2-year old daughter as needed. Sometimes this is only for a few hours of babysitting during the day, and at other times it has been overnight stays for 2-3 nights.
Please pray:
- That through the safe families program, mom will feel supported and know that this care is an outpouring of Christ's love;
- Mom's health;
- The little girl will feel love and stability and grow healthily; and
- Both mom and daughter will one day know and follow Christ.
Kathryn and Sun have been working on a team as a Family Coach and Family Friend. In these roles, they work primarily with mom to build a relationship of friendship and support to reach her personal goals while also coordinating care for the children with other volunteers. As this placement gets started, please pray that the team would have patience and wisdom as they attempt to serve this family effectively and sustainably. Pray that both the host family and biological family will learn more about Christ.
David has joined a team, mostly from the District Church, providing a supportive environment for an older teenager this summer as he graduates high school, starts college, and finds a job and housing. All are immediate goals leading to a stable, independent life. There is an opportunity here for any younger men available during the day to be more of an advocate and walk with him. Contact David if you would like to serve in this role.
Praise God for breakthroughs this week in college admissions, financial aid, and potential housing arrangements. Please pray for all the remaining logistics and pre-requisites to come through that will enable him to support himself soon. Pray specifically for employment that will pay him more than enough to live independently and take classes. Also, please pray for fruitful conversations and an encouraging time as he stays with David for the next two weeks.
Worship through Prayer
Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth at it is in heaven. Father, we come to this morning with cares and sorrows and leave them all in your sovereign gracious hands. We come to this morning as your children bought with the precious blood of Christ. We come to you this morning rejoicing in the hope of heaven. We praise you, our mighty God; you never change; you are forever steadfast and faithful to bring about your gracious and just purposes for the glory of your name and the joy of your people.
This morning Father, we gaze into heaven and we worship the Lamb who was slain yet rose again to redeem us. Around the throne, we join the chorus of every tribe, tongue, nation and people singing your praise. And we pray. We pray for an end to racism. Lord, bring about racial reconciliation in this country; bring about racial reconciliation in our own hearts. Convict us of self-righteous racism sin hiding in our hearts. Cause Restoration Church to be a people who not just tolerate racial diversity but celebrate our differences in the unbreakable bond of the gospel. Help us weep with brothers and sisters who weep; who are fearful because of the color of their skin. Grant us understanding and empathy. Father, we look to the peace of heaven and we plead for that peace here on earth. From the instability in Turkey to the political divisiveness here in the United States, bring peace. From the modern day sex-slave trafficking to the acts of terrorism, bring peace and hope and healing.
We rejoice, Lord, that though we fade and die, you live forever. We rejoice that while we are empty cisterns and withering flowers, you, Lord, are the Rock of Ages and the Fountain of living water. Holy Spirit, help us to drink deeply of the lavish stream of Christ Jesus that our souls might be refreshed.
Father, in the name of Jesus, we pray for those who are especially weary; we pray for those battling anxiety and hopelessness. Holy Spirit, in your unthinkable mercy bring the balm of the gospel to wounded, aching souls this morning. Remind those who have been abused or grievously sinned against that they have good Father in heaven through Christ Jesus, and in him they are loved and secure and cherished. Remind those who face illness and circumstantial hardship that because the tomb is empty hope is always before us; darkness gives rise to light; suffering always comes before glory. Remind those who have sinned grievously and are struggling to forgive themselves that there is no condemnation for those trusting in Christ Jesus. Make the gospel real to us this morning Lord. Grant us gospel refreshment; and grant us repentance, Lord, reminding us the truly good life is the life treasuring Christ and joyfully obeying all that he has commanded.
Holy Spirit, help the members of Restoration Church walk alongside each other humbly, intentionally serving and caring for one another. We pray for A & M and J & E; refresh them all in the gospel and cause Christ to be most precious to them. Use them to build up others in the body and advance to the gospel among the lost. We thank you for the M family and the many ways they serve us all. Use their marriage to glorify Christ as K & N sacrificially love one another. Save N, N, and S. We pray for those who are moving and have moved, that they would be intentional in finding another church were they can worship you and serve others.
Use our gospel ministry to see people come to know and trust Christ Jesus. Give us zeal in gospel boldness; help us be intentional in sharing the gospel with friends, family, neighbors, co-workers and classmates. We thank you that we labor alongside other faithful churches here in DC. Bless 4th Presbyterian and Redeemer Arlington and Del Ray Baptist. Advance the gospel through Waterfront Church and McClean Bible and All Nations DC. We also pray that you would continue to use DC127 and the Porch to bring the gospel to the marginalized.
We pray for the advancement of the gospel among ISIS and Al Qaeda and the Taliban and among Al-Shabaab. Yes, Lord, as your Word tells us, we pray for our enemies. In scandalous grace, bringing saving faith to the leaders of these terrorist organizations. You saved us, and you can save them. Father, in your sovereign glory, turn these men and women from persecuting the church to planting gospel churches. Whatever you do Lord, in the name of Jesus, we plead that you would restrain the evil these groups.
Father, as we pray these things we’re mindful of your saving grace toward us. Keep us from thinking we are somehow superior to others. We were once your enemies, yet in your infinite kindness, you demonstrated your own love for us in sending your eternal Son, Jesus Christ to die for us. Forgive us our sins, God. Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent, for the sake of your crucified and risen Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Worship through Prayer
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.