Triune, holy, infinite God, you are immense beyond imagination. You measure the entire universe with merely a span of your hand. You are unimaginably awesome in all of your perfections, absolutely righteous, holy and just in all your ways. You have been unbelievably good and merciful to us as the Creator and Sustainer of our lives. Every breath, every heartbeat, every function of the organs in our body are a gift from you. Every legitimate pleasure we experience is a gift from your loving hand. All that we have and all that we have, we owe to you and your goodness. Our lives in every way are, and will continue to be, utterly dependent upon You. God, you are the most supremely worthy object of our adoration, honor and delight.
Yet we could not have failed you more miserably than we have. We hostile in our minds thinking more highly of ourselves than you; we are hostile in our minds thinking ourselves better than others. We are evil in our deeds willfully and purposefully doing the very things you forbid. We are evil in our deeds doing those things you require, but with selfish motives thinking we can prove ourselves to you. Because of this we are alienated from you – the Author and Give of Life.
Grant us repentance and faith that we might have life in your eternal Son, Jesus. Bring to mind specific instances of sin in our lives – reveal our greed, make aware us of the slightest forms of lust; give us a hatred of fornication, lying, bitterness, impatience; show us where we are un-teachable and arrogant ignoring the correction and rebuke of those who care about us; give us a distaste for laziness and dullness. Yes, by the indwelling power of your Holy Spirit, change us that we might behold the glory of Jesus and delight in his supremacy and savor his sufficiency.
May we live lives worthy of the gospel, bearing fruit in every good work. May our lips testify the to goodness of Christ as we share the gospel with friends, co-workers, and classmates. We plead with you Lord God to use the ministry of our church to see many more people transferred from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of your beloved Son.
And we pray that happens not only here, but also in Columbia Heights. Bring us a bi-lingual man we can train, assess, and send out to plant a church for throngs of Hispanics in Columbia Heights. We plead with you do to this and give us wisdom as to how best to proceed.
We pray for the billions of people around the globe without access to the gospel. Raise people up, people from this very room to carry the good news of Christ to 3MM Megh people of India, and the 8MM Tulani people of Nigeria. Don’t allow us to live comfortable lives while people are dying without hearing the name of Jesus. Give us boldness and steadfastness in the gospel.
Help us not overlook the freedom we have here in this country to openly and publicly worship Jesus. We thank you for that, and pray for our government as they face endless difficulties. Give our president wisdom and a deepening sense of justice as he guides this nation. We pray for all the government officials from the small city mayors to state governors to Congress. May they understand the responsibility you have placed on them to rule with humility, wisdom and a sense of justice, for you are a just God.
As we continue to worship you tonight, fill us with the knowledge of your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding that we might walk in a manner worthy of our Lord and Savior, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of you our great God. We delight in Jesus in whom the fullness of God was pleased to dwell; who One made peace by the blood of his cross. Amen.