Adoration

Father, you are the giver of life. You make and sustain every living being. You give us life and meaning.

You do not need us or any created thing, yet you created us for your joy.   You rejoice over us. You allow us to glorify you, bask in your beauty, and find joy in you.

You are the True God. Your faithfulness never ends. You always act for what is right and just.

You are Good. Thank you. We love you.

Confession

Father, while we confess Christ, our thoughts and actions indicate that we choose death. We confess:

Pride has a foothold in our hearts that we cannot shake. We have chosen to seek fleeting satisfaction outside of you, when we know deep satisfaction is rightly found in you alone.

We have chosen to rely on our own strength and wisdom, rather than trust Christ.

We have actively worked to undermine our bosses, colleagues, teachers or parents, in order to justify our own actions.

We have chosen to let the fear of others fester, when we know we are yours, you are in complete control through every circumstance and situation, and you are Good.

We have chosen to selfishly hold back good gifts and praise for others, which is entirely inconsistent with your character.

Lord, we confess there are areas where we don’t even recognize our own sin and fallen nature. We use virtuous language to describe our own vices. We do not necessarily do this to deceive others, often we ourselves are deceived. Our deception runs deep.

Heal us Lord. Transform our hearts. Surround us with brothers and sisters in Christ who can speak your Truth into our lives. Make our life in your church meaningful.

Father, we continue to hold to our confession of Jesus as Lord. As your Word tell us, “[You] being rich in mercy because of the great love with which [You] loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.” “For this is your will, GOD our Father, that everyone who looks to Jesus and believes in Him will have eternal Life.”

You hold us fast. You will not cast us out, nor allow us to be snatched out of your almighty hand.

Jesus, abide in us that we may abide in you.  

Thanksgiving and Supplication

Thank you for the many Gospel-centered conversations that we have had this week. We thank you that we have confessed sin to others, sought forgiveness, and worked to restore broken relationships. We thank you for opportunities where folks have met to encourage one another in their walk with you. May you be glorified in our conversations this week.

We pray for our family of churches, the Southern Baptist Convention, as they meet this week. We pray that conversations, both public and private, and any decisions that are made would be marked by Charity, Fidelity, and Justice. We pray that the Gospel would be heralded by the SBC this week.

Lord, we pray for our city. We thank you for the Caps win. While we’re not all hockey fans, it is fun to see the city come together. We pray that there would only be more celebrations that would bring our communities together, celebrations that are not divisive but promote unity.

Lord, we do pray for all taking part in PRIDE festivals this weekend. May each person recognize their beauty as image bearers of you, and that they would know your love.

We also pray for Muslims around the world as a month of fasting ends and turns to celebrations. We pray that your Spirit would work among them during this time to soften their hearts to Jesus. We pray that they would recognize the beauty of the Triune God and that Your Truth would resonate with them.

We pray that Freedom of Religion would be recognized in all countries and communities, that individuals would be able to freely identify with their beliefs.

We pray for your Church around the world where followers of Christ are in the minority. We pray that they would be marked with humility, strength, and integrity. That they would be found favorable among their non-believing friends and family members.

We pray for your persecuted Church. Grant them perseverance and hope. Raise up pastors for communities that have none.

Lord, may we, here, not grow comfortable or complacent. Help us to see where we can take more risks individually and corporately for the glory of your name. May we use our talents to build up your kingdom.

In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.