Heavenly Father, we magnify your name.  You are faithful, just, and good.  Your ways are perfect and come in the most perfect time.  You are not slow in keeping your promises. You are instead patient, waiting for all your people to come to repentance and know you, our Great and perfect King.  You are the light that delivers us from darkness.  Our hope and deliverer from guilt and shame.  You are our shield and protector from the lies of doubt and fear. You are our refuge and strength, for you are for us and nothing can be against us.  We exalt you above all of the earth.

Yet, we confess that we put our jobs, school work, relationships, finances, and our own interests above you.  We repent of complaining and grumbling attitudes when we don’t get our way or when we are inconvenienced.  We repent of our laziness when it comes to spending time with you in prayer.  We excuse our lack of time in your Word because of work or family or our need for downtime. We confess that we are quick to anger, short and harsh in our words with our friends and family.  We repent in the ways we think of ourselves more righteous than others and quick to judge of other peoples’ struggles and life decisions. We confess that instead of waiting for you, we seek out instant gratification to satisfy our own desires that is not of your will.  We confess that we have turned a blind eye to injustice in our own communities.  We repent that we do not trust you wholly, but just with parts of our lives that don’t seem much like a sacrifice.  But we thank you that the stains of these sins have been washed and cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, who died on the cross and rose again so that all might be forgiven and reconciled back to you.

We thank you Father God that when lost and alone, you called us to be your own; when we were not beloved, you call us beloved.  When we were told “You are not my people” through your son, Jesus Christ, you called us sons and daughters of the living God. We thank you Lord that because of that sweet truth, our brothers and sisters at Restoration Church serve freely and joyfully as our elders, deacons and deaconesses, the teachers of our kids’ ministries, those who come in early to set up, clean, and prepare our classrooms, our place of worship, and those who stay late to break down our equipment and clean up after our services.  We thank our brothers and sisters who use their time to serve on the music team, lead and teach at Friendship Terrace, and lead our community groups.  We thank you for other sister churches, Temple Hills Baptist Church, Del Ray Baptist Church, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Anacostia River Church, and The Well Community Church, in the way they love Jesus Christ and faithfully preach your Gospel.

Father God, we pray that you use Restoration Church for your own glory and pleasure.  We pray that you would build up more men and women that would rise to the occasion and serve your local body, using their time, efforts, resources, gifts, knowledge, and experience as joyful worship, exalting your name and with desire to see your kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven.  We pray, Holy Spirit, for boldness to proclaim the Gospel in our workplaces, in our classrooms, in our homes and for you to lead us into those conversations.  And we pray for the government leaders, which you have put in place of authority.  We pray that you would grant these leaders wisdom, so that they would not legislate laws or regulations for their own gain, but for your gain; that they would not bring about policies that would divide but unite.  Father God, we especially pray for our government officials, that they would administer immigration policies that would strengthen the bonds of families and not harm them.  That children that have been separated from their families would reunited with them soon. Heavenly Father, we pray for those who came in today seeking refuge, we ask that you lead them to lie in green pastures and still waters; for those who came in exhausted, we ask that you restore their souls; for those who came in with fear and anxiety, we ask that you comfort them.  Lord God, open our eyes to the abundance of your grace and love through your Gospel today. Anoint us with your Spirit and overfill us with joy to know your everlasting goodness and mercy that flows from your throne.  Use all the songs, prayers, Scripture, sermon, and conversations today to help bless your name!  Strengthen our trust and love for you as we pray in your son’s name, Jesus Christ, amen!