Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory.

We come before you today in humble adoration – we’re in awe of your works, of the things you have made, and what you are still making. God, you are grander than any canyon, mightier than any mountain, vaster than every ocean. If all the stars of the sky were joined together, they would pale in comparison to your holy and magnificent glory. You laid the foundations of the earth, and set the boundaries of the seas. You, and you alone, control the motions of the stars, and set the earth in its celestial path. Every turn of our planet is a testament to your faithful love and awesome power.

You know the way to the abode of light, to the place where darkness resides. You store up the snow and hail, the wind and rain – you control the natural processes we’ve only just begun to understand, and we stand in awe at our helplessness against the elements you can control with a whisper of your voice.

Father God, creator of the hawk and horse and eagle and bison: we marvel at your creativity, and the world you spun into motion with a simple Let There Be… How much more do we marvel at the works of salvation you have accomplished?

When we consider our sinfulness, Father, we truly marvel that you could save such as us. Even this week, we have failed and fallen short of your standard. We have been proud, set in our own ways, and failing to consider others as better than ourselves. We have sought to store up for ourselves treasures on earth, ignoring the needs of others around us to do so. Father, forgive us. When we have acknowledged others, we have too often treated them like objects for our pleasure or convenience, ignoring the sacred truth that all people are made in your image. Forgive us, Father, for our failure to acknowledge abuse, our failure to acknowledge racism, our failures to acknowledge the needs of the most vulnerable among us. Father, bring us to full and active repentance.

Father, we acknowledge that our failures to acknowledge others extend even to you – forgive us of our clipped and forgotten prayers, of our disregard for your word, of our disdain for your commands. You have called us into joy, and we have too often spurned it for the scraps our world has to offer. Forgive us of our idolatry, in whatever and every form that takes.

Thank you, Father, for sending your Son Christ into the world, for giving us a helper and savior when we were dead in our trespasses. Thank you for calling us together as a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. We’re so grateful you’ve called Jew and Gentile, Black and White, Hispanic and Asian, Indigenous and Immigrant, together as one people united in the Gospel.

We thank you for local churches that exemplify this diversity, and for the diversity you’ve brought to Restoration. We thank you for faithful Gospel gatherings throughout this city, that reflect your beauty and grace in so many different ways. Thank you for Iglesia Biblica Sublime Gracia, and for A, M, R and B and all your other servants at IBSG. We thank you also for the saints at Anacostia River Church, and for the grace of bringing our churches together through the preaching of Thabiti last week.

Thank you for all the faithful churches in the DC area: from Veritas in Georgetown to Redeemer City in NE; from Del Rey in Virginia to Altheia in Maryland. Thank you for our own church: for Joey and Nathan, Chris and Nic. We thank you for all the community group leaders: for W, D, E, A, N, J, D, M, and all the other faithful leaders and hosts.

This morning, we acknowledge that you have placed us into this world, and given us an obligation to pray for it and work in it. To that end, Father, we pray for the Gospel work going on in Central Asia right now. As we prepare to send a team to the region, we pray that you would give them peace in their hearts and prepare them to provide encouragement and speak gospel truth wherever you have opened ears to hear it. Still their hearts God, and provide them every traveling mercy and protection they require.

We pray also in acknowledgement of turmoil and strife in the world. We pray for the government of Venezuela and all those involved in the ongoing crisis: would you give government officials wisdom and a sense of justice, that they might act in a way that best cares for those you’ve placed under their care? Grant the gift of repentance where necessary, that Venezuela might know peace.

We pray for those suffering here in America as well, particularly those victims of the tornados in Alabama. Would you give state, local, and national government officials and members of the Red Cross and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief the skills and compassion needed to help build back better in the wake of disaster?

Even as we’ve prayed in the wake of difficult and tragic situations, Father, we thank you that you have provided an eternal hope through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Help us look eagerly to heaven this week: help us rest in the confidence of our salvation, and your promise of life eternal, without suffering, crying, death or pain anymore. Behold: you are making all things new.

To the glory of God the Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Christ Jesus.

Amen.