Glorious and majestic are you, O Lord. We come to you this morning declaring “Holy and awesome is your name!” You are forever faithful. You are full of splendor. You are pure, holy, and altogether beautiful beyond compare. Triune God – Father, Son, and Spirit – we worship and adore you.

This morning we praise you for the 9 years Restoration Church has been a covenanted body of believers. Your faithfulness and grace and mercy to our church family is immeasurable. You have used this church to bring people from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of your beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins. You have used this church to edify the saints and send workers to the unreached. You have used this church to plant a local church and build up the global church.

For 9 years you have kept our church united in the gospel. For 9 years you have used the every-day discipling of our members to help each other follow Jesus Christ. For 9 years you have kept us faithful to singing, preaching, and praying your life-giving, soul-anchoring Word. For 9 years you have used this church body to share the gospel with those who don’t know Jesus. For 9 years you have provided financially for this church. For 9 years you have a provided a space where we could meet publicly. For 9 years you have allowed us to teach our children about the good news of Jesus. For 9 years you have given us the grace to increasingly delight in the supremacy of Jesus Christ. On this day, we praise you.

And we acknowledge the days and times we forget your faithfulness. We confess that there are many mornings when we overlook or deny that your mercies are new. We confess that we find it all too easy to hope in this world than in heaven. We repent of our sins, O Lord. We confess that we easily take your gifts and forget you are the better Giver. We confess that we neglect to remember your trustworthiness and we sinfully worry about the future. We repent of our iniquity, O Lord.

And in our repentance, there is rejoicing because of Jesus Christ. We trust in him to be forgiven our sins, pardoned our guilt, and reconciled back to you. We plead the blood of Christ that cleanses us. We trust the resurrection of Christ that secures our heavenly hope.

This morning stir our affections for heaven. Prick our hearts with feelings and emotions that overwhelm us with the supreme beauty of what lies before us – heaven on earth. Take every earthly pleasure we have – the smell of coffee, the sweetness of chocolate, the joy of laughter, the coherence of math, the beauty of waterfalls, the warmth of sun, the kindness of friendship – take all these things and give us the grace to enjoy them as we look to the greater pleasures of heaven.

As we look toward our heavenly home, make us a glimpse of heaven in the here and now. Holy Spirit, fill us afresh that we might love and serve each other as Jesus has loved and served us. Let us be quick to pray for each other and to cultivate gospel unity. Let us be eager to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. Let us compassionately admonish one another tenderly bear each other’s burdens and sorrows. Let us weep with those who weep. Let us live with transparency and vulnerability. Let us be quick to speak the healing balm of the gospel to one another. Let us be quick to repent to one another and extend forgiveness to each other. Holy Spirit of God, so move us that we are radically generous with our finances and bold in our evangelism. Teach us to realize that all of God’s commands are for our joy.

For the glory of Christ, raise up men and women from this church to join our brothers and sisters in K. Advance your gospel among all tribes, tongues, nations and peoples. Bless our brothers and sisters at Sublime Gracia. Keep them faithful to Jesus. Surprise them with your grace. Bring them more financial donors and increase their self-sustainability. We pray for our brother Jeremy McClain at Mercy of Christ Fellowship. Bring him another elder-qualified man to shepherd the satins you have entrusted to their care. Bless our brothers and sisters at Covenant Life Church in Tampa and Legacy Christian Fellowship in Chicago. Give wisdom to Washington International Church as they continue to search for a pastor.

Sovereign Creator, we lament the brokenness of this world. Bring relief to those suffering from the cyclone in Mozambique. Bring relief to those enduring the floods in Nebraska. Give wisdom to first responders who rush headlong into tragic situations. We lament the injustices of this world. We grieve mass-shooting are all too common. We mourn the presence of racism, prejudice, bigotry both inside and outside the church, both at the individual and systematic level. We weep that image bears are denied the dignity to live. Cause us, O Holy God, cause us to be rightly disturbed and concerned by the tragedies so prevalent around us. Keep us from becoming insensitive or calloused. Create in us, a God-honoring mixture of tears and hope.

And yes, we have hope. For in this hope we were saved – the hope that one day all things will be restored back to flourishing and perfection. All of your people together enjoying this world as it was always meant to be, delighting in the supremacy of Jesus Christ. Heaven on Earth. All made possible by Jesus, who is the Christ. Amen.