The good news of Christ
Food and drink and work and rest,
And love, above all, for family and friends;
With gifts like these we’re richly blessed —
O Lord, upon you our life depends.
More than all this world’s desires,
And more than bodily comfort and peace —
Earthly existence which soon expires —
Is perfect life that does not cease.
Let nothing here weigh more to me
Than knowledge of you and home in heaven;
And may I hear your voice and see
The joys of hope that daily beckon.
Heavenly Father, heaven is the only worthy goal for the future. All else will perish. Nothing will last except eternal life at your side. Save us!
Powerful Lord, the forces of the world would crush us on every side. The little ones of the earth possess no means of resistance. You alone can protect. Save us!
Only true and living God, the idols of man cannot speak, yet permit their makers to make up a religion that pleases them. All these are nothing but will waste away at the breath of the wind. Save us!
For salvation, see this simple study:
A few minutes with someone who loves you.
The sounds of life surround us — babies, dogs,
machines, the singing of birds, the whir of fans,
overhead planes, far-off thunder, groans
of pain and death — these sounds are us, O Lord,
on earth in movement toward the final day.
We strain to hear angelic trumpets, voices
announcing the coming of the sovereign Lord —
a moment’s laughter turned to eternal joy,
the happy cries of birth to heaven’s life,
the ringing welcome into the city’s gates.
Make it so! — Rip the skies apart
and sweep us up, in glorious clouds, to meet
our Savior and leave all woe and heavy care!
Though here we serve at your good pleasure, time
is not short enough by our impatient measure.
Father in heaven, this passing world holds nothing,
Offers nothing for the child of God:
Remind us always of this evident truth,
Let Satan not deceive nor blind our eyes,
As Eve fell prey and lost the blessed Garden.
Make heaven grow within our weakened sight,
Its many glories in all their shining brilliance;
Raise up our faces to our coming Lord,
Our hearing tuned to the shout of clouded angels,
So worldly voices fail to reach our ears.
There’s not a single thing that you don’t know,
But every heart is open to your eyes;
I wonder about the who and where and how,
O God, you hear the baby’s hidden cries.
In you, Almighty, there’s no place for pride,
Jehovah, Father God, you simply are,
All else is finite, subject to time and tide,
From smallest creature to the largest star.
We thank you, Lord, for love and life to share,
We seek your grace, to move beyond our plane,
To rise from earth and breathe a purer air,
Give hope to live without our tears and pain.
We trust, O God, for every promise made,
We march with certain steps, our faith is sure,
In heart, let not our final destiny fade,
But heaven’s throne increase its high allure.
See me, O Father, bowed, humble and low,
Exalt me soon to Omega — be not slow.
Our Father in Heaven, let the words of Scripture leap from the page into the deepest recesses of my heart, with your power recreating life and rearranging priorities, purifying motivations and replacing worldly thoughts with visions of heaven and your divine love.
At the same time, we pray for peace in our country. May violence be contained. May the economy permit productive activity and lives of prosperity. May justice prevail within society. May corruption be rooted out. May local and national leaders rise who are honest and who sincerely work for the security and peace of its citizens.
Make us promoters of peace and proclaimers of eternal hope.
Heavenly Father, we look for Jesus to return today, not because today is THE day, but because he could come at any time. We prepare ourselves for him. We desire his coming. We pray you may send him soon. Our salvation will arrive with him.
While we wait, we work. We warn others that they must prepare, also. We offer the message to all who need to hear it. Make our proclamation effective and urgent. Make us feel its urgency and power.
We thank you for this hope. Our lives would have no meaning otherwise. The eternal service makes our work here worthwhile. The heavenly promise makes life here joyful. Where time and tears are no more, where the sea and suffering are banished, there is our desire focused when here our work is finished.
You are to be praised for your eternal purpose in Christ, for your guiding and empowering Spirit, for your saving and faith-building word, for your confirming and edifying church.
Glory undimmed and growing splendor
Not time nor man nor demons diminish;
Creation in its precision proclaims
The eternal God of tender touch
And sovereign judgment. Save us, Lord!
Your hand has power, the heavens rejoice,
And we desire the world beyond,
Where pain and tears and pining death
Are banished, where streets are bathed in joy.
We pray for peace, and in our prayer we know
That only Christ can give it — To him we go,
To him we point when others moan and sigh
And want the world to cease its conflicts, try
As it might in human councils. Lord, it takes
Conversion — how well we know — to put the brakes
On man’s agression. Use us as your agents
Of reconciliation, give us patience
To speak and point to Jesus as the way —
To call for our repentance, for comes the day
Of judgment, when every soul’s deep thought is bared
For your appraisal — when only the saints prepared
For the end will enter that city’s calm to share,
When we’ll experience the peace of answered prayer.
The sinner’s response is fight or flight
From your great glory and holy light,
So teach us how to humbly submit,
To seek your face, and never quit
Our service to Christ. We want to eat
His bread and make your will our meat.
What you in all of Scripture wrote
We want to know, to love devote
Ourselves, as Jesus did. Create
In us desire for heaven’s Gate.