The good news of Christ
Teach me, Lord, to glory in weakness,
To love at all times, to live by your power;
Show me, O God, to walk in meekness,
To work with pleasure, to cherish each hour.
Father, use me for good in this world,
Let mercy abound and grace prevail;
Holy Spirit, make me your child,
Let no good deed of blessing fail.
So pray this way:
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be honored,
—Mt 6.9
God eternal, you are Father! —
On this truth hang all our prayers —
Love unknown upon this planet
Comes to us from highest heaven,
Son of God, the very essence,
Sacrifice of man’s redemption —
Grace on grace — O Lord, what mercy!
Eternal God, all praise is yours,
All glory, honor, power, and might!
What wisdom adorns your worthy crown!
You are love, and you are light. Continue reading “Why Should You Take Note of Me?”
Our Father in Heaven,
We ask this because Jesus is our Lord and Savior.
Colossians 4.2
Father, as we devote ourselves to prayer, let us not say only generalities, but share the specific needs of our heart and detailed requests for others.
Keep our faith from vagueness. Nail our love firmly to the ground of reality.
Just as the Lord Jesus came from heaven to live and move among us, plant us in the soil of human suffering and struggle to deal with the effects of sin.
As your agents of reconciliation, make our offer of salvation to be compelling and urgent.
May your redemption fill us and turn our mourning into joy.
We praise you for the blood of the cross and thank you for reaching us with the gospel.
Because of Immanuel, Amen.
The Chosen One has come to save us!
He came because you sent him, speaks
Only what you told him to speak.
What heavy price you paid to rescue
Our souls from sin and reconcile
Estranged creatures to yourself!
O Present One, be with us — come
Within our midst and in our hearts
Abide, both now and evermore.
Outside yourself, all-sufficient,
You made us, gave us freedom of choice,
Allowed us Will to love or leave.
Remove us from ourselves, O Lord,
That truest blessing might be ours,
To love and know Unselfishness.
Father, the lack of zeal in self dismays me. Jesus died for the zeal he felt for your house. Ignite my fervor for your kingdom.
And not only in me, but in others diligence is missing. Jesus did all your will and spoke just as you told him. Give your people that same dedication, that same attention to detail and to the larger picture.
How far I feel from your holy nature! Jesus sanctified himself in order to know and please you. Purge me of all defilement, for I desire to see you after this earthly life has ended.
My love is imperfect, I still judge people by appearance, often sizing them up by what they might could do for me. Jesus loved everyone, offered them acceptance, was willing to give opportunity to all to be a part of his family. Perfect your love in me, so that I might see every person as one of your special creatures.
The man in the WWII hat shuffled towards the door of the bank I was exiting, and even though I was in a hurry, I waited and held the heavy door open for him. Surely my general courtesy could extend so far. Then, he stopped in the doorway, thanked me, and asked if I knew of a Volkswagon dealership in the area. I didn’t and it would have been so easy to politely tell him that so I could get to my errands, but instead I took out my smartphone and googled the information for him right there.
I. Philippians 2:1-8. So often we tell ourselves that we love others and, of course, love God when we really are just looking out for our own interests. God says that if we love others, we first love Him by making His joy complete by being like-minded and one, focused as one on the goal of heaven.
II. 1 John 3:16-18. We need to love others like Jesus did us: dying for our sins and rising for our redemption. This means action and sacrifice! We understand this as parents, but we must extend this to others, some who have done nothing for us or may even be enemies (Romans 5:6-8).
III. 1 John 2:3-6. When Jesus took on flesh, He did not take a vacation among His creation. He emptied Himself of His Godness and became like us in every way, so that He could suffer, die, and rise from the dead–for us! We are to have that same attitude; we must obey to walk as Jesus did.
This time the sacrifice of my time took about half a minute, and I was able to tell this elderly veteran what he needed to know. Referring to my phone, he said he might have to get himself one of those “frizzly-frazzly” things. Though it may cost, how do you look out for the interests of others?
God of ages past and eras to come,
God who is the fullness and the sum,
See us, your people’s suffering, every one,
Come save, O Lord, come save us!
Creator of earth and heaven, creatures all,
Of stars and moons, that centered burning ball,
Reach down to touch and heal the weak and small,
Come love, O Lord, come love us!
Sustainer of flocks and herds and animals wild,
The one who knows the harm of man and child,
Eternal God of nation long exiled,
Come live, O Lord, come live among us!
Heavenly Father, praise must roll from tongues
And tallest hills, from every rock and tree,
From creatures large and small, from depths and height,
From sea and space, from earth and seventh heaven.
For you, O Lord, the God who made it all,
Are sovereign over matter and murkiest mind,
You know the deepest secrets of sinful man,
Your word creates, your breath dissolves at will.
To you all glory and honor and power belong:
Besides your strength, what moves you is selfless love;
No evil’s in you, and none before you resists,
The good of light is you, and ever will be.