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Thank you

Father in Heaven,

  • Thank you for saving us in the storm, for survival in the assaults of Satan.
  • Thank you that we have joy in the midst of suffering, because you give us reason for the pain and hope of eternal felicity.
  • Thank you for friends, family, and neighbors who are kind and generous.
  • Thank you for the gift of your Son who brings us redemption through the forgiveness of sin.
  • Thank you for your Spirit who informs, transforms, and overcomes the evil one.
  • Thank you for the certainty of salvation, for the surety of truth, for the confidence of faith.
  • Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to serve, for a reason to live, for the purpose of relationship with you, now and forever.

Amen.

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Save us!

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.

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The gospel in my country

God over all nations —

Make the gospel spread in my country. Send workers into the vineyard here. And from here may many go out to other places and reach other peoples.

Increase our sense of urgency. Help us see the wide chasm between salvation and perdition. Remind us of the final destiny of the faithful and the disobedient.

Give us courage to speak and teach the word of Christ. Open our mouths so that not an opportunity is missed. Endow us with your wisdom so that we can know how to reach others.

We trust in you, O Lord, for the harvest.

Amen.

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Come, O Lord!

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!

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Who Do You Say I Am?

In our Western culture, we’re used to checklists to remember what items we have to buy at the grocery store or to separate out the tasks we must accomplish at work from who we really are on the weekends!  We have even made our Christian walk a checklist of things to do to be right with God and in doing so have connect our heads without our hearts.  Christianity is a relationship with the Almighty God, and He wants all of us: heart, soul, mind, and strength.

I. Luke 9:18-22.  Peter answered the most essential question.  In Matthew 16:16-18, Jesus adds that upon Peter’s confession of Him as Lord and Christ that He would build His church.  Peter’s confession became a declaration in Acts 2:36-41 and 3000 obeyed and were added to Jesus’ church that day.

II. Philippians 2:9-11.  We all must answer the most essential question.  Atheism is temporary as every knee will bow to Jesus as Lord.  Even those who ignore or avoid the question are answering it in this life.  It is better to confess Him as Lord now while still alive than wait until after death to know the truth.

III. Colossians 2:6-12.  As we have received Christ Jesus as Lord, so we are to continue to live in Him.  This means that confessing Jesus as Lord is not just words we utter.  It goes beyond loving Him from the head; we must love Him from the heart as well: heart, soul, mind, and strength in a close relationship of obedience to Him.

Christianity is what we are, not what we do.  We ‘do’ from the belief we hold.  We must be ‘all in’ for God, so that our every word and deed shows our answer to the most essential question that Jesus asks each and every one of us: Who do you say I am?

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Breathe in me the desires of the Holy Spirit

Our Father in Heaven, glorify your name this day in us and in our speech and actions.

Save me this day, O Father, that I might live in your presence and serve you, for your pleasure.

Show me, Father, how to pray more for your kingdom.

Open my eyes to needs. Reveal the opportunities to help others, for I am often focused on my own affairs.

Put power in my hands and humility in my heart.

Wash me constantly in the blood of Jesus my Lord.

Breathe in me the desires of the Holy Spirit.

No measure can be taken of your greatness. You explode all our categories of thought and dimension.

Open my ears to your word. Let your blessed strength enter my heart to transform and empower.

Bring your fellowship near. Make the joy of your presence real. Let us as your people live in true communion.

Break out your song of salvation among us.

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Scatter your people abroad

Lord God of love for the world, in times past your people launched out across the earth to proclaim salvation in Christ. They planted themselves in other cultures, among peoples strange to them, in order to learn their language and their unique perspectives. They did this in order to better communicate the gospel of redemption.

Why, O Lord, are so few doing this today? Why do people consider themselves missionaries after spending a week or two abroad?

Raise up servants who will identify with another culture, learn their language, understand their needs, and bring the gospel to their hearers in a powerfully appropriate way.

Yes, Lord, scatter your people abroad, however it must be done.

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Our Thanks We Give

Father, thank you for rain to refresh the earth,
And for the Spirit to reaffirm our worth;
We thank you for the moist and nurturing soil,
And for a heavenly purpose behind our toil;
Our thanks we give for sun and moon and stars,
For time to make the blessed gospel ours;
To you we owe all praise for life and health,
For freedom from our sin and carnal filth;
Blest be the God who made the ocean waves,
And brought to man the Son who fully saves.

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The Greatest Human Evil

I’ve never heard the sharp noise of battle,
Nor have I seen the senseless slaughter of men;
I’ve never witnessed the bomb’s exploding metal,
Nor watched a nuclear flash as bright as the sun.

But, Lord, you know the greatest human evil
Is done in darkened homes and daily words,
By divided hearts and vain minds, by feeble
Imaginations that cannot fathom your Lordship.

Let not this terrible wrong take hold of me!
Make light suffuse the truth from stem to stern!
Worthy of Christ may I in my soul be!
Save my life, as worlds around me burn!

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As Jesus Shook Foundations

O God, who walked this earth and looked
His fellow man eye to eye,
Who touched and healed the sick and lame,
Who took upon yourself our blame:
Make our own words sanctify
Those who surround us — as Jesus shook
Foundations, let our faith transform
Souls who must face the coming storm.