Congregational Prayer - 11 January 2015 PM


Almighty God, you have emancipated us from the land of Egypt, brought us out of the house of slavery, and have enlisted us in your service, in which service is perfect freedom. In service to you, we pray for our world and your church.

We call upon you to aid and relieve those who are in pain and trouble, who need bodily, economic and psychological healing…..raise them up, some from distress and some from Sheol, set them in a firm place and raise their heads up above the screaming worries, and frightful fears that they may acknowledge you as their deliverer. O Lord, hear our prayer.

 We ask your care, supervision and security for our country. We plead with you to direct the actions and deliberations of our leaders (Federal, State and local) along the path of your truth and righteousness. Also, for the nations of our world, those that are crumbling into barbarism, those thrown into war and conflict, those recently reeling from acts of ruthless radicalism, as well as those that seem to have it all together; we pray you to restrain the evil and promote that which is best and most fair for the good of your Church and the wellbeing of all. O Lord, hear our prayer.

 O our God, we pray for your Church in all places, New Life Baptist Church; Northeast Missionary Baptist; Northpointe Baptist; Northwest Baptist; Oak Dale Baptist; and Oak Hills Freewill Baptist Church: as we seek first your kingdom and righteousness, may we be successful and have all our needs taken care of. And we pray for this congregation: be pleased to aid us in glorifying and enjoying You; through us please profitably expand the edges of your dominion adding to our number such as are being saved; and direct our steps by your Word, not permitting any iniquity to have dominion over us.  O Lord, hear our prayer.
Finally, we implore your grace to transform the hearts and minds of those who have never believed in your Son and turned from their sins…..and please restore those who have strayed away from You... O Lord, hear our prayer.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?" (Rev. Ed.) by John Fea. A Review

Image
  John Fea is a professor of history at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, PA. A university founded in 1909 by the Brethren in Christ Church. He originally published "Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? A Historical Introduction" in 2011, and it was revised in 2016. This 328-page paperback is packed full with Colonial and American history, drawing from original sources to answer that question. It is a book written "for the historically minded and thoughtful reader who is looking for help in sorting" out this question, avoiding polemics (xix). Since we live in a sound-bite culture, Fea recognizes that it is difficult to have a sustained dialogue on this topic, but he makes a valiant effort toward having that sustained dialogue. The book reads fairly straightforward, and doesn't seem to get bogged down in the contentious mudpuddles or bogs. In the end, Fea seems to get his point across. To answer the reigning question if America was founded as a Christian...
Read more

Union with Christ - An Application

Image
  (This was my weekly letter to my congregation on Wednesday, 21 February 2024) This morning in my devotional reading, I was working through 1 Corinthians 8. Though I’ve read these words a huge number of times over the years, today one verse caused me to stop and take stock.  Paul wrote, “ Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ ” (1 Corinthians 8:12). What struck me is a couple of things. First, in God’s saving work, we are – by grace alone – united (hitched, bonded, ingrafted) to Christ so much so, that what happens to us happens to him, and what is his becomes ours (think of Galatians 2:20, for example). As Sinclair Ferguson put it, “through union with Christ all that is his by incarnation becomes ours through faith” (“The Christian Life,” 110). Let that percolate in your heart for a while. Your fear, anxiety, tears, and so forth, he feels. And his “ Peace, be still ” is yours. Second, the way we treat one an...
Read more

"Ah, Lord! We are Animated by Anger and Anxiety, Fear and Fury..."

Image
I hesitate to put this out there because of the combative environment we are in at present. But I think some souls will take courage from this, and some will also join with me as we get to the end of this little composition. I am struck by the words of God in Zechariah 8. As he rehearses the waywardness and faithlessness of his people in the past, he clearly declares that he " set every man against his neighbor " (8:10). That got me thinking long ago. I started putting the pieces together and realized that one of God's acts of judgment is division, setting a man against his neighbor. That's what happened when he divided his people into the northern tribes and southern tribes (see 1 Kings 11:26-40). Because of Solomon's turning aside, allowing his wives to turn his heart away from the God of his father, David, the Lord brings about a rift in God's people. And this pattern of divisive judgment runs throughout Scripture. On the other hand, truthful unity is the g...
Read more