"All Praise to God, Who Reigns Above" - 15 November 2015 AM and PM
Sunday morning:
All praise
to God, who reigns above, the God of all creation, the God of wonders, pow’r
and love, the God of our salvation! With healing balm my soul He fills, the God
who every sorrow stills. To God all praise and glory!
We call upon you to lift up your face on this your congregation, that
as we have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so we would walk in him; rooted and
built up in him, and established in the Faith, as we have been taught, abounding
in it with thanksgiving (Colossians 2.6-7). And help us, O Lord, to advance
godly peace with those who are at odds with us, or scorn us, and that if
possible, so far as it depends on us, we would live peaceably with all (Romans
12:18).
For your Church throughout the world, those congregations in the Society of St. Pius X; the Philippine
Independent Church; Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church; National Association
of Free Will Baptists; the Church of Denmark; the Evangelical Lutheran Church
of Finland; Uniting Church in Australia; the Presbyterian Church of Pakistan
and Taiwan. Give strength,
courage and joy to the faithful; give hope and assurance to the doubtful; give
help and aid to the needful; give reformation and restoration to the culpable.
We remember those who are tossed about on the stormy seas of emotional
and physical torment, as well as those scrambling to get above the
insurmountable troubles of their life… We ask you to look kindly on them and
supply them with every good and perfect gift that may restore them and
encourage their hearts that they may rise up above their troubles and give you
thanks until their dying days and beyond.
We cry out to you to intervene in the lives and hearts of those who have
their backs to you and have never turned to face you in Jesus……
Please, mighty God, guide our magistrates, legislators and judges, as
well as the leaders of all the nations of this earth: may they make good
decisions and pass just laws; may they labor hard toward peace, harmony,
justice and prosperity; may they bring a halt to human and drug trafficking;
and may goodness prevail in all lands.
Finally, Lord Jesus, resurrected and enthroned on high, who must reign
until you have put all your enemies under your feet. The last enemy to be
destroyed is death (1 Corinthians 15:25-26): we think upon and mourn over the murderous
bloodshed in Paris and Lebanon this past week, and we cry out to you: Lord,
have mercy! We cry out to you, King of kings and Lord of lords, to break the
evil abilities, schemes and intentions of evil men. And bring your aid, healing and restoration to
the ones presently suffering from the cowardly actions.
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Sunday evening:
Lord God, infinite,
eternal, and unchangeable, in your being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice,
goodness, and truth, the only
living and true God; We rejoice in your
decrees, your eternal purpose working out according to the counsel of
your will, whereby, for your own glory, you have foreordained whatsoever comes
to pass (WSC 4, 5, 7). Glory to you, Lord God, Most High!
LORD, be with your
people here and world over, to include Faith Bible Church-Edmond; Maranatha
Church; Cathedral of Praise; Church at the North Gate; Eagles Crest Fellowship;
Eastpointe Community Church; and Faith Church. As Hosea put it, so help
us to do: “Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure
as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water
the earth” because you desire steadfast love and not sacrifice; the knowledge
of God rather than burnt offering (Hosea 6.3, 6). O Lord, hear our prayer.
Shepherd of the
Church, as the elders and deacons come together for our retreat this week, we
ask you to be present in the formal and informal conversations, camaraderie, and
coordination. For our leadership and fellowship may the end result be the very
thing Paul desired, when he wrote, “The
aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience
and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5). O
Lord, hear our prayer.
Merciful God, we
pray for those we know who are not Christians, or those who have trailed off
into dangerous paths…may they hear, heed and live into
Hosea’s summons; “So you, by the help of
your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your
God.” (Hosea 12:6). O Lord, hear our
prayer.
Lord God, there
are loads of other concerns we have……fears…….anxieties…….. aspirations….. longings….….aims..…..ambitions…...Mercifully incline your ear to us who have
now made our prayers and supplications unto you; and grant that those things
which we have faithfully asked according to your will, may successfully be
obtained, to the glory of your name, the good of our brothers and sisters, and
the relief of our necessities. O Lord,
hear our prayer.
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