"Strengthener of the Weak; Fortifier of the Faithful" - 10 May 2020


Strengthener of the weak; fortifier of the faithful, rescuer of the wayward, restorer of the repentant; you are good, for your steadfast love endures forever (Psalm 136:1). It is you who do great wonders so that by your most holy, wise and powerful preserving you govern all your creatures and all our actions; you are good, for your steadfast love endures forever. It is you who delivers your people from their enemies, elevating them from their low estate in due time, drawing them from the miry bog and setting their feet on a rock; you are good, for your steadfast love endures forever!

O LORD Most High who is to be feared, for you are the great king over all the earth; we pray for all nations and all leaders. Bring all peoples of every nation and land to clap their hands, to shout to God with loud songs of joy; bring the princes of the peoples to gather as the people of the God of Abraham, for you reign over the nations, you sit on your holy throne (Psalm 47)! You are good, for your steadfast love endures forever!

We pray on behalf of your Church world-over, this congregation and New Covenant UMC, New Life UMC, Nichols Hills UMC, and Nicoma Park UMC. Give us the grace and strength to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have called us, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4.1-3). Toward that end, bring all of us to see where we have fallen into the trap of scrappiness and sectarianism and to submit to the authority and word of Jesus our Lord. You are good, for your steadfast love endures forever!

Take note, Father, of those now in the military (…). Also, please note the pain and distress of those struggling with disease or darkness of heart; the uneasiness or discouragement of those looking into an uncertain future; the frustration and fear of those fraught with marital and family sweats and strains; (…). May your hand be on them to guide them, your right hand to uphold them, your peace to fill them and guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. You are good, for your steadfast love endures forever!

Thank you, Holy God, for the godly mothers in our lives, some still living and some already gone from our sight, who have exhibited your own tenderness, compassion, and nurturing care. Thank you for those mothers who gave so much not only in having children, but in raising them to adulthood (…). We pray for those mothers who have left deep scars (…). Bring about repentance on their part, and healing to those they hurt. We pray for the mothers of this church; may they continue to encourage, lead and love their children in the various seasons of life, showing them the face of God. And we pray for those who have long desired to be mothers but can’t; make them rich in the joy of the Lord, satisfied with you, and to continue to share the love you have worked in them. You are good, for your steadfast love endures forever! In the name of Jesus Christ, who is your steadfast love in the flesh, we pray. Amen.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“The Shift” - 2023 Movie. A Review

Image
  What do you get when you cross a dark dystopian storyline with sci-fi, alternative dimensions, theological and philosophical questions, and the biblical book of Job? You get The Shift , written and directed by Brock Heasley, produced by Ken Carpenter, and distributed by Angel Studios. This roughly one hour and 45 minute tale swirls around Kevin (Kristoffer Polaha) as he moves from one realm of life, with it’s happiness and heartbreak, to another dimension that is a dismal existence clearly governed by The Benefactor (masterfully played by Neal McDonough). A viewer will be asking questions all the way through, and picking up clues and answers that pull the story together bit-by-bit. The story bumps up against an infinite set of alternative possibilities, of time, space, and versions of one’s self that will likely stoke a viewer’s imagination. But the heart of the narrative - besides love, grief, loss, trust/distrust - is around the place of evil, specifically, personal or human evil.
Read more

"On Getting Out of Bed" by Alan Noble. A Review

Image
  When it comes to family members or friends going through a significant mental crisis, or suffering, we often can feel like we’re fumbling about to help them. Sometimes, we can become like Job’s friends, whom he had to call “miserable comforters” (Job 16:2). But very recently Alan Noble, assistant professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee Oklahoma, and cofounder and editor-in-chief of “Christ and Pop Culture” penned a deeply beautiful 120-page hardback that addresses mental affliction. “On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden and Gift of Living” is written for those who struggle with mental affliction, but also pastors, teachers, parents, and loved ones, to “help them understand their loved one’s suffering. It is for anyone who ever struggles to get out of bed” (3). I finished this book earlier this week, and kept finding myself saying, “Finally! Someone gets it!” Eight chapters fill up this handy manual. They run through several subjects, like not sounding like Job’s f
Read more

Community?

Image
  (This is from my letter to my congregation I sent out today, 30 August 2023) As one of my elders was leading us through Carl Trueman’s Strange New World in our adult class , I appreciated Trueman’s emphasis on community. And our discussions, especially the last two Sundays, were very fruitful as we thought out loud together about this subject. Therefore, I thought I would share something from David Brooks, an Op-ed columnist that leans into this discussion.   Brooks published a book in 2019 titled, “The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life”. In that work he was taking a gentle punch at destructive trends he has been seeing, and giving some helpful correctives. And so, he notes that “Individualism, taken too far, leads to tribalism” (34). He then shows how the loneliness and spiritual emptiness of individualism taken too far have become more prevalent in our time and the ways that they lead to very dark social consequences. These darker social consequences foster the need t
Read more