Deus Misereatur

  Someone recently asked me if I have a prayer for situations of domestic abuse. This person helps to counsel abused persons, and explained they were needing a hand as they pray with and for them. I thought about it and couldn’t recollect one, though it is on my mind often, and it arises often in my private prayers. So, I pointed this individual to Psalm 146 and gave some pointers. That short discussion has stayed with me, and so I have decided to present one possible prayer. The biblical text is Psalm 146 .  Oh LORD God of Jacob, in whom alone we can trust. It is you who are our help and our hope. It is you who made heaven, earth, sea, and all that is in them. It is you who keeps faith forever, who executes justice for those oppressed, and gives food to the hungry. It is you who sets prisoners free, opens the eyes of the blind, lifts up those bowed down, loves the righteous, watches over sojourners, and upholds widows and orphans. And it is you who will bring ruin to the wi...

  Most loving Father, who has called us into your family by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and by the working of your Holy Spirit, give us strength and desire to walk worthy of our calling, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity produced by the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-3). Now that our Mega Sports Camp Vacation Bible School is over, we pray for the kids and adults we interacted with. We implore you to keep the good and right that was done and said in their memories. Stir their hearts to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered to us in the Gospel. Thank you for the opportunities you gave us. Please, may we see some fruition.   Look upon your Church throughout the world, including Vandament Ave Baptist Church, Voice of Praise, Wildewood, and Sunnymeade Baptist Church. Give your approval and aid to the feeble attempts at being trustworthy to you, pouring out on us your unstoppable peace and...

  They were giving free copies away at my denomination’s General Assembly in June 2022. So, as soon as I found out, I scampered over to the Covenant College exhibit to snag one. I picked up one of the last copies they had, and I’m glad I did. “You’re Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God’s Design and Why That’s Good News” is a 272-page hardback composed in 2021 by Kelly M. Kapic, professor of theological studies at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. The book is precisely aimed at the subtitle. As the writer states, the book “aims to help us discover the theological and pastoral significance of embracing the gift of being limited: it is just part of being human” (15). Yes, you read that correctly – God’s gift of our human limitedness.   The chapters move through an array of topics, all circling the main thesis. The subjects include our finitude, our union with Christ, the goodness of our bodies and how our physical limitations are not bad, a look into the “sel...

(This is what I sent out in my letter to the congregation today)   Last Sunday morning, during my report on the 49 th General Assembly (in our Adult Class), we had some great discussions. Toward the end someone mentioned a specific issue that got me thinking. The following are a few of those thoughts.   The Presbyterian Church in America is fairly unique from other denominations of Christ’s church. Unique, at least, at it’s constitutional  level. What I mean is, we are one of the few denominations who have the Ten Commandments, with explanations and definitions, as specifically part of our constitution. Most other denominations only have articles of religion and  statements of belief as their charter, without listing and expounding the Decalogue. Our Larger and Shorter Catechisms are part of our denomination’s “law of the land”. Below is a sample of what our constitution  says on one of the Commandments, specifically the 7 th , “ You shall not commit adultery...

  “ We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and who is to come, because you have taken your great power and reigned ” (Revelation 11:17). Almighty and everlasting God, the source of all life and joy, who, by the jubilant announcement of the Gospel has called us to have part in your Kingdom and glory; shine powerfully into our hearts by your Word and Spirit and draw us with the constraining, compelling cords of faith, hope and love that we may heartily chose that good part which shall not be taken away from us. We ask you to direct all world leaders. Over-rule the atrocious savagery running rampant in many nations (Eastern Europe, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, and others); countermand the legitimizing of slavery, prostitution and drug-running; and may all nations come to bow the knee to the Lord Jesus, and peace and prosperity prevail in all places. Also, we have celebrated our nation’s independence this past week. Now Lord, hear our prayers for the present and ...

  The Violence Project: How to Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic Jillian Peterson and James Densley Abrams Press www.abramsbooks.com ISBN: 978-1-4197-5295-7; $28.00; September 2021   It’s all the rage! Almost every news feed and social media venue broadcasts it, some with greater alarm than others. And the glut of press it receives makes it feel like it’s happening everywhere, every day, in every neighborhood. It’s like a voracious beast that is growing and consuming all in its path. And then there are the pundits and professionals that describe it as a simple, single-item issue that calls for a simple, single-item remedy and they have the cure-all-fix-all remedy. But the trouble is far more problematical, which means a healthy response will likely be at several levels simultaneously. Into this hazy fog of violence has stepped a new book, “The Violence Project: How to Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic” by Jillian Peterson, PhD, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Jus...

  O Eternal God, through whose mighty power our fathers won their liberties over two centuries ago; grant, please, that we and all the inhabitants of this land may have grace to maintain those liberties in righteousness and peace through Jesus Christ our Lord. Thank you, Lord, for these United States of America. Thank you that as the decades and centuries rolled on, we endeavored to become more and more consistent with our founding documents and principles. We rejoice in the ways our ancestors acted on the self-evident truths “that all men are created equal” and finally, after conflicts aplenty, secured the standing of black slaves, Native Americans, and immigrants.   And so, affirming “that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” our forebears hammered out these rights for all living. Further, once more, we are thankful for how this all was recently expanded to include not only the for...