Deus Misereatur

  Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness. Royal and regal God, who sits above all that claims our allegiances, who is enthroned even over all who are deified and idolized. We pray that you would bring all self-made divas and divinities to see that there is no authority or acclaim outside of you and your control. Raise up the humble and cast the wicked to the ground.   The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. We beseech you that your voice would go far and wide; your word would run free and unshackled so that all may hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. To this end, we pray for our team as we head out soon to Carnegie in two weeks; for our own Heritage Mega Sports Camp VB...

  The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness Jonathan Haidt Penguin Press ISBN: 9780593655030; March 2024; $30   There is this creeping feeling that things are amiss, which keeps snagging our perceptions and catching on our minds. Some people shift the blame to this or that political party to explain the trouble or fault the stupidity and lameness of “those younger folk”. Most of the time much of the blame and assertions are prejudicial anecdotes with very little research or factual analysis. That’s where Jonathan Haidt comes in. Haidt is the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He is also the author of several valuable works and papers, such as “ The Righteous Mind ” and “ The Coddling of the American Mind ” and other compositions. In March of 2024 he published “ The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Me...

  [This was my letter to my congregation today - 5 June 2024] Here is a little something to contemplate and let move around in your heads and hearts. In Romans 12:3-8 (as well as all of 1 Corinthians 12) Paul states that we are a body, and that means that each body part has God-given abilities and functions. He then announces that each of us have Jesus-given gifts that are to be used for the good of our congregation. “ Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them ” (Romans 12:6). This goes along with what Paul states in 1 Corinthians 12, “ To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good ” (12:7).  Part of our assignment, then, is to employ and engage the gifts we have; think through ways we are to be involved with each other for the larger good of our congregation. Now, there are seasons of life when other things restrict us from doing this – like raising little children or caring for aging parents, for example. But as soo...

  Our Father Who art in heaven : we come to you trusting and rejoicing that you are our Father through Jesus Christ, and that you will answer us, as promised, with as much readiness as, and more readiness than, our own earthly parents. And we trust that we may expect from your almighty power all things necessary for body and soul. Hear us, Father, as we pray. Hallowed be thy name : Enable us rightly to know, reverence, magnify, and praise you in all your works through which shine forth your power, wisdom, goodness, justice, mercy, and truth; and likewise, to so order our whole life, in thought, word, and work, that your name may never be blasphemed but honored and praised on our account. Thy kingdom come : Preserve and increase your Church, to include this congregation and these churches in the greater OKC area: Christ Family Church, Christ Temple, Christ the King, and the Christian Center. So govern us by your Word and Spirit that we may submit ourselves unto you always more ...

  I have been working at memorizing all eighteen verses of 2 Corinthians 4. The whole chapter is about Paul’s ministry, which is a gift of God (v.1). Because of this he responds by exhibiting integrity in what he does (v.1-2) knowing that the devil is involved in trying to block his work (v.3-4), but the message must go out with Jesus as the heart of the gospel (v.5) because God is at work in it all (v.6).   Then he explains that his work, though difficult at times, still goes on by the living power of Christ’s death and resurrection (v.7-12). And he is confident that all he does will be for the good of the Corinthian church and the glory of God (v.12-15).   As important as verses 1-15 are, it’s the final verses (v.16-18) I want to dwell on a bit. Paul is still talking about his ministry. But it appears that Paul’s health is beginning to show the marks of the abuse he has received: “ So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is bei...

  Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” O God see how the peoples and nations of this world conspire and rage against your Son and his Lordship: through adjudication, legislation, execution of orders, shaming on the air waves, taunting and demonizing through social media and music. And in some places downright brutality and cruelty. See, O Lord! Take note and come to the aid of your chosen ones. Further, we long to see our own nation flourish as a just and lawful land. We long to see our neighborhoods, cities, and State to show themselves to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. And dear Lord, on this Memorial Day we remember and appreciate those who died – men and women – giving themselves to the defense of our country, to keep it free from tyranny and tyrants...

  Creator God who in the beginning made all things of nothing by the power of your word, and all very good; whose Spirit hovered over all that was formless and void to bring forth order and life. We pray for your Spirit to hover over us; and we pray that your Spirit would continue to cause the earth to bring forth fruit bountifully. We pray: Come, Holy Spirit! Revealing God, who assigned prophets, judges, and Psalmists like Moses, Deborah, David and Isaiah to bring forth your decrees, directions and adulations, and clothed them with your Spirit who guided them and testified through them of the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories; cloth us with your Spirit that we may bravely serve you and our neighbors in love and truth. We pray: Come, Holy Spirit! Holy God who sent your Son Jesus Christ into the world that through him we might have life; and after his death, burial, resurrection and ascension, you sent forth your Holy Spirit by your Son, so that we would not be left as...