Prayer

In preparation to worship ~ Agape Love

/ The Pastor

Loving God,
Your love is what gives life
breath,
meaning and
hope.
Your love came to this world in Jesus Christ.

Through faith in Jesus,
Your love saves sinners from eternal condemnation.
And Your love is what binds together Your Church in
mission and
ministry
in this world.

And so we gather as Your beloved children
to praise Your holy name
for Your awesome Agape love.
May love show forth in our worship
and
may love lead us to serve our neighbors.
Receive our praise and feed us with Your Word.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Chasten Us, oh Lord

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

A prayer excerpt, from Charles Spurgeon, that I read this afternoon. His prayers challenge me and help me go deeper in my relationship with Christ. And so I share this with you in hopes that you too will continue to search out your relationship with God in Jesus and go deeper and deeper with him.

Lord, we ask that Thy Word may chasten us whenever we go astray,
may it enlighten us
whenever for a moment
we get into darkness.
May Thy Word be the supreme ruler of our being.
May we give ourselves up to its sacred law
to be obedient to its every hint,
wishing in all things, even in the least things,
to do the will of God from the heart
and having every thought
brought into captivity to the mind of the Spirit of God.

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. [Psalm 119:9]

The Pastor -|—

Why God, Why

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

This pastor’s heart is heavy this morning after reading news about a reporter and her cameraman in Virginia being gunned down and killed on live TV this morning. I won’t go into details here as you can click the link above.

As I read this story, my heart broke and immediately send me into a series of questions, many consisting of: “Why God, why?” as I instinctively started looking for answers. It’s a natural response to a tragedy as one seeks consolation, comfort, hope and maybe even an explanation. Something, anything to help make sense of the evil and sin in the world. I hear this “Why” question a lot and ask it myself.

And there are no good answers to explain why this tragedy happened, but there IS hope. The hope? OUR hope?

OUR AWESOME GOD THROUGH CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD

[Isaiah 43:1] But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

[1 Corinthians 15:55-57]  “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

[Romans 8:35-39, but really, read the WHOLE chapter] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

[John 11:25-26]  Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?“

…and there are many more, but hopefully this is a start for you. This world is nasty, sin-stained, filled with death, but…

Our God is love, pure and perfect, and filled with Life; a life that is your’s through faith in Jesus Christ. So as chaos reeks havoc in this world, cling to Jesus. May the only answer you search for and cling to be

JESUS.

Mighty and holy God, I lift up to You those affected by this tragic shooting. May family, friends and loved ones know Your love and the hope of the resurrection. Evil may have it’s day in this world but You have overcome this world. May we cling to THAT reality. All praise, glory and worship be to You, oh God, through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

The Pastor -|—

You Need Nothing ~ An Offering Prayer

/ The Pastor

To suggest that You need anything,
Oh God,
is to suggest that You are not sovereign
and thus not self-sufficient.
To think that You need our meager gifts is to think You are impotent without us. May we never think thus.

Rather, may these gifts be an extension of our faith;
our response to Your amazing grace;
for we give not because the church needs these gifts
but rather
we need to give as an outlet to show our love for You.

So bless and multiply these gifts as You see fit that You may be glorified in this unholy world.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Mighty God ~ An Opening Prayer

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Mighty God, holy Father,
Your power and majesty go beyond all human understanding
and comprehension.
Your grace breaks through the hardest of hearts.
Your peace puts at ease the most anxious of souls.

Mighty God,
may the truth of Your power be revealed to us through Your Word
and may our faith grab hold of Your majesty and never let go.
May we continue to go deeper in You
and may the Gospel continue to give us hope.

And so we fall at Your feet in worship to praise Your holy name
and to be built up into a holy people sent out into an unholy world.
May we never be found lacking
and may we never be drawn to the lords of this world
whose promises are shallow.

All praise and honor and glory and worship be to You,
Mighty God,
through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Worship prayers for 08-16-15 ~ The Image of God

/ The Pastor

I am back.

I was off last week for some continuing education and now I am looking forward to getting back into the pulpit and worshiping with the saints/sinners of Salem and Belmont. It’s nice to take a break once in a while but I do itch to get back into the saddle, as it were.

So here you go, the prayers/blessings I prepared for worship this morning. The preaching text is Mark 12:13-17 where Jesus responds to the Pharisees’ question about taxes: Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. What strikes me is that Jesus draws their attention to the image on a coin and then says render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But what is God’s? Well, we are created in God’s image, so therefore what is God’s is that which bears His image. You and me. So this morning I am playing with this glorious reality of being created in God’s image.

May your corporate worship time be pleasing to God Almighty and may you leave refreshed for ministry out in the world; bringing glory to God. Let us pray and praise our God…

Opening Prayer
Holy Father, we enter this time of worship with joy and thanksgiving. We come before with all that we are to perform for You. We enter this space with no other expectation than to sing praises to Your holy name. For this time is not about us. It is not about what we get out of it. It is not about us feeling good. This is about You and You alone for You are worthy of all our attention. You are worthy of all our focus. You are worthy. So may this corporate time of worship be pleasing to You and may our lives the rest of the week be ones that deflect all attention to You, oh Lord, as we continue our worship 24/7. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Prayer before Preaching
Creator God, you created us in Your most glorious image. You created us with a purpose. You created us to worship you. But many have turned to worship the creature rather than You, the Creator. Many have turned away, rendering to Caesar that which belongs to You. Holy God, loving father, may You send Your Holy Spirit that these words may pack the punch needed to turn people back to You and render to You that which is due to You. May people see You as Creator and redeemer, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Post-Communion Blessing
Now may the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ embolden your words and deeds as you live as forgiven sinners; saved by grace through faith, and proclaim the life and death of Jesus to the glory of God our Father. Let us pray…

Post-Communion Prayer
You have fed us with this holy food; the body and blood of Jesus, and now You send us out into this mission field. Strengthen our faith to speak boldly of Your Kingdom and may we be ever mindful of the fact that we are Your image bearers. To you be honor and glory, forever and ever, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Cardboard Prayer

/ The Pastor

Think about this as you offer up your bedtime prayers:

God is glorified through answered prayer; even when the subject of said prayer is cardboard (long story, but praise be to God).

It matters not the subject of your prayers but rather the god you’re praying to. And God Almighty, Creator of the heavens and the earth; is the god that truly matters.

Have a good night and pray away my friends. God is listening.

The Pastor -|—

I Dare You

/ The Pastor

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
[Psalm 139:23-24]

Have you prayed a prayer like this before?
Have you dared to ask God to show you “any grievous way” in you?
Have you asked God to lead you “in the way everlasting”?

This is a dangerous prayer, but an awesome one. It is one that leads to transformation. If you pray this prayer with all your heart; meaning every single word, how does God not joyfully grant every aspect of this prayer to you? But this is not a magical incantation. This is not a rubbing of the genie’s lamp.

This is a prayer of faith.

God knows your whole being.
God knows the depths of your heart.
God knows your secret sins.
God knows every skeleton you hide.
God HAS searched you and knows you.

So that is not the issue but rather God making this known to us; that we may know that God knows. And knowing that God knows and that God has not left us; that is powerful. That is grace. And when I see that God sticks with me even though God has searched me and has found everything I would rather keep hidden, I am lead to be better. I am drawn closer to God.

Not out of fear but out of love.

And so this prayer is about God,
revealing that which does not bring God glory;
revealing that which draws me away from God.
revealing that which darkens my path, so much so, that I don’t faithfully follow.
And then revealing His grace.

So since God knows you better than you know yourself, confess your sins but don’t stop there. Don’t just rack your brain for sins to confess, but listen as God reveals to you ways you have disobeyed and then receive those “grievous ways”; confessing them as well.

And upon hearing amazing grace: My child, I forgive you. The next part of the prayer is about God leading us in the way everlasting.  This is the repentance part. Confession and absolution falls short if there is not a desire to repent. That’s just cheap grace. And so upon confessing and hearing forgiveness, pray for God to lead you into repentance; “in the way everlasting”.

Wow, what a dangerously awesome prayer.

So I dare you to pray it and then I dare you to listen. Go ahead I dare you. God is waiting to transform you.

Holy God, search me and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me,and lead me in the way everlasting! In the name of Jesus, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Worship for 08-02-15 ~ Amazing God

/ The Pastor

Good morning and a blessed Lord’s Day to you all. This morning the text for preaching is Mark 12:1-12 with an emphasis on verses 10-11:
Have you not read this Scripture: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” This is God’s Amazing Grace. The sermon will focus on these verses as I quote and use the 7 verses of “Amazing Grace”. And so the prayers have that theme.

For the Confession/Absolution I am using words from the hymn “Lord Jesus, Think on Me” from the Evangelical Lutheran Worship book. For the Benediction I am using words from the hymn “Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing”. I like to connect things to hymns we are singing to help people think more about the words they are singing instead of just flying through them.

May God be praised in your worship and may the Word of the Lord dwell in you richly.

Opening Prayer
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound indeed, holy God, for it has saved a wretch like us. For we were once lost but now through faith in Jesus, we are found. We were once blind but now we see. And it is because of this amazing grace that we gather to worship you. We unleash the joy within us and pour it out as a fragrant offering to you. And as that sweet aroma rises to you, may you fill us with Your Holy Spirit; filling us more through adding joy unto joy. May we see and feel and know the presence of Your love and may our joy spill out for others to enjoy and know. To You be glory and honor as we lift our praises to You, holy God, through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.

Confession and Absolution
All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.
All have sinned and failed to keep God’s commandments.
All have sinned and have hurt our neighbors.
All have sinned and have failed to honor God as He is worthy.
And so we gather together as a church to lift our prayers and confessions to God. Let us pray…

(ELW #599, “Lord Jesus, Think on Me”)
Lord Jesus, think on me, and purge away my sin; from selfish passions set me free and make me pure within.
Lord Jesus, think on me, by anxious thoughts oppressed; let me your loving servant be and taste Your promised rest.
Lord Jesus, think on me, nor let me go astray; through darkness and perplexity, point out your chosen way.
Lord Jesus, think on me, that when the flood is past; I may the eternal brightness see and share Your joy at last.
Lord Jesus hear our prayers and confessions…

[PAUSE]

Lord Jesus, You are awesome. You are love. You are grace. Through faith in you renew our strength and keep us on the narrow way.

In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. So as a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ and by His authority, I therefore boldly and confidently announce the complete forgiveness of all your sins; in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Prayer before Preaching
Amazing and awesome God, we have spilled out our joy through worship because of Your grace and now it is our pleasure to hear a word from You; for You have the words of eternal life. These are not mere words of man, spoken to make people feel better, but these are holy words spoken to create, build, maintain and/or strengthen faith. These words have power not because of me but because of Your Holy Spirit. These words are awesome, not because I formulated, crafted and organized these words but because they are inspired by You. So may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to You, amazing God, through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.

Post-Communion Blessing
May the body and blood of Jesus Christ give you a greater appetite for him, a stronger desire to proclaim his life-saving love, and the boldness to speak into the darkness of this world. Let us pray…

Post-Communion Prayer
Loving Father, You have fed us with a holy food, Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Strengthen our faith and send us out to proclaim this life saving word through our words and deed, that people may run to glorify You. Through Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

Benediction
Now may your tongues sing our great Redeemer’s praise, the glories of our amazing God and the triumphs of his grace. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Worship prayers for 07-26-15 ~ Awesome God

/ The Pastor

Good morning and a blessed Lord’s Day to you all. I commend these worship prayers to you as you prepare to worship our awesome God. May this day be filled with praise and holy wonder as you glorify God through your life.

Opening Prayer
Holy God, to worship You is our honor and joy for You are awesome and worthy. We long to see the beauty of Your face and long for the peace that surpasses all understanding. We also long for the faith to turn away from the temptations of this world and long for the strength to run away from the Father of lies. Holy Father, we long for life in You and for that perfect fellowship with Your son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Receive our praise, hear our prayers and change our hearts that the world may see our worship and run to glorify You. Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray, Amen.

Prayer before Preaching
Mighty King, Sovereign Lord, by the power of Your Word Your created the heavens and the earth. Through Your infinite wisdom You created life. And through Your awesome grace Your redeemed all of creation through the death and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ. And now He lives and reigns over all creation. This and this alone should be enough to draw all people to you in endless worship, but yet we continue to look for other authorities in our lives. We think we know what we want but we really have no clue. We think we can save ourselves but we are sorely mistaken. We think there is something better than you but nothing ever comes close. Through Your compassion continue to draw us back to you that we may see Your awesomeness. And may we ever be fixated on Your beauty. It is through Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

Prayers of Intercession
As finite creatures, created out of Your awesome love, we do not know how we ought to pray. We do not see the whole picture and therefore we do not know what to ask for that would bring You glory. But we boldly come before You with these prayers asking that You may give to us according to Your will and that we may have the faith to receive from Your gracious hand. Lord in Your mercy…“Hear our prayer”.

For those affected by violence in someway, please show Your love and peace. May they find healing through Your Son, Jesus Christ and may they know a peace that surpasses anything this world can promise. Lord in Your mercy…“Hear our prayer”.

For Christians around the world who deal with persecution, torture and death because of their faith. Grant them strength to cling to Your Word and grant them Your Spirit to speak Words of hope to those who would try to silence them. Lord in Your mercy…“Hear our prayer”.

All these petitions and anything else You see that we need, we commend to You through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen

Offering Prayer
Through the depths of Your love You have given us Jesus. Through the richness of Your mercy You have offered forgiveness through his death and resurrection. Through the wideness of Your grace you have given us salvation. Now may these gifts given here be blessed, multiplied and used that we may share this Good News to others. We pray this through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen

Benediction
May the One, in whom we have redemption through the blood of Jesus; the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of His grace, lavish on you all wisdom and understanding,
so that you might keep your heart on the right path.
Amen.

The Pastor -|—