Father God,
You are holy and merciful.
You save us from eternal death
and place us in Your kingdom.
Our call, then, is to proclaim
the wonders of Your name
through Jesus Christ,
but Satan seeks to divide us.
May we seek reconciliation with You
and with our brothers and sisters
that we may be one.
To You be the glory
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.
The Pastor -|—
O God,
there are many who misuse Your Word;
there are many who devalue the Scriptures.
I see and hear,
I read and peruse,
and my heart is saddened;
anger threatens to rear its ugly head
against those who do not understand.
O God,
may anger not control my actions
but rather compassion for those who are in err.
Grant understanding,
O God,
to those who take Your Word as something
to suit their own desires;
redefining Your Word according to the culture;
according to the masses.
Grant insight,
O God,
to those who do not understand.
Grant ears of faith,
O God,
to those who do not and will not listen.
Grant me patience,
O God,
that I may be a steadfast beacon of light;
for this world needs Your Truth.
May I never back down
and may I never fail to glorify You.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen.
The Pastor -|—
Holy God,
You are awesome and great;
mighty and wonderful.
You call us to leave behind all that we have
in order to gain so much more;
Life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Grant us faith to see that what we have in stuff
doesn’t even come close to Your infinite worth,
and thus may we boldly carry our cross
and follow Jesus.
Oh God,
we praise You,
for You save sinners such as us.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen.
The Pastor -|—
In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 16, Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Can you answer that question? I am not talking about the first question he asks which is, “Who do PEOPLE say that I am?” That’s an easier question to answer, but not the one a follower of Jesus needs to answer. Who to YOU say that Jesus is?
Father God,
You are holy.
You are mighty.
You are love.
Through Jesus Christ,
You are Life.
You are hope.
You are grace.
I ask, oh God, that each and every day
You reveal to me who You are
and then may I live in that revelation
in order to bring glory to Your holy name.
Oh God,
I worship You for You are my all in all;
more than words can describe.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen.
The Pastor -|—
I don’t know about you, but I am tired of this racism crap. Oh God, help us. Oh God, send Your Spirit…
Creator God,
You created us in Your image;
we are Your children.
May we cast aside all prejudices that separate
and begin to see that we come from the same family line.
We are not different species
even though we may look different or act different
therefore racism has no place in the world
and especially in the Church.
May we seek unity not division;
community not factions.
May we go out and seek the lost
in the name of Jesus,
no matter who or where they are.
May we be one as You are one with the Holy Spirit
and Jesus Christ,
in whose name we pray,
Amen
The Pastor -|—
I was struck by a convicting thought during our congregational text study this morning. The Gospel text for Sunday is Matthew 14:22-33; Jesus walking on the water. As we were discussing this I began to think about facing fears. Peter was afraid in that boat as the wind and waves were causing havoc out there on that sea. To top things off, a “ghost” was heading straight towards them. Upon seeing it was Jesus, Peter asks to be near Jesus and thus it happened. Instead of facing his fears, Peter was facing Jesus and eventually, face to face with him out there on that stormy sea. It wasn’t until Peter looked at the wind; his fear, that he began to sink.
As we continued to discuss this text the issue of North Korea came up. All the talk about them attacking Guam and potentially the main land of the United States. It’s kind of scary when you dwell on that but why am I dwelling on it. I began to reflect on the fact that I normally close my day by watching the news and then going to bed. On many nights, the final images and words in my brain are the crap going on in the world. How dumb is that. It seems like a no-brainer. Face my fears or face Jesus. The answer is pretty simple.
[Click]
Off went the T.V.
Now if you will excuse me, I’m climbing out of the boat…
The Pastor -|—
The Pastor -|—
Staring at this cross on my office wall, this poem/confession started to flow. As I think about what it means to be a church, I can’t help but think that if a church doesn’t have a right understanding of God through Jesus Christ; if they don’t truly know him, then their mission will always be askew.
The Pastor -|—
Creator God,
when the seas billow
and the wind rages,
it threatens to submerge us in
fear,
dismay
and hopelessness,
but Jesus walks on the water.
Jesus is above the waves.
Jesus commands the winds.
Through our faith in him,
bid us to come to You and may we too walk on the water
and find peace in our souls.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen.
The Pastor -|—
Holy, awesome and mighty God,
I praise and worship You,
for through Jesus Christ 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 me from Your love.
And so may I live with patience and hope
knowing that I have already won the victory through faith.
In Jesus Christ I pray,
Amen.
The Pastor -|—
The Heart of a Pastor 