Mark 9

Worship prayers for 05-03-15

/ The Pastor

Below are some more prayers I prepared for worship tomorrow (I posted the opening prayer yesterday). The text for preaching is Mark 9:42-50. This is the text of Jesus talking about the seriousness of sin. “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off…” For the sermon, I begin with some opening words from Jonathan Edward’s sermon from 1741 titled, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. It’s definitely one of those “fire and brimstone” type of sermons. I wish I had more time to share more from that sermon. If you haven’t read it, simply Google that sermon and you can find a copy to read. I would suggest finding an audio version to listen to.

So with that context I commend these prayers to you. May God bless your Sabbath day as you worship and praise our awesome God.

Prayer before the sermon
Oh God of power and might; worthy and righteous; holy and awesome. You hold our lives precariously in Your holy hands, and as sinners this should cause us to pause and shutter, because really, we are deserving to be dropped into the fires of hell. But You are also a God of compassion and mercy; love and forgiveness; A just God who sees our fallen-ness and our need for a Savior. So it is through Jesus Christ that we worship You and give You thanks.

Oh God, send Your Spirit that those who are here gathered, listening to Your words, may come to a holy fear of You but yet also run to You for mercy and know Your holy love. May sin be adhorant to us and may repentance be our daily worship of You. Through Jesus’ most holy name I pray, Amen.

Offering prayer
This offering here is an extension of our worship of You, oh God; as we place our lives into Your gracious and holy hands. We don’t give these gifts as an investment program; hoping to receive even more from You. We give these gifts because You are worthy and we give them as a matter of trust that You will continue to bless us to be a blessing to others. And so may these gifts bring glory to You, oh God, as we continue to share the love of Christ in this mission field. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Post-communion prayer
Holy Father, You have fed us with Your holy Word and now You have fed us with this holy food. And so with these may Your Spirit drive us to our Savior, Jesus Christ, as we humble ourselves with the fact that we are sinners worthy of hell. But through Christ’s redeeming work, You have shown amazing mercy. Send us forth, now, to live lives of worship and praise of You. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Worship prayers for 04/26/15 (Belonging to Christ)

/ The Pastor

I offer these prayers to you for the glory of God; prayers written/compiled for worship on Sunday. A common thread running through many of these prayers is the theme of “belonging to Christ”. The sermon text is Mark 9:38-41 with the focus verse: [41] For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward. 

May God be glorified in our worship.

Opening prayer [the italicized portion are the words of Charles Spurgeon]
“Hallowed be Thy Name.” Oh that all the earth would ever reverence it. As for ourselves, enable us by Thy grace to use it with awe and trembling; and may a consideration of the glorious character which is intended by Thy gracious name, ever lay us in the very dust before Thee, and yet lift us up with holy joy and with an unwavering confidence. We come before Thee this morning through Christ Jesus to express our entire confidence in Thee. Oh God, may our songs and praises be pleasing to your ears as we come before You in humble obedience. All praise and worship to you, holy Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Prayer before the sermon
Holy Father, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to You, for You are worthy, oh God. May we be found faithful and obedient to Your Word and to Your commands. So please send Your Holy Spirit to give life to the words that I speak here this morning; that they may create and/or nourish faith. May the ears of those listening be turned away from me and directed towards You. May any praise that comes from the lips of those listening be directed towards You and not towards me. And therefore may all praise and glory and honor and worship be to You, holy Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Prayer after the sermon
Once again, holy Father, I ask that Your Holy Spirit may take the words I have spoken here and use them for Your glory. May those hearing these words this morning see their lives as belonging to Jesus, for without Jesus there is no life. It’s a hard thing to be submissive like this; to turn everything over to Jesus; including our very lives, but it’s our very lives You came to redeem from sin and death and the power of Satan. So send us forth as beloved children belonging to You through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Offering prayer
We offer these gifts this morning as an act of faith and worship; remembering that all that we have belongs to You. Be pleased to use them for Your glory and multiply these gifts as You see fit to advance Your kingdom. Through Jesus Christ our Lord; to whom we belong, Amen.

Benediction/Blessing [based on Colossians 1:11-14]
May you be strengthened with all power, according to HIS glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. For He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. So go and make disciples; proclaiming this Good News, as people belonging to Jesus. Amen.

May the joy of the Lord give you hope and peace this day and always.

The Pastor -|—

Belonging to Christ (Mark 9:41)

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

“For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.” [Mark 9:41]

The text for preaching on Sunday is Mark 9:38-41. And as I pray about and ponder this text I am caught by the phrase, “belong to Christ”.

And as I reflect on this phrase a few thoughts come to mind:
~ There is a big difference between Christ belonging to you and belonging to Christ.

~ Saying, “I’m a Christian” is not the same as belonging to Christ, often that simply reflects that Christ belongs to you.

~ If Christ belongs to you then you are in control of the relationship.

~If you belong to Christ, He is in control of the relationship, and you’re glad about that.

~ Belonging to Christ implies commitment and love.

~ Christ belonging to you implies manipulation.

~ If Christ belongs to you then you are less apt to share that which belongs to you.

~ If you belong to Christ you are more apt to shout this from the mountains tops and worship him.

Just a few thoughts as I prepare for the sermon on Sunday. What do you think? Does anything here resonant with you? What does it mean to you to say, “I belong to Christ”?

Here’s what it means to me:
Jesus is Lord of my life. He has saved me through his death and resurrection and therefore I owe him everything; especially including my very life. On my own I am weak and vulnerable but under Christ’s Lordship I am safe in his loving arms. But that’s not why I gather under his wings like chicks with a hen. I am drawn to Christ because of his awesome love for me; a love that I know will never fail despite the fact that I am a miserable sinner. And so therefore, I worship Christ and praise his name. I belong to Christ and gladly submit to him.

Now you’re turn…

Holy Father, thank you for coming to us in Jesus Christ. My life is yours. In Jesus name I pray, Amen

The Pastor -|—

In the Valley

/ The Pastor

[28] And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” [29] And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”
(Mark 9:28-29 ESV)

Mark 9:14-29; Jesus healing a boy with an unclean spirit, is the sermon text for this week. Last week I preached on the transfiguration of Jesus in verses 1 – 13; where Peter, James and John had an amazing mountain top experience; one that definitely tops anything I have ever had.

But following this mountain top experience, Jesus and the boys head back down the mountain; back to reality; into the valley, where life happens. Because lets face it, as awesome as mountain top experiences are, we aren’t meant to live on the mountain top.

The battle is in the valley and it’s into the valley that God sends you. So as I reflect on this reality and ponder this text there are three truths that are ruminating in my head and heart as I ponder preaching this text. So I share them with you here to ponder and reflect on:

(1) When Satan confronts you; turn to Jesus.
(2) When in “darkness”; turn to Jesus.
(3) When Satan is turned away; turn to Jesus.

It seems to me that the disciples were struggling with these while Jesus, Peter, James and John were on that mountain. Those disciple were confronted by Satan but tried to cast the demon out without their eyes on Jesus. The disciples were in the “dark valley” but they failed to look at Jesus. And earlier in this Gospel account, the disciples were successful in casting out demons but have now failed to turn back to Jesus.

As Christians, we are called to the valley, but don’t forget to turn to Jesus.

Dear Lord, you have called us to proclaim the Gospel, announce forgiveness and do battle with Satan and his forces. But as we confront that which we have no power to defeat, may we look to Jesus. May we have the faith the size of mustard seed that sends Satan running away as You, oh God, are glorified. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Opening prayer ~ Listen to Jesus

/ The Pastor

The following is the opening prayer I wrote for worship where I am preaching on Mark 9:1-13; the transfiguration of Jesus. The words of that text that captured my attention are the words from God to Peter, James and John when God says, “This is my beloved son, listen to him” 

May you listen to Jesus this morning and always.

Let’s pray…

Oh God, through the transfiguration of Jesus, Your son, you gave those disciples, and us, a glimpse of Your glory. You showed us who Jesus is and for that we bring our worship this morning. You also commanded us to listen to him, but we don’t listen. We don’t obey. Instead, we go our own way. May Your Word draw us in and may we listen intently as You, and You alone, have the words of eternal life. May Your words send us forth to be Kingdom people in this pagan world. And may we not be so content to set up camp here, but may we bravely and boldly leave this mountain top and enter the valley; the shadow of death. But in the shadows may we be guided by the Shepherd’s staff. So holy God, receive our praise here this morning and speak those words of Life and instill in us the faith to listen to your son, Jesus Christ, in whom we pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—