Worship

Grace and Mercy ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

Father God,

Your grace and mercy is something that doesn’t make sense.
I mean, sinners, us, receiving mercy and forgiveness.
Sinners receiving chance after chance to change our ways and be obedient.
Sinners who constantly turn on You.
Sinners who would much rather be their own god
or acquiesce to weak worldly gods.

To reflect on such depravity sends chills up and down my spine.
But it is because of such depravity
that Jesus comes.
It is because of such darkness within
that Jesus is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
It is because of such self-glorification
that Jesus dies and rises,
FOR US.

Oh God,
may Your Spirit continue to shine the light of Truth in our hearts
that we may always run to You.
And once in Your arms
may all worship and thanksgiving be given to You
for Your incredible grace and mercy.
Oh God, there is no god like You
and therefore You are worthy of all praise.
All glory be unto You, oh God, through Christ Jesus our Lord,

Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Abba Father ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

Abba Father,

we come in awe of your incredible love
as we think about what Jesus did for sinners.

He marched toward the cross
where he would take the sins of the world upon his shoulders.
Jesus faced a wrath
that was and is rightly ours.
Jesus took the punishment
that we deserve.

Abba Father,

we are humbled by such love
and blown away by such grace.
May the words we hear proclaimed this morning
be holy words that come from you;
that we may be Spirit-fed.
May the Good News of Jesus Christ
embolden us to be faithful unto death
as we proclaim the life and death of Jesus.

Come Holy Spirit, come;
opening our eyes and ears to see God’s glory.
It’s in Jesus name I pray,

Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Cling to Jesus ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

Holy God,
Lover of my soul,

the depths of my betrayal is unsearchable
and there is no limit to my sinfulness.
I can not claim innocence
or even begin to mitigate the charges levied against me.
When all is said and done,
and I stand in Your holy court,
I have no defense of my own that will hold water;
for anything that I could say I’ve done
is filled with deadly holes.

On my own I am sunk.

But Jesus is my hope,
for he does not forsake me
and therefore I cling to his righteousness.

May Your Holy Spirit be sent to me
that I may always cling to Jesus
and thus be acquitted of all charges;
for Jesus has already be charged, tried convicted, sentenced and punished,

FOR ME.

Jesus bore it all that I would not have to.

Oh God, You are an awesome God
and I’m unworthy, therefore
all praise and glory be unto You, holy God, through Christ Jesus my Lord.

Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Immanuel, God with Us ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

I am back after a Sunday off; celebrating Christmas with my family. I hope and pray the joy of Christmas continues to reside in you; drawing you closer to God through Jesus Christ. Let us pray…

Loving Father, Holy God,

You came to us at Christmas time
as Jesus;
Immanuel, God with us.
You came to us in love to give us hope.
You came to us as light to scatter the darkness.
You came to us as our Champion; defeating death.

Oh God,
words escape us
as we ponder the implications of this holy birth
as too often we take Christmas for granted.
Too often we get caught up in the
lights
and sounds
and smells
and tastes of the season.
Too often our gaze is diverted from the manger
to imaginary creations of the season.

Holy God,
send now Your Holy Spirit
to tune our ears to Your words
so that we may fix our eyes on Jesus.
May our hearts swell with joy
and pulsate with a desire to proclaim this Good News;
Jesus Christ,
Immanuel,
God with us.

May all glory be to You through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Getting Closer ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

God of hope.
God of Joy.
God of glory.

As Advent winds down
we continue to wait with anxious anticipation
as we long for the coming of our
Lord Jesus.
We look forward to worshiping this week;
giving You thanks and praise
for the Christmas gift to beat all Christmas gifts,

but more importantly,

we long for the second coming of Jesus.

May we not look past the manger
and miss the joyful Good News contained within.
May we not see only a cute little baby
born to humble parents in humble circumstances.
May we not only enjoy the pageantry of the season
but may we also see our salvation story
being played out before our longing eyes.

May we see our hope.
May we know true joy.

So we humbly ask that You may send your Holy Spirit
to fill our hearts with the hope of the resurrection
through faith in Jesus.
May we know and live the true meaning of the season.
Jesus Christ,
our victorious Lord and Savior.
And may the joy on our face and in our voices
show people that we indeed mean business.

Amen.

God bless you, this 4th Sunday of Advent, as we speed ever closer to the manger. May your Christmas preparations draw you closer and closer to Jesus.

The Pastor -|—

Holy Trust ~ A Morning Prayer

/ The Pastor

Good morning all. I was out of town last week but I am now back; preparing to lead worship and preach God’s holy Word. May God be praised as we worship. Let’s pray…

Holy God,
You make the impossible possible.
You forgive sins.
You raise the dead.
You defeat Satan and death.
You give eternal life.

But yet,
when presented with this news,
too often we follow after Zechariah more than we do Mary.
Too often we want proof rather than to worship.
We want sensory satisfaction rather than rely on holy trust.

We see the impossible and blow it off.

But as Your children;
as Your servants,
may Your Word be to us as You have decreed.
May we not doubt but rather receive this life-changing Word.
May Jesus be our proof and life.

Send now You Holy Spirit,
oh God,
that this word here spoken may build and lift us up onto Your glory.
May we not seek to see with our eyes.
May we not seek to hear with our ears.
May we seek to believe in our hearts.
May we seek You.

All praise and worship be unto You,
oh God,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Bursting Forth ~ A Morning Prayer

/ The Pastor

Holy Father, awesome God,

Your Word is life.
Your Word is our hope.
Your Word is our very breath.
You created with a word.
The serpent deceived with a false word.
Adam and Eve were expelled with a word of curse, warning and finally hope.
You created a people and nation with a word of promise.
You gave new life with a Word
and that Word is embodied in our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ.

And so we come to this Advent season with anxious anticipation of this Word. May we not doubt.
May we not impose self-inflicted mutism when is comes to the Gospel,
but rather,
may we burst forth in praise
with what the birth of Jesus means for a dark and lost world.
May we sing the glories of your name
to a wearied people.
May we announce hope
to a hopeless word.

Send now Your Spirit, oh God,
that we may hear this Word
and be filled with awe,
so much so,
that we can’t wait to burst through these doors
and fill this world with the hope of the resurrection.
It’s through Jesus Christ our Lord, I pray,

Amen.

God bless you as you begin this Advent season. May the light of Christ shine brightly in and through your life to the glory of God.

The Pastor -|—

Help ~ A Morning Prayer

/ The Pastor

Holy God,

we are unclean,
unholy,
unfaithful.

We are betrayers,
deserters
and fleers of Your Son, Jesus.

We are lost,
hopeless
and dead without Your Son, Jesus.

We need help.

Holy God, loving Father,

we are sinners;
sinners in need of help;
sinners in need of mercy.
And so we appeal to Your holy and amazing grace,
not just now, but each and every day.

Hear our prayers.
Hear our confessions.
And send Your Holy Spirit,
that the words of my mouth
and the meditations of our hearts
may be pleasing to You,
oh God.

May we not be found lost
but praising Your holy name
as we wait longingly for Your Son’s return.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen.

May your worship this morning be pleasing to the ears of our most holy and awesome God.

The Pastor -|—

Devoted ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

Holy God,
as we gather, this morning, to worship You,
I feel that we are still coming up short.
Nothing that we do or offer seems sufficient
given Your holiness and amazing love.
Nothing seems enough
given Your grace and faithfulness.
We may have the intention to show You great devotion
but way too often You get our leftovers.
Way too often we examine our needs now
so we may determine what we can afford to give You later.

Oh God, holy Father,

may our devotion be wholly on You;
giving You the first fruits of all we have,
because really,
those first fruits came from You.

May our sacrifices be worthy of You.
May our devotion be wholly true.

All praise, worship, honor
and devotion
be given to You,
awesome God,
through Christ Jesus our Lord,

Amen.

God bless you as you praise and worship our awesome God!

The Pastor  -|—

Waiting ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

The sermon text for today is Mark 13:32-37. May God be praised as you worship.

“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.
[Mark 13:32-33]

Creator and Redeeming God,
from the beginning of time;
when sin entered this world,
You have been guiding us to redemption.
You sent Your Son, Jesus,
to live and die and rise
that we may be forgiven and thus brought back to You.

And now,in the interim, we wait.

We wait for the glorious coming of our Lord.
We wait with longing expectation.
We wait with eagerness.
We wait with hope.

And when Jesus does return,
may we not be found lacking.
May we not be found sleeping.
May we not be found distracted.

When Jesus returns,
may we be found doing the very things that we should be doing;
glorifying your most holy name.

So tune our hearts to You as we hear Your Word.
May we always live with joy in our hearts at the coming of our Lord
as we live each day as THE day of Jesus’ return.

All glory,
honor,
praise
and worship
be to You now and always,

Amen.

The Pastor -|—