For the Church, that we may dwell in unity, oh God. May we be the people You created us to be and do the ministry You called and commanded us to do:
Where there is division – unite.
Where there is discord – harmonize.
Where there is hurt – heal.
Where there is despair – give hope.
Where there is dissension – unify.
Where there is straying – retrieve.
Where there is hate – sow seeds of love.
Where there is fear – give courage.
Where there is confusion – give clarity.
Holy God, may the Enemy not get a foot-hold in the Church, but rather may we slam the door in his face. For you are our God, our hope, our life and our salvation. Send us Your Holy Spirit – working in and through us – that we may shine Your light – bursting open the tombs of those who are dead. To You be all glory, honor, praise and worship through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
Worship
A Prayer about Prayer
The following prayer was inspired by the sermon I prepared for today on James 5:13-20. The video of the sermon should be posted within a couple days at http://www.livingwordlutheranchurch.com. To God be the glory.
Holy God, You command us to pray, not in order to satisfy some narcissistic desire of Yours, but that Your glory would be be proclaimed through us. But we too often limit our interaction with You and thus we miss those holy moments. We procrastinate our prayers to a more convenient and safe time. We utter idle pastoral care type words in order to satisfy some Christian obligation to pray for one another. We miss moments of ministry because of our fear of failure. Give us faith and courage, oh God, to make much of You through unceasing prayer with one another. Open our eyes that we may see Your glory manifest itself in the everydayness of our lives. May we not miss a single moment to pray with and for our brothers and sisters in Christ. To You be all glory, honor, praise and worship through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Forever and Ever
To You be the glory, forever and ever,
To You be the glory forever.
What a joy it is to proclaim Your story.
For You have made it my own.
You saved this miserable wreck of a sinner,
You redeemed this long lost life.
You rescued this life from the grips of death.
You rewrote my future story.
To You be the glory, forever and ever,
To You be the glory forever.
Through Jesus my Lord I stand on the Rock,
Through Jesus my Lord I am saved.
You have washed and cleaned my sin-stained clothing,
You have crushed the Deceiver’s head.
You have snatched me from the lion’s mouth.
You have secured my life in Yours.
To You be the glory, forever and ever.
To You be the glory forever.
I will worship Your name through Christ my Lord.
To You be the glory forever.
Joy of My Heart
To give thanks and praise to You, oh God, is the joy of my heart.
And how can it not be?
You gave me Jesus to redeem me from my sins.
You defeated sin, Satan and the power of death through the cross.
You gave me the hope of everlasting Life through the empty tomb.
You showed incredible love, grace and mercy to an obstinate sinner.
Holy God, You are so worthy of worship and praise. Time and capacity prohibits me from naming all the reasons. But, I look forward to the day when I will have eternity to name the reasons to praise You.
How can one not praise You?
How can one not raise their hands to You?
How can anyone not fall on their knees in worship of You?
It’s because they do not know You – help me to know You more that my praise of You will bring You more and more glory.
Receive my praise – for it is the joy of my heart.
I Smile
My eyes are closed yet the sun is shining through;
My fleshly barrier cannot hold back the light.
This reality proclaims the truth of the Light – and I smile.
As I smile, I listen.
I listen to the nature chorus.
Birds of all kinds contribute.
A dog barks wanting to join the chorus.
Soon an insect offers their voice and the chorus grows.
The music is unique – nothing like it will ever be heard.
The music is rhythmic – no practice was required.
The music is lively – singing praises to the Creator.
Oh God, You have ordained praise and nature sings.
You have given me Life, and my heart rejoices.
The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness will never overcome.
I listen
I rejoice
I smile
My Treasure
God of abundance – my Creator and generous God. To look around is to see Your kingdom, for all is Yours. Nothing that has been made, or ever will be made, was made outside Your sovereign reign.
You are mighty beyond imagination – the Lord of armies.
You are glorious above all gods – the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
You are rich beyond all measure – more precious than diamonds.
Nothing and no one compares with You.
Holy God I want to know YOU better and better that I may treasure YOU more and more – high above all worldly riches. Show me Your glory in Jesus Christ that I may see and know the storehouse of Your grace and mercy causing me to fall deeper and deeper in love with You. Create in me a clean heart so that nothing my impede Your residence in my heart. You are my treasure and therefore I am rich beyond all measure. To You be all glory, honor and worship through Christ Jesus my Lord, Amen.
Sing People, Sing…
Just in case you need another reason to praise and worship God, I thought I would offer this. God painted this scene this morning behind our church building and I just had to share this. To God be the glory!
It is right, oh God and it is our joy to give You thanks and praise at all times and in all places – to limit our praise and thanks to a single moment in time is impossible. Therefore, we offer our worship in every moment and with our very lives. For You give us peace through holding all our tomorrows. You give us Life through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son. You give us love for You are love. And so, it is our great pleasure to join with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven in singing Your unending praise…
Sing people, sing…
Holy Awe
The following is the prayer I wrote to pray before the sermon this morning. God help me…
Holy God, as a minister of the Gospel, I come to this task of preaching, as I do every time I step to the pulpit, with a heavy sense of awe. For it is Your Word I have been called to proclaim – Your Word, not mine. To withhold or to add to Your Word, would be to deny the truth of who You are. To twist, shape and mold to fit my agenda would be to misrepresent who Your are. Your Word is holy as it is. As the psalmist says in Psalm 19: The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. This is the holy awe with which I am faced. And so, I ask for Your Spirit to guide my words that I may not run afoul of this holy task. May I make much of You and You alone. To You be all glory, praise, honor and worship through Christ Jesus my Lord, Amen.
Magnify Your Song
Let us join our song together in praising our awesome God…
Holy God and Father, it is right to give You thanks and praise at all times, in all places and in all circumstances. Yes, it is always right to give You thanks and praise. For You are sovereign over the heavens and the earth. You are the Creator. You reign on high – high above all gods. You are our Rock. You are our Fortress. Through Jesus Christ, You are our salvation. Oh God, praise and worship is indeed befitting You. Our souls sing for joy at the mere thought of You. Holy and mighty God you are glorious and thus we long to magnify our song by joining with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven in singing Your unending praise…
May our song of praise to God never, ever diminish.
Desire
Let us praise and worship our awesome God.
Written for the Great Thanksgiving in our Holy Communion liturgy…
To give You thanks and praise, oh God, is indeed our delight, for through Jesus Christ, You have fulfilled our deepest desire. Our desire is to live life to the fullest and that cannot be done outside of You. You have redeemed us from sin and death. You have filled us with Your Spirit. You have defeated every enemy. You have placed us upon the Rock. Oh God, our Father and Creator, our Strong Fortress and Shield, our Hope and Salvation. Draw us closer and closer that we may delight more and more in You. And on that Day, may we be taken up into the loving arms of our bridegroom, Jesus Christ. And so, in our joy that is only from You, we join with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven in singing Your unending praise…
The Heart of a Pastor 