Pastor Jason’s Prayer - Oct 16th

Merciful, gracious, compassionate Lord,

As you’ve drawn us here by the Holy Spirit we ask that you make this church a place of refuge, a place of restoration, a place of true Gospel rest. Free us from the lie, the devil’s lie, the world’s lie, our own lie, that we can and need to earn your favor and our righteousness before you. Graciously close every loophole of self-sufficiency we try to squeeze through. Close those loopholes of quiet rebellion so we may know only Christ alone and him crucified, and that it is by the gift of faith in Him and His works we are made righteous, not by our own.

King Jesus,

In a world overrun with moralistic scorekeeping, in a world steeped in self-righteousness of every flavor but lacking in confession and repentance, in a world long on condemnation but short on forgiveness, speak through your church. For, for you to speak is to do. Make us your hands and feet, serving our neighbor in love and humility. Make us your mouthpiece, proclaiming forgiveness as the fruit of the mercy and grace you pour into us. A grace that is love that is gentle with a doubting heart. A grace that is love whose power is made perfect in our weakness. A grace that is love that seeks us out when we have nothing to give in return.

A grace that loves us so much, that you took on flesh and entered your creation as one of us, so that from the cross and out of the empty tomb you might save us.

Reach out with your compassion that speaks, “Rest in me. Be comforted. It is finished.”

All this, we pray in your mighty name,

AMEN

Pastor Jason’s Prayer - Oct 9th

Almighty God,

We thank you for the miracle of this church family. We thank you for each and every one of us whom you’ve gathered by your Holy Spirit to receive your gifts this morning. To receive refuge, renewal, restoration, and new life in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Thank you for this time and place of rest. Where we can catch our breath. Where our restless hearts find rest in you. Where we get to drink you in, the living water that gives eternal life.

King Jesus,

In a world which has so much to say and not much time for listening, you have drawn us here this morning to be still and to hear your voice. 

In a world that at times, can seem soaked in hate, but is thirsty for love, pour out your word of love. In a world that is heavy with anger, but light on forgiveness, pour out your word of forgiveness.

Bind up the wounded and brokenhearted. Bless and fortify, and send the peacekeepers. Speak through your church for the forgiveness and benefit and building up of all those whom, by your word, you created, made and formed. Make us vessels of your divine light that we might be used to shine into the darkness.

Lord,

Whether we are filled with small doubts or, at times, utter hopelessness, cause us to hold fast in hope to Christ and His promises, that sure and steadfast anchor of our souls. Let us hold fast the confession of our faith and hope in Christ, for the Lord promises, and He is faithful.

Where we are restless, discontented, quick to fear and anger, turned in on ourselves instead of outward in love, speak your peace into us, and over us. Cling to us with your words: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Lord,

When other voices constantly drive and shape us to seek satisfaction and justification for our souls in everything and everywhere but you, turn us to you. By your Word, turn us to the cross so that by faith we might see and know that you are faithful even when we are unfaithful. Turn us to you in hope and faith in your promise that you know your plans for us, and they are good. Hope and faith in your promise that you are with us always, to the end of this age and into the kingdom to come. Hope and faith in your promise that your resurrection life is invading right here and right now this morning through your Word and your body and blood, and that soon you will make all things new.

AMEN.

Pastor Jason’s Prayer - Oct 2nd

Almighty God,

We thank you for drawing us together this morning by the Holy Spirit, not to serve you but to be served by you. To receive the gifts of forgiveness and new life proclaimed in your divine Word and given in the body and blood of Christ. To receive the gift of the assurance of our salvation and restoration found only in Christ.

Lord,

Today we rejoice that we get to witness and participate in your baptism of Ketan. We get to witness and celebrate as you feed and grow your church. We get to witness and celebrate visible, tangible Gospel, as you seal him with, and in, your mighty name. Strengthening his faith, forgiving his sins, continuing to pour in your Spirit, and re-creating his life anew.

Lord,

Cause each of us to remember our own baptism today and everyday. As an event in history, when we are touched by God Himself. As an event in our story, when we were grafted into your story. Your capturing and claiming of us in baptism is not mere symbol, or a decision we make, or something we do of ourselves. It’s you keeping your promise and capturing and claiming us as full heirs of your kingdom by grace alone, through faith alone, on account of the person and work of Christ alone.

Rest us in the truth that in baptism we have been buried with Christ into His death, and we do not have to be afraid of the tomb in which we will one day rest, because Jesus Christ has already been there. In the gift of Holy Baptism we pass through His grave and into His resurrection. You have claimed us as your own, never to be abandoned, never to be forsaken.

Have us hear the fulfilled promise you spoke through your apostle Paul: “You are the children of God through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

All this we pray in the mighty name of Jesus Christ the crucified, Jesus Christ the Risen, Jesus Christ the Living,

AMEN.,

Pastor Jason’s Prayer - Sept 25th

Almighty, merciful, and loving God,

Yours is the love that knows no barriers, no borders, no boundaries. Yours is the love that conquers distance, time, and troubles.

Wherever we find our feet planted, by your love, draw us together in communion with you and each other. To share, by faith in you, peace in our unity in You, in one body, one Spirit, one hope, one faith, one light, one baptism, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came to be and in whom we live.

To share, together, the joy of our unity in you and the fellowship we share with each other. To share, in thanks, the countless blessings you bestow on your creation and creatures as you crash in your Kingdom light. 

Lord,

To a world that is searching in darkness, by the power of your Word, shine your Kingdom light. To a world that is suffering, grant the hope of release, for though there is trouble in this world, we can take heart, for you have overcome the world. To a world that is broken, grant healing and wholeness in the gift of forgiveness we receive in your body and blood.

King Jesus,

In a world churning with agendas, manufactured urgency, and busyness, prompt us to pause, to be still, to rest in you. Have us know that your love is patient. Reach out your long arm of grace. A grace that is love that seeks us out when we have nothing to give in return. A grace that loves us so much, that you took on flesh and entered creation as one of us, that you might save us. Rest us in your fulfilled promise that we are saved, now and forever more.

AMEN

Pastor Jason’s Prayer - Sept 18th

Almighty God,

In your graciousness, and on account of your son Jesus Christ and by your Holy Spirit, you bless us by gathering us in your name. And you bless us by turning us to you. We are drawn to your feet in worship, your creation facing its creator. Our hearts laid bare by your light, asking for your mercy. We come to you as a people in need of assurance and forgiveness. We come to you as a people in need of healing and wholeness. We come dependent upon your work and your love. Renew our hearts and have us trust in your promises.

King Jesus,

Where there are two or more gathered in your name, you promise to be there. We offer you thanks for your presence and divine gifts here this morning. HERE, where you operate through ordinary means to work your miracles of salvation and restoration. From ordinary lips you proclaim your eternal life-giving Word of the forgiveness of sins and the assurance of your active royal reign. From ordinary bread and wine, by your Word, we taste mercy, costly earned but freely given in your body and blood. 

Lord,

Rest us in the truth that your fulfilled promise of restoration is real and present, right now in Jesus Christ. When we look over our shoulder in regret and say “What about the past?”, the promise intervenes, saying, “I took care of that.” When we look to the future in anxiety and worry, the promise invades, and saying, “ I took care of that too.” Rest us where our feet are planted, living and loving as you have re-created us to be.

The Lord has spoken, the Lord has promised, the Lord has come, the Lord will come again.

Amen.

Pastor Jason’s Prayer - Sept 11th

Almighty God,

We thank you for the miracle of this church family, whom you’ve gathered by the Holy Spirit, to receive your gifts this morning. To receive renewal, restoration, forgiveness and new life in the person and work of Jesus Christ. 

Lord,

There are often times when we wonder where you are, spinning our wheels to find you where it pleases us. Turn us to Christ, Lord, in whom the fullness of God dwells. And turn us to those things outside of us where He promises to be. Here, in the midst of the body of Christ, your church. Here, where He gives himself in His body and blood for our renewal. Here, where He takes action through His Word from the lips of another. 

King Jesus,

Remember us. Remember us and have us know that for you to remember is to take action.

Crush us, make us new, and free us through your unconditional promise that you are making each of us and all things new.

Assure us and have us know that you are not sitting back and waiting around for us to make the grade.Your unconditional promise is not a Word searching merely for those who somehow “feel the need” for it. 

Your Word is action. Through your Word, you go on the attack to create faith out of the nothing of our sin. 

Your love does not first discover what is pleasing to you. Instead, your love creates what is pleasing to you. Crash your love and resurrection life into us this morning Lord. Make us new.

In the name of Jesus Christ the crucified, in the name of Jesus Christ the Risen,

AMEN.

Pastor Jason’s Prayer - Sept 4th

Almighty God,

Your mercies are new every morning, we praise and thank you for this morning. For your good and beautiful creation we see all around us. We thank you for all the blessings you bestow on us. May this truth be always on our hearts: that the God who breathed and spoke this world into being, in love, He created, made, formed, and sustains each and every one of us.

Lord, 

There are times when the darkness in this world and the darkness within us can make it seem like there is no light. In your mercy, crash your light into the darkness of this world. Crash your light into the darkness we see our brothers and sisters and neighbors struggling with all around us. Grant that we may see and be blessed by your Kingdom in our midst. Open our eyes to your present and active royal reign.  Evident in moments of reconciliation, moments of mercy and grace, moments of love. Moments that only You can author. 

Rest us in the truth that you are the light of the world, and you continuously crash your light into our darkness, because You cannot help but shine.

We call on you with “Come, Lord Jesus”. And you answer, “I am with you always, in this age and the next.” Hold us and keep us in that promise. 

Almighty God, the provider of green pastures and quiet waters, be the peace in our hearts today.

King Jesus, our savior and guide, whether on the mountain top or in the valley deep, be the hope in our hearts today.

Holy Spirit of truth and knowledge, comforter and friend, be the strength in our hearts today.

AMEN

Pastor Jason’s Prayer - Aug 28th

Almighty God,

We come to you in gratitude for the undeserved  love and mercy we find in Jesus Christ and for your beautiful creation in which you’ve placed us. Only in Jesus Christ, our mediator, are we able to pray, and on account of His promises we also know that we will be heard. You speak to us through your Word, and your Holy Spirit causes us to turn and speak to you prayer.

Lord, as we enter into a time in your Word together, send the Holy Spirit. Give us the Holy Spirit, who writes the preached Word into our hearts. Where we are turned inward on ourselves, turn us to you. Give us merciful and peaceful hearts when our pride turns us away from you and against each other. Let your mercy and peace win the victory in our hearts.

King Jesus,

Just a mustard seed, you said. Just a mustard seed of faith to move the mountain of doubts, rebellion, and difficulties which we are often overwhelmed with in our weakness. We confess, Lord, that there are times when we reach out seemingly in vain for that mustard seed, seemingly in unanswered frustration or desperation for that mustard seed. 

Cause us to pause, to think for a moment, to realize the truth that in the very act of reaching out, we reveal the presence in our hearts of the very seed that we seek, the very gift of comforting life giving faith. Faith gifted from the God who provides. Faith gifted from the God who seeks out and hunts down sinners in order to make them new. Faith gifted from the God who knows our brokenness and suffered, died and rose again that we might have His wholeness. Provide, Lord. Seek us out and hunt us down. Stir faith in our hearts and re-create us as you would have us be. Make us new and make us whole, in You.

AMEN.

Pastor Jason’s Prayer - Aug 21st

Lord,

There are times when we cry out and groan with the Psalmist:

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

Times when it can seem that we are unseen, unheard, unknown and forgotten. We pray for those who feel forgotten or unseen, may they know that they are remembered and seen by you God. Shine your face upon them, and search our hearts to reveal those we hide our faces from. When we are turned inward with our own anxieties and fears, turn us to you in prayer, with every petition, and with thanksgiving that we might be made bearers of your light in this world. Bearers of your mercy, of your grace, of your forgiveness. Bearers of the truth that you are a stronghold in times of trouble, a stronghold for the weary. That you do not forget the cries of the afflicted, nor forsake those who seek you. Renew our hearts that we may again echo the Psalmist:

But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Gracious and mighty God,

We thank you for the opportunity we have to come together in fellowship in You. We thank you for the opportunity to be in the presence of each other as the body of Christ, each of us members of your body in the unique way you've called us to be. We thank you for this place of refuge and for this church family, whom you’ve called and gathered by your Holy Spirit, to receive your gifts this morning. To receive forgiveness and new life in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Lord, we ask that you continue to bless and sustain us by your Word.

In the name of Jesus the Christ we pray,

Amen.

Pastor Jason’s Prayer - Aug 14th

Merciful Father,

In your graciousness, and on account of your son Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit, you bless us with unity with you, and unity with each other. Whether gathered side by side, or separated by distance, time, or troubles, we are one in you. And you bless us by turning us to you. Hear our prayer Lord through your Son, our mediation and our mediator. 

This day and every day, renew our hearts, Lord. Renew our hearts in Jesus Christ. 

When we are in doubt, renew our hearts with His assurance and confidence. 

When we are anxious and fearful, renew our hearts with His peace. 

When our nerves are frayed and we are quick to anger, renew our hearts with his patience and forgiveness. 

When we revel in fractures and division, renew our hearts with His spirit of reconciliation. 

When we are unfaithful, renew our hearts with His faithfulness.

Show us your ways, Lord, teach us your paths. Guide us in your truth and teach us, for you are God our Savior, and our hope is in you. 

King Jesus,

In pouring out your lifeblood on the cross, you poured out your love into this world in rivers of flowing grace. Be gracious to us, Lord. For those of us who are falling, hold us up. For those of us who are weary with sickness, grief or loneliness, be our rest. For those of us walking a crooked path, be the Way. For those of us walking in darkness, be the Light. For all of us whose hearts are thirsty and hungry, by your Word, fill us with living water and the bread of life. 

All this we pray, in the name of Jesus the Christ, the great Amen, the faithful and true witness,

Amen.

Pastor Jason’s Prayer - Aug 7th

Almighty God,

By your Holy Spirit you’ve drawn each and every one of us here this morning. The gathering of this church is your work. You are the God of light and love. You’ve granted us the gift of walking in and sharing your light, not just in this place, but everywhere we find our feet planted. Continue to shine your light to us, in us, and through us, in a world desperate for light.

Lord,

Make this church a place of rest and refuge. A place where you gather us, your children, to receive your gifts. Gifts of grace and mercy, forgiveness and renewal. Free us from the lie that we have to, or that we can, earn your favor. Rest us in the truth that Christ has already done it for us.

King Jesus,

How often, when weary, do we sigh 'The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.' How often, when weary, do we find our thoughts and hearts distracted and discontented….by circumstance, by the sound and message of other voices, by the baggage carried with us, rather than left at your feet.

And yet by your voice you draw us to be in your presence, to hear you speak rest into our hearts, “That baggage and those burdens are not yours, but mine, taken to the cross that you would be made free. You are weary and heavy laden. But take my yoke, for it is easy and my burden is light.” 

“The words which I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are life”.

Soothe our worried and discontented minds and hearts this morning. Make us vessels to receive your promise of a peace that is deeper and richer than anything we can imagine. Peace in Jesus Christ. Peace that passes all understanding. Peace that says, “Rest. Do not be afraid. For I am with you. I am with you always”

In your mighty name we pray,

AMEN.

Pastor Jason’s Prayer - July 31st

Lord, 

In a world that forms us for distraction, be our firm foundation. In a world full of so much noise and information that leaves us disenchanted and disillusioned, draw us into your Word, that we might see and experience the reality of your work in our midst.

Whether in fear or pride, we so often put our faith in other people, places, and things instead of you. Turn us to you and who you reveal yourself to fully be in Jesus Christ.

You sent your one and only Son into creation not to condemn it, but to save it. Not to demand that we pull ourselves up by our spiritual bootstraps, but to proclaim good news to the spiritually poor. 

King Jesus, 

You came into your creation not to condemn it, but to save it. To enter into our grief to provide comfort, to anoint us with the oil of joy in the midst of mourning, to cloak us in peace instead of a spirit of despair before God. To plant us as oaks of your righteousness, through whom you bear the fruit of your light, grace, and compassion. 

King Jesus, 

You came into your creation not to condemn it, but to save it. To bind up the brokenhearted. To proclaim the release of the prisoners from the darkness of our own making.To proclaim freedom for the captives of sin. Rest us in the truth of the Good News: “Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.” 

Cause us to walk in that freedom, in the certainty of your promises in an uncertain world. Cause us to walk in that freedom, not in self righteousness but in the humility and lowliness of the very cross that has freed us. Cause us to walk in that freedom, proclaiming forgiveness when the world demands we condemn and condemn and condemn. Cause us to walk in that freedom, bearing the Good News of your present and active royal reign.

AMEN.

Pastor Jason’s Prayer - July 24th

Come to us. Come Lord Jesus and wash over us with your peace.  Keep us in your grip. Hold fast to our hearts with your words that though there is suffering in this life you have overcome the world. Hold fast with your promise, and have us see and rejoice, that in this groaning creation you are invading and making all things new...and right. Help the hurting to know that when we are suffering that you suffered for us. Rest us in your assurance that you know our pain because you took the pains of the world on yourself on the cross.

Remind us that in our weakness, your power is made perfect, and that in our weakness you are merciful. Where our hope wains, Lord, love us back into hope again. 

Where there are two or more gathered in your name, you promise to be there. We offer you thanks for your presence and divine gifts here this morning. HERE, where you operate through ordinary means to work your miracles of salvation and restoration. From ordinary lips you proclaim your eternal life-giving word of the forgiveness of sins and your active royal reign.

Quiet whatever chattering and anxiety and worry we may have in our hearts and minds. 

Open our ears to hear your words and believe. Open our ears to know your voice.

Have us listen to our savior for a while.

AMEN.

Pastor Jason’s Prayer - July 17th

Almighty, gracious, and merciful God,

Be here with us this morning as we are gathered by your Holy Spirit. Reach out your long arm of grace. Reach out with your love that binds us. With your peace that calms us. With your touch that heals us. With your joy that fills us. With your arms that hold us. Have us know and believe that you are our God, and we are your children.

Lord,

In the midst of struggles have us know that you are Lord of ALL things, always working to help, to encourage, to lift, to shape, to renew and to fill us up with You.

Have us walk forward each day while looking backward in faith. Faith in you, and your saving work on the cross and in your resurrection. Faith in you, so even in hard and anxious times, we may see and celebrate the moments of light that only you can author. 

Faith in you, and peace in our unity in You, in one body, one Spirit, one hope, one faith, one light, one baptism, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came to be and in whom we live.

Faith in you, Jesus, in whom all the Promises of God are “Yes”:

That you will never forsake us.

That though our flesh and hearts might fail, you are our Rock and our portion forever.

That you will be with us always.

That you make us new, are making us new, and one day will fully make us new.

In your mighty name we pray, 

AMEN.

Pastor Jason’s Prayer - July 10th

God of this day and of all days,

In a world which has so much to say and not much time for listening, you have drawn us here this morning in a time and place set apart to be still, to rest, and to hear your voice. 

In a world that is soaked in hate, but thirsty for love, pour out your word of love. Bind up and heal the wounded and brokenhearted. In a world that is heavy with self righteous judgment, but light on compassion and forgiveness, pour out your word of forgiveness.

Bless and fortify, and send the peacekeepers. Speak through your church for the forgiveness and benefit and building up of all those whom, by your word, you created, made and formed.

Lord,

In a world that seems long on worry and fear, but short on hope, have us pause to reflect that you carry and deliver hope in the most unlikely ways and into the most undignified places. Turn us to hope in Christ. 

Hope in the creator of the universe, who entered into His creation not in glory, but in the filth of a stable. Hope in the King of kings, who came to us not in the purple robes of earthly royalty, but cloaked in fragile flesh and humility. Hope in the God who does not remain far away, but who’s divine footprints marked the dusty roads of His creation.

Hope in the author of love, who knows pain and weeps with us, but will one day wipe away every tear. Hope in the fount of joy, who knows grief and comforts the sorrowful. Hope in the friend of sinners, who loves the sinner, each of us, so much that He took our sins as His own on the cross. Hope in the Word made flesh, who by His speaking from the lips of His church, forgives, enlivens, and restores everyone who hears and believes.

Stir your Spirit within us that we might hear and believe.

AMEN.

Pastor Jason’s Prayer - June 26th

Almighty God,

This world needs your healing. We need your healing.

We so easily get distracted and twisted by the noise of the world, by the storm of voices all around us. In a world that would have us constantly on a war footing against the sins of others but not our own, let us listen and hear your voice. In a world that demands we be angry and outraged, and then calls that virtue, let us listen and hear your voice.

Let us listen to your voice. Let us hear your voice. Your voice that lights the way. Your voice that calms the storm.

God, by your Word, the universe came into being. With your same Word, speak into each one of us the need for forgiveness. And speak into each and every one of us the fullness of restoration and re-creation we receive in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Lord Jesus,

In the midst of uncertainty, change, and disruption in our lives, we are often filled with doubt. Lord, open your heart to our prayer, “I believe; help my unbelief.” Give us assurance by your Word that you know your plans for us; plans for healing, plans of hope, plans of restoration in you, in whom all God’s plans and promises are fulfilled. 

Create in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within us. Open our hearts and turn us to love the least among us, the “different” from us, the stranger to us, the outcast. 

Create in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within us. When we are beset by anger or resentment, have us recall that Christ, who indeed had reason to avenge himself, instead intercedes by his blood and with tears and the proclamation of mercy upon mercy, grace upon grace. 

Create in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within us. Cause us to love, not in selective mercy, but with the fullness of Christ’s compassionate heart. For you show your love for us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

Give us the heart and spirit of Christ, that we might be His image, His hands, and His voice of the Good News of His present and eternal Kingdom.

Amen.

Pastor Jason’s Prayer - June 19th

Almighty God,

In your graciousness, and by your Holy Spirit, you bless us with this time and place of sanctuary and rest in your son Jesus Christ. You bless us by turning us to you. Hear our prayer Lord through your Son, our mediator and our mediation. 

Lord, 

On this Father’s Day morning, we give special thanks for the men in our lives. And we remember those whom you’ve called to rest with you in paradise. We thank you for our fathers, our uncles, our brothers through whom you love us and guide us. Turn us to our true primary calling. Our primary calling to be the mouthpiece of forgiveness in our homes and amongst our neighbors. Make us new, that we may be the voice of a loving God who forgives on account of the person and work of Christ and for His sake. Possess us with your Spirit that we may be a mirror of your heart for a world that separately needs Gospel rest.

Lord,

The gathering of this church family is your work, and we thank you for the blessings you have gifted us. You shine TO us through your word and your body and blood. And you shine through us, often when we don’t even realize it. By your Holy Spirit, continue to use us and the relationships that you build here and outside this room, to bear good fruit wherever you plant our feet. Through the hearing of your Word, cause us to love each other as you have loved us. Have us  lift each other up in prayer and encouragement. Continue to cause us to walk with each other, and when need be, to carry each other. May the power of your word, shatter our bondage to self. Open our ears and hearts that we may hear and know your voice. 

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Pastor Jason’s Prayer - June 12th

Almighty God,

By your Holy Spirit you draw us together in unity with you and each other. To share and bear our struggles and sorrows. To share, in thanks and joy, the countless blessings you bestow on your creation and creatures as you crash in your Kingdom light and hope, today and every day. 

Lord,

Where we are exhausted by the demands and obligations and struggles of this world, be our sabbath, our rest. Where we feel beat down or sputtering or empty, invade with your fulfilled promise that a bruised reed you will not break, a faintly burning wick you will not quench, and a hungry heart you fill with the bread of life. Where we are parched for joy, remind us that we are soaked in living water. Remind us that you have taken us by the hand and by the heart, and you are not letting go.

King Jesus

You are the one who is Word made flesh, true light of true light, God with us, the one who will not forsake us, no matter how far we run and now matter how far we might feel we are from your presence. Turn us and faith us to know you are near. Turn us and faith us to know that you are present and active in your body and blood. Turn us and faith us to know that you are present and active in your Word. 

And as we step into your Word, quiet whatever distractions and anxiety and worry we may have in our hearts and minds. 

Write the preached Word on our hearts.

As we step into your Word, have us listen to our savior for a while.

AMEN.

Pastor Jason’s Prayer - June 5th

Almighty God,

We offer you thanks this morning. Thanks for the gift of your beautiful creation where you have planted each of us according to your purpose. 

We thank you for the miracle of this church family, and for gathering us by your Holy Spirit to receive your gifts. You have called each of us by name to receive renewal, restoration, and new life in Christ. Make this a time and place of rest. Where our restless and distracted hearts find rest in you. 

Lord,

Today and everyday, fill us and enliven us with your Holy Spirit that we might rejoice in proclaiming the Gospel. Grant us joy in the truth that your Word of Good News is not just information, but the living power of the living God. 

“The words which I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are life”.

Pour out your Spirit and settle our busy and restless minds and hearts this morning. Make us vessels to receive your promise of a peace that is deeper and richer than anything we can imagine. Peace in Jesus Christ. Peace in the midst of daily triumphs. Peace in the midst of daily struggles. Peace that passes all understanding.

By the power of your Word, shatter the bondage of self in which we are chained. Create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us. Renew our hearts, Lord, so they might burn with love for our neighbors. Renew our hearts to bear the good fruit that this world needs: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

As we go about our day, have us know and walk in the assurance that your Spirit hovers over us, gives us the very breath of life, and lives in us. To stir us, to correct us, to work through us, to comfort us, to teach us, to lead us. And ultimately, to show us the Son, that we may be set free in the Son.

All this we pray in the name of the One whose name is above all names, Jesus the Christ,

AMEN.

Pastor Jason’s Prayer - May 29th

Gracious, Merciful, Sovereign God, Lord of all nations,

On this Memorial Day weekend, we pause to reflect upon our blessings as a nation and the high cost of those blessings. We lift a prayer of thanks and intercession.

Lord, 

Thank you for those who have served in the armed forces of our country, risking their lives for our liberty, and especially for those who, across the centuries, have given their lives in service to our country. Sacrificing in the most costly way for the sake of others, for us.

Thank you for a day set apart, not just for celebration of our freedoms, but for solemn remembrance as we consider the sacrifices of so many. You are the shield around us through the men and women who wear this nation’s uniform. We ask that you fill our hearts with gratitude for the heroes you place among us.

We pray today for the families and friends of those who have given their lives in service to our nation. Be with the countless friends, the tens of thousands of mothers and fathers, and surviving spouses and children in our midst. May they be comforted in their sadness and heartbreak. Hold their wounded hearts in your wounded hands that heal.

In a hard-hearted world renew our minds and soften our hearts, Lord.

May we be more aware and thankful of just how blessed we are. May we be more faithful and active as stewards of the blessings of our citizenship in both this realm and the heavenly realm. 

In an atmosphere mired in and often idolatrous of the violence of the pen, the violence of the tongue and the violence of action, renew us, sanctify us, set us apart. Make us the peacekeepers, the love and hope givers, the grace speakers, the Gospel of Christ proclaimers You have called us to be. 

You did not come into this world to be served, but to serve, to the point of death on the cross. Your love is a consuming fire. Consume us and make us new, that we might shine your light in the darkness. Pour out your love through your Word, that we might practice true worship through the self-sacrificial loving of our neighbors. Make us your hands and feet. Make us agents of your reign of love, grace, and mercy.

May your kingdom come, Lord, and your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. Amen.