Praise
Psalm 145 A psalm of praise. Of David.
1 I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.
5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They tell of the power of your awesome works—
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
9 The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
10 All your works praise you, LORD;
your faithful people extol you.
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.
14 The LORD upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
Kingdom Plea
God's kingdom coming in Jesus' life and ministry meant the truth was declared, God was revealed, and his people would be transformed to do his will. The kingdom can be summed up as God’s people, in God's place, ruling under God’s authority. Now, in the Messianic era, it is the church throughout all the earth living according to God's will. The kingdom coming was evidenced by deliverance from demons, healing of the sick, freedom for the oppressed, good news preached to the poor, lordship over creation, victory over death, etc. When John the Baptist asks from prison if Jesus is the Messiah he quotes Isaiah who spoke of the time of the Messiah with these words:
Matthew 11:4–6
4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
Pray for the church to be about the business of bringing God's kingdom.
Pray for the church to help heal those who are hurting, love the outcast, care for the poor, seek justice and pursue racial unity in our nation.
Pray for healing and miraculous displays of God's power.
Personal Plea
Community is a need in your life.
Pray for God to produce in you love for your neighbor.
Pray for God to lead you to discover and act within your gifts to better the church community.
Pray for God to give you courage and wisdom to sacrifice your personal freedoms to experience the true value of community.
Pray for the unity of the church.
Pray for wisdom in navigating cultural tensions.
Pray for God to empower you to forgive those who have offended you.
Pray that the church would represent the love of Jesus to the world.
Pray that the church would be known for how we love one another.
Repentance
Today we are going to do corporate repentance. I am inviting you to repent on behalf of the sins of the church. In our individualist society, you may have never done this. You may not be comfortable with this. You may not even totally agree with this. If that's you, I'd invite you to wrestle with it.
In Scripture we see Daniel repenting on behalf of all Israel. From exile Daniel prays a prayer of repentance for the collective sins of his people:
Daniel 9:3–15
3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed: “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land. 7 “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. 8 We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, LORD, because we have sinned against you. 9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; 10 we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. “Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. 12 You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. 13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. 14 The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him. 15 “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong.
Repent for the sins of the church, let's keep it to the sins of the American Evangelical Church for starters.
Repent of a complacency towards God's Word and the way of Jesus.
Repent of sexual sin that has plagued the church.
Repent of the church's complicity in the racism of our nation's past.
Repent of seeking comfort and preference over unity.
Repent of pursuing power at the expense of love and virtue.
Repent of valuing effectiveness and celebrity in our leaders over character and Christ-likeness.
Spiritual Protection
Pray specifically for God to protect those in our church community whom you know are vulnerable to temptation.
Pray for your pastors and their families.
Pray for new believers.
Pray for those who are exploring faith in Christ.
Pray for those who are tired and exhausted, walking through a season of busyness.
Pray against the spirit of division in the church today.