Heavenly Father, it is Sunday and so many of your people will join with one another in the name of Your Son all over this planet today. Thank You for the Church – the Body of Christ. Thank You for the gracious privilege of belonging to a people who will endure forever. You have promised that this world will be done away with and replaced with something fit for Your chosen ones for all of eternity. Thank You for including us in this number. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for stepping aside from the perfect environment of Heaven where You were served and worshiped by the brilliant angelic host. Thank You for not letting the unworthiness of mankind keep You from hastening to us and bringing us our Your eternal rescue. Nothing stopped You, Mighty King. Indifference did not deter You. Mockery did not persuade You to walk away. Abandonment and betrayal by those whom You called friends did not motivate You to stop short of fulfilling Father’s plan. You moved with intentionality all the way from Your throne, to Mary’s womb, to Bethlehem, to Nazareth, to Galilee to Jerusalem, to Calvary, to a borrowed tomb, to the outside of that tomb, to a hillside and then back to Your throne where You rule over the cosmos this very minute. And we know the joy of having You rule in our little hearts. We praise You, Risen One! We worship Your beautiful name! You are worthy of our shouts of joy, our tireless service, our deepest love, our renouncing of this age, our searching out of the lost ones and our delighted obedience to Your commands. We have found our very lives in You, have tasted and seen that You are good and have been ruined for this present world as we have drank deeply from the world to come and esteemed it much better.
Help us today in our churches not only to say the truth but also to show it. Help us find the hurting who will visit our gatheirngs today. Like You, let us who are stronger bear the burdens of those who are weaker. Let us not tabulate the price today but let us esteem the cost as well-worthy of our paying it – whatever it is. Remind us of Your indomitable commitment to us and empower us to walk and speak in the Holy Spirit so that people clearly see You through us. Do not allow our songs to be sung in mindless mouthings. Do not let our sermons be eloquent yet impotent. Please open ears of faith so that they may respond to the message of truth and love. Transform us for Your glory and cause us to leave the church houses differently than we came into them today. I believe You desire to do this today. I believe You desire to do it to me. Search out hearts and help us with what You find in there, Mighty God. Do not leave us as we are because we sense deep need within for personal change. Grant joy to the discouraged today for they do not wish to go another hour without your nearness. Pour out hope to the destitute and, for those in chains of addiction and self-loathing, grant them a vision of Jesus Christ who poured out His soul unto death for them so that they might have Him as their identity. May angels rejoice in Your presence today as lost ones turn to You for pardon and acceptance. I know that You Will grant it to them because I remember with freshness the moment You did it for me!
We love You, Father. You are our all and, until our eyes rest upon You in glory we cannot be satisfied down here. Today we are happy that we are one day closer to Home. Thank You for giving us the gracious right to be there with You someday soon. We long for nothing less than You.
In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.