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Pastor's Prayer ~ Hebrews 1:1-2a

2012-02-12T17:40:00.001-05:00

Almighty God, You are our God who speaks. It was your Word which came to Abraham in the promise that you will bless him and his people. It was your Word which created faith for your people after Abraham. It was your Word which sustained and kept your people throughout history. It is your Word which has gathered your people throughout the generations. And it is your Word which we have before us this morning as we have gathered to hear from you. Would you accomplish much in us and through us by the power of you Word this morning, Lord. Come Lord Jesus and speak to us this morning by the power of your Spirit through the preaching and proclamation of your Word. Lord grant me grace that I may make much of Christ. Grant your Spirit this morning that we may receive your Word this morning. Cause the seed of your Word to fall upon good soil in our hearts. May the soil of our hearts receive your Word and bear much fruit. Grow within us a faith, confidence and trust in the Word of God. We pray these things in the name and power of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Introduction to the Book of Hebrews

2012-02-05T14:26:00.000-05:00

Almighty God, You are holy and glorious. You deserve all majesty and honor and praise and worship. You have revealed yourself through your creation, your Word and most perfectly in Christ Jesus our Lord. We confess our confidence in Jesus Christ is often wavering. We often lose heart and become discouraged in our guilt and dread. We become weary in our struggle against sin and we are prone to neglect our great salvation. Our faith’s greatest malady, however, is not in our earnestness but in its object. We come this morning, Lord, confessing our constant wandering away from Jesus Christ as our final end, joy, and hope. Our faith finds new objects of trust everyday. Seeking to be satisfied in the many empty hopes and passing joys of this world instead of reveling in Christ, the radiance of the glory of God, or resting in the finished and final work of Christ on the cross by the blood of the eternal covenant that we may be equipped with everything good that we may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor Prayer ~ Genesis 50:15-26

2012-01-29T07:17:00.001-05:00

Almighty God, You alone are Creator. You created all things and are continually involved in creation as to keep, care and direct all things. You alone plan each day and in your councils are all plans established. You are Sovereign. You are our God of providence. There is no other. We confess our hearts are often seeking to be in the place of God. We want to make our own plans, our own goals, our own assessments, and our own judgments. And throughout our lives we are reminded of our limited abilities, authority and influence. We are unable to order our own thoughts, desires, and feelings much less the world around us. And we confess that death is the most humbling reminder that this world is not dependent upon us and our agenda. Thank you, Lord, for generations will come and go but your Word will abide forever. Your promises will be established and your purposes accomplished. Lord, grant your grace this morning that we may see and trust your sure hope we have in Christ. As we see the great evil around us which is due to their planning and plotting, grant your Spirit to give us confident hope in Christ. In the midst of the guilt and fear of our own hearts, cause us to trust Christ. When our days draw to their end, cause us to find our rest in Christ. We ask these things in the name of our great Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ 1 John 2:18-27

2012-01-23T14:29:00.001-05:00

O God, most high, most glorious, the thought of Thine infinite serenity cheers me, for I am toiling and moiling, troubled and distressed, but Thou art for ever at perfect peace. Thy designs cause thee no fear or care of unfulfilment, they stand fast as the eternal hills. Thy power knows no bond, Thy goodness no stint. Thou bringest order out of confusion, and my defeats are Thy victories: The Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

I come to Thee as a sinner with cares and sorrows, to leave every concern entirely to Thee, every sin calling for Christ's precious blood; revive deep spirituality in my heart; let me live near to the great Shepherd, hear His voice, know its tones, follow its calls. Keep me from deception by causing me to abide in the truth, from harm by helping me to walk in the power of the Spirit. Give me intenser faith in the eternal verities, burning into me by experience the things I know; Let me never be ashamed of the truth of the gospel, that I may bear its reproach, vindicate it, see Jesus as its essence, know in it the power of the Spirit.

Lord, help me, for I am often lukewarm and chill; unbelief mars my confidence, sin makes me forget Thee. Let the weeds that grow in my soul be cut at their roots; grant me to know that I truly live only when I live to Thee, that all else is trifling. Thy presence alone can make me holy, devout, strong and happy. Abide in me, gracious God.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 50:1-14

2012-01-15T07:03:00.002-05:00

Almighty God, You are the Maker of all things. You give us breath and life. You sustain us day to day by the Word of your power. You alone must be our great joy, hope, trust for you alone are worthy. Lord, we confess our frequent fear, anxiety and avoiding of death. We find very little hope & confidences and anticipation for a day to come when we will set aside all the empty dreams and joys of this world & partake in kingdom come and drink deeply of your presence divine. Lord, I ask for you to grant us faith this morning as we hear your Word preached. Cause our souls to wait for you with joy and anticipation. For you alone are our help and and our shield. Cause our hearts to be glad in Christ because all our trust is in His holy name. Let your steadfast love be upon us, O Lord, even as you water our dry souls this morning with your refreshing Word that we may look with great joy and hope and confidence and faith to that day when we may meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be always with Him. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 49

2012-01-08T16:58:00.000-05:00

Almighty God, You are the Mighty One, the Shepherd, the stone of Israel, the God of our fathers who provides, protects & blesses. You alone are worthy of all praise and worship. Lord, you have gathered us this morning that we might hear again your precious words. Lord, grant your Spirit this morning that we may listen with hearts ready and waiting for your Word to come and shape us into a people which reflects your glory. Cause your Word to so come as to produce conviction of sin, repentance unto life, faith in Christ, hope for heaven and love for the saints. We confess the burden we often feel when we consider gathering on Lord’s day. We confess our hearts are often cold and tired as we receive your Word read, sang, prayed or proclaimed. Lord, give us great hope and joy as we wait for your salvation shown to us in your Word this morning. Lord, help us find our greatest rest & comfort for this weary journey of life when we gather as your people on Lord’s day. Grant your Spirit to come this morning as we receive you Word that we might know what is our hope to which we have been called, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe in Christ Jesus. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 48

2011-12-18T15:50:00.001-05:00

Almighty God, You are El Shaddi. You alone can make things be, cause things to exist or to be forgotten. You are the God who walked before our fathers of old. You were their shepherd all their life long you redeemed them from all evil. You cared for them, provided for them. You were with them and brought them through the most amazing fears into your abiding rest. Lord, we confess our apprehension that you may overlook us, reject us, turn your back upon us. We confess these doubts and fears as sin, Lord. We ask for your grace to turn our hearts to the true object of our faith, Jesus Christ & Him crucified. Lord, grant us your Spirit to bear witness in our spirits that we may know the joy of our adoption, the value of our blessings in Christ and our hope of heaven with the Father to come. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 46-47

2011-12-11T07:35:00.001-05:00

Almighty God, You are to be exalted, praised and forever worshipped. For you are great and greatly to be praised and your greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on the your wondrous works, we come this morning to meditate. Your works shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and we will declare your greatness. These works shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. Lord, we confess how often we often assume you need our help, our effort, our planning. This is evident as we live our days filled with anxiety, worry, concern and even fear because of what tomorrow may bring. Lord, grant us faith this morning as we are in this land of sojourn, to trust Christ and His promise to be with us, to bring us through this life of toil and struggle, to carefully and surely care for us until He brings us out of this land into our homeland, a better country, our heavenly place, our place where God has prepared & designed, the foundations which will never quack. This land where we will one day receive; a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 44-45

2011-12-04T15:54:00.001-05:00

Almighty God, you and you alone are our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. This morning I pray & ask & plead that you will by our Spirit allow us to see our exposure and desperate need we have for you in Your Word and in so doing please expose us, grant us by our Spirit our desperate need for you that we may find our hope, our refuge, our satisfaction, our help in time of trouble in you alone for our good and your glory. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 43

2011-11-27T14:58:00.001-05:00

Almighty God, you are merciful. Your steadfast love and faithfulness endures throughout every generation and is here with us this morning. We confess our hearts as being often cold and jaded instead of kind and compassionate. We are far more likely to be cynics or critics than caring and concerned. However, we also confess our sin of redefining mercy and compassion in ways which compromise your truth and ignore your righteous judgment. This morning, Lord, we need your mercy that we may hear your call to be merciful. Lord, lead us in your truth and teach us, for you are the God of our salvation; for you we must wait all the day long. Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Cause us to know your providential ways, teach us your paths that we may see your good, grace, and mercy in every step of our day. Lord God, grant us your mercy according to your steadfast love and faithfulness. This is our plea in the name and authority of Jesus Christ. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 42

2011-11-20T17:00:00.001-05:00

Almighty God, you are the One true God. You are light. You are our holy judge. We acknowledge our guilt before you today, O Lord. We also confess this guilt often overcomes us, causes our hearts to tremble and produces distress and anxiety in our lives. In truth we are guilty, O Lord, for we are sinners by nature, in deed and desire. We come this morning asking for you to test our hearts but also to wash us from this blood guilt. Lord, we are unable to live under such shame, fear and bereavement. Grant your grace this morning that you might lead each of us to the foot of the cross this morning where our guilt and shame fall away, where our sin and guilt will be washed white and we will be delivered by your mercy. Lord, thank you for the guilt absorbing cross. Thank you for the righteousness we can find only in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 41:37-57

2011-11-13T17:32:00.001-05:00

Almighty God, You are our God of all Authority in heaven and on earth. However, you are not simply far off and transcendent. Instead, you have chosen to come down and to be near us, your creation. Thank you, Lord for being both our father (intimate and close) which is in heaven (powerful and above us). Lord, we confess our sin of living as if we have been no authority from above. We live as if all authority is our own. We value our own independence our individualism our self-made choices and will. Lord, grant repentance and faith that we may see that our only authority is given to us as a stewardship by you the final source of all authority in creation. Lord, grant us faith to live under your authority with wisdom and discernment, filled with your Spirit guiding and directing us as we fulfill our callings. Lord, find our hands diligent and faithful as we await your return. Lord, grant us eyes to see how and what you are doing around us. We are so often blinded by our own agendas, calenders, tasks, and errands. Cause us to take great comfort in your providential authority over all things and your providential special care you have for your people, the Church. Come, O Holy Spirit in power and conviction that You might illumine our eyes to see your truth, fill me that I may preach your Word with boldness and clarity that we your people may turn to Christ with faith and repentance finding our great joy and hope in Him. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ 1 John 2:3-11

2011-11-06T18:03:00.001-05:00

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory. Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision. Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine; let me find Thy light in my darkness, Thy life in my death, Thy joy in my sorrow, Thy grace in my sin, Thy riches in my poverty, Thy glory in my valley. (from the Valley of Vision)

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 41:1-36

2011-10-30T07:35:00.000-04:00

Almighty God, You alone are God. There is no other. None are like you, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times determining things not yet done. Your council and will and providence alone will stand. You will accomplish your purposes in all creation. We confess our frustration with waiting. We confess our confidence in our own planning, knowledge and ordering of our days. Lord, grant your kindness to produce repentance and faith that our greatest joy and peace and hope and good can be found as we rest in your fixed providence for us. We ask you will accomplish theses things as your Word goes out among your people and as your Son is lifted up in our midst. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 40

2011-10-24T09:03:00.001-04:00

Almighty God who directs, governs, sustains and orders all creation and yet you are mindful of us and you remember our every way, thoughts and longings. We confess our doubt, our weariness, our pride, our troubled and downcast hearts. These are fruits of our faithlessness and our self sufficiency. We often trust what we see around us and so assume you have forgotten us, you are not our God of kindness or that you are unable to deliver us out of our daily distress or constant struggle. Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of our youth or our transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember us, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord, deliver us out of our bondage to self and sin. For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon our guilt, for it is great. Turn to us and be gracious to us for none who wait for you shall be put to shame for you are the God of all salvation. It is in the name and authority of our great Savior, Jesus Christ we pray these things. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 39

2011-10-16T16:06:00.000-04:00

Almighty God, You are good. Your steadfast love is better than life. Your favor is better than silver and gold. Lord, we confess our sin of frustration, anxiety, worry, doubt. Lord, we confess our sin of murmuring & complaining about our circumstances and situations we find ourselves. Lord, you are good and in Christ you have wisely and perfectly ordered our lives for our good and your glory. We confess, Lord, that our sin is great wickedness against you, you only. For we have done what is evil in your sight. Lord, grant us faith to firmly trust your good providence in our both prosperity and adversity. Lord, grant us repentance that we may see our sin as you see it and abhor it as wicked, heinous and vile because it falls short of your glory. Father, when we are tempted, accused and afflicted, do not forsake us. O God, be not far from us but make haste to deliver us and grant us your favor to keep us and sustain us in this perverse and wicked generation which seeks to find its pleasure, joy and good from creation instead of the Creator. Give us your favor so we can affirm with word and heart, “Your steadfast love is better than life”(Psalm 63:3). Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 38

2011-10-09T17:16:00.000-04:00

Almighty God, you are wise. You not only have perfect goals & ends but you have perfect and exact means by which you seek to accomplish those ends. Father, we confess our eyes confuse us and unable to see your great plan. So this morning we confess our ignorance and inability to be wise and to order our own lives as if we are our own god, to be self dependent. We so often want to live our lives by our own wisdom instead of yours. Your wisdom, Lord, is far more amazing, glorious, good and to be treasured than our wisdom. So as we come to your Word this morning, Father, I ask for your Spirit to come and help us see the great danger we are in when we ignore your wisdom, the great need we have to trust your wisdom when it is veiled to us, and the great aim we have to receive your kingdom, to live our lives in such a way that we may make much of Christ. For your wisdom points us to Him. We ask these things in your Son’s wise and blessed name, Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 37:12-36

2011-10-02T21:34:00.001-04:00

Almighty God, you are all-powerful, all knowing, everywhere present. You are Sovereign and worthy of all praise, devotion and honor. You not only know man’s heart but you keep & direct us to fulfill your purposes. You are altogether good, wise, holy. Lord, we confess our sin of self-sufficiency. We often live as if this world is not kept or directed by your hand. We live with worry, become anxious, and even fear the future. Lord, grant us grace this morning that we may trust your divine providence in our lives. Cause your Spirit to come to reveal sin, produce repentance and establish faith, joy and hope where doubt, dread and cynicism often reside. Lord, turn our hearts to Christ and the cross this morning as we see the lack and helplessness in our own resources and abilities. Give us sustaining faith, confident hope and enduring love for one another as we rest in your bitter/sweet providence for our lives. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 37:1-11

2011-09-25T16:30:00.001-04:00

Almighty God, our providential God of wondrous works, You are Sovereign. Lord, we confess our hearts are often filled with murmuring, complaining, frustration and even anger in our day to day activities and circumstances. We confess these as sins of coveting for you are the One who orders, sustains, and governs all your creation to fulfill your good and wise purposes. Lord, help us this morning as we look into your Holy Word to behold the glory of your name. To remember your wondrous works in church history, in our churches history and in our personal lives. Cause us to see your presence in every detail of our lives and when we can’t see your hand, help us trust your heart. May your grace be strong upon us this morning, Lord, that hope in your kingdom come, faith in Jesus Christ & Him crucified and love for one another may be the seeds planted and watered in our hearts this morning for your glory and in the authority of your name alone. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ 1 John 1:4-2:2

2011-09-18T17:33:00.000-04:00

Almighty God we come before you this morning acknowledging you are our light. You are our hiding place. You preserve us. You surround us. So that in our turning we see no darkness. Father we confess that we often assume that we can understand. We can see rightly. We can clearly perceive what really is. We confess this morning, Father, that our hearts are desperately wicked. When sin entered into the world that it particularly darkened our understanding. Our minds are unable to comprehend or pursue the things that are righteous and good. We are undone in our thinking and in our perceptions. We need the light of your Word and the light of your truth O God to come and to illumine our eyes, and our hearts, and our minds that we may see you. Lord accomplish more than just giving us eyes to see. But grant us access to you through Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Father the blessed man is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. The blessed man is the one whom the Lord counts no iniquity. We are so quick, Lord, to assume in our deceptive hearts that our problem is something other than sin. That our problem may be our resources of the lack thereof that this world can provide. This is a lie and it is not what you have called us to understand. Our greatest need is a Savior for we are sinners. We do not understand this in our own hearts it is only in your Word. So this morning, Lord, I ask that by the power of your Spirit, grant Chris the ability to speak to us the words of life. May our hearts be illumined by the light of your Word. May we see our greatest joy, our greatest end, our greatest pleasure, our greatest treasure is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I ask, Father, will you do this for us. So we will not only revel in your presence this morning but also as we go we will do the same.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 36

2011-09-11T07:38:00.003-04:00

Almighty God, you are good for your steadfast love and faithfulness endures for all generations. Lord, we confess our eyes often deceive us. We are so quick to trust in what we see around us instead of what we hear from your Word. Lord, we confess our tendency to be indifferent, apathetic or simply casual to your promises. They seldom inform and drive our day to day lives and your promises are so quickly forgotten. Lord, grant repentance this morning. Cause us to trust and treasure your sure promises given to us in Christ. Remind us again, by the power of your Spirit, of the hope we have in Christ. Warm our hearts that we might not simply understand these promises but that our hearts would long for, anticipate, hunger and thirst for them as we pray, “Come Lord, Jesus soon”. For it is in His name we pray and wait and rest. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 35

2011-09-04T16:51:00.001-04:00

Almighty God, only Omnipotent, Sovereign Lord, you are worthy of our life devotion. You are enough to sustain us through this toilsome pilgrimage of life and you alone can satisfy us on our final day of rest. As we journey on, Lord, grant us great faith as we wait with confidence and anticipation for our heavenly homeland prepared for us by our Savior, Jesus Christ, who was and is and is to come. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 34

2011-08-28T16:49:00.001-04:00

Almighty God, You are True, Right, Just, Holy. You are the Righteous Judge. You are Sovereign. You know us. You see our every action, thought and motive. We confess inability to think, speak or act justly. We do not know what it means to have a pure thought, a right motive or to speak in truth. Our hearts are duplicitous, full of pride and self worth. Lord, grant your Spirit to come this morning to help us see the horror of your holy justice that you might grant us your mercy to trust our wrath absorbing Savior, Jesus Christ, who is just and the Justifier of all who believe in Him. We ask you will accomplish these things by the power & authority found in His name. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 33

2011-08-21T06:38:00.003-04:00

Almighty God, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, turn to us this morning, Lord, incline your ear, we pray for we are poor and needy. Preserve our life, gladden our soul, strengthen our hope in Jesus Christ and Him crucified through your amazing, relentless, tenacious, sovereign grace we pray, O Lord. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 32:22-32

2011-08-14T16:46:00.001-04:00

Almighty God, Blessed be your name. You are Holy, Worthy, King of kings, Immortal, only Wise. Lord, we confess our hearts so quickly become cold, passive and apathetic toward You. We seldom reflect on and trust in your continual blessings in our lives. We come this morning, Lord, asking for you to remind us again of your blessings toward us as we receive the preaching of your Word. As we reflect upon your blessings this morning, Lord, grant us hearts which strive, endure and persistent in your blessings that we may be delivered from our vain, self-sufficient living filled with our well kept idols of independence and turn us to seek your face and to prevail with Christ that we may find in Him our greatest hope, joy and blessing. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 32:1-21

2011-08-07T20:24:00.003-04:00

Almighty God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, God of Jesus Christ our Lord, you are good. We are not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to us. As we journey in this life, Lord, grant us favor in your sight. Please deliver us, O Lord, from this body of death, from this world of corruption. Cause us to trust & delight in your provision, your protection, your providence as we look forward to that day of visitation with great hope, joy and expectation. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 31

2011-07-31T06:49:00.004-04:00

Almighty God, You are with us this morning. You are not only present but You are watching over us to accomplish your ends for our good and your glory. Lord, we confess our blindness and our arrogance when we live as if we are independent. We want to be autonomous, self-reliant, self-governing, sovereign. We confess these are sin and acknowledge the truth of your Word this morning. Not only are we unable to live alone, on our own resources; but we find our greatest joy, hope and satisfaction when we trust, hope and rest in your sustaining and comforting grace for us. Lord, by the power of your Spirit this morning, reveal the emptiness of our self-made idols and set us apart to be a people for your own possession, that we may proclaim together the excellencies of him who called us out of the darkness of our self-effort and into the marvelous light of His grace and mercy. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 29-30

2011-07-24T07:07:00.002-04:00

Almighty promise keeping God, your steadfast love endures forever. Lord, we confess our hearts are often deceptive, fleeting and unreliable. We manipulate people and circumstances for our own glory and agenda. We want others to worship our values, ambitions and gods. Lord, we confess these as sin and ask for your steadfast love to triumph over these fading, worldly desires. Lord, grant us your Spirit this morning that we may trust your unwavering love to sustain us in the unlikely messed up lives we find ourselves in. Restore, confirm, strengthen and establish us in this truth that we may say with lips and hearts of praise, “Your steadfast love endures forever.” Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 28:10-22

2011-07-18T09:15:00.000-04:00

Almighty God, Thou are transcendent, Holy and altogether Other. However, you have in your mercy showed yourself to be immanent, close and near to us. You are our God our Father (who is intimate) which is in heaven (who is above us and holy). We confess, Lord, our attempts to make you into our own image. Your holiness and glory too often weighs lightly upon us. We do not understand your holiness. We most often want to bring you down to be our friend or our equal. Lord, we confess this as sin. Lord, we also often live as if you are inaccessible. As if you have made everything and now stand far off from us, away from us, unable to be approached. Lord, this is reflected in our prayerlessness. Lord, we confess this as sin as well. You are our Father in heaven. You care about us and yet you are holy. In your great mercy, reveal yourself to us this morning, Lord, through your Word. Turn us to Christ, Lord, that we may find our only access to You, our Holy & transcendent God through the cross of Christ. Help us trust in Christ as our holy hope for you to be with us and to keep us as we look to that glorious, anticipated day when we will see you as you are, face to face. Only then will we be able to rest in the dwelling place prepared for us. It is in the name of Immanuel we pray these things. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ 1 John 1:1-4

2011-07-10T17:50:00.000-04:00

O Father, Thou hast made man for the glory of thyself, and when not an instrument of that glory, he is a thing of nought; No sin is greater than the sin of unbelief, for if union with Christ is the greatest good, unbelief is the greatest sin, as being cross to thy command; I see that whatever my sin is, yet no sin is like disunion from Christ by unbelief. Lord, keep me from committing the greatest sin in departing from him, for I can never in this life perfectly obey and cleave to Christ. When thou takest away my outward blessings, it is for sin, in not acknowledging that all that I have is for Thee, in not serving Thee through what I have, in making myself secure and hardened. Lawful blessings are the secret idols, and do most hurt; the greatest injury is in the having, the greatest good in the taking away. I love divest me of blessings that I may glorify thee the more; remove the fuel of my sin, and may I prize the gain of a little holiness as overbalancing all my losses. The more I love thee with a truly gracious love and more I desire to love Thee, and the more miserable I am at my want of love; The more I hunger and thirst after Thee, the more my heart is broken for sin, the more I pray it may be far more broken. My great evil is that I do not remember the sins of my youth, nay, the sins of one day I forget the next. Keep me from all things that turn to unbelief or lack of felt union with Christ. Amen & Amen. (Union with Christ from The Valley of Vision, p. 36)
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 27

2011-06-26T06:41:00.000-04:00

Almighty God, You are true, upright and righteous altogether. For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. Those who boast will not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies and you abhor the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. We confess with this morning, Lord, our heart is deceptive above all things, and desperately sick. There is no truth in our mouth and our souls are full of cunning. We are that deceitful man. We are unable to measure the depths of our hypocritical and sinful heart. So help us, Lord, that we may see our sin in light of your righteousness. Open our eyes so are not only able to see the deceit of this world around us but more importantly help us to see the deceit which lies within us, in our own hearts. But don’t leave us there, Lord. Almighty God, grant us the abundance of your steadfast love that we may enter into your presence where all deceit and pretense fall away. Lead us, O Lord, in your righteousness, make our way straight before us that we may go up that blessed hill called Calvary to the cross and there be washed clean from our wickedness and set free from our duplicitous lives. Cause your Spirit to triumph over our self-seeking desires, our constant scheming and our useless efforts to save ourselves. And come now to deliver us from the hiding in the darkness of deceit and bring us into the light of your Glory that we may be free to exult in your name and rejoice in the light of your lamp forevermore. Amen & Amen.

Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 26

2011-06-19T18:00:00.000-04:00

Almighty God, blessed be the Lord who has given us rest and peace through Your promised presence this morning. You are our God and we are your people. Lord, we confess our struggle with being sojourners, exiles and strangers in this world. We long for stability and security. We confess the world’s promise for these is empty. We have placed our faith there many times with no abiding, rooted hope to be found. Lord, we confess our fear as well. When we can not find the stability and security we long for, when the world seems so volatile and temporary we fear. Lord, grant us faith this morning to trust your promise given to Abraham, handed to Isaac and accomplished in Jesus Christ our Blessed Savior. Cause us to trust your promise to bless your people and be with your people. Lord, we often doubt your blessing and presence in our lives. We know this because of our almost daily lingering and controlling fears. Lord, deliver us from these fears by placing in us a sure and confident hope not in the promises of this world but in your everlasting secure Word, for the Word of our God stands forever. Indeed, it is firmly fixed in the heavens and your promises are sure, abiding, changeless and good. Finally, blessed Lord, with this faith in our blessed Savior and our hope in your ever-present Word, replace our fear with peace as we dwell here on earth as sojourners. Cause us to revel in and long for your glory and the day of eternal peace when we go to our home land, our eternal dwelling place, forevermore. So grant this morning, Lord Jesus, these requests through the preaching of your Word by the mighty power of your Spirit working in us. Amen & Amen. Listen or Download Sermon

Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 25:19-34

2011-06-12T07:06:00.003-04:00

Almighty Sovereign God, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory. Would you give this congregation a spirit of wisdom this morning and of revelation in the knowledge of God. Cause the eyes of our hearts to be enlightened that we may know what is the hope to which you have called us. Cause us to treasure the riches of your glorious inheritance in the saints. Help us know the immeasurable greatness of your power toward us who believe, according to the working of God’s great might that He worked in Christ when He raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. God also put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 25:1-18

2011-06-05T07:05:00.003-04:00

Almighty Blessed God, You are worthy, holy and true. You are our Maker and Sustainer. This morning, Lord, we confess our lives of dread and burden. We often live with the weight of condemnation before us. Always reminded of our disapproval from others and the curse of our sin before you. Lord, we confess our constant attempts to deny or ignore these heavy feelings by filling our lives with the passing thrills and pleasures of this world. We have found that these too are empty. Instead, they often serve as magnifiers of how helpless we are to sustain our own joy and hope. Lord, we confess these attempts to find blessing from this world as sin. We turn again this morning acknowledging that there is only one comfort, joy or hope in life and death, Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Lord, would you create faith through the hearing of your Word preached that we may rest in Jesus Christ. For only He can turn our wandering hearts from condemnation and curse to comfort and joy. Lord, bless us and keep us; make your face to shine upon us and be gracious to us; lift up your countenance upon us and give us peace. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Ephesians 1:7

2011-05-30T08:18:00.001-04:00

Almighty God, we come before you this day. Acknowledging that our hearts are so apt to pursue the pleasures of this world. We find pleasure in so many things that are temporary and that are only of this world and this earth. We want and long for trinkets and toys and relationships. We confess this morning, Father, that your Word is clear when it says we are in bondage to them. We are enslaved to the pleasures and desires of our heart. We are captured by the things our eyes see and there is no hope of being anything other than a slave to these empty promises, these vein pursuits, apart from Jesus Christ & Him crucified. This morning, Father, we thank you for being a God who has redeemed us, who has purchased us, who has ransomed us, from this wicked generation. We thank you for being a God who sent your Son of eternal worth to shed His blood and be sacrificed, this precious blood of Jesus Christ more valuable than silver and gold that we might be yours, that we might be released from the bondage of sin and the throws of satan. This morning, Father, I ask that your Spirit will come. I pray you will help us not simply see that Jesus Christ died for our sins. Father, help us not simply understand these truths but see them as valuable, as treasured truths, as our hearts final and absolute joy and that in Christ we can be satisfied and that our reward of Jesus Christ & Him crucified is God. And that in You, Father God, can we find satisfaction, can we be filled. For we can only find our joy and hope, our great end in God, through Jesus Christ. So we ask, Lord, by your Spirit accomplish this, open our eyes and ears that we might hear the precious truths of your Word and that you might so work in this precious congregation this morning. Amen & Amen

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Pastor's Prayer ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-21

2011-05-22T14:38:00.001-04:00

Almighty God, I pray earnestly this morning asking that I may so preach as to be a faithful ambassador for Christ, so it will be as if You are making your appeal through me to this congregation. Imploring each of us on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. Convince each of us of your reconciling work in us and the reconciling ministry you have given to each of us that we may trust Christ, our sin bearer for the righteousness of God that only He can accomplish. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Romans 3:19-26

2011-05-15T06:57:00.001-04:00

Almighty God, Good, True & Righteousness, You are worthy of our praise and worship this morning. We confess this morning, Lord, we deserve to bear your righteous wrath against our sin. Your justice demands such payment. Lord, we have all sinned and fall short of your glory. We confess our casual, lightheartedness concerning sin so often. We confess our need for the law, by your Spirit, to accomplish a true and faithful knowledge of sin in our hearts. Lord, grant us hearts to know the great danger and terror of sin. Lord, in this knowledge of sin turn our guilt laden hearts to the amazing love and mercy of God found only at the glorious cross of Christ and His wrath bearing sacrifice for all who receive this gracious gift by faith. Grant us, by your grace this morning O Lord faith. Faith in Jesus Christ and Him crucified that we might with confident hope trust that we have peace and favor before our God and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. It is in His name & authority we ask these things our righteous wrath bearer. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Hebrews 9:11-14

2011-05-08T07:01:00.001-04:00

Almighty, King of kings, Lord of lords, Victor, Righteous and merciful Judge, You have judged the sin of your Church in Christ. You have secured eternal redemption and purified the conscience of all who have been washed by the blood Christ through faith. Hallelujah, praise the Lord! Turn our hearts now, Lord, toward your precious sacrifice and cause your preached Word to create for us full assurance of faith, confident hope in our confession in Christ crucified and love for the saints. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Luke 12:22-34

2011-05-01T07:29:00.002-04:00

Almighty, Provider God, You determine the number of the stars; You give to each one their name. You cover the heavens with clouds; You prepare rain for the earth; You make the grass grow on the hills and give the beasts their food. Lord, we confess to you this morning our anxiety and our worry. We are anxious about our lives, what we will eat, our body what we will wear. We live as if life is only about these things. We confess this anxiety and worry about these things as lack of faith and sin. When we live for the things we can consume and the things of this world, Lord, we are seeking our own kingdom and our own glory. Lord, grant forgiveness and grace this morning. Cause us by faith in Jesus Christ instructed by His preached Word this morning to seek your kingdom, O Lord. Grant us ears to hear and eyes to see the glorious truth of your Word this morning, Lord. Grant Chris boldness to speak your truth with clarity and power of the Holy Spirit that our hearts may be warmed and drawn toward Christ in faith and repentance. Reveal the treasure of our hearts this morning, Lord. Also, show us the emptiness and danger in these treasures of our own making and turn us to the glorious, abiding, and satisfying treasure we have in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We ask these things of You O Lord because we can not do them for ourselves. May the joy of your glory and kingdom find there place in our hearts this morning. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Luke 24:36-53

2011-04-24T07:07:00.001-04:00

Almighty living God, You are worthy of all blessing and honor and glory and worship. Worthy are you... for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to out God, and they shall reign on the earth. O Lord, can we be so blessed as to hear Christ preached this morning and have faith, hope, love and joy spring up from our wandering, dry and passive hearts? O LORD God you know. May your grace abound this morning. May your Spirit come and triumph over our blindness, our deafness, our hard hearts. You you know what we need this morning, O Lord. We come assuming we are wise. We come assuming our feelings, our thoughts our judgments are sovereign. We confess this morning, O Lord, there is only One Sovereign in this universe, in this city, in this room and in each of our hearts, the resurrected, living, triumphant over death and sin, Savior, Jesus the Christ. Grant us, by your mercy, understanding. Make these hearts burn within us as we open the Scriptures together this morning. Cause these hearts here this morning which are so often lifeless and dry and to your Word to come alive and find our greatest joy and hope and pleasure here in your Word, in Jesus Christ and Him crucified, dead, buried and raised again to glory. It is in His name we ask these things. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 24

2011-04-17T18:29:00.003-04:00

May God be gracious to us, bless us and make His face shine upon us. Father, this morning we confess our desire to pursue not the things that can come from your hand alone. But we have created in our own hearts the things we assume we need to make us happy, fulfilled and create joy in our hearts. Lord we confess that if these things are not fixed upon Jesus Christ and Him crucified they will not satisfy for you are our end and our joy. This morning, Lord, I ask for you to grant your Spirit to come. Help us not only understand your providence in our lives but give us hearts to trust and to revel in and to treasure you good providence. For you are a good God and your steadfast love endures forever. I pray you will do this for our congregation as the preaching of your Word goes forth you will accomplish this mighty work in us and through us for your glory and renown here this morning and across the nations. It is in His naem we pray. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 23

2011-04-10T06:45:00.001-04:00

Almighty, eternal, immortal God, our dwelling place our final satisfaction and reward, You are to be worshipped and treasured. Lord, we are aliens and strangers, sojourners and foreigners in this world. We confess our constant longing for this world and what it can provide instead of the world to come, Your kingdom to come and your pleasures and joys. Lord, forgive us from the sin of being satisfied with so little, with those things which will perish & fade away. Lord, reveal our shallow wants and ambitions for what they are. Create repentance by your mercy to give us hearts that long for our inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for us. Father, give us the desire of Abraham and Sarah and all the saints who have gone before us. A desire for a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Lord, cause us with great expectation, to look forward to that day when we will dwell with our eternal God where he will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for on that great and glorious day the former things, the temporary things so many live for today, will have passed away to the praise of your glory and renown. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 22

2011-04-03T16:04:00.001-04:00

My Father, Enlarge my heart, warm my affections, open my lips, supply words that proclaim ‘Love lustres at Calvary.’ There grace removes my burdens and heaps them on thy Son, made a transgressor, a curse, and sin for me; There the sword of thy justice smote the man, thy fellow; There thy infinite attributes were magnified, and infinite atonement was made; There infinite punishment was due, and infinite punishment was endured. Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy, cast off that I might be brought in, trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend, surrendered to hell’s worst that I might attain heaven’s best, stripped that I might be clothed, wounded that I might be healed, athirst that I might drink, tormented that I might be comforted, made a shame that I might inherit glory, entered darkness that I might have eternal light. My Saviour wept that all tears might be wiped from my eyes, groaned that I might have endless song, endured all pain that I might have unfading health, bore a thorny crown that I might have a glory-diadem, bowed his head that I might uplift mine, experienced reproach that I might receive welcome, closed his eyes in death that I might gaze on unclouded brightness, expired that I might for ever live. O Father, who spared not thine only Son that thou mightest spare me, All this transfer thy love designed and accomplished; Help me to adore thee by lips and life. O that my every breath might be ecstatic praise, my every step buoyant with delight, as I see my enemies crushed, Satan baffled, defeated, destroyed, sin buried in the ocean of reconciling blood, hell’s gates closed, heaven’s portal open. Go forth, O conquering God, and show me the cross, mighty to subdue, comfort and save. (from The Valley of Vision)

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 21:22-34

2011-03-27T07:07:00.004-04:00

Almighty Everlasting God, Your steadfast love endures forever. Lord, we confess our short sightedness, our satisfaction with temporary things like relationships and things. We too often live for these. We make these things ultimate in our thoughts, affections and day to day lives. Lord, thank you for being our Everlasting God. Our God who lifts us from our shallow, temporary desires and grants us great grace to know you and treasure you. The things of this world, our relationships and things, disappoint daily and remind us often that these are not suppose to shoulder the weight of glory. Only in You, O Lord, can we find our dwelling place in all generations for from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Lord, convince our hearts this morning of the satisfaction and joy that can only be found in Jesus Christ, His death, burial. His powerful resurrection, His interceding for His Church at the right hand of the Father and His glorious return one day to receive us into eternal, everlasting glory. Grant your Spirit to come and accomplish much faith in Christ, hope for your kingdom to come, love for the saints, joy in the days we have been given and mercy for the abiding sin within. For You alone are our Almighty, Everlasting God. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 21:1-21

2011-03-20T16:15:00.002-04:00

Almighty Faithful God, You are faithful and true. Yes, your steadfast love and faithfulness endures forever. Lord, we confess this morning our constant want and satisfaction with only the common graces of this world. We often find ourselves wanting security, comfort and happiness from this world. These often become our ends and we often seek to accomplish these by pursuing what this world provides instead of finding our final refuge, rest and joy in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Lord, we confess we often find very little affection for our God alone. We have other gods before us. We have made for ourselves images for our delight and joy. Lord, forgive us. Grant faith and repentance this morning. Whom do we have in heaven but you? And there is nothing on this earth that we must desire more than you, O Lord. You are our Lord and we have no good--yes no good--apart from you. Lord, gives us eyes to see your truth this morning. Give us these same eyes to see our hearts and expose our sin. Grant your grace and faithfully draw us away from all the false comforts and joy of this world that we may find our final hope, comfort, rest and joy in Jesus Christ this morning. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 20

2011-03-13T07:24:00.004-04:00

Almighty Sovereign God, You are all knowing, all powerful and everywhere present. You deserve all praise, blessing, honor and glory. Lord, we confess our attempts to be sovereign are futile. We are dependant, limited, weak and restricted in all we do, say or think. These ever present boundaries in our lives manifest themselves often through our constant frustrations, anxieties and fears. Lord, we love sovereignty most often not because you posses it but because we somehow assume our knowing you somehow makes us sovereign. Lord, forgive us from our want to be independent, self-sustaining, and sufficient on our own. These things cut the root of our worship and the only joy we can find in your creation, Jesus Christ & Him crucified. Lord, by your sovereign right hand, deliver us from this sin. Reveal it to us and grant your strong grace to snatch us from our constant desire to do it ourselves. Heal us from the familiar anxieties, frustrations and fears that we hide so well but are almost always present defining our actions and motives. Thank you for Jesus Christ who covers the eyes of the Father and so vindicates us before Him. Thank you for the healing power of the cross. For He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. For it was by his wounds we have been healed. For we all had strayed like sheep but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. Great Shepherd and Overseer, come this hour and grant your Spirit to quicken our hearts to receive your preached Word with faith and repentance. It is in His name we pray. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 19

2011-03-06T06:57:00.002-05:00

Almighty Merciful God, You are good. Your steadfast love and faithfulness endures forever and is indeed with us this morning. Lord, thank you for your grace, mercy and kindness. Thank you for remembering Christ and thus redeeming us from the sure wrath to come. We confess our allurement to the creation. We find our hearts far more influenced and drawn to creation instead of our Creator. Lord, we confess our own sin. The problem is not out there, in our culture. The problem is within us. Our sinful hearts are desperately wicked and hopelessly lost. We confess our inadequate attempts to save ourselves always ends with more sin, more dread and more conflict. Lord, spare us by your mighty right hand and deliver for yourself a people to declare your righteousness. In our lingering, Lord, seize us by the hand and draw us to faith, repentance, hope and grace. Lord, grant us such a joy, such a want for your glory and majesty we will not look back to the destruction you are delivering us from; instead cause us to behold your all satisfying glory in the face of the Son, to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 18:16-33

2011-02-27T07:07:00.004-05:00

Almighty God, Righteous Judge, gracious Savior, you are worthy of all our worship. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?" (Romans 11:33-35) Thank you for revealing yourself to us through creation & your Word. Lord, in your good pleasure you have chosen for yourself a people who will know you and make you known. Thank you. We confess, this morning, O Lord, our unrighteousness. We have not lived to love you with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our might. We have all turned away, none of us seek God. There is not one of us righteous in your perfect evaluation. Our outcry is great and our sin is very grave. Lord, grant faith this morning. For the just shall live by faith. Turn us, Lord, to find our only righteousness and our confident hope in Jesus Christ and him crucified this morning. Demonstrate your righteousness, your patience, your love and your mercy this morning, O righteous Judge, by extending your mighty right hand to save us from the sure and awful wrath of God which awaits all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Give us, Lord, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ that we may stand before You holy and acceptable, justified by our Righteous Judge through Christ. For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 18:1-15

2011-02-20T17:07:00.003-05:00

O Lord, Thou knowest my great unfitness for service, my persent deadness, my inability to do anything for they glory, my distressing coldness of heart. I am weak, ignorant, unprofitable, and loathe and abhor myself. I am at a loss to know what thou wouldest have me do, for I feel amazingly deserted by thee, and sense thy presence so little; Thou makest me possess the sins of my youth, and the dreadful sin of my nature, so that I feel all sin, I cannot think or act but every motion is sin. Return again with showers of converting grace to a poor gospel-abusing sinner. Help my soul to breathe after holiness, after a constant devotedness to thee, after growth in grace more abundantly every day. O Lord, I am lost in the pursuit of this blessedness, And am ready to sink because I fall short of my desire; Help me to hold out a little longer, until the happy hour of deliverance comes, for I cannot life my soul to thee if thou of thy goodness bring me not nigh. Help me to be different, watchful, tender, lest I offend my blessed Friend in thought and behaviour; I confide in thee and lean upon thee, and need thee at all times to assist and lead me. O that all my distresses and apprehensions might prove but Christ’s school to make me fit for greater service by teaching me the great lesson of humility. Amen & Amen. (Valley of Vision; Need of Grace)

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 17

2011-02-13T07:30:00.001-05:00

Almighty God, You reign throughout your creation as final and absolute Sovereign. What is man that you are mindful of him? You have promised to abide with your people and to care for them. Thank you, Lord, for your care and protection for we seldom acknowledge your goodness and love for us. We seldom see how you reach into our lives to care for us and to give us rest and joy. Lord, we so often live as if we have to reach up to you. We weary ourselves each day as we assume our rest & communion with our God has to be accomplished in our own strength and power. Lord, grant us repentance for this sin. Give us rest in your ability and convince us of our inability to approach you in our own strength, wisdom, resources or status. You are the Almighty. We are sinners and in need of a merciful and gracious Savior. Thank you for Jesus Christ who came to earth, lived a sinless life, died a horrific death, bore the wrath of God for those who believe in His name and trust Him as our only hope to stand before our Holy, Almighty God. We will one day stand before Him clothed not in our righteousness or with our own efforts and works but we will be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Received! Accepted! Favored! Because of Christ! Lord, grant your Spirit this morning to convince us of your ability and sufficiency to redeem us, to save us from our wicked opposition to you and your Word. We know that our running from you can only be thwarted by your Sovereign right hand and so we come this morning receiving from you in the hearing of your preached Word that we may be people of faith. Trusting your Word and living according to your promises. We ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Almighty Savior and Lord. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 16

2011-02-06T07:25:00.003-05:00

Almighty God, our God who sees our affliction and who looks after us. Lord, we praise you for you are worthy. We confess our constant concern for what others see in us. We confess our lives are often consumed with what others think, say or do towards us. We acknowledge this desire to please others is a misplaced love and devotion upon your creation. Lord, you have called us this morning to live before your holy and just sight. Your eyes, your evaluation of us, what you see in us should be our only concern. Father, grant us repentance and faith to turn our hearts devotion and concern toward your eyes in heaven instead of the eyes which are around us. Lord, you see us better than we can see ourselves. Because of this, Lord, we are far worse that we assume ourselves to be. Thank you for Jesus Christ who clothes us in His righteousness this morning so we can stand before your pure eyes without condemnation or contempt but instead with joy and hope. Thank you for the gospel which severed the hold that this world and those in it have on each of us. Lord, help us now receive and rest in the truth of your Word. Give us eyes to see this morning the truth of your Word. We ask these things in the name and authority of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 15

2011-01-30T07:26:00.004-05:00

Almighty God, you are our shield and our reward. We confess our frequent fear in this world filled with counterfeit rewards and pleasures. When we seek salvation from our day to day troubles we do so by going hard after more of this world and find ourselves even more weary, burdened and fearful. Lord forgive us. But you, O Lord, are a shield about us, our glory, and the lifter of our heads. Cause us cry aloud to you this morning, O Lord, and answer us from your holy Word that we may be fixed upon the stable, sure and enduring truth of your eternal character. Give us eyes to see the empty promises of this world that we so often believe and hang out lives upon and grant us great faith and hope in your sure promises this morning. May your Spirit come and apply the truth of your Word for us this morning that we may be a people built up on Christ as our great comfort and shield. May your Spirit come and convince us of the great reward we have awaiting us in your kingdom to come where we will be able to come and be with you. Reveling in your glory as our chief end and ultimate joy. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 14

2011-01-23T21:49:00.002-05:00

God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth. We come before you this morning acknowledging how we seldom live with You as our Creator and Maker. We depend on and trust in the temporary pleasures of this world. We confess, Father, that our hearts are so quick to be idol factories. Our possessions become our idols. We bow down to them. We give our resources to them: our time, our energy and our money. We are very much like the world around us in this way. Our hearts are longing for the same things that world wants. We also acknowledge, Lord, our turning away from you when we do this. For love of the world is hatred toward You. As we come this morning to Genesis 14 I ask for your help. Help us see, Father, the great danger of making your creation our god. Help us see ourselves as we consider the kings of Abram’s day and their warring for possessions. We too want to war and fight and kill for goods & possessions. This is not what you have called us to. This is not how you have called us to live. Father, I pray you will grant us faith like Abram. Turn our hearts to treasure you alone. Lord, cause us to look to Christ this morning as the One to be most treasured in this world, to be most sought after, to be most wanted and longed for. Father, I ask for you to give us neither poverty nor riches. Feed us the food that is needful for us each day; lest we be full and deny you as our Lord; or lest we be poor and steal and so profane your name among the nations. We for you to accomplish this for us, Father, in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 13

2011-01-16T07:21:00.003-05:00

Almighty God, You are our final, all satisfying, secure, worthy and joyous dwelling place. We confess our constant desire to find our rest in the things of this world. The things we can see. We far too often evaluate our joy and peace and hope upon the things we see instead of the things we hear in your Word. Grant repentance here, O Lord. We need your grace to faithfully trust and see and live as those who have a far better place awaiting us. We need eyes to see and your Spirit to come and quicken our hearts this morning that we may know that this awaited place of rest, your dwelling place, is our great joy and therefore our lives are to be lived with great hope and joy and peace. Help us, Lord, as we seek to peak into the glory of the world to come this morning. To see, by faith, your promised rest, your dwelling place prepared for those who trust in Christ. Take now and accomplish what we can not even want for ourselves as we linger over the promises here in your Word this morning. We ask these things in the name of the Jesus Christ our guide to these celestial shores. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 12:10-20

2011-01-09T07:43:00.003-05:00

Almighty God, Deliverer of your sojourning people, You are good in all You do and righteous all together. Lord, we far to often live as if we are residents here instead of sojourners. We often long not for our place of rest in another heaven but our place of reward here on earth. Our longings and hopes are earthy and temporary at best. Therefore, Lord, seldom long for our Deliverer as we should. We have become comfortable in this land filled with fears of loss and desires for trinkets. We have no real want or hope for your beauty nor do we find our joy in your glory. Lord, deliver us from our desires of the flesh, desires of the eyes and pride in possessions. Deliver us from our own agendas, dreams and plans. Cause us to not only receive from you but hope with great joy and anticipation your promised rest for us. May we receive the preached Word this morning “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for the obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to” us all (1 Peter 1:2). Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 12:1-9

2010-12-26T07:01:00.004-05:00

Almighty God of all blessing, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory. Lord, would you give us a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of our hearts enlightened, that we may know what is the hope to which we have been called, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above ever name that is named, this immeasurably great power toward us is not only in this age but also in the one to come. For he has put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. So give us these eyes to see this morning, Lord. Give us ears to hear and minds to comprehend the superlative value and worth of our blessings we have in Christ this morning. It is in His name and authority we pray these things to be. Amen & Amen. (Ephesians 1:15-23)
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 11:10-32

2010-12-20T07:41:00.001-05:00

Sovereign and Holy God, we come this morning acknowledging that you are a God of providence. You orchestrate and order all that is and nothing in your creation from the smallest cell to the largest star can or will ever by maverick. We confess, Lord, that as we turn our hearts to you our sovereign and providential God that we find that our own lives are filled with the worry and bother of trying to order just our own living day to day. So with those contrasts, a God who orders all that is and we your people who can not even order an hour of our day rightly. We come before You asking for you to help us now to trust you as our God who is ordering our lives in such a way as to demonstrate and perform a much greater and glorious end than we can imagine. Cause us to rest in this truth this morning. Amen & Amen. Download Sermon

Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 11:1-9

2010-12-12T07:19:00.001-05:00

Almighty God, LORD of all and over all. You are our great reward, our success, our joy, our advance, our benefit. Apart from you we can do nothing and we have no good apart from you. You have made us as your image bearers. Therefore, we are creative, intelligent and industrious. Thank you, Lord, for these come from your hand. However, we most often enjoy our advancements, our success, our accomplishments as testimonies of our independence. We, like those in the days of Babel, use our ingenuity for our own gain, our own glory, for our names' sake. Lord, grant us repentance in this sin. Lord, you see everything we do. You know all our advances and breakthroughs before they are even in our mind and they do not impress you. Especially when we are so quick to use these success as our saviors and trust them for our security and hope. Lord, give us eyes to see the folly and rebellion of our iniquity. Produce faith in our hearts that we might know anew and afresh this morning that we have no status or standing in your presents outside of Christ. We have no work or good we can bring into your holy evaluation that can measure up or be anything other than an attempt of self-righteousness. Lord, thank you for Jesus Christ our righteousness, our standing, our all and all. It is in His name, for only His name matters, we ask these things this morning. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 9-10

2010-12-06T08:44:00.000-05:00

Almighty God, King of kings and Lord of lords, for this reason I bow my head before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen & Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21)

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 9:1-17

2010-11-28T07:07:00.003-05:00

Almighty God, blessed hope of eternal life, you are worthy of our praise, honor and worship this morning. We often seek the the things of this world as our final end, our joy and our comfort. We seek temporary blessings that can not satisfy. We live as if you must provide us with these fleeting pleasures. Grant us repentance that you may turn our hearts away from this world and its promises of joy, comfort and hope. And produce faith in our hearts to trust your promise of blessing. The blessing of eternal life which comes to those who trust Christ. May the cross be our greatest pleasure, joy, comfort and hope. Remind us of your covenant love and certain salvation this morning as we consider Noah. Give our hearts confidence in your promised return and eternal joy at your coming and fix our hearts and affections on these things again this morning, O Lord. We ask these things in the name and authority of Christ Jesus our Savior and sacrifice. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 8

2010-11-21T06:50:00.002-05:00

Almighty God, all knowing, all wise, covenant keeping God, You have made known your salvation; you have revealed your righteousness in the sight of the nations. You have remembered your steadfast love and faithfulness to your church in the past. O Lord, remember us this morning. We confess our doubt that so often overcomes us. We become convinced that you are unaware of our daily lives, our struggles and our needs. We believe the lie when our feelings tell us we are alone and forgotten. Lord, these feelings are not found in your Word nor are they true. We confess our lives are often marked by anxiety, frustration and worry when these lies begin to take root in our souls. In these times we abandon the clear commands you give us in your Word for the wisdom we find in this wandering world or from our grabbing emotions. Our worship, then, O Lord, looks more like the godless rituals which seek to stir you up to see us or to respond to us. Lord forgive us and grant repentance for abandoning this truth: You are our God and you remember with favor you children. In this truth, Father, give our souls rest and cause us to wait in patience for your hand to move and for your Word to speak. In this time of worship this morning, O Lord, cause us to trust that in Christ we are remembered by God. He takes great delight in those who are in in Christ and seeks to pour out abundance grace, joy and favor upon His own for His glory's sake. Lord, would you accomplish these things in our congregation this morning that we may see and savor the Savior this morning. It is in His name we pray. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 6-7

2010-11-14T07:02:00.004-05:00

Almighty God, Righteous Judge, Holy God, your steadfast love endures forever. Lord, we confess our need for your righteousness this morning for we will have no hope in the sure day of judgment. Our world, like Noah's day, is also corrupt in your sight and is filled with violence. Lord, we most often find confidence in the promises of this world instead of your promises for us. Lord, we are more diligent and content to be in the world than in the riches you provide for us in Christ. Lord, we are constantly looking for our own path to deliverance and our own way to save ourselves instead of trusting your deliverance provided to us through the cross of Christ. O Lord, thank you for your truth this morning. Thank you for speaking and warning us of the danger our sin brings upon us and grant us faith to trust the provided way of salvation in Christ through the cross alone. Cause us to count everything as lose to obtain the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord, that we may gain Christ and be found in Him. Not having a righteousness of our own but a righteousness which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 6:1-8

2010-11-08T08:55:00.001-05:00

Almighty God, Righteous, Holy and Blameless and sinless are you. We confess this morning that we are not only sinners but we multiply our sin. We are more apt to flaunt our unholiness and wickedness than we are to grieve over it. This morning, O Lord, I pray that you will show us favor. I pray for your grace to enlighten our eyes and prick our hearts so we will be reminded again of the pain, sorrow and horror of sin. That we might be a people who will be able to weep again. Cause us to see that this great sin has caused our Savior to come and die because our sin was so great we needed a great Savior. So as we reflect upon sin increasing from our text I pray you will help us find our place there and in so doing that you will drive us to the cross of Jesus Christ with urgency that we may find there the pardon necessary so we may be redeemed from the just and condemnation of our souls. We ask these things in your Son's name, Jesus Christ. Amen & Amen. Listen or Download Sermon

Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 5

2010-10-31T07:10:00.001-04:00

Almighty God, you are the Alpha & and Omega, the beginning and the end, Lord of host, Rock of ages. Your steadfast love endures forever for you are eternal and forevermore God. Cause your grace to come now as we approach your Holy Word and produce repentance & faith in us that we might see our lives as you see them for you alone will be our dwelling place for all generations and in you alone can we find our souls satisfied. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen & Amen
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 4

2010-10-24T07:20:00.004-04:00

Almighty God, You are full of grace, truth and justice. Your divine and good providence orders all of your creation. You deserve praise, honor and glory, forever without end. Amen. This morning, Lord, we have come to bring our offering in worship. We confess our hearts, like Cain, would come in our own strength and resources demanding a blessing. Lord, cause us to come in faith through Christ this morning. Lord, we confess our relationships are often strained, broken and difficult. This is due to our sin and self-seeking glory. Turn us this morning, Lord, toward a devoted love for your glory and from this love cause us to love each other more faithfully. Lord, thank you for granting us your common grace in the everyday blessing of industry. You have given humanity a wonderful gift to care for, love and create that reflects your very character. You confess our turning these gifts, so often, into means for our own comfort, pleasure and declaration of our power & wisdom. Lord, in these areas where sin has increased in our lives and around us, we pray for you grace to abound all the more. Grant your Spirit to produce faith and repentance in us this morning. Cause your grace to accomplish these and any other spiritual blessing in us this morning that we may again begin to call upon the name of our LORD, Jesus Christ our LORD. Amen & Amen

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 3

2010-10-17T06:29:00.002-04:00

Almighty God, you are Righteous and True. Have mercy on us this morning, O God, according to your steadfast love; blot out our transgressions. Wash us thoroughly from our iniquity and cleanse us from our sin! Lord, make us know our transgressions. Cause our sin to be ever before us. It is against you, you only, have we sinned and done what is evil in your sight. You are just in your words and blameless in your judgments. Behold, we were each one brought forth in iniquity and in sin our mothers conceive us. Lord, you delight in truth in our inward being so we ask this morning for you to teach us wisdom in the secret places of our hearts. Purge us with hyssop, and we will be clean; wash us, and we will be whiter than snow. Hide your face from our sins and blot out our iniquities. Create in us a clean heart this morning, O God, and renew a right spirit within us. Cast us not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from us. Restore us by the cross of Christ that the joy of our salvation may return and uphold us as we seek to live by grace, through faith and for your glory. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 2:4-25

2010-10-10T07:19:00.001-04:00

LORD God, You are our Creator, Maker, Sustainer. You are our LORD who cares for us and seeks to covenant with us for our good and your glory. You are the God of heavens and earth and therefore you rule on your throne. You are transcendent, almighty, all-knowing, and everywhere present. You are LORD God. We come this morning, O Lord, acknowledging our sin. We often receive the gifts from your hand as burdens and not blessings. We, in our sin, turn so many of your good gifts into daily complaints. Lord, grant us faith and repentance this morning as we come to your Word. Reveal to us, by the power of your Spirit, our gifts and our sin. Grant us great joy and hope in the gifts you bestowed upon us before the fall. And as you remind us of our sin in these gifts, bring us by your hand of mercy to the cross that we may find there the triumph of our sin and the victory we possess in His name. Lord, we ask these things in the name of our sinless, crucified, buried and raised, Savior and LORD, Jesus Christ. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis 1:1 - 2:3

2010-10-03T06:55:00.002-04:00

Almighty God, You are Creator. You spoke and all things came into being. You saw all that you created and you deemed it very good. You ordered all things by caused all things to not only exist but to have function & purpose. Then you rested that you may establish for us this day, your day for us to rest in your promises and your care. Thank you Lord, for creating, for watching over us for ordering and caring for us. We are your creation and You are our Creator. Lord, we acknowledge our sin this morning of most often making ourselves the center of all creation rather than making you the center. We confess we are more apt to worship the creation than the Creator in our blindness and rebellion. Claiming to be wise we have become fools and have exchanged the immortal glory of God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. We have exchanged the truth about God for a lie and have worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Lord, grant us repentance and faith this morning and turn our hearts from our sinful man-centeredness toward a God-honoring, Christ-exalting God-centeredness. That we may say with the host in heaven on that day when this first heaven and earth pass away and the new heaven & earth are established, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And we as His saints will say, “Amen & Amen”.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Genesis Introduction

2010-09-26T17:42:00.000-04:00

Almighty God, You are Creator, Savior, Sovereign and our God of Providence. You created all the heavens and the earth and you are Lord over all that is. We praise You for being LORD God this morning. Lord, we confess our denying and doubting these attributes in our daily living so often. Lord, we turn our affections to the creation instead of You our Creator. We seek salvation in abilities and not in your provision. We are prayerless, anxious, fearful, and frustrated with the day to day of life. These are all sins against your sovereign authority and lordship over your creation. You are our God and we are your creation. Lord, grant us faith and repentance as we so often seek to make you in our image. Lord, by your Spirit, grant us mercy and grace that we may hear and receive your Word this morning. Not simply as the words of man but as the Word of God proclaimed in the power and conviction of the Holy Spirit. Thank you for your past grace and give us faith to trust in future grace as we have come here this morning to hear from You give us ears to hear and eyes to see our need for Christ that we may commune with our God and Maker through the life and death of Jesus Christ on the cross. We ask these things in this name, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ 2 Samuel 12

2010-09-21T16:04:00.000-04:00

Psalm 51
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; 19 then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Pastor's Prayer ~ Romans 12:9-13

2010-09-14T15:36:00.000-04:00

O Lover of the Loveless, It is they will that I should love thee with heart, soul, mind, strength, and my neighbor as myself. But I am not sufficient for these things. There is by nature no pure love in my soul; Every affection in me is turned from thee; I am bound, as slave to lust, I cannot love thee, lovely as thou art, until thou doest set me free. By grace I am thy freeman and would serve thee, for I believe thou art my God in Jesus, and that through him I am redeemed, and my sins are forgiven. With this freedom I would always obey thee, but I cannot walk in liberty, any more than I could first attain it, of myself. May thy Spirit draw me nearer to thee and thy ways. Thou art the end of all means, for if they lead me not to thee, I go away empty. I go away empty. Order all my ways by thy holy Word and make thy commandments the joy of my heart, that by them I may have happy converse with thee. May I grow in thy love and manifest it to mankind. Spirit of love, make me like the loving Jesus; give me his benevolent temper, his beneficent actions, that I may shine before men to thy glory. The more thou doest in in love in me and by me, keep me meek, lowly, and always ready to give thee honor. "Christian Love" in Valley of Vision

Pastor's Prayer ~ John 21:15-25

2010-09-05T07:14:00.001-04:00

Almighty God, You are the all-knowing, Sovereign God who loves us and graciously restores us. May your name be glorified in this place this morning. We confess our diligent pursuit for Bible knowledge and our constant attempt to live a moral life is often separated from a genuine, abiding love for you. We most often desire comfort instead of commitment, pleasures instead of your peace, and happiness instead of holiness. Our lives are marked too often by our want to glorify ourselves instead of a laying down our lives in such a way that we glorify you, our Lord, in life and in death. Lord, we anxiously and frantically rise up early and go to bed late day in and day out as if our lives are in the hands of luck or chance instead of your divine providence. Lord, grant us repentance and faith in these things. Cause us to be faithful followers of Christ by your grace and for your glory. Give us a love that motivates us to serve one another. Remove our desire for comfort and give us unwavering commitment to your gospel, your Word and your Church. Lord, help us rest in your divine providence as we daily see your hand in the blessings and in the struggles. Thank you for your grace this morning as you produce faith, love, hope and joy in us this morning through the preaching of your Word. It is in the name and authority of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, that we ask these things. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 21:1-14

2010-08-29T17:13:00.001-04:00

Almighty God, God who speaks, God who reveals Himself, God who is transcendent, high and lifted up and yet is willing to be intimate, our close and personal Father who loves and cares for us. Lord you are to be praised and worshiped in all your glory. Lord, we confess that our lives are too often casual and uncaring. We live unaware and separated from what you are doing around us. We most want a miracle to impress us instead of settle faith in your promises from your Word. We are most apt to assume that we possess all that we do for our own good and glory instead of finding your glory in these things. We worry and anxiously labor day in and day out for our stuff and have found that we can do nothing apart from you. Lord, grant faith in our hearts this morning. Give us hearts that find our only hope and joy in you. Reveal yourself this morning, Lord, through the preaching. Bring to mind for those here this morning how you have revealed yourself this past week. Satisfy us with your revealing yourself to us and as we see you this morning, Lord, cause our hope to be fixed on you that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in his name. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 20:30-31

2010-08-22T17:11:00.001-04:00

Almighty God who spoke and all things were created, I ask this morning on behalf of this congregation for the words in this gospel, John, may so affect us that we may by the power of your Spirit believe, afresh and anew or maybe for the first time, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that as we believe we may have life in His name. I ask, Lord, for you to accomplish this in us this morning as we receive your preached Word. It is in Christ's name we pray. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 20:24-29

2010-08-15T07:23:00.001-04:00

Almighty God, you are our Lord and our God. You deserve all praise, worship and adoration. Yet, there are none of these you deserve nor any pleasure can you find in any of us this morning apart from faith. We confess our faith is often weak and struggling. We confess our faith often seeks its footing in our feelings or understanding and therefore is often transient and uncertain instead of firm and sure. Lord, grant us this morning, by the power of your Holy Spirit, an assurance of things hoped for (your glory and your kingdom come) and the conviction of things not seen(forgiveness, holiness, righteousness and peace). Lord, as we look now into your faith-giving Word, give us a sure, sturdy, worthy, confident faith in Jesus Christ. Remove the doubt and despair that lingers. And give us eyes to see those things that are not of this world. Give us a faith that is not trusting on the world & its power, intelligence or its ambition. Instead give us a faith rooted in the truth of your Word so we may live as people of faith with our desire for a better country, a heavenly one. So fix our hearts upon Jesus Christ and Him crucified in this hour, we pray this in His name and authority. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 20:19-23

2010-08-09T06:35:00.001-04:00

Almighty God, blessed Father of peace forevermore, rest eternal, You are our only place for our weary soul to find refuge this morning so we fly to thee now in prayer. Our hearts are so familiar with the war, conflict, turmoil and struggle that occurs not only around us but within our own hearts. Grant us this morning, mighty resurrected Savior, your peace that we may be a reflection of your peace to this hostile world around us with your authority and in the power of the Holy Spirit. And cause us to with great joy and hope receive this morning your free and full forgiveness offered through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. It is in His name we pray. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 20:11-18

2010-08-01T18:45:00.002-04:00

Almighty risen Lord, setting at the right hand of God our Father, You are majestic and holy in all your attributes. You are high and lifted up you are our Sovereign King reigning over all creation and kindly interceding for your people, the church. We confess our weakness, ignorance and wandering. We often attempt to be faithful in our own strength only to prove our weakness. We often seek to understand our circumstances only to prove our ignorance. We often seek to walk steadfast in your truth only to find ourselves far off the path of righteousness because we have wandered to other pleasures and places. Lord, grant your Spirit to come this morning to we may find our only strength, our only source of truth, our only hope of steadfast faithfulness in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Lord, like Mary of our text this morning, turn our weeping into witness. Give us hearts that linger on the abiding truth of your ascension and as we look to you our high and lifted up Prophet, Priest and King; help us find great hope, faith, and strength in our Savior's place before the Father for us. We ask these things only because our Savior is right now sitting at the Father's right hand lovingly interceding for us. So it is in His name alone we ask for these things. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 20:1-10

2010-07-25T07:27:00.001-04:00

Almighty, living God who has delivered your people from the bondage and fear of sin and death. You are the bread of life. You are the resurrection and the life. We come this morning, Lord, confessing our fear, doubt and anxiety that the troubles of this world bring. We are so very much like your disciples. Our hearts are filled with trouble, sorrow and worry. We not only feel weak against the influence of sin but overcome. We not only feel distant from your presence but abandoned. We not only feel troubled in this world of tribulations but overcome. Thank you, Lord, for the incarnation. Jesus Christ came and dwelt with us. Thank you, Lord, for the crucifixion. Jesus Christ died received the wrath of God on our behalf. Thank you, Lord, for the resurrection. Jesus Christ rising to triumph over the grave and death. Thank you, Lord, for the ascension. Jesus Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding for His beloved elect. Lord, grant us faith this morning to rest in these glorious, enduring promises we have in Christ. Cause us to look upon the Son and believe. Allow us to understand the Scripture this morning, by the power the Holy Spirit, that we might find our only hope and joy and peace in the resurrection of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ Psalm 16

2010-07-18T20:09:00.006-04:00

Almighty God, You are present this morning with your people. Preserve, guard, keep, sustain, care for us, O God, for in you alone can we take refuge. We say to you again this morning, O Lord, “You are our Lord; we have no good apart from you.” As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom we should find all our delight. However, we affirm as well that the sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood we will not pour out or even take their names on our lips. You, O Lord, is our chosen portion and our cup; you hold our lot. The lines have fallen for us in pleasant places; indeed, we have a beautiful inheritance. Cause us to rest in this truth, Lord. Cause us to bless the LORD who gives us counsel; even in the night our hearts are instructed by you. Cause us to set the Lord always before us; for when He is at our right hand, we shall never be shaken. Therefore, O Lord, give us glad hearts, and souls that rejoice, and cause our bodies to dwell secure. For you will not abandon our souls to Sheol, or let your holy ones see corruption. Almighty God, I plead on behalf of this congregation, make known to us the path of life; cause us to know the fullness of joy in your presence and the pleasures forevermore which come from your right hand.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 19:38-42

2010-07-04T15:31:00.002-04:00

Almighty God, You are the living water, the bread of life, you are the light of the world. You are victorious over the grave and death. Slaying its fear and sorrow; and triumphant over the doubt and dread that pushes in on all who see and know that life on earth is only a vapor. You are to be exalted! Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! We confess this morning, O Lord, our hearts are often laced with anxiety and fear when we consider death and the grave. Come, Lord, this morning in the power of you Spirit and produce repentance in our hearts for these things. Fill us with faith in Christ who died, was buried in a grave and rose again. Give us, Lord, the hope of your sure salvation and the joy of your promised presence. Lord, help us this morning as we receive the preached Word that you might accomplish more than just an understanding in us but a heart felt desire to love, fear, enjoy and follow hard after you, our risen Savior, as a disciple resolved to take the journey that will lead us, for sure, through many conflicts and trials and dangers but in the end will lead us home. I ask these things for this precious congregation and in the authority of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 19:31-37

2010-06-27T14:54:00.003-04:00

Almighty God, You are Good, Holy and Wise. Your garden has become our desert, Your holy mountain a place of fear, your law a dread, your manna tasteless, and your water bitter. All of these we have ruined by our handling them, by our pride and sin. Thank you for Your Word which shows us the sweet communion of the garden, your power & holiness at Mt. Sinai, the perfect direction that comes from your Law, your loving care and provision in the manna and the water from the rock. Yet in our pride and sin we receive these with disdain. We want your communion and presence on our terms. We avoid your Holy mountain for that which entertains and twist your Law to be a declaration of our effort and goodness instead of a manifestation of your righteous holiness. Lord, we receive from your hand our manna, our goods, resources, families and daily graces and mercies only to ignore them for the want and coveting for more. You have given us water from the rock and we complain and grumble. Lord, deliver us. Grant your grace that our hearts might see our despair and our need for a Savior. Lord, give us ears to hear and eyes to see that we may find our only joy and hope in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. In Christ we are able to enter the garden with joy and hope. In Christ we are able to approach the holy mountain and live. In Christ we find the only obedient One to the Law. In Christ there is the bread of life whereby we may never hunger. In Christ we find the living water which becomes in us a spring of water welling up to eternal life. O Lord, we plead this morning, then, turn our hearts toward Christ that we may have eternal life. Lead us carefully by your preached word this morning to the foot of the cross and cause us to linger there in the pleasures of your promised hope and joy.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 19:28-30

2010-06-21T12:36:00.002-04:00

Lord, we confess that it would be a normal thing for us to approach this time with passivity and apathy. We dare not trifle with your Word. The power of your Word and the affect of your Spirit upon our hearts. So I pray this morning, Lord, to help us receive & feel the weight of the words of our Savior when He hung dying on that cross not for his sin but for ours. So help us this morning to understand that though our world and lives are so drawn to be entertained. We confess that the cross is offensive to this desire to be entertained. So I come this morning as a messenger seeking to faithfully communicate your word. I ask for your Spirit to come and allow the seed of your Word, the gospel, to find fertile soil in the hearts of these who are here this morning. Prepare them now. Father, I ask for you help me as an instrument to be used as you have used men of the past to proclaim your Word. I ask for your word will come and be living and active and examining our hearts revealing us for who we are. Father, you are our Savior. You are our Lord, King of kings. You are mighty & majestic. And you displayed the glory of the Father most brilliantly in these verses today as we look at the end of Christ's life. So help us now Father as we seek to faithful to your Word & to your Spirit. Grant that you will accomplish what we cannot do in our own strength. May you produce within us a heart to believe your Word, a desire to treasure Jesus Christ & Him crucified, and a want for repentance to turn away from sin. We ask you to do these things in the name & power of Jesus Christ alone. Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 19:16-27

2010-06-13T06:46:00.002-04:00

Valley of Vision “Love Lustres at Calvary”

My Father, Enlarge my heart, warm my affections, open my lips, supply words that proclaim ‘Love lustres at Calvary.’ There grace removes my burdens and heaps them on thy Son, made a transgressor, a curse, and sin for me; There the sword of thy justice smote the man, thy fellow; There thy infinite attributes were magnified, and infinite atonement was made; There infinite punishment was due, and infinite punishment was endured. Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy, cast off that I might be brought in, trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend, surrendered to hell’s worst that I might attain heaven’s best, stripped that I might be clothed, wounded that I might be healed, athirst that I might drink, tormented that I might be comforted, made a shame that I might inherit glory, entered darkness that I might have eternal light. My Saviour wept that all tears might be wiped from my eyes, groaned that I might have endless song, endured all pain that I might have unfading health, bore a thorny crown that I might have a glory-diadem, bowed his head that I might uplift mine, experienced reproach that I might receive welcome, closed his eyes in death that I might gaze on unclouded brightness, expired that I might for ever live. O Father, who spared not thine only Son that thou mightest spare me, All this transfer thy love designed and accomplished; Help me to adore thee by lips and life. O that my every breath might be ecstatic praise, my every step buoyant with delight, as I see my enemies crushed, Satan baffled, defeated, destroyed, sin buried in the ocean of reconciling blood, hell’s gates closed, heaven’s portal open. Go forth, O conquering God, and show me the cross, mighty to subdue, comfort and save.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 18:38-19:16

2010-06-07T02:30:00.002-04:00

Almighty God, Sovereign King of kings and Lord of lords, perfect in every attribute and holy altogether. We bow our heads & hearts in worship to you this morning. Lord, would you shake us from our complacent, passive, devotion this morning and grant us a white hot joy, hope and faith that lives with full abandonment for your glory and honor. Expose our desire to live according to our own ambitions and dreams. Reveal every lingering, comfortable sin by your perfect law, this morning, Lord. Help us see your final authority in our lives and grant us repentance when we seek to wield our own authority against your wise and good decrees. Lord, come this morning and by the mighty power of the spotless lamb of God subdue us to yourself, reign triumphant over every affection and will set against your glory and make us your people, holy and blameless until the day of your coming, Amen & Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ Romans 12

2010-05-30T13:46:00.000-04:00

Sermon Preached by Chris Partyka

My God, I feel it is heaven to please Thee, and to be what Thou wouldst have me be. O that I were holy as Thou art holy, pure as Christ is pure, perfect as Thy Spirit is perfect! These, I feel, are the best commands in Thy Book, and shall I break them? must I break them? am I under such a necessity as long as I live here?
Woe, woe is me that I am a sinner, that I grieve this blessed God, who is infinite in goodness and grace! O if He would punish me for my sins, it would not would my heart so deep to offend Him; But though I sin continually, He continually repeats His kindness to me.
At times I feel I could bear any suffering, but how can I dishonour this glorious God? What shall I do to glorify and worship this best of beings? O that I could consecrate my soul and body to His service, without restraint, for ever! O that I could give myself up to Him, so as never more to attempt to be my own! or have any will or affections that are not perfectly conformed to His will and His love! But, alas, I cannot live and not sin.
O may angels glorify Him incessantly, and, if possible, prostrate themselves lower before the blessed King of heaven! I long to bear a part with them in ceaseless praise; but when I have done all I can to eternity I shall not be able to offer more than a small fraction of the homage that the glorious God deserves. Give me a heart full of divine, heavenly love. (Prayer from Valley of Vision "Consecration & Worship")

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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 18:28-38

2010-05-23T16:59:00.001-04:00

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever & ever. Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 18:12-27

2010-05-17T07:36:00.003-04:00

Almighty and all-knowing God, You have searched us and know us. You know when we sit down and when we rise up; you discern each of our thoughts from afar. You search out our various paths and lay us down each night; you are acquainted with all of our ways. Grant us your grace this morning to that we may be known by you more than to know you. Help us this morning turn from our own limited resources, power, and knowledge to receive your abundant, eternal, life sustaining, joy filling blessings from your hand. Lord, reveal our greed and fears this morning and expose the idols so connected to these. More than this, Lord, pour out your kindness to us that we may do more than acknowledge our sin and idolatry but that we may also repent of these with a godly sorrow that has no regret and enduring earnestness to cut off and mortify the sin that so easily entangles each of us. Lord, we ask you for these things because we can't do them ourselves. We will, like Peter in our text, surely abandon our calling and out of fear deny by our words and actions that we even know you. Lord, help us, then, that we may find our strength and hope in You this morning. Amen and Amen.

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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 18:1-11

2010-05-09T20:41:00.001-04:00

Jehovah God, Thou Creator, Upholder, Proprietor of all things, I cannot escape from thy presence or control, nor do I desire to do so. My privilege is to be under the agency of omnipotence, righteousness, wisdom, patience, mercy, grace. Thou art love with more than parental affection; I admire thy heart, adore thy wisdom, stand in awe of thy power, abase myself before thy purity. It is the discovery of thy goodness alone that can banish my fear, allure me into thy presence, help me to bewail and confess my sins. When I review my past guilt and am conscious of my present unworthiness I tremble to come to thee, I whose foundation is in the dust, I who have condemned thy goodness, defied thy power, trampled upon thy love, rendered myself worthy of eternal death. But my recovery cannot spring from any cause in me, I can destroy but cannot save myself. Yet thou hast laid help on One that is mighty, for there is mercy with thee, and exceeding riches in thy kindness through Jesus. May I always feel my need of him. Let thy restored joy be my strength; May it keep me from lusting after the world, bear up heart and mind in loss of comforts, enliven me in the valley of death, work in me the image of the heavenly, and give me to enjoy the first fruits of spirituality, such as angels and departed saints know. “Kept by God” Valley of Vision

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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 17:24-26

2010-05-02T14:51:00.001-04:00

Righteous Father, you are right in all you do & altogether holy in all your ways. Hear, O Church, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. He is unchanging. The same yesterday, today & forevermore. He is thrice Holy, Holy, Holy. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from Him, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Lord, I pray this morning for those who have believed through your word. I pray in accord with Jesus' prayer this morning, that we might all be one, just as you, Father, are in Christ, and Christ is in the Father, that you both may be in us, this morning, O Lord. I pray this unity among us will cause the world to believe that You sent the Son. Lord, give us your glory, the glory that was given to the Son by the Father. That we may be one even as You are one, Christ in us and the Father in Christ, that we may become perfectly one and in so doing cause the world to know that the Father sent the Son and loved us, His Church, even as the Father loves the Son. Father, give Jesus His desire. That the Church also, whom the Father has given to Christ, may be with Christ where He is, to see His glory that you, O Father, have given to Christ because you loved Him before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, Christ knows you, and we have come to know that the Father sent you. Lord, you have made know to us the Father's name, His character and nature. Continue, O Lord, to make it known, that the love with which you have loved Christ may be in us, and Christ will be in us. We ask these things in accordance with your Word, your will & for your glory. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 17:20-23

2010-04-25T07:02:00.004-04:00

Pastor's Prayer ~ John 17:6-19

2010-04-18T18:25:00.000-04:00

Holy Father, You manifested your name to us your people. You have given us the word of the gospel in the person and work of Christ. You have made us yours and have revealed to us your glory. Thank you, Lord, for your careful keeping and guarding your disciples in this evil, hostile world. Thank you for exampling prayer for us in our text this morning. Thank you for Jesus Christ and your Word that we may grow to know and love Jesus Christ more and more. Father, we confess that we are not holy. We don't even know what holy is apart from your Son. We often push against, murmur and complain in your daily working sanctification in us. We prefer to have our own idea of temporary happiness than your wise eternal holiness. Lord, keep us in your name that we might not be lost to the empty hopes and pleasures of this world. Lord, sanctify us in the truth of your gospel that we might be set apart for your holy service today and for eternity. May you receive the glory and honor and praise from this sermon and from the repentance, faith, hope, love and joy your produce from the preaching of your Word this morning. It is only in the name and authority of Jesus Christ that we ask for these things. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 17:1-5

2010-04-11T21:00:00.001-04:00

Almighty God, in this time I ask that in the authority you gave to the Son you will be glorified, that you may be lifted up, that you may be seen and treasured for who you are, the God of all glory, honor, worth and praise. You deserve worship. Turn our hearts, Lord, and our affections, our eyes & our attention to the hearing of your Word and by the power of our Holy Spirit give us the privilege to love and know your glory this morning. It is in the name Christ Jesus we pray, Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 16:25-33

2010-04-04T06:51:00.001-04:00

Almighty God, God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, you are worthy of all praise, adoration, glory and honor. Great is your mercy and your steadfast love endures forever. We come this morning, Lord Jesus, confessing our lack of peace. Our lives are often marked by sorrow, fear, trouble and worry. We turn so quickly to every empty hope this world affords and find each one wanting. Thank you for being our peace. Thank you for your humility in coming from the Father and into this world. Thank you for your exaltation in leaving this world and returning to the Father. Thank you for overcoming this world with its hostility and hatred. Cause us to trust Christ this morning, O Lord. Grant us faith to rest in the peace that can only come from you. Grant us repentance to turn from all the counterfeits for peace that this world seeks to sell. Help us this morning, Lord, with great joy to take heart and to stand sure in your promised peace. Knowing you are our only and final end. You alone are our peace and in your peace we have rest forevermore. I ask these glorious things for this people, your people, this morning, O Lord Jesus, in the name and authority of our risen Savior. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 16:16-24

2010-03-28T06:18:00.003-04:00

Almighty God, You are good and your steadfast love endures forever. In you alone can we find abiding, sure and satisfying joy in this life and forevermore. Lord, we confess this morning our lack of joy. We often are overcome by the sorrow, dread and hurt of this world. We, like the disciples of our text today, are so focused upon the temporary circumstances and events around us that we loose heart and sin by our worry, struggles and sorrows. This morning, Lord, I ask for your joy to come to this congregation. Grant us a joy that is based on your Word and promises instead of a happiness based on circumstances. Lord, give us a joy that will not come and go but a joy that will abide through the days of great faithfulness over sin and the days of great struggle in sin. Lord, cause your joy to not simply be present but may it be full and overflowing through us and onto those around us that you name may be glorified and your renown may be seen. We ask for these things this morning in the name and authority of Jesus Christ, our King, Lord, Almighty Sovereign and triumphant Savior. Amen & Amen.
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Sermon ~ Exodus 33:12-34:9

2010-03-21T18:00:00.000-04:00

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Sermon ~ 2 Corinthians 2:14-17

2010-03-21T17:43:00.005-04:00

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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 16:4b-15

2010-03-07T06:50:00.001-05:00

Almighty God, You are Spirit, Holy, Present and Able, our Helper. This morning, Lord, we thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit. We thank you for the hope, comfort and peace He brings to us as a community of believers. In your amazing grace you have given us your Spirit so we confess, Lord, the despair, unrest, and turmoil that so often marks our souls. We confess our sin in not leaning upon and trusting in or abiding with Christ and the Spirit. We ask now, O Lord, grant your Helper to come and lift the cloud of sorrow, struggle, despair and unrest from the souls of this congregation. Lord, would you convict our hearts of the world's influence concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. Declare to us this morning, Lord, the truth that can guide us in this evil, hostile world. Glorify your name by declaring to us through the power of the Spirit Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Provide, O Lord, your grace that we may receive in the declaration of your Word and the working of your Holy Spirit all of Christ, His grace and truth, that we may live for your glory, honor and praise. It is in His name we pray these eternal and precious truths, Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 15:18-16:4a

2010-02-28T06:46:00.001-05:00

Almighty God, Lord of heaven, you are True and Just. All that you do and say are good and right because they come from you. Your truth is the final standard for all reality and your ways always higher and more wise than our ways. We confess our weakness and constant attraction to this world. Lord, cause us this morning to abide in the truth of who you are and your promises for us. Give us grace to know and rest in our election by Christ, union with Christ, the revelation of Christ and the Spirit from Christ. Grant us faith in these as we seek to stand in this hostile and wicked world. Lord, keep us from falling away that we might stand in the difficult days of struggle and attack. Lord, prepare and buttress us for our that final day of faith that we may stand secure and sure in your promises. We ask these eternal and necessary things of You our only true Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 15-9-17

2010-02-21T06:51:00.003-05:00

Almighty God, You are our God of steadfast love and faithfulness. Your kindness toward us is enduring, your compassion forevermore and your tender mercies are new each and every day. There is no other rest than in the sure love of God. Thank you for loving us when we were yet sinners. Thank you for so loving the world that you sent your Son. Thank you for revealing and reminding us of your steadfast love throughout history and in your Word. You are to be exalted above the highest heaven. Grant this morning, O Lord, that we may abide in your love and so know your joy and that our joy may be made full. Grant this morning, O Lord, that we may abide in your love and so love one another as you have loved us. Help us this morning to not simply know your love but to rest in it, abide in it, be comforted and established in it. Lead our souls gently this morning, our Savior, to this table that we may come and remember, receive and proclaim your love as we know it in our own hearts and as we express it toward one another. We ask these things in the name and authority of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen & Amen.
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Pastor's Prayer ~ John 15:1-8

2010-02-14T17:57:00.002-05:00

Almighty God, You are the divine Gardener, vinedresser, who deserves all glory, honor and praise. You have sent Jesus Christ our Sustainer and all sufficient supply. We confess our lives are seldom marked by consistent, persevering fruitfulness. We groan and complain under your loving, wise, and good pruning of our lives. We seek to live trusting our own wisdom, abilities and resources without abiding in Christ, His Word and His power to bear much fruit through us. Lord, grant repentance. Cause your Spirit to come this morning. And as your Spirit hovered over the face of the waters with great power and authority in the beginning of time, come and be with us this morning, Lord. Come in power and authority over our hearts and thinking. Convince us this morning, O Lord, that you are sufficient. Grant us faith to abide in you and you in us that we may bear much fruit, prove to be your disciples and so bring honor and glory to our Father who loves us and cares for us, our only comfort in life and death. It is in the name and authority of our strong Savior and all sufficient source, Jesus Christ we pray these things. Amen & Amen.
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