The Pastor’s Corner

Prayer: Our most glorious God and sovereign of heaven and earth, we come to plead with you on behalf of our nation and world. We know that your Word teaches that you raise leaders, and you also set them aside. We know that the government and its leader are ordained by you. Yet, we look and see such arrogance among these people. They boast of themselves and all the things they will do without any reference to your will and your glory. They profess to be wise, but their actions only prove they are fools. They refuse to submit to your Word, and it grieves your people. We long to see righteous leaders -- those who will fear you and submit to you in all things. We pray that you would be pleased to grant that to your church. WE know that these things are working for the good of your church, though we are often bewildered as to how that can be. Yet, we trust you. Help your people, Father. Grant to them true rest in your divine purposes and plans. We pray this in the name of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Prayer: Almighty God, you who are holy, we bow before you today to worship and adore you. You have displayed your glory in what we see each day. From the sunrise to the sunset, you are proclaiming your majesty and beauty. In Christ, we behold your radiance and the exact imprint of your nature. in your Word, we read and hear your mind and your will as it is communicated to your creatures. Yet, men rebel against you. They profess to be wise but are fools. They exchange your glory with things that will never satisfy. On the day that you have commanded to be kept as holy -- set apart for your worship -- men exchange the glory of your presence for fleeting things of this earth. Worse, those people who profess to know you and love you and adore you profane this day by exchanging it for things that have no eternal value. They do not call the Sabbath a delight. They do not cease from doing their own pleasure on your holy day. Instead, they go their own way, doing their own pleasure and trample underfoot your command. Like these people, we, too, sometimes do the same things. Forgive us, Father, for not honoring your law and for failing to see that you gave us the Lord's Day for our good. Please grant your church a renewed love for this "queen of days" and bring her to repentance for how she has so dishonored you. We pray these things in the name of Christ. Amen.

Prayer: Our God and Father, we thank you that your Son has granted us access to the throne room of heaven and that we can come reverently and boldly to set our needs before you. We confess that the fleeting things of this life often mislead our hearts. We do not always guard our hearts with the diligence that is necessary to prevent worldliness from creeping in, leading to actions that are displeasing to you. We ask that you would help us to be more careful about the things we watch, read, and allow our minds to dwell on. We know that our enemy is seeking whom he may devour, but we also know that greater is he who lives in us than he lives in the world. We thank you that you sustain us and keep us and forgive us when we fall short. We pray these things in the name of the Savior. Amen.

Prayer: Our God in heaven, we thank you that you do not treat us as our sins deserve. We thank you that you are a God who is quick to forgive sin and unrighteousness in your people. When we go astray, we know that you tend to us as a gentle Father, moving us back to the path we should walk. Throughout the days of the church of old, you often called your people to return to you, and you often disciplined them as sons. WE know that some of them rebelled and refused to hear your voice. We read of others that heard, mourned their sin, repented of their ways, and returned to you. We plead with you, our Father, that you would hear our cries of confession as we hear your Word and acknowledge our son before you. We know that your Word tells us that we are blessed when our iniquity is covered and forgiven, and we know that comes only through the blood of your Son. We thank you that you have given us the Redeemer who did all that we could never do so we could walk with you and commune with you. By your Spirit, please help us hate sin and pursue godliness and holiness all of our days. Do not leave us to languish in our misery, but grant to us what you command of us. We pray these things in the name of Christ, our Lord. Amen

Prayer: Our God in heaven, we thank you for your Word, and we thank you that we heard your Word on the lord's Day as it was read and preached by men called by your Spirit to shepherd and feed your people. We confess that we sometimes get distracted during the sermon. As creatures of dust, we are painfully aware of the struggle to sit and listen attentively to your Word. Worse, we find it much harder to do what we hear. We know that your Word tells us to be obedient to your Word and not mere listeners to it. Forgive us for often failing to bring forth fruit from the preached Word and help us to be diligent in applying the Scriptures to our hearts and lives. We pray these things in the name of Christ. Amen.

Prayer: Our God in heaven, we praise your name today and thank you for the privilege we have to join with our brothers and sisters to worship you. We thank you for giving us the Lord's Day -- a day that pictures for us the promise of the New Heavens and the New Earth. We confess to you that we often rush into this day with little or no thought about what we are doing. We enter your worship without considering you and without preparing to meet with you. Please forgive us for treating this activity with little care. Please forgive us for treating as common that which you say is holy. By your Spirit, please help us to honor and adore you today as you speak to us through your Word read and proclaimed. We ask and pray these things in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.

Prayer: Our most holy God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we praise your name today because you alone are worthy of it. You are the Creator of all things, and you have made us in your image. Sadly, and with great shame, we are not much different from the church of old. We often go our own way, seeking after things that cannot and will not satisfy. You have made us to adore and worship you, but we often stray after the dead idols of this life -- things that cannot hear or speak and do not love us with an infinite love as you do. Indeed, we confess that we are nothing but idol factories allowing things to sway our love and adoration for you to meaningless pursuits. With the preacher, we confess that all is vanity. Forgive us for our sinful and selfish pursuits after our own failing kingdom. Please help us, by your Spirit, to seek first your kingdom and righteousness. Purge out of us the leaven of idolatry and cause us to place pour whole hope and dependence on you. We pray these things in the name of Christ, our Lord. Amen.