The Pastor’s Corner

Prayer: Grant almighty God that your redeemed people would take your Kingdom and righteousness seriously for the glory of your name alone. Grant that we would be willing to cast our mortal flesh aside for the glory of your name and the advancement of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that your Son tells us that if we love him, we will obey him in all he commands us. We long for more love to thee. Thus we pray, "More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to thee! Hear thou this prayer we make on bended knee." Forgive us for the many ways we fall short of the high calling of being numbered as your treasured possession. We grieve indwelling sin and know that we rarely number our days and use them to serve you. We are prone to make excuses for laboring today while it is still day. We are forgetful that eternity is a long time, and many are facing a dreadful end. Please grant us a burden to seek first your kingdom and righteousness and love the souls of men enough to tell them of the hope that Christ extends to all who will listen. Forgive us for waiting our days in pointless pursuits and not setting our minds on the things above. Please grant us more zeal and more love for the Savior who became poor that we might be rich. Please help us by your Spirit we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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This week I have selected two prayers from Calvin's commentary on Hosea:

Prayer: Grant, Almighty God, that as we now carry about us this mortal body, yea, and nourish through sin a thousand deaths within us, - O grant, that we may ever by faith direct our eyes towards heaven, and to that incomprehensible power, which is to be manifested at the last day by Jesus Christ our Lord, so that in the midst of death we may hope that thou wilt be our Redeemer, and enjoy that redemption, which he completed when he rose from the dead; and not doubt but that the fruit which he then brought forth by his Spirit will come also to us, when Christ himself shall come to judge the world; and may we thus walk in the fear of thy name, that we may be really gathered among his members, to be made partakers of that glory, which by his death he has procured for us. Amen.

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Prayer: Grant almighty God that we, as your redeemed people, would not worry or fret because of evildoers and wicked people dwelling in our world. We mourn the state of our world, and we witness atrocities of all kinds. We witness the outright rebellion of men and women made in your image. We see how they suppress the truth in unrighteousness and call good, evil, and evil good. We listen to the blasphemous ways the world speaks and mourn their muddled thinking and hatred of you. We, too, were once like them, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when your goodness and loving-kindness appeared, you saved us not because of anything in us, but because of your mercy and grace. We mourn our own sin and grieve the irreconcilable war that wages in our members. We long for the day in which we will never battle the flesh, the world, and the devil again. We thank you for reminding us of that glorious promise -- the hope of eternal life -- and the incessant rest we will enjoy each Lord's Day. We thank you for giving us a small picture of that which those who love you will enjoy. We thank you for the means of grace that guide us and help us on the journey, and we pray that you will minister to all of us today and grant us more of your favor and grace through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Prayer: Grant almighty God that we, as your redeemed people, would take seriously and uphold the ordinary means of grace that you have graciously given to your church. We confess that we live in a day and age when your people have departed from those means, inventing newfangled ways of worshiping you. Yet, your Word plainly tells us that we are to approach you on your terms. The church of old was given strict and exacting instructions as to how they should approach you. Under penalty of death, they risked their very existence by offering strange fire before you. Therefore, because you are holy, you demand that we approach you with fear and reverence, as to a Father who loves and cares for us. Yet, somehow, we think you need our help by inventing strange and weird things, calling it worship when it is, in fact, an abomination before you. As we look around our world and see the state of the church, we are forced to concede that we are not better off for engaging in such behavior. We are lured and enticed to invent worship out of our feeble and fallen minds. Our hearts seem to desire that which you have not ordered. Forgive your church, Lord. Please grant us a great zeal for your worship and give us that same frame and desire that you have for it as well. These things we pray and confess through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Prayer: Our Father in heaven, you alone are sovereign over all creation. You made the world and all things in it. You are the Creator, and we are your creatures. You govern and uphold all things by the word of your power. We thank you that you have ordered our days and told us to number ours carefully and wisely. Though we have plunged your world into chaos through our own sin, we thank you that you have provided a Redeemer who is reversing the effects of the fall. Though this life is often filled with misery and strife, we thank you that we can flee to you and plead with you for the things that we need. Therefore, we pray for our brothers and sisters living in challenging circumstances today. Many of them are under great threat from wicked people. Many of them are worried and anxious. Many of them are scared. We ask you, the Father of all comfort, to help them. We plead with you to frustrate the intentions of wicked people for the sake of your people who you love. Please be gracious to your chosen people, and help them lean on you through times of great turmoil with pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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