The Pastor’s Corner

Prayer: Our Father in heaven, we praise you because you are good. Your righteousness is from everlasting to everlasting, and your holiness is beyond our comprehension. Since you are holy, your demands as given in your law are just and right, pointing us to how we must live if we should dwell on your holy hill. Yet, we cannot keep your law perfectly in thought, word, or deed due to our fallen condition. We transgress it daily, always falling short of your glory. Therefore, we need a Redeemer, your only begotten Son who accomplished everything necessary to purchase our freedom, bringing us peace with you. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to you without him. We thank you for so great a salvation, yet many refuse it. We have friends and loved ones who reject the offer of forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Seeing, they cannot see. Hearing, they do not hear. Father, we plead with you to open their eyes and ears to the hope of Christ. Be pleased to rescue them from their pitiful condition and show them the beauty of the Savior. Please spare them from the wrath to come and usher them into your glorious kingdom.

We further pray that you would help your people walk worthy of the calling that they have received. Please help us walk humbly with you, mindful of the needs of others more than our own. Please help us to love with complete patience, kindness, and gentleness. Please help us to forgive the trespasses of others who have wronged us. Please grant to us your Spirit that we would do what you command we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer: Almighty God and Savior of your people, we thank you and praise you just as the church of old sang songs of worship to you when you safely brought them out of the land of bondage and sin. Like us, they too were ensnared by the messiness of sin, yet, through a mediator, you rescued them. So we, too, have been rescued from our pitiful state and tragic end through the Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. In him, we have forgiveness of sin, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Spirit, an increase of grace, and the hope of perseverance to the very end of our lives. Like the church of old, we now journey to that heavenly city, a city not made with hands, reserved for all those who love you. We look forward to a better country that the eye has not seen or ear heard what you have in store for those who love you and have been loved by you. From all eternity, you have loved us, placing your favor on us. You have demonstrated your love in being pleased to crush your Son for our sake. Though we are like sheep, often going astray, you still love us and care for us. We thank you, our God, that your love is not fickle; that it does not depend on our efforts or labors. Like the church of old, we too stray, but your love remains. Please forgive us and help us to walk worthy of the calling that we have received and grant to us more love for you we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer: Grant almighty God that you would help your ministers as they seek to be faithful to the Good Shepherd of the Sheep. We know that they, too, are prone to wander. They are not immune to the trials and temptations of this life and are, often, under great attack from the world and the Evil One. We pray that you would protect our pastors today and give them an extra measure of your Spirit as they labor to guide and protect the sheep of your pasture. Please grant them a greater love for your Word, causing them to drink from the well of living water that will never run dry. Please give them insight and wisdom as they ponder the mind of the Spirit and seek to prepare a bounty for your people. Please provide them with guidance and strength as they deal with many issues within the life of the church. Help them as they care for the sick, the afflicted, the struggling, and the downcast. Help them as they pursue the wandering and wayward. Encourage them with your presence, for they are often discouraged by the state of your church and the world and are often under attack by those you have charged them to love. Restore to them the joy of your salvation and help them labor faithfully, pointing others to the glory of Christ. Protect them and lead them in the paths of righteousness we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.