Author Archive: Craig

Prayer of the People, 9 July 2021

July 14, 2021 0 Comments

Heavenly Father, 

You have a boundless supply of love and yet we only dip our toes into its wide expanse. How wide, high, long and deep is the Love of God in Christ for us! You desire to immerse us into the life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Come Lord Jesus Come. You have brought us into your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we say Thank you. Thank you for this grace; you are changing our lives.

Come Holy Spirit and pour the love of God into our hearts. Let your Presence flow from the life of Jesus into our whole fellowship. May we persevere in this faith, hope and love.

In view of your great mercy our tight grip on the stuff of earth, our lack of contentment, and our refusal to meet the eyes of the suffering, reveals how small are hearts are and how idolatry still clouds our vision.

Forgive us Lord. Free us us to live in the promise of your abundant life so we can join you in what you are doing in our neighbourhoods.

Loosen our tongues to share your Words of life.
Settle our angry hearts so we can welcome the hurting.
Open our hands to impart the ministering power of your Spirit.

We lift up to you our brothers and sisters in Hong Kong. As your Body grant them courage and wisdom to be your healing Presence in the city and in every neighbourhood even under duress.

We lift up to you university and college ministry leadership teams seeking to love students well this Fall. Grant them a deep appreciation of your Gospel and activate your spiritual gifts for this season of outreach and ministry.

We lift up to you the people who have lived in and around Lytton, BC. Comfort and encourage these dear people who have lost so much in the recent fire. Raise up and release the leaders who are able to organize people and resources so they seek to rebuild their lives. Help us take stock of the dire situation facing many people on our planet as the climate changes and living conditions change. Give us open hearts and a willingness to change.

We need you Lord, So we pray as Jesus taught us. (Join me in the Lord’s Prayer.)

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today 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 the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, forever. 
Amen.

Prayer

,

Prayer of the People, 25 June 2021

June 28, 2021 0 Comments

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for including us in the Kingdom of your Son. The delight of being in your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, challenges our expectations and gives us a new horizon for history. Our hope is in You!

You have delivered us from the Kingdom of darkness, from the weight of our sins, and from the oppression of our fears. But, we confess that our hearts still wander and our desire for the approval of others tugs at the devotion of our hearts towards you.

We need nothing less than the radical transformation of our souls! Come Lord Jesus, send your Spirit to us and activate the promises of your Word in our lives. May we long rightly for your tender smile — a Father’s smile — from the One who has shown us mercy and grace.

Lord we regard Jesus’ question about finding faith on earth especially troubling in our time. Whether it be our affluence or our sufferings, our pride or our dismay that hinders us, please grant us a hunger for your Word and the will to obey you, for, our life is in You!

Lord we lift up to you countries suffering through the ravages of this Covid Pandemic. We ask for your comfort and your help. While we seek a generous will among our leaders to send the vaccines developed in the wisdom you have granted, we also pray that you would lift this scourge from Peru, Venezuela, India and others countries that many souls may be spared.

And Lord we pray that you would anoint us — your Church— with your Spirit and with hearts filled with your love that we might speak and act as those who have been entrusted with a treasure and a balm for any who are wrecked by sin and unbelief. Let us share our lives and your Gospel this week with our friends, co-workers, family, and neighbours.

We need you Lord and so we pray as Jesus teaches us:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today 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 the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, 
forever. 
Amen.

This prayer was part of the Origin Church Weekend Broadcast on 25 June 2021.

Prayer

Prayer of the People, 18 June 2021

June 20, 2021 0 Comments

Heavenly Father,

You spoke the word that caused our spirits to come alive by the power of your Son Jesus. Thank you for this grace that has given us eyes to see and ears to hear. You have provided the Word 

that delivers us from the evil one, 
that heals our diseases, 
that comforts us in our pain, 
that forgives us of our sin, 
that gives us courage to take a stand, 
that moves us to forgive one another, 
that gives us wisdom when we feel like fools, 
that shows us how to love, 
that transfers us from death to life.

In fact you have raised us from death and ushered us into the new life of your Son. Thank you!

Forgive us for neglecting the true appetite of our soul — for you; too often we attend only to the pressing needs of our tummies or our insatiable desires to be liked, loved, and honoured. Fill us Lord with you. We want more of your Holy Spirit’s wisdom, power, and love to be poured into your church so that we may be like Jesus. Send us into the world as you sent Him into the world.

We lift up the many people from Central America who are on a journey for safety and refuge. We acknowledge their pain and their loss. Their situation like that of many other precious people caught today in the push and pull of violence, injustice, and oppression boggles our minds. Perhaps, Lord, we fear that to sit with their pain and their humanity will mean the dissolution of borders and the loss of our own security. Help us to see as you see and to hear as you hear. Help us to act as citizens of your Kingdom.

As Jesus taught us to pray we plead with you to raise up workers for your harvest in the nations. May our generation surrender ourselves wholly to you. Fill your church with your Spirit and cause us to rise up as a might force announcing your Gospel and delivering your peace. We as this in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Now please join me in praying The Lord’s Prayer …

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today 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 the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, 
forever. 
Amen.

This prayer was part of the Origin Church Weekend Broadcast on 18 June 2021

Prayer

,

Prayer of the People, 11 June 2021

June 14, 2021 0 Comments

Heavenly Father, 

We rejoice to be known by you and to approach you as our Father. Your Son, Jesus Christ, has opened the way for us. And your Spirit confirms that we are your children; He has poured out your love into our hearts! 

We delight in your church. Thank you for the people you have called from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of your Son. We come from many places and from many different kinds of intersections with your truth and your grace. You saved us from our sin, from despair, from deceit, and from the powers arrayed against the true knowledge of You.

Thank you for the person who showed us Jesus. In all of our original stories, somebody posted up right inside the gates of hell and announced the Good News of your Kingdom to us. They loved us and shared their true life with us. We thank you for these saints. Allegiance to Jesus as Lord became to us the most reasonable act of faith! May humility in this grace create space for others to receive You.

Your Church, Lord, is under pressure in many places so we intercede for them. Grant your church Jesus’ courage and His wisdom of forgiveness so they can love under duress in China, Nigeria, Sudan, North Korea, Mexico and Pakistan.

Awaken your church in Canada Lord. Awaken us so that we may watch with you and remember that our sins have been forgiven. Purify us through obedience to you so that we have a sincere love for each other. Help us love each other deeply from the heart in both word and in deed.

Disrupt our self-self-centred stupor. Awaken us to our neighbours. Help us to see so we may love as you love and fulfill the mandate of your Kingdom. We are humbly asking that you teach us to pray: May Your Kingdom come! So, we pray as you taught your disciples:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today 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 the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, 
forever. 
Amen.

This prayer was part of the Origin Church Weekend Broadcast on 11 June 2021

Prayer

Prayer of the People, 4 June 2021

June 7, 2021 0 Comments

Heavenly Father,

We exalt you. You have brought us out of the depths despair. We called to you for help and you helped us. You have made us alive with you through the death, burial, and resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ. We praise you Lord! Thank you for delivering us from deceit and darkness  into your Kingdom.

We sing praises to you even though we may have wept in the night. The morning brings promise of your New Day so we declare again, “Great is your faithfulness.” May the joy of your salvation be our strength.

How is it Lord that the wicked have profited from injustice? How is it Lord that even some who claimed your name acted so wickedly against the children precious in your sight? Our stomachs turn and our souls are uneasy as the terrible evidence that so many Indigenous children died at the Kamloops Residential School. Oh Lord may your Spirit comfort. Please bring healing to us all.

Our Father, may the wind of your Spirit pierce our hard hearts that we might shine with your righteousness. We repent of our envy and selfish ambition. Grant us the wisdom of Jesus that we may engage in the long and creative work of making peace. Change our hearts Lord and instruct our tongues that we may speak your truth to power and your love to the sin sick.

We lift up to you cities torn by violence and the disintegration of neighbourly love. We pray for Portland, Oregon and ask that you bring your true peace to anxious hearts. We lift up Athens, Greece, that you might fortify your church with courage that may be generous and gracious to those seeking refuge. We lift up Ceuta, where so many young people have fled with hopes of a new life; Oh Lord move the hearts of officials to pursue a compassionate and human response to each person. May your Son, the Prince of Peace and Saviour of the World be made known in each of these cities.

We need you in every arena of life, so we pray as Jesus taught us: (Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today 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 the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, forever.   
Amen.

This prayer was part of the Origin Church Weekend Broadcast on 4 June 2021.

Prayer

, ,