Author Archive: Craig

Prayer of the People, 4 September 2020

September 7, 2020 0 Comments

Heavenly Father,

We are looking to you for wisdom and for power to love well. Your perfect love casts out fear. We praise you for the Mighty power displayed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ your Son! You have defeated all the powers of death. May your Holy  Spirit enliven us for life in your communion— the communion of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Give us grace to join in the pursuit of your will by aligning our affections with the character and name of Jesus. In baptism we have been united with Him in death, burial and resurrection! Oh Lord speak to us by your Word and Spirit that we might truly live.

We are asking You to open hearts — to you and To us. Lift the veil of unbelief that we all may overcome the world through faith in Christ. Raise up workers ready to invest their lives in your Harvest that the church to come May gather.

We thank you for the purposeful and good work available to many. Yet Lord we are asking for more help and protection of the vulnerable from employers and beneficiaries  who take advantage of them. Particularly we lift to you all those involved in the food we eat: farmers, migrant workers, delivery and grocery personnel. Redeem work for the good of all. 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 September 2020, Meeting God In Discipleship.

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Prayer of the People, 28 August 2020

August 31, 2020 0 Comments

Heavenly Father,

We plead with you Lord for changed hearts and enlightened minds. Our affections have been twisted and our ability to see has been darkened. We keep choosing sides on earth in order to stave off fear and to show ourselves as loyal friends, but truthfully our affections betray us. You know our idolatrous embrace is poison for the soul. 

In your grace we would run the race you have marked out for us. So, we fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of your throne. Oh we see you who endured opposition from sinners like us. Grant us courage and wisdom to drop all that hinders our faithful allegiance and obedience to you.

Help us persist in faith, hope, and love. May our love for you and your church not grow cold. Cause our love for neighbours at home, at work, and at school to overflow into daily acts of kindness and extravagance. In these days Lord we need your love to cast out fear. Show us how to dismantle reflexive enmity and replace it with responsive generosity.

Forgive us Lord and fill us with your Holy Spirit.

Oh, that we would be like Jesus, the Shepherd of our Souls! So Heavenly Father, we seek you, and 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 28 August 2020.

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Prayer of the People

August 26, 2020 0 Comments

Heavenly Father,

You knew us in our mother’s womb even before we took our first breath. You know us even to our last breath. We rejoice in the knowledge of your mercy towards us. Your faithful love shines bright through the Cross of Christ. So, thank you for this grace that has brought us into your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

You have given us eternal life!

You specialize in delivering the condemned from the clutches of death. But you have nor done it with some deceptive scheme but with the utter honesty of your Son, in the flesh. Full of truth and grace He has proclaimed peace to those who were near and to those who far; all of us are called to repent for your Kingdom is near now through the Risen Lord.

We praise you for you have rescued us from this body of death and have set us free from the law of sin. Now your love accompanies us in the denial of self as we follow Jesus in this world. Now your love is what we rely on. 

By your Spirit we join with the cry of Creation for your help and your Kingdom. 

We lift up to you nations taken up in power struggles whether through democracy or some measure of authoritarianism. Grant these people peace and generous trust toward each other: Belarus, Haiti, the United States, Hong Kong, China, Mali, Tanzania, and Lybia.

We lift up to you our friends and neighbours seeking places to live here in Vancouver. Help them secure safe and reliable settings for housing and friendship.

We lift up to you students in Canadian colleges and universities even as they are scattered across the world. Oh how unbelief seems to reign among all generations! We are asking you to disturb the hearts of your children so that we might declare our affection for you and the glory of your Gospel. May our love include the proclamation of your truth.

Heavenly Father, we seek you, and 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 21 August 2020:

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Prayer of the People, 14 August 2020

August 17, 2020 0 Comments

Heavenly Father,

How shall we live in view of your mercy? You have saved us from the pit of despair and have clothed us in the righteousness of your Son Jesus. You have seated us at your table and filled our hearts with the songs of your Spirit. You have brought us into your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Thank you! We shall praise you and bring to mind your mighty acts on behalf of people. May you be glorified in the hearts of people from all nations. May the blessings you have so richly given to your church be generously shared from every gathering of your disciples.

Today we lift up to you the people of Lebanon. They have suffered greatly from the explosion in the port of Beirut. Comfort those who have suffered the loss of loved ones in the blast. We ask you to fortify the people with hope and to raise up peacemakers among the leaders who are able to coordinate relief for people in the clean-up and the rebuilding. We thank you for the friendship Lebanon has shown to many people on the journey for refuge. In this nation with such a lengthy history we pray that the love of Jesus would rise up strong and full of life like the majestic cedars of old.

We lift up to you the people of Hong Kong and pray that you would comfort them. May your church continue to join itself to people who are suffering under hopelessness and despair even as they proclaim the good news of your Kingdom and the forgiveness of sin through faith in Jesus Christ. Fortify your servants with your love O Lord.

We lift up students seeking to discern their next steps and to make plans for this school year.. Lord we need your wisdom and your guidance. Train us in your way and grant us courage to persevere with you through the uncertainties and fears of the pandemic. You have told us “Be not afraid.” Help us to love our neighbour well and to make adjustments in our lives with a growing understanding of reality. Grant us the wisdom of to be merciful to the weak and to do good to all.

Oh, Lord we yearn for your Kingdom to be fully established in our hearts and on our city so we pray as Jesus teaches 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, Meeting God When We Are Busy, on 14 August 2020.

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Prayer of the People, 31 July 2020

August 2, 2020 0 Comments

Heavenly Father,

We rejoice in you today as we enter your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You have given us a seat at the table through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ. This grace is real to us through Your Holy Spirit who pours out your love into our hearts and does not disappoint. Thank you!

Thank you for lifting us up from the pit of despair.
Thank you for redeeming us from the destructiveness of our sin.
Thank you for transferring us from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of your Son.

We fear that we are not as beautiful, successful, unique, powerful, and loveable as we need to be. Oh Lord, this fear holds us down, winds us up, and drives us into all kinds of self-righteous, protective, and problematic decisions. Help us Lord! Give us wisdom from heaven to order our steps and help us to think rightly about ourselves and this world we live in. Let the joy of your salvation work powerfully within us.

Give us courage Lord to extend our hands to others with mercy and grace.
Give us courage Lord to open our mouths against injustice and racism.
Give us courage Lord to proclaim the goodness of God in the person of Jesus Christ.
Give us courage Lord to interrupt unbelief and loneliness.
Give us courage Lord to turn strangers into friends.

As our friends and family are scattered to countries all around the world during this pandemic, we ask you to fortify them with your love. We lift up the people of China, Hong Kong, Venezuela, Brazil, Yemen, Syria and Turkey — grant them true wisdom, peace and freedom Lord; may hate, fear, bitterness and violence — the tools of the evil one — not be the tools of their leaders. May your Word flourish in all these peoples and may you raise up brothers and sisters for us through the Gospel of Jesus.

We yearn for your Kingdom to be fully established in our hearts and on our city so we pray as Jesus teaches 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.

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