Author Archive: Craig

Prayer of the People, 16 February 2020

February 18, 2020 0 Comments

Heavenly Father,

We delight in you and your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You have marked out for us a well-watered garden. As we walk with you our fellowship pulses  with life and yields much fruit. Thank you for the assurance and confidence we have with you through the life, death, and resurrection of Your Son Jesus Christ.

This morning we arose with the intention of praising you for the mighty works of your hand. The immensity of the universe beckons us as do the molecular wonders of our bodies. You have created with wisdom — and it is beautiful!

Oh that we would sit at your feet and learn from you. Teach us to consider our days and our ways with wisdom. Enlarge our vision of Jesus as Lord and form us into a people of your love, truth, and grace.

May the ways of your Kingdom be seen in the work of our hands and minds. Redeem our lives from despair and from deceit. We gladly stand with you for the redemption of people so we seek your righteousness in all things. We yearn for our full deliverance from the lies of satan and from the corruption of our rebellion.

Come Lord Jesus. Establish communities in our cities where there is:

healing from addiction.
trust in our relationships.
goodness in our governance.
and justice for those deprived of it.

Please bless the work of Vancouver Urban Ministries, Community of Hope, and the Athens Ministry Centre.

Come Lord Jesus. Establish churches in our cities where:

the good news of Jesus is shared among students.
the journey through doubt is heard.
the growing pains of growth are given grace.
the lonely find courage to connect.

Please bless the work of our Langara Oakridge Team here in Vancouver and of Canvas Church in Victoria.

Come Lord Jesus Come. May your Spirit blow through this garden and carry the fragrance of our fellowship beyond these walls. So we pray as you 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.

Prayer

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Prayer of the People, 9 Feb 2020

February 12, 2020 0 Comments

Land + People

Heavenly Father,

We thank you for your love and mercy shown us through the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through Him you have brought us into your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We rejoice in your welcome and embrace. This has changed our lives. We take up the truth of the Gospel and the truth of your Word as a shield against the fiery darts of the enemy. What you say about us — dismantles the stories of guilt, shame, and fear that we have been telling ourselves.

Come Lord Jesus and walk with us.

Pour your love into our lives by your Holy Spirit so that peace rises up over anxiety. Give us compassion for people and a generosity of spirit toward them. Oh Lord, teach us the ways of peace so that we may not assume an enemy where there could have been a friend. We would lay down the old grudges that are destroying our souls and our capacities for friendship.

Come Lord Jesus and walk with us.

Oh Lord, your ancient enemy seems to work overtime seeking to dismantle your glory in Creation and blind us to your goodness. Forgive us Lord; we have given away the life-giving promises of your presence in exchange for cheap pleasures — but Oh how they have cost us. Save us through power of your life given in exchange for us.

Come Lord Jesus and walk with us.

We look past our fears of sickness and ask for you to comfort the families of those who have lost loved ones to this new coronavirus. Have mercy Lord.

We look past our fears for security and ask you to provide hospitable hearts and homes for the people fleeing violence in Idlib. Have mercy Lord.

We look past our fears for superiority and ask you to provide us with wisdom and respect for the limits, boundaries of Indigenous peoples. Have mercy Lord.

Oh how you love us Lord. Come, walk with us and teach us the ways of love.

In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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.


Prayer

How to save a city?

February 7, 2020 0 Comments

Do you know the parable of the poor wise man who saved a city?

I’m reading through the Bible again. I love the moments where the Word of God catches me by surprise. What I used to blaze through quickly I find myself pausing over, praying over, meditating over, and bringing deeper into the marrow of my existence.

This week the Teacher of Ecclesiastes caught me by surprise. Is there anything that could truly impress this person equipped with all the privilege required to sample life without fear of social consequence? And then there is. He is “impressed with a great example of wisdom.” It’s an account of a poor wise man who saved a city. I’m sure I blazed through it in my former readings.

13I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me: 14There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it. 15Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man. 16So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.

17The quiet words of the wise are more
to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools.

18Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner destroys much good.

Ecclesiastes 9:13-18

When the church has a full-bodied vision of discipleship it will seek out men and women of Jesus who are full of wisdom and the Holy Spirit. These wise folk may not be on the platform. We will probably need to get off the public ramparts and poke around in the corners of our congregations to find them.

We won’t elevate the wise unless we are willing to share life with those who seem “poor.” Unfortunately we seem to be more inclined to elevate the people who are able to make a good show. So many folks are looking for a leader who will save the day; yet, they love the shouts of a ruler who gives them reasons to feel good about being bad. Such a leader is “a ruler of fools” says the teacher. This kind of leader is puffed up and full of the celebrated strengths of humanity, willing to be combative and rushing to implement the weapons of war. One leader like this “destroys much good.” For this leader everything is about competition, being the survivor whose existence at the top must mean they were right, and who reflexively treats another’s commitment to righteousness and integrity as “weakness.” This leader shouts and will gain more applause from his or her congregation of fools.

Unfortunately our visions of leadership and even of discipleship do not lean toward the wisdom of Jesus. We are being trumped by our desire for a show. 

For any who lead and for any who have the ambition to serve (to make a difference) by being the person who invites people to do what they would never do unless a leader was present, this parable will strike deep into the desire for applause and position. Am I willing to be the poor wise man who saves a city but may be forgotten, unnamed, and even despised?

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.

Leadership, Society

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Prayer of the People, 2 February 2020

February 4, 2020 0 Comments

Heavenly Father,

You have called us to walk in love with You. Thank you for bringing us into your communion — the communion of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

You have called us to be Your light. It is hard to do this when we feel unloved, forgotten, and unworthy.  We ask that You will help us receive Your goodness, forgiveness, and lovingkindness. Shine the light of your Word and your Presence in our lives. 

Light up the darkness we have hidden in because of shame, guilt, and fear. Cause us to see as you see. Heal us of blind-spots conditioned by our society, by our families, by our experiences, and by our choices.

And Lord give us courage fuelled by the experience of being loved by you. Sometimes we just don’t want to see — we are afraid it will be too painful to acknowledge and to enter into the pain some people are living with constantly.

We lift up people who are on the journey for refuge in Greece. Allow them to experience Your loving Presence and provision; show us how to join You in receiving them and in caring for them in your name.

On the continent of Africa people living close to the land are facing a food security crisis in several countries. Lord, the locusts swarm and eat harvests intended for people’s food; we ask for your intervention. We pray that you would stop the locusts.

Oh Lord you are like a tree whose leaves bring healing. You bring healing to the nations. There is lots of fear over the coronavirus.  We ask that you give health officials, doctors, and nurses wisdom. May you spring up like a tree of healing in Wuhan for those who feel trapped. Help us all to turn from fear to You and to receive Your strength, love, and wisdom. 
Help us, Jesus.

Oh Lord strengthen us so that the manners of fear do not keep us from being openhearted with others. Cause us to be a community of love and obedience walking by Your Spirit — an attractive light others desire to be in. Then, images of grief and struggle may move us, stories of hardship and overcoming may inspire us and we will live the story You envision for us: a people who walk together in the way of Jesus — loving each other through all our struggles and seeing your kingdom come.

In your name we pray.  Amen.

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.

Prepared by Ellen and Craig O’Brien

Prayer

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Prayer of the People, 26 January 2020

January 28, 2020 0 Comments

Heavenly Father, 

We acknowledge your faithfulness in love, provision, wisdom, and presence. You are gracious, glorious and good. Thank you for bringing us into your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We are often distracted, and sometimes unfaithful. Please forgive us. We are living among many and loving many who have no faith in You or in Your ways. Forgive us for forgetting you. We scatter our attention and our favour to many causes and relationships, yet our hearts become divided in their loyalty to You. Realign the affections of our heart to You.

We pause before You in consideration of this absurdity — our regular distraction from You.   (Pause)

We are asking you to raise up leaders after Your own heart, who will lead us with knowledge and understanding.  We pray for the Peruvian elections, the leaders of Iraq who must discern between many voices, the leaders deciding what to do about the unrest in Lebanon, the leaders addressing violence in Mali that is spilling into Niger and Burkina Faso, the leaders deciding policy for  India’s immigration, and the leaders in Canada impacting our daily lives. May all of these leaders seek Your face and Your ways.

We yield to You our sense of how things should be and no longer want to follow the stubbornness of our wayward hearts.  Make us a people who are faithful to You and to Your ways of living — Just as Jesus was.

You long to treat us as your children and to shower us with blessings; we long to receive your guidance and blessings. Make us a faithful people who trust You.  We return to You with all of our hearts and ask You to cure us of backsliding.

 Lord, there are causes for grief all around us – earthquakes in Turkey, locusts eating crops in Kenya, floods in Brazil, the coronavirus outbreak and so many people in China quarantined.  All of these pain inducing situations we entrust to Your wise response. We cast all of our worries on You because You care for us.

Oh Lord, forgive us.
Oh Lord, help us.
Oh Lord, strengthen us; make us faithful to You and to others.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.

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.

Prepared by Ellen and Craig O’Brien

Prayer