Author Archive: Craig

Prayer of the People, 22 December 2019

December 24, 2019 0 Comments

Heavenly Father,

You are in control — in control of the light, of the night, and of our lives.

We turn to You for peace this season, for comfort, and for joy. We enter by your grace into your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Help us immerse our thinking in Your humility, Your love, Your wisdom, Your truth, Your wellness.  During this season, we are busy with festivities. And then sometimes we pause to look back over our year with you. We catch glimpses of the wellness of soul that You have made possible. Thank you for the many good promises you have fulfilled for us. It is well with our souls!


Give us courage to approach You and to fully live into the salvation You bring to us this season.

We need Your light and Your revelation. We ask for the light of Jesus to be cast on the dark places in us as individuals and in our community. Shine Your powerful, purifying presence and light

  • In India. Shine your wisdom in the hearts of students. Give lasting hope to Muslim immigrants facing the loss of security and home.
  • Shine along the US Mexico border. Bring justice and hope to those seeking a new life.
  • Shine in the hearts of those dispersed by oppression and violence all around the world that they may know their true worth in your eyes.
  • Shine in our hearts to drive out the spirit of domination that would crush another person and refuse them the dignity of your creation.

We bow to Your sovereign will and trust Your goodness to redeem what seems lost.

When we sing “Joy to the World”  we make that our prayer, so you can bring Your eternal joy into every sphere of our lives.  You are our strength and our Joy.

In Jesus’ Name.

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.

Change, Prayer

Prayer of the People, 15 December 2019

December 17, 2019 0 Comments

Prayer of the People  — 15 December 2019

Heavenly Father,

From the beginning it has been your intention for us to enjoy your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thank you for this grace!

You have fulfilled your Word to us. Every “yes” has become a “yes” through Jesus Christ your Son. You know what is in us — yet you have come to us. You have fulfilled your Word to us.


You have sought us.
You have raised our curiosity.
You have enthralled our minds.
You have awakened our souls.
You have made us alive in you.
You have saved us.
You have made us glad.

Only you can satisfy our souls and lead us in the everlasting Way. May we delight in your Word and see your Word revealed in us as your Church. May we become more like Jesus.

Forgive us Lord for our word is not always true. 
Yet, it does reveal our hearts — that our affections are not set on you.
Forgive us and reset the desires of our hearts according to Jesus, The Truth. Thank you for this grace!

Lord we lift up to you fellows students pressing in to complete the term and its exams. Help them study with you and to delight in your wisdom.

We lift up S Chan and his family to you as they are grieving the death of his grandfather. Comfort them and extend your care to them during this season.

We lift up to you our brothers and sisters at uVillage Church and ask you to cause them to flourish as your Church. Provide for their needs and fill them with Your Spirit to bring your healing to the nations.

We lift up Langara College and the neighbourhood there. Raise up your servants who will speak of Jesus boldly. May you raise a holy curiosity in the lives of students — may they seek you with all their hearts.

We lift up the students of Hong Kong, India, Iran, and Iraq to you. Oh Father, how you love them. Reveal yourself to them that may lay down despair for the joy of your Son’s Kingdom.

Today with your Church all around this globe 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.

Prayer

Just As They Had Been Told

December 16, 2019 0 Comments

Oh this babe wrapped in swaddling cloths
his last breath as vulnerable as his first!
He took up heaven’s cross to be 
wrapped 
in linen cloths. So, 
we might lay down filthy rags 
and be gracefully fitted for 
the robes of those made 
righteous. Praise him. 
Praise him. Praise him!

Jesus, Poetry

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Audience

December 14, 2019 0 Comments

When Anna’s
Hummingbird
holds court 
on the line in
December or
in August do
not hesitate 
to call in on
God directly
as you will.

Poetry, Prayer

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Invitation

December 11, 2019 0 Comments

Oh the delight awaiting children
on the edge of glades filled with light.
That dappled ground stirs no fear for 
those readied by stories told at night.

Every step a soft whisper on deep humus. 
Every large stone a call for sacrifice.
Every tree a witness to the movements.  
Every breeze shaping a truthful heart.

Even now when the wind blows gently 
I feel the persistent press for knowing 
someone ageless pulsing through it all
and tapping out the rhythms for my life.

Creation, Poetry

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