Prayer

Prayer of the People, 12 June 2020

June 15, 2020 0 Comments

Heavenly Father,

We open our mouths to you. We open our hearts to you. And we cry out!

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.
The one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.

Thank you for including us in your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our life with you rests in your love toward us. You moved first. You have shown us your love through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. You have brought us into the communion of your love even now through the Holy Spirit who pours you love into our lives. Thank you! You do not disappoint!

Grant us strength to persevere. Grant us the encouragement of the Spirit. Grant us the compassion of your Son. Grant us the welcoming heart of the Father.

On our own we are powerless to rid ourselves of the creeping overtaking entanglements of sin. So we cry out to you for the regenerative power of your Spirit in our lives. We cast them off and desire to run the race with Jesus. Forgive us Lord. Cause your Word to flourish in our hearts so that our attitudes and actions are shaped by grace and truth. This is what we want:

Real love, in real places, with real neighbours. Show us how O Lord.

We lift up to you our campus community. Encourage students as they study to study with you. Encourage graduates to trust you for their next steps. You are our Provider. Your wisdom though foolish to the world has become our delight.

We lift up to you our policy makers and authorities tasked with governing. By your Spirit compel them to make decisions without regard for the next election but for the common good.

We lift up to you our brothers and sisters in Iran. Encourage them and fortify them with your love and the grace of your Gospel that they may persevere under hardship and even imprisonment. You are their refuge O Lord.

We lift up the churches of Vancouver and pray that you would cause them to flourish after this season of pruning. May our roots run deep into you. May we bear the fruit that you intend.

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.

Prayer

Prayer of the People, 5 June 2020

June 8, 2020 0 Comments

Heavenly Father,

We humble ourselves before you. There is no one righteous. No not one. You are proved right when you judge. Jesus, born, crucified, and buried, has been raised to life as judge of both the living and the dead. We stand before Him and declare, He is Lord.

In Him you have mercied us. In Him you have forgiven us. In Him you have graced us with your Presence. Thank you for delivering us from the kingdom of darkness and securing us in the Kingdom of Your Son. We have crossed over from death to life. We enjoy now and for eternity your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Yet, we live and breath in a broken world. Our systems reek of death. We can’t get it right. We are drawn to call evil good and to dispose of what is true. We hate our brothers and sisters. Oh Lord help us.

Oh Lord help us. Our thoughts and feelings conform to Babylon and all her empires. We strive for power. But may our strivings cease for we know in Christ there is the victory. 

Oh Lord help us. Your Spirit seeks to shape us into the image of Christ, but we are reluctant to be so humble. Why do we resist the way that would release the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control of Jesus into our lives and into our relationships?

Oh Lord. Help us.

We lift up our brothers and sisters in Christ and their neighbours — we seek your intervention. Empower your church to love others with real presence, the proclamation of the Gospel and in  refreshing works of service in Hong Kong, in New York, in Minneapolis, in Toronto, in Sanaa, in Mbandaka, in Sao Paula, and in Vancouver.

Oh Lord Help us. We need you.

And 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.

The Prayer of the People from the Origin Weekend Broadcast on 5 June 2020.

Prayer

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To understand — Breathing While Black — Some testimonies

June 6, 2020 0 Comments

This is an artist’s rendition of Joseph, The Carpenter, entrusted with parenting Jesus with Mary. We don’t know a lot about him. But, I find Christians are able to imagine a lot about his life and feelings; they are even able to put themselves in his shoes and wonder what it was like to be him. Unfortunately I don’t find this kind of Christian imagination comes easy among some white people to imagine what it’s like to be black in North America. So, I’ve gathered up some of the articles by black men in North America reflecting on their experiences and the deep feeling of menace that accompanies them everywhere.

Breathing While Black.

Here in their own voice and script.

I invite you to pray with me before you listen:

Ô Maître, que je ne cherche pas tant
à être consolé qu’à consoler,
à être compris qu’à comprendre,
à être aimé qu’à aimer…

Willie Jennings —
My Anger/God’s Righteous Indignation. 2 June 2020. Listen to the podcast or read the transcript.


Shai Linne
George Floyd and Me. Gospel Coalition 8 June 2020.


Timothy Peoples —
Ahmaud, Breonna, Christian, George, and The Talk every black boy receives. Opinion article in Baptist News Global, 29 May 2020


LeAlan M. Jones.
Breathing While Black. 28 May 2020, The Nation


James Ellis III —
A lowdown, dirty shame: Ahmaud Arbery’s murder and the unrenounced racism of white Christians. Opinion article in Baptist News Global, 15 May 2020.


Steve Locke —
I fit the description. Personal blog 4 Dec 2015.


A growing list of events and stories —
Absurd America, collated by Sergio Peçanha. Washington Post, 5 June 2020.




I will continue to add to this post so we can listen.

Note:
The picture above is a small inset of “Joseph The Carpenter” from Annunciation Triptych, by Robert Campin on display at The Cloisters. What do you know about Joseph? Not much right? We don’t have much of his story but we have been able to imagine plenty. Unfortunately many of us have not been able to imagine what’s its like to be black in North America and then be angry about our common situation.

Prayer, Relationships

Prayer of the People, 29 May 2020

June 1, 2020 0 Comments

Heavenly Father,

By your costly grace we have been drawn into your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Our faith has found a resting place. We rest in you. In you we are restored and refreshed.

In you we have received a new vision for life and godliness.

Yet, we must not close our eyes like Jonah on the boat to Tarshish. You keep inviting us to see with you, and join you in the realities of life. Though we may run from You, You can locate us. Though we close our eyes you can wake us. Though we speak with guile in our hearts you can accomplish your Word.

Oh, gladly in Christ, we surrender ourselves to your sovereignty. Your Spirit keeps pouring His love and so in the fierceness of your love and justice we would move. We set our faces with Jesus towards the cities of your calling and our cross.

Fortify our hearts with your love. Establish the work of our hands Oh Lord.

We lift up to you our friends at the Athens Ministry Centre in Greece. Encourage them and create lighthouses of love across the world along their networks of friendship and family.

We lift up to you our friends in the Association of Christian Clubs at UBC. Deepen the conviction of students for the brilliance of Jesus and grant them courage for trusting you in every good work. 

We lift up to you our friends in 24-7 Prayer in Vancouver and across Canada. Thank you for those who keep watch in the night and in places overlooked in order to minister in your name.

Oh Lord we love you and ask you to give us wisdom. The days are evil; we would understand your will. Even as our buildings and halls may be empty we plead that our fellowship would not be empty of your Spirit, truth and grace. Fill us with your Spirit. Fill us with your Word. Fill us with your songs!

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.

Discipleship, Prayer

Prayer of the People, 22 May 2020

May 25, 2020 0 Comments

Heavenly Father, We thank you for the grace in which we now stand. You have created a cathedral in Creation and your glory fills it all. There is no corner of creation that is hidden from you, nothing escapes your view. However, we would have missed you in the fog of our unbelief. 

Graciously, Father, Jesus ushered us into your communion — the very communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and our faith continues to grasp just a bit of your greatness and your glory. We want to thank you for making yourself known to us. 

Father, we truly delight in your Word and we pray that your Word would accomplish in us all that you intend. We pray that we will not frustrate or make empty your Word. And we pray that we will not take your Name in vain. We are always cautious to say “this or that is of the Lord or from the Lord,” but we need to hear your voice. So please help us hear Your voice. For your word says that “My sheep know my voice, and a stranger’s voice, they will not follow”. 

Oh Lord, is there a famine of your Word in our hearts and in our relationships? As officials clamour to restart the economy, where is justice for the poor and for those workers closest to the ground? What adjustments have we made to address the vulnerabilities revealed in this pandemic? What idols still need to be released from our hearts and hands? We lift them all up to you, Oh Lord. 

Father, we are in a rush to start our economies again. The airwaves and our screens are full of those who would bend us for their own ends. Help us dear Lord Jesus! Our citizenship rests in you and in your Kingdom. For the scripture affirms that You have translated us from the Kingdom of darkness and have made us citizens of the Kingdom of your own dear Son. Somehow Lord — You know how — we need our worship of you to align our affections with what matters most. We pray that you would Grant us the obedience that comes from faith. 

Come Lord Jesus. We need to know the truth about us and about you. We need your Spirit to heal and fill us with life. We lift up to you our friends and family who are rocked by loss, feeling stranded in loneliness, or are unsure of what to do next. We set them before you.We pray that you will be a Living Water to them — refreshing them, healing them, and empowering them — for life in your abundant grace. 

We lift up to you the peoples of India and Bangladesh suffering from the effects of Cyclone Amphan. Help neighbours care and to meet needs. We cast our eyes around the globe in our common fight against the coronavirus pandemic: so we lift up to you Peru, South Africa, Mexico, the Navajo Nation in the US and indigenous communities in Canada — We pray that you would comfort and heal, protect and make yourself known O Lord. 

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. 

Prepared by Ransford Buah and Craig O’Brien

Prayer