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Prayer of the People, 8 May 2020

May 11, 2020 0 Comments

Heavenly Father,

Your communion is filled with joy — there’s joy produced in relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Thank you for sharing your life with us and delivering us into your Kingdom. Even now we know we have had a taste of your joy.

We open our hearts to you. Fill us with your Spirit. May joy in our fellowship be a sign of your abundant love and the sure promise of our faith secured by Jesus Christ. Oh that your joy would spring up in every obedient and faithful act of worship provoked by faith in your name.

May your joy in us create a rebellion against hopelessness, despair, and apathy. These weigh us down Lord, creating spiritual inertia that resists love. Forgive us Lord. We don’t know how to appreciate your presence in creation, in each other, in the poor, in the merciful, and in the meek. Renew our spirits and create in us a clean heart.

Father, you have provided us with food and shelter. You have lifted our heads with words of  encouragement and compassion. You have helped us persevere through our struggles. 

Thank you for this grace.

We lift up to you those in our congregation who
long for friendship
cry for comfort
pray for purpose and 
ask for provision.

Meet them Lord. Fulfill your Word in their lives for the glory of your name.

We lift up to you those in our city who
need a safe space,
are pressed down by anxiety, or
are trapped by addiction.

Oh Lord, deliver them by the power of your Spirit and bring them into the joy of your fellowship.

Lord we lift up to you these cities and the people who reside in them. Grant them the joy of your salvation and please raise up men and women overflowing with stories of your redemption in Oman, Alexandria, Oslo, Bangkok, Tehran, Brasilia, and Ottawa. Establish your church and the good work of their hands.

Jesus you are above all. In joyful adoration we bend the knee and call you Lord. We pray today 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

,

brunswick stew

May 7, 2020 0 Comments

judgement shall not be suspended
measured with colors from your heart
black and white with no grey
humility could have saved us
at any moment before
you were at home
you were at home
saw a black man jogging
grabbed your gun
unlocked your truck
put in the key
turned the ignition
reverse then drive
a neighbour joins you
started down the road
drove past him
parked in the street
exited your vehicle
released the safety
waited for him
we can only suppose
maybe more or less
but here he comes
ambushed him
weapon fired
now he’s fighting 
for his life
he falls he dies
you go home
we can only suppose
damn stew
so familiar
you eat it cold
with your
father
…………………………..
Ahmuad Arbery’s blood cries out 

On 23 February 2020 Ahmaud Arbery went jogging in a community outside of Brunswick Georgia. He was shot dead by a father and son who chased him down. Justice seemed suspended until cell phone video was made public.

Poetry

Prayer of the People, 1 May 2020

May 5, 2020 0 Comments

Here’s the Prayer of the People from the Origin Weekend Broadcast for 1 May 2020.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for bringing us into your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This costly grace formed in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus has granted us the faith in which we stand and has changed our lives forever. Thank you!

In Christ Jesus you have radically altered our past, present, and future.
You have forgiven us of our sins.
You have wiped the slate clean.
You have loved us.
You have brought us out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of Your Son.
You have given us a new heart.
You have filled us with your Spirit.

You are making us new.
You are renewing our minds.
You are transforming our attitudes and actions.
You are giving us new desires.
You are fulfilling your word.
You are pouring your love into our lives.

You will cause every promise in Christ to be a Yes.
You will return to set all things right.
You will redeem our lives.
You will be praised forever!

Oh Spirit, Come— Gather the Church of Jesus into praise and into intercession with you.

We long for every tear to be tenderly wiped from our faces.
We long for our faith to be sight. But even now Lord fortify us with the disciplines and rhythms that tap deeply into your life and your Word.

Oh Lord, we set before you peoples who feel forgotten and crushed in this coronavirus pandemic. We plead with you for healing across the whole planet. We seek You for peace in homes and the transformation of relationships fractured by neglect or even violence. We pray that the love of Jesus would abound so that our neighbours experience love and not accusation and hate because of race.

We seek You & your Kingdom 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

Church, Prayer

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Prayer of the People — 24 April 2020

April 27, 2020 0 Comments

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for giving us the grace of faith. We know we do not live by sight but by faith. Yet, you have given us the eyes of faith to recognize you in the Gospel and in the world around us. Thank you for the delight of residing in your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

In seeing Jesus in the Gospel we are getting to look into what angles had longed to see. Oh Lord grant us the grace of living full into this mystery revealed! Christ in us — the hope of glory.

Too often Lord our days do not seem all that glorious. Help us love you with all our minds, all our hearts, and all our strength in the course of our daily rhythms: making meals, washing dishes, cleaning spaces, folding laundry, taking up our work, setting our work down, and loving the people closest to us.

Grant us the courage and wisdom required to be curious about people and inquisitive without judgment. May kindness flow from our faces, our speech, and our actions because you are close.

Oh Lord we grieve with the people of Nova Scotia who are reeling from the violence and hate that has visited them. Protect them Lord from the evil one. In the name of Jesus bind up their wounded hearts and cast out the seeds of suspicion and bitterness that have been sown. 

Lord we ask for grace to help those who are suffering through the coronavirus pandemic. Every loss requires its own grace. But Lord, so many around the world are in danger of disease and famine. We retreat from the castles of our greed and ask that you would show us how to love our neighbours well and to support those serving the least of these. But even here in our city and around our campuses people are being oppressed by loneliness and depression. Instruct us in the word that will lift them up.

We are among those who cry out — we would see Jesus.
Oh Lord, we would see Jesus lifted up in His church.

So we pray as He 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 for 24 April 2020 was used the in the Origin Church Weekend Broadcast. If you would like information or encouragement for hosting a House Church during the Coronavirus Pandemic please reach out to me.

You Must Be Born Again ~ Life Journey With Jesus – Origin Online – 24 April 2020

Prayer

,

Dandelion Discipleship Lessons

April 25, 2020 0 Comments

When it comes to church planting and student ministry I have always appreciated the dandelion, even if I don’t love it my yard. At least once a year I would pay my kids to clear these from the yard. 10 cents a plant if it included the roots. Some years I was shocked to see the pile of plants they created!

But when it comes to a metaphor, the dandelion is the ultimate for discipleship thinking.

Dandelion Discipleship Lessons

The dandelion will come up anywhere!
This clump is located in a yard full of gravel. 
So it is with disciples of Jesus!

The dandelion is bright and doesn’t mind being seen.
The yellow flower is unmistakeable.
So it is with disciples of Jesus!

The dandelion drives its root down deep.
The longer the plant is given liberty to reside in place, the deeper its roots will go to seek out sustenance.
So it is with disciples of Jesus!

The dandelion is highly committed to multiplication.
One plant can produce thousands of seeds.
So it is with disciples of Jesus!

The dandelion releases its seeds to the wind.
The seeds carry with them everything for doing it all again.
So it is with the Church of Jesus!

Hey — would you like to become a House Church Host? I’d love to connect with you. Email me: craig@craigobrien.ca

Church, Discipleship