Heavenly Father, We praise you the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth. You have never abandoned your Creation. You have set your plans and purposes in place from the beginning. You have persisted in the revelation of your glory. You are the origin of all life, all truth, and all love. Thank you for the grace that has brought us into your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Thank you for revealing your life and love in Jesus Christ your Son.
He is before us and so we praise you.
He is after us and so we aim our lives at Him. We know every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord to your glory forever and ever.
You are also present with us: Our good shepherd, the lover of our souls, the author and perfecter of our faith, and the God who saves us.
You are with us in our tears. We have lost the illusion of invincibility.
You are with us in our fears. We have lost the thin promises of our self-designed security.
O Immanuel — God with us. Our only assurance — you are behind us and before us and above and below us all the days of our lives.
Grant your church courage today as are scattered to homes and shelters to meet you in that space and to order our lives according to your grace. Grant us the full-bodied maturity of Jesus to acknowledge our own weakness, to mourn with those who mourn, and in the moment to also rejoice with those who rejoice.
We lift up to you places and people ravaged with the Coronavirus and by the constraints of the lockdown: Italy, Iran, India, Ecuador, Spain and New York City. Grant us perseverance and patience to weather this storm with you.
And so we pray together in Jesus Name 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.
Prepared by Craig O’Brien for the Origin Church Weekend Broadcast