Tag Archive: Advent

Prayer of the People, 12 Dec 2021

December 13, 2021 0 Comments

Heavenly Father, 

It’s December in Vancouver. As the darkness of longer nights envelops us we keep the lights on longer. Fortunately the light of your love never goes out, but we would have been blind to it, except for the grace of faith in Jesus — the Light of the World. By this grace you have included us in your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thank you!

For each one of us there have been messengers of your grace who provided us with clues to your goodness and who have announced your good news. Thank you for these friends of yours who have treated us according to your own faithful love.

We were soul sick with an incurable disease. But you have provided the balm that heals us. 

We were soul weary weighed down by idols received with false promises. 

But you have provided our deliverance.
We were drained of all joy but you have set before us the joyful reality of your Kingdom. But your Holy Spirit keeps pouring your love into our lives.

Praise be to you, the Lover and Shepherd of our Souls!

We lift up to you the many who accompany us through life in this city but do not know your Son. Oh Lord we desire that you would be born in them. Bring them to the faith that trusts You and is eternal life.

We lift up to you the people of Princeton, Merritt, and Abbotsford who have experienced the devastation of flooding. We lift up to you the people of States and Towns in the US who have experienced the devastation of the Tornados. Please grant them peace over the anxiety that accompanies these disasters. Please let them feel loved not forgotten, cared for not abandoned. Comfort those who have lost loved ones and have felt their worlds shaken.

We lift up to you our brothers and sisters working in this City and across the globe. May their worship of you be accompanied by complete surrender to you. Grant them wisdom to serve people and steward your gifts through their work. May your goodness saturate their workplaces and amplify your abundant blessings for all.

Oh Lord Come. Come Lord Jesus Come. 

(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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From Fear to Alignment

December 8, 2021 0 Comments

God doesn’t just give people a front row seat to His work; He calls us into participation with Him.

Read Luke 1:26-38

26In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”35The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37For no word from God will ever fail.”

38“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.


When God reveals and calls, prayer can be a conversation with many movements. Like Mary we may move through fear/agitation, and inquiry/dialogue, before we get to relinquishment/alignment.

Mary is agitated by Gabriel’s greeting. vs. 29

Mary inquires, “How will this be?” vs. 34

Mary aligns herself with God; “I am the Lord’s servant. Mary your word to me be fulfilled.”

Others have been through these movements as well. Daniel, Moses, Gideon, Zechariah, even Jesus. Like Zechariah we may need months to get there. Like Mary we may “get there” quickly.

Notice how the movement in prayer is towards “Yes Lord, may your Word be fulfilled.” However, the “movement” is not necessarily about resolution but is instead about relationship: being with God.



Explore this movement in prayer further.

Prayer

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Prayer of the People, Advent Week 2, 5 Dec 2021

December 6, 2021 0 Comments

Heavenly Father, 

You have brought us into your communion — the communion of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We praise you for this grace. You have brought us from the darkness and into your light. Now may you enlighten our minds. Now May your word give light to our paths.

Praise you! Our souls glorify You; You are magnificent! You delivered us from slavery and into freedom from sin at such great cost. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for taking up flesh. Thank you for laying  down your life for us at the cross. Oh Jesus we glorify you!

Our senses we so numb — we did not know were slaves to sin till the good news quickened our conscience and we grieved the death we could not shake off. Now you are making us new creations. Now our trust is in you. Now we have a hunger for your Word and a desire to do your will.

Come Lord Jesus. Have mercy on us. Grant us the joy of your salvation and lead us in how to live in view of your great promises: we must live as you lived.

Heavenly Father, we are concerned — for the tasks we have taken up weigh on us. Help us with our studies. This world you have made is so beautiful! There’s more to it than facts and figures — yet there are a lot of those to learn! Help us develop the skills to steward what you have entrusted to us, help us develop the character needed for courageous love.

Lord we lift up people whose dignity and glory as dearly loved and precious creations of God has been forgotten. We lift up people on the journey for refuge from Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Syria. Please send your kindness to these dear people and free them from hate and despair.

A generation is rising up that desires morality but is not sure yet of the One from whom it proceeds. Oh, Lord grow this desire. Let your peace reign so we would all walk in the joy of your love and delight. Reveal Yourself to them in the night and in the day ‘till hearts are softened and the Holy Spirit has His way.

(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, Advent, 28 Nov 2021

November 29, 2021 0 Comments

Heavenly Father — We rejoice in your presence. We have arrived at your throne of Grace ushered in by the Spirit and given access by your Son, Jesus. We thank you for the joy of your salvation and your eternal communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

On this first Sunday of Advent we are grateful that Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith has entered into our situation and the frailties of our flesh. Though, we may find our selves asking, “How long?”

How long Lord shall the wicked prosper? How long Lord shall our hearts be tested? How long will the push and pull of climate and gravity create troubles? How long will we feel torn between the old and the new?

For some in our congregation today these questions are not theoretical. Our brothers and sisters groan under the weight of anxiety and we lift them up to you Lord. 

Come now, Holy Spirit and breathe peace.

For some in our campus the pursuit of security and the conviction of their conscience weighs heavily on them. Come now Lord Jesus and be their Saviour.

For some in our Province the destructive powers of nature and storms have displaced them and is exacting a terrible toll. Oh Father, be their comfort and help.

As leaders assemble and people are mobilized across this land we pray that you would grant wisdom for rebuilding. We ask that you would move hearts to release resources. In the neighbourhoods that are hosting people we pray that you would fortify them with hospitality. We pray that You would create spaces of welcome, healing and refuge. 

We need You and so 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

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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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