Day: November 2, 2014

02 Nov, International Day of Prayer: The Persecuted Church (Voice of the Martyrs)

The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church / 2014

Please visit Voice of the Martyrs / International Day of Prayer website for more resources – click here.

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PLEASE PRAY: The most common request of persecuted Christians is “PRAY FOR US.” One of the ways we answer their request is through participation in the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP), which we observe on the first Sunday of each November. Our goal is simple: We want EVERY CHURCH to “Remember them that are in bonds …” on IDOP Sunday (Heb. 13:3).

Watch VOM’s IDOP videos – click here … share with your friends … and pray for the persecuted.

Liena and her family turned down offers of asylum in Western countries after civil war broke out in Syria. They knew the cost that might be required, but they chose to remain as witnesses to their Muslim neighbors and as an encouragement to other Christians.
Liena was a dedicated Christian, faithful wife and mother of two. In her prayers, she asked God to use her to reach more people. And then God asked her to make one more commitment.

Watch the dramatic testimony of Liena’s Prayer, as she struggles with the difficult decision of how much she can offer God.
You may never pray the same again.

IRAQ: PRAYER FOR IRAQ

VOM received these prayer points from a church in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, with whom VOM is partnering to help Christians in Iraq. Please join with your brothers and sisters in the Middle East to pray for the region. For security reasons, we have removed the name of the church.

  • That we would reach the community and meet its spiritual as well as physical needs.
  • That the Church would experience an unprecedented presence of the Holy Spirit throughout this crisis to change the region, country and Middle East.
  • That individuals and the Church would experience our Almighty God’s unity and power, open heavens, and rivers flowing from the Holy Spirit to give us one shared Vision.
  • That God would grant us favor in the government’s eyes, to acquire permission for establishing a school.
  • That God would send workers for his Kingdom, as many of our services and relief deliveries have been delayed due to a shortage of workers.
  • That God would grant us wisdom in handling the Internally Displaced People (IDP) projects, and strength to those who work with them directly.
  • That God would send confusion and disagreement to those in the IS group, to stop them from inflicting more violence to the region, and that their hidden cells would be uncovered by local authorities.
  • That God would save misled young people from IS and judge the leaders who are aware and yet still misleading youth with their evil desires and ideologies.
  • That all ISIS’ financial resources would be cut off.
  • That God would comfort and encourage the Yezidi people amidst their heartbreaking genocide; that the Lord would reveal Himself to them with dreams and visions; that he would burden missionaries to serve among the remaining Yezidis.
  • That God would encourage the believers who fled from Mosul, that they’d be strong in Him, be bold to witness and never lose hope in Him.
  • That God would raise up faithful leaders in the Central Government who fear God rather than men of power and use their authority for justice.
  • That God would give wisdom to the Kurdistan Regional Government, to manage the crisis, to defend the region faithfully, and that they would realize that God raised them up to serve Him at this time – that He would reveal Himself to them.
  • That the church would pray with one heart: “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, in Heaven as well as in Kurdistan.”
  • That God would send visitations to the Shi’a in central and south Iraq, to heal their hearts and release them from idolatry.

Thank you for reading this far… and for praying for persecuted Christians around the world. May God bless you.

All Souls Sunday: Isa 25: 6-9; Ps 23; Rom 6:3-9; Jn 6:37-40 ~ raised to life

+ In the name the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening prayer:

On All Saints Day and today, we remember all those who have died in Christ and have been raised with Him to eternal life.

Kind and Loving God: look upon us with tender mercy and hear our prayer. Strengthen our confidence in the resurrection of Your Son and make our hope certain that Your departed servants will also rise again with Him to their eternal home. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.
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A Reading from the Old testament: Isaiah 25: 6-9 (NLT)

In Jerusalem, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will spread a wonderful feast for all the people of the world. It will be a delicious banquet with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat. There he will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people. The Lord has spoken!

In that day the people will proclaim, “This is our God! We trusted in him, and he saved us! This is the Lord, in whom we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!”
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A Reading from the Psalms: Psalm 23 (NLT)

The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.

Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
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A Reading from the Letters: Romans 6:3-9 (NLT)

All Saints Day Lodz, Poland
All Saints Day
Lodz, Poland

Have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him.
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A Reading from the Gospels: John 6:37-40 (NLT)

“Those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”
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Intercessions:

Brothers and sisters: the Lord is our light, our ever present help. Let us come with confidence before His throne of grace –

+ For all who follow Christ – that their confidence in life after death may be strong…. Lord, hear us.
+ For our friends and family members who have died – that they may rest in the peace of Christ forever…. Lord hear us.
+ For those lost through war or violence – that the tragedy of their deaths may increase our resolve to become peacemakers…. Lord, hear us.
+ For those who have died before their time, through accidents or suicide – that their loss may remind us of the sacredness of life…. Lord, hear us.
+ For people overcome by grief – that the power of Christ’s love may lift them up and renew their hope…. Lord, hear us.
+ For all our relatives and friends who have gone before us in faith, whom we remember now… and for the saints and martyrs and humble folk who have worshipped You through the ages – that they all may behold the Lord’s temple in the new and eternal Jerusalem…. Lord, hear us.

God of light, to live forever with You is our heart’s desire: hear our prayers and help us in all our needs, through Christ our Lord.
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Benediction:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5)

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen