+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
– Joshua 1:9 (NLT)
__________
Free me to follow You, and I will obey Your truth. Always keep me faithful.
+ Lord of our [American] yesterdays and hope of bright tomorrows, empower Your people once again.
+ Lift us from futile passivity or a clinging to rocks of ages past.
+ Strike joyous freedom, brave and bold to face this day.
+ We leave our outgrown shells beneath the tide of half-forgotten dreams and monuments to pride of other years.
+ The living Christ calls, ‘Follow Me!’ and asks, ‘Do you really love Me more than these?’
Saint Piran (sixth century)
A Call to New Beginnings
__________
Prayer: Free and Brave
Lord Jesus: In the upcoming presidential election, we are being asked to leave behind the certain corruption of the past for the uncertain promise of a better future. Give us the courage to move forward in faith towards a better future.
+ Deliver us from the evil of past administrations.
+ Call us, once again, to love You and follow You before all else.
+ Give us the boldness to walk with You into a new season of freedom.
+ And, raise up a brave citizenry – confident of Your presence with us.
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit – one God forever. Amen.
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Opening Sentence
I have come to seek You, O God, just as I am I come. I have come to be sought by You, just as I am I come.
I will wait for the Lord. My soul waits, and in His word do I hope.
Reading:Psalm 119:105-112 (NLT)
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.
I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again: I will obey your righteous regulations. I have suffered much, O Lord; restore my life again as you promised.
Lord, accept my offering of praise, and teach me your regulations. My life constantly hangs in the balance, but I will not stop obeying your instructions. The wicked have set their traps for me, but I will not turn from your commandments. Your laws are my treasure; they are my heart’s delight. I am determined to keep your decrees to the very end.
Reading: Isaiah 30:20-21 (NLT)
Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you.
You will see your teacher with your own eyes. Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.
Reading: Hebrews 4:12-13 (NLT)
For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.
__________
Prayer (Piran – in following, sixth century)
Call me to follow You, and I will obey Your truth. Always keep me faithful.
+ When failure spreads a cloud of gloom above me, and fogs of apathy confuse my every step, and when endless drifts of drizzle douse the barely glowing embers of my faith,
Lord, relight the fire!
When the demands of life encroach on quiet moments, when pressures grind my spirit into dust, when time dries up like water in a desert, and prayer is pushed into mere words like dried-up husks,
Lord, kindle the flame!
“Set Me Ablaze” – Jesus Culture
Blessing
May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger. So don’t go to war without wise guidance; victory depends on having many advisers.
– Proverbs 24:5-6 (NLT)
__________
“If we do not stand up and exercise our freedom to protect our freedom, I see a spiritual dark age descending upon us…. This is not a time to stand on the sidelines.”
— Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.
__________
Prayer: Stand up and Vote
Gracious God: Thank You for giving Your people in America the right to vote in the upcoming presidential election. I ask You for a massive voter turnout in support of religious freedom and traditional family life, and in opposition to the institutional corruption embedded in the government of our country.
+ Forgive Your people for sitting on the sidelines in previous elections. Sadly, we are complicit in creating our current dismal state of affairs through our inaction.
+ Forgive Your people for allowing the candidates’ personalities to obfuscate policy realities, sound judgement and common sense.
+ Forgive Your people for considering voting for a third-party candidate in a two-party system, when the reality is that only Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton will be elected.
+ Surround Donald Trump with wise counselors who will help him understand the issues that are important to You and Your people. Make him receptive to their counsel.
+ Expose Hillary Clinton’s counselors for who and what they are, and the chilling effect they will have on the free practice of religion in America.
Merciful God: You alone can turn America around, but this election will have a major impact on whether or not the country can regain its moral standing. Move Your people out of their homes and into their voting booths on November 8th. Give Your people another chance to Make America Good Again.
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit – one God forever. Amen.
We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control. – Philippians 3:20-21 (NLT)
__________
In a fragmenting world—with America facing its crucial presidential election and Britain in flux after its recent referendum decision to quit Europe—there is a single heavenly citizenship that alone can reassure us.
Richard Bewes is a preacher, broadcaster and hymn writer. He serves on the board of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in the United Kingdom and is the former rector of All Souls Church, Langham Place, London.
Prayer: citizens of heaven | residents of earth
Heavenly Father: As believing Americans we hold dual citizenship – in heaven and on earth. One is eternal; the other is temporary.
As we face the upcoming presidential election in America, give us Your heavenly, eternal wisdom that we may honor You on earth as in heaven.
+ Like Abraham, we look forward to the city whose architect and builder is God; a city filled with people from all tribes and nations.
Keep before us the vision of the heavenly city – that it might breathe new life into our decaying American cities.
+ Come Lord Jesus Christ, we await Your return as Savior; bodily, visibly and universally—to usher in the eternal kingdom. And as we wait, send us Your Spirit.
You alone can rescue America, You alone can save America, You alone can raise American cities up from the grave. Our hope is in You alone – work in us and through us.
+ Transform Your people in America into consistent, living witnesses who show others how to live as citizens of heaven in our dying world.
Unite Your people in every American city at the foot of the Cross – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all.
Heavenly Father: You hold the future of America in Your hands. Raise up every faithful American citizen to vote in the upcoming presidential election for the candidate who will best preserve the freedom of the City from above – that Your power and glory may be displayed for the entire world to see.
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit – one God forever. Amen.
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Opening Sentence
I have come to seek You, O God, just as I am I come. I have come to be sought by You, just as I am I come.
I will wait for the Lord. My soul waits, and in His word do I hope.
Reading: Psalm 119:97-104 (NLT)
Oh, how I love your instructions! I think about them all day long.
Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are my constant guide. Yes, I have more insight than my teachers, for I am always thinking of your laws. I am even wiser than my elders, for I have kept your commandments.
I have refused to walk on any evil path, so that I may remain obedient to your word. I haven’t turned away from your regulations, for you have taught me well. How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey.
Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life.
Reading: Proverbs 2:1-6 (NLT)
My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.
Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God. For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
Reading: Luke 2:40-47, 52 (NLT)
There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him.
Boy Jesus in the Temple (Christ in the Temple), by Heinrich Hofmann
Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual. After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him at first, because they assumed he was among the other travelers. But when he didn’t show up that evening, they started looking for him among their relatives and friends.
When they couldn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there. Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
_____
Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.
__________
Prayer (Piran – in following, sixth century)
Teach me to follow You, and I will obey Your truth. Always keep me faithful.
+ Lord of the universe, whose hands threw the constellations in all their splendor, and stars in their myriads, into the endless velvet depths of space.
+ God of creation, who fashioned earth and sky and seas, who shaped the mountains, coasts and valleys, seeking out places I could recognize as home.
+ Teach me to see You through the glories of creation. Lift my eyes above the boundaries of far horizons.
+ Ever moving onward, I will seek You, moving nearer, closer to Your beating heart.
Heavenly Father: Draw me close to You, that I might listen and learn. Give me a teachable spirit and write Your Word on my heart, that I might not lose my way. In Jesus’ name.
“Draw Me Close” – Michael W. Smith
Blessing
May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
The Peanut Gallery 