Advent Prayer: 2nd Tuesday 08 Dec 2020
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
With tender comfort and transforming power you come into our midst, O God of mercy and might. Make ready a way in the wilderness, clear a straight path in our hearts, and form us into a repentant people, that the advent of your Son may find us watchful and eager for the glory he reveals. We ask this through him whose coming is certain, whose day draws near: your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.
“If God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ,
who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”
When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying,
“Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
(Acts 11:17-18)
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“Psalm 27” A Psalm of David
God Is My Light (Psalm 27) – The Psalm Project
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Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 4:2-6 (ESV)
The Branch of the Lord Glorified
2 In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. 3 And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, 4 when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. 5 Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. 6 There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.
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“Oh Righteous Branch” – Caroline Cobb · Andrew Osenga
Oh righteous branch from Jesse’s root / Please come and bring your kingdom
The lion dwelling with the lamb / Bring peace and life and freedom
Oh Son of David come to rule / And reign in us forever
Come write your law upon our hearts / And keep us like a shepherd
Hallelujah, Jesus we wait for you
Hallelujah, Jesus come soon come soon
Messiah come, your Spirit give / Turn stony hearts to flesh
Redeem us from captivity / The power of sin and death
Hallelujah, Jesus we wait for you
Hallelujah, Jesus come soon come soon
At last, at last the morning comes / With healing in its wings
We’ll leap like calves loosed from their stalls / For you have done great things
Yes, you have done great things!
Hallelujah, Jesus we wait for you
Hallelujah, Jesus come soon come soon!
Jesus, come soon, come soon.
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New Testament Reading: Acts 11:1-18 (ESV)
Peter Reports to the Church
11 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, 3 “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4 But Peter began and explained it to them in order: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. 6 Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. 7 And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ 10 This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. 11 And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. 
12 And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; 14 he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ 15 As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
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Love’s Coming Down (Isaiah’s Song) – Melanie Penn
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Prayer:
Prayers of Repentance
1.) Thank God for His promise that if you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)
2.) Share with God that you are unable to discern the errors of your own heart. Ask Him to cleanse you from faults that you cannot see, as well as from sins you’ve committed intentionally. Pray that you would be free from the dominion of sinful strongholds in your life, becoming blameless and innocent. Ask God that the words of your mouth and the meditations of your heart would be acceptable in the sight of your Rock and Redeemer. (Psalm 19:12-14)
3.) Remind God of His promise that if His people who are called by His name humble themselves, and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways, then He will hear from heaven and will forgive our sin and heal our land. (2 Chronicles 7:14) Ask Him to do this very thing – to bring in your own heart a fresh awareness of the seriousness of your sin, and that this work would spread like wildfire among His people.
4.) Repent of any distance between you and the Lord. Tell God of your desire to draw near to Him, and claim His promise to draw near to you. Prayerfully seek His cleansing of your hands and His purification your heart. Spend some time searching your heart with seriousness and humility before the Lord. (James 4:8-10)
5.) Thank God for a godly grief that produces repentance that leads to salvation. Tell God that you will look for the fruits of this repentance in the hours and days ahead: “For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment!” (2 Corinthians 7:9-11)
+ Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who in your great mercy have promised forgiveness of sins to all those who sincerely repent and with true faith turn to you, have mercy upon us, pardon and deliver us from all our sins, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, and bring us to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Blessing
May the peace of the Lord 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.
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+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Peanut Gallery 