Archive for the ‘Prayer’ Category
Psalm 90 – Prayer Meeting (July 15, 2009)
Filed under: Prayer, Psalms | Tags: Prayer, Psalms
Leave a Comment 1Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
2Before the mountains were born
Or You gave birth to the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
3You turn man back into dust
And say, “Return, O children of men.”
4For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it passes by,
Or as a watch in the night.
5You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep;
In the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew.
6In the morning it flourishes and sprouts anew;
Toward evening it fades and withers away.
7For we have been consumed by Your anger
And by Your wrath we have been dismayed.
8You have placed our iniquities before You,
Our secret sins in the light of Your presence.
9For all our days have declined in Your fury;
We have finished our years like a sigh.
10As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,
Or if due to strength, eighty years,
Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow;
For soon it is gone and we fly away.
11Who understands the power of Your anger
And Your fury, according to the fear that is due You?
12So teach us to number our days,
That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.
13Do return, O LORD; how long will it be?
And be sorry for Your servants.
14O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness,
That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us,
And the years we have seen evil.
16Let Your work appear to Your servants
And Your majesty to their children.
17Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us;
And confirm for us the work of our hands;
Yes, confirm the work of our hands.
Psalm 89 – Prayer Meeting (July 8, 2009)
Filed under: Prayer, Psalms | Tags: Prayer, Psalms
Leave a Comment 1I will sing of the lovingkindness of the LORD forever;
To all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth.
2For I have said, “Lovingkindness will be built up forever;
In the heavens You will establish Your faithfulness.”
3″I have made a covenant with My chosen;
I have sworn to David My servant,
4I will establish your seed forever
And build up your throne to all generations.”
5The heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD;
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
6For who in the skies is comparable to the LORD?
Who among the sons of the mighty is like the LORD,
7A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones,
And awesome above all those who are around Him?
8O LORD God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty LORD?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
9You rule the swelling of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.
10You Yourself crushed Rahab like one who is slain;
You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
11The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all it contains, You have founded them.
12The north and the south, You have created them;
Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.
13You have a strong arm;
Your hand is mighty, Your right hand is exalted.
14Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Lovingkindness and truth go before You.
15How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
O LORD, they walk in the light of Your countenance.
16In Your name they rejoice all the day,
And by Your righteousness they are exalted.
17For You are the glory of their strength,
And by Your favor our horn is exalted.
18For our shield belongs to the LORD,
And our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19Once You spoke in vision to Your godly ones,
And said, “I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20″I have found David My servant;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,
21With whom My hand will be established;
My arm also will strengthen him.
22″The enemy will not deceive him,
Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23″But I shall crush his adversaries before him,
And strike those who hate him.
24″My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him,
And in My name his horn will be exalted.
25″I shall also set his hand on the sea
And his right hand on the rivers.
26″He will cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27″I also shall make him My firstborn,
The highest of the kings of the earth.
28″My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall be confirmed to him.
29″So I will establish his descendants forever
And his throne as the days of heaven.
30″If his sons forsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments,
31If they violate My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
32Then I will punish their transgression with the rod
And their iniquity with stripes.
33″But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him,
Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness.
34″My covenant I will not violate,
Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.
35″Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David.
36″His descendants shall endure forever
And his throne as the sun before Me.
37″It shall be established forever like the moon,
And the witness in the sky is faithful.”
38But You have cast off and rejected,
You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.
39You have spurned the covenant of Your servant;
You have profaned his crown in the dust.
40You have broken down all his walls;
You have brought his strongholds to ruin.
41All who pass along the way plunder him;
He has become a reproach to his neighbors.
42You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.
43You also turn back the edge of his sword
And have not made him stand in battle.
44You have made his splendor to cease
And cast his throne to the ground.
45You have shortened the days of his youth;
You have covered him with shame.
46How long, O LORD?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath burn like fire?
47Remember what my span of life is;
For what vanity You have created all the sons of men!
48What man can live and not see death?
Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?
49Where are Your former lovingkindnesses, O Lord,
Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness?
50Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants;
How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,
51With which Your enemies have reproached, O LORD,
With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.
52Blessed be the LORD forever!
Amen and Amen.
07-05-09am Sermon – Ephesians 3:14-17a
Filed under: Ephesians, Prayer, Sermons | Tags: Ephesians, Prayer, Sermons
Leave a Comment If you see a Play button hit the play button and start listening. 07-05-09am Sermon – Ephesians 3:14-17a. If you do not see a play button, then hit this link.
Outline
I. Prayer for the Church
II. Prayer that You Would Be Strengthened
III. Prayer that Christ Would Dwell in Your Hearts
You are Being Called to Pray for Your Denomination
By me, are you called. Which means, since I am not God you don’t have to actually pray. But let me encourage you to pray. Our church is part of the Presbyterian Church in America, and as most of you know, the elders of our denomination meet once a year at General Assembly. This year it is at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. There are many problems probably with that, like the notion of luring families to a vacation spot when work is to be done for our denomination and for you. But aside from little things like that, you may have remembered last year that you were called to pray for the leaders of our denomination as they voted on whether or not to even consider the issue of women deacons in the church. And we can praise God still that the assembly voted against establishing a committee to study such things. Why? Because there is no reason to. Scripture is clear that the ordained office of deacon is an office of authority, and women are not to teach or have authority over men (as 1 Timothy says) in the Church. Which would mean that women cannot be deacons. Now I could go into more detail why God has not called women to be elders or deacons, but I hope that will suffice for now.
Anyway, you are being called to pray by me because our denomination is again considering this issue. Although, the Assembly acted last year against the study of this issue, other presbyteries are calling for it to be studied again. On top of this, other presbyteries are allowing women to serve on the board of deacons in their churches. This is contrary to our denominations Constitution. So these churches/presbyteries are ‘breaking the rules’ outright. And now because they have broken the rules, instead of going about the proper way to change the Constitution before breaking the rules, they are now trying to change the constitution in view of their breaking the rules.
Let me put it for you more clearly:
What should take place: Change constitution –> (Then) follow constitution
What should not take place: Break rules –> (Then) change constitution so one’s rule breaking can be okay
Does that make sense? This is similar, I believe, to life. Our life is to follow our theology (which comes from Scripture) [Bible --> Theology --> Life]. But many people do it the other way around and believe and interpret Scripture based on their experiences [Life --> Bible --> Theology].
Anyway, short story long, please pray for our denomination, that your leaders would uphold the Constitution which is clear on this issue, that men only are to be ordained in the church (elder or deacon). That they would see that there is no need to study issues that are so clear in Scripture. That churches/presbyteries in our denomination would follow the Constitution they vowed to uphold in their ordination vows (thinking especially of elders here).
The General Assembly meets June 15th – 19th.
03-29-09am Sermon – Ephesians 1:3-23
Filed under: Ephesians, Prayer, Sermons, Sovereignty | Tags: Ephesians, Prayer, Sermons, Sovereignty
Leave a Comment If you see a Play button hit the play button and start listening. 03-29-09am Sermon – Ephesians 1:3-23. If you do not see a play button, then hit this link.
Outline
I. Pray Because God is Sovereign
II. Pray Like Paul
02-01-09pm Sermon – Psalm 5
If you see a Play button hit the play button and start listening. 02-01-09pm Sermon – Psalm 5. If you do not see a play button, then hit this link.
Outline
I. Go to the Lord, Pray, and Cry for Help
II. Go to the Lord and Pray About and For Your Enemies
III. Go to the Lord, Pray, and You will be Given Joy
PCA General Assembly 2008 (Part 1)
Filed under: PCA, Prayer | Tags: General Assembly, PCA
Leave a Comment Just a reminder to all that this week is the PCA General Assembly. Keep the elders of our denomination in your prayers that that would work/serve for the peace and purity of Church.
Remember also this post that was made a few weeks ago: Pray for Our Denomination
Thanks.
Pray for our Denomination
I write to ask that all of you would begin to pray for our denomination (Presbyterian Church in America) over the issue of ordination/commissioning of women to offices in the Church.
4 (FOUR) overtures from four presbyteries concerning this topic have been sent to the General Assembly to be held in June in Dallas, TX (An overture is a request for something to take place). Three of the four overtures sent this year are requests for a Study Committee to meet throughout the next year to develop a report (about women’s roles in the Church, especially dealing with the office of deacon) to be presented to the General Assembly in 2009. The fourth overture is against having a study committee to discuss this topic.
Friends, it is of the opinion of many that a study committee is not needed. Scripture is clear. The Presbyterian Church in America has been clear already in the Book of Church Order, which states that only men are to hold the offices of elder and deacon.
I am asking that you pray for wisdom and guidance to be given to the elders of the Church to handle the situation in the best way, which will work for the peace and purity of the Church.
I hope you remember our time we have spent in 2 Timothy. Let me remind you not only of an elder’s role, but our role as the body of Christ.
2 Timothy 1 – “8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, 10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12 For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. 13 Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.”
Remember, Paul has already wrote Timothy in 1 Timothy 2, “8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; 9 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, 10 but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works. 11 Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. 12 And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. 15 Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.”
We MUST stand on the foundation of the Word of God. Therefore, I plead with you to pray for our Church.
