I can no longer condemn or hate a brother for whom I pray; no matter how much trouble he causes me. His face, that hitherto may have been strange and intolerable to me, is transformed in intercession ...
Psalm 4:, Matthew 5:43-45, 2 Samuel 19:15-30, Numbers 6:4-9, Isaiah 65:24, Psalm 76:10
Preaching Commentary A Psalm of Trust Psalm 4, the lectionary psalm for this third Sunday of Easter, follows a psalm of lament (Psalm 3) in which David bemoans his political enemies, who included h...
Ephesians 1:3, Matthew 28:19, John 10:30, Matthew 3:16-17, 1 Corinthians 8:6, 1 Peter 1:2
Leader: We worship in the name of God the Father: People: who, through Christ, has chosen us and blessed us with every spiritual blessing that heaven has to offer. Leader: And of the ...
Romans 5:10, 1 John 1:9, James 5:16, Matthew 6:14-15, Romans 12:18, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Gracious God, we know that You have forgiven us in Jesus Christ, but we often remain slow to forgive one other. You have sent Your Spirit to reconcile us to each other, but we resist Your work to bind...
Micah 6:8, Isaiah 58:6-12, Matthew 25:31-46, Romans 12:1-2, Psalm 34:14-18
Pastor: Let us turn in prayer to our God who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. We pray for the Church, marked with the sign of the cross, as we begin the jour...
Alastair Begg offers a poignant and humorous take on what it must have been like for the thief on the cross to reach heaven’s gates. And the point at the end is powerful. That’s what the angel must ...
Leader: Just as it is appointed for us to die once, and after that comes judgment, All: So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin ...
We trample the blood of the Son of God if we think we are forgiven because we are sorry for our sins. The only explanation for the forgiveness of God and for the unfathomable depth of His forgetting i...
Loving God, you are always ready to forgive our sins. We are much less eager to forgive those with whom we disagree. So often when we have something against our friends, family, or strangers, we escal...
Psalm 103:8-12, 1 John 1:9, Ephesians 4:32, Daniel 9:9, Micah 7:18, Isaiah 55:7
Our prayers of confession come close to God’s heart because God is merciful and gracious and eager to say: “I forgive you.” Let us receive God’s forgiveness with a resounding “Amen!”
We pray the words of the tax collector: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” We have sinned, again and again, by what we have done and by what we have not done. We ask that you redeem us and assist us...
Matthew 26:17-30, Psalm 124:8, Hebrews 9:12c, 15a, Psalm 111:9a
Pastor: Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we gather on this Thursday of Holy Week, let us humbly draw near to the Lord to remember what He has done and to receive what He gives to us by His Word an...
Psalm 118:25a, John 8:31-59, Zechariah 9:9, Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:8-11, Luke 19:36-44, John 12:16-19
Pastor: Heavenly Father, as Your Son humbled Himself for our salvation, give to each of us and to every member of Your Church a confident faith in Christ’s Passion for us, so that during this Holy W...
Luke 18:null, Matthew 9:9-13, Mark 2:13-17, Luke 5:27-28, Luke 18:13
This prayer also works well for the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18) Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner. I have failed to love as You Love I have treated others as objects and...
Psalm 51:, John 3:16-17, Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:10, 2 Peter 3:9, Micah 7:18, 2 Corinthians 5:19-21
At the heart of God is the desire to give and to forgive… Love, not anger, brought Jesus to the cross. Golgotha came as a result of God’s great desire to forgive, not his reluctance. Jesus knew that b...
Psalm 118:26a, 25a, John 12:12-19, Zechariah 9:9, Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:8-11, Luke 19:36-44, John 12:16-19
PRAYER OF CONFESSION Pastor: O Lord, with the Palm Sunday crowd, we cry to You this day: “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” People: “Hosanna! Save us, we pray, O Lord!” Pastor...
Matthew 6:14-15, Ephesians 4:31-32, Colossians 3:12-13, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, Psalm 139:23-24, Matthew 18:21-35
Holy Spirit, you have come to reconcile us to each other, but we resist your work to bind us together. We hold onto grudges. Even though we know God has forgiven us in Jesus Christ, we are slow to for...
Preaching Commentary What is Forgiveness? Forgiveness isn’t an act of will or a reaction to an apology. Forgiveness is an act of faith, faith in response to the extravagant sacrifice, grace, and me...
Isaiah 53:3-5, Zechariah 12:10, Exodus 12:21-23, Luke 23:42-43, John 19:34, Psalm 22:16-18
Pastor: Almighty and everlasting God, who willed that your Son should bear for us the pains of the cross and thereby remove from us the power of the adversary, help us to remember and give thanks al...
Leader: When our Lord Jesus was about to ascend into heaven, He lifted His hands in blessing, promising to be with us always. Even though His Word confirms His presence in our lives, we are a sinfu...
Mercy goes beyond justice, it does not undercut it. If I forgive you the hundred dollar debt you owe me, that means I must use one hundred dollars of my own money to pay my creditors. I cannot really ...
Pastor: God of all mercy and consolation, come to the aid of Your people, turning us from our sin to live for You alone. Give us the power of Your Holy Spirit that, attentive to Your Word, we may c...
Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? Context of 2 Corinthians At times you read the soaring rhetoric of Paul and assume he is coming from a place of inner-tranquility, but ...
Leader: When our Lord Jesus was about to ascend into heaven, He lifted His hands in blessing, promising to be with us always. Even though His Word confirms His presence in our lives, we are a sinfu...
Isaiah 1:18-19, Daniel 9:4-9, Joel 2:12-13, Luke 7:36-50, 1 John 1:8-9 , Psalm 103:10-12
Pastor: Assured of His steadfast love, let us take refuge in the mercy of God, confessing our sins and rejoicing in His gift of forgiveness through Jesus Christ, our Lord. ( Silence for reflecti...
Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26, Isaiah 55:8-9, Luke 10:null, Exodus 34:6
Preaching Commentary The Touch of Jesus The highlighted texts from Matthew 9 include Jesus’ call of Matthew, the tax collector, as well as two accounts of healings (the woman with the discharge of ...
John 1:16-17, Romans 5:8, Ephesians 2:8-9, Acts 2:38, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Titus 3:5-6, Galatians 4:6
The piling on of grace upon grace is incredible. God had given us his Son. We killed him. In response God says, “I want to forgive you and offer another ‘family member,’ so to speak.” It was a case of...
Psalm 124:8, Psalm 130:3-4, Luke 5:1-11, Psalm 124:8, Psalm 130:3-4
Leader: Our help is in the name of the Lord, People: who made heaven and earth . Psalm 124:8 Leader: If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? People: ...
Pastor: He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; People: upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed. Pasto...
1 Peter 1:3, Luke 24:1-12, Mark 16:1-8, Matthew 28:1-10, John 11:25-26, John 20:1-18, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8
Risen Christ, The world despised and rejected you You responded with grace, humility, and welcome The proud questioned your power, devised your death You responded with peace, forgiveness, and new lif...