He Is Not Far

The Lord is not far from the broken and contrite heart. He is our comfort, our help in time of trouble, our arbor of rest. Though we have been unsettled by sin, the Lord grants us forgiveness, peace and rest in Him. Our sins make us want to run from Jesus. That might take us far from Him.  But the only way we can really deal with our sins is to bring ourselves and our sins to Him.         

When we do so, He gladly deals with them. He takes them upon Himself so that the Father is greatly pleased with Jesus and with us. So, do not tarry there with your sins in tow. Having cast them upon Jesus, come to His rest, His peace, His fellowship, His bread, His wine. Herein is fullness of joy.

Illuminated

Almighty and everlasting God, You have called us out of darkness and into Your marvelous light. Your Spirit has illuminated us, enabling us to see Jesus and to proclaim the mighty works of God. Grant that we would grow in our faith and thus grow in our ability to see what You are doing on the Earth and in our own lives. Use this meal of thanksgiving, this meal of the light, to form us into a more perfect body full of gratitude and grace; that we may better reflect the body of the Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

Thanks

Our Father in Heaven, we thank You for providing for us and for meeting our every need, in each one of us personally, in our marriages, in our families and in our lives together here at Providence Church.  You have blessed us with all spiritual and earthly blessings through Christ, our Lord. Use these tithes and offerings and use us, we pray, to magnify the name of Jesus to the ends of the Earth by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Fat Sinners

Our Father, we confess that we are a people of a crooked generation that has grown fat and kicked against Your ways. Forgive us, O Lord, and bind us to the way of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen. 

I Will Be Sorry For My Sin- Psalm 38

Regular confession of sin is required of us. When we go up to the house of the Lord, we do so expecting that He will bless us as we honestly worship Him. This is His promise to us. But a lot rests on that little word, honestly. We are to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. And the truth is that you have sinned.

Some sins are particularly egregious and vex our souls. Other sins are vexatious in another way, they are seemingly small but we cannot seem to shake them. They cling to us. But like the viper that Paul shook from his hand, sin confessed and burnt up in the sacrifice of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, will neither kill nor harm us.

It is those sins that do not bother us that give us trouble. We get used to them. Sometimes we nurse them along, like grudges, like excuses, like an old bad habit that becomes an old friend. But resolve, like the Psalmist, to be sorry for your sins and to lay them all on Christ. He will burn them up in the fire of His abundant grace.

Gracious Father

Our gracious Father, You have created us. You have made us a people and established us. You have given the nations their inheritance and made Your people Your portion. You have gathered us from the desert lands and saved us from the howling waste of the wilderness. Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions, You, O Lord, alone, are our guide. Now and ever after, we praise You Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.