Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, thank You for being all that You are. Thank You for bringing back hope and joy. Thank You for showing us just how much we are loved by Almighty God. We ask for patience and guidance throughout this life. Take away the doubt and fear that the world throws at us and let our faith in You be the firm foundation that our life is built upon. Help us to let go of grudges or any ill will against our brothers and sisters knowing that we are all sinners and saints. Let us give the same compassion, kindness, forgiveness and love that is given to us from the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. To You alone we live and give all that we have knowing that because Christ lives we can live, confident and free, knowing that this world is not our home.
Lord God, thank You for allowing us to come into Your presence and experience Your grace, mercy and love. You are in the business of changing the world and changing lives. We ask that You would change whatever needs to be changed in our hearts and minds so that we can be the people that You made us to be: People of compassion, forgiveness and hope. And even though we may wander, just help us to listen and hear Your constant voice that will always lead us back to You. Bring back joy into this life. Bring back hope. And bring back the love that we should have for each other. Clear away any of the nonsense that would distract us from accessing our faith so that we can live this life confidently knowing that this world is not our home because we have been promised a life after this in eternity with the Heavenly Father through the sacrifice of His only Son and by the power of His Holy Spirit we have all been saved forever.
This song is truly an anthem for my faith and it touches my heart each time I hear it. My sister from another mother, Mrs. Jennifer Fancher, didn’t just sing this song…she shared her whole soul, heart and faith in Christ. I will forever be grateful that we were able to share this moment with the King. Blessings!!!
What a blast it was to be part of this amazing and Spirit filled celebration of the birth of the Savior. I will treasure our tenth anniversary concert for the rest of my life. Praise be to God and Hallelujah!!!
This is one of my favorite songs from our first Christmas Concert 10 years ago. It is based on the Magnificat which is one of the most ancient Christian hymns from the Gospel of Luke where Mary sings that her soul “magnifies the Lord.”
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Northridge, California.
Lord Jesus, thank You for the miracle of life and the blessing of this moment where we can come together in Your presence. We search for peace where there is no peace in things that are only of this world. But You are not of this world. You are everything. You are Hope and You are truth. So step into our lives so that we can go beyond the typical and be transformed from the ordinary into the extraordinary possibilities of God. The problem is we believe too much with our eyes and not enough with our faith. Help us this season to look past the Santa’s and the gifts. Show us how to give what You have given to us: never ending unconditional love, mercy and grace. Help us to see You. Help us to experience You as never before. So that the words of the Gospel will be true for us: that we are all made new in Christ because the former self and all of our past mistakes and successes are shed away by the love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, thank You for being the truth, the light and the way. So here is Your church, Your body here on earth. We pray that You would unify us with the power of Your Holy Spirit by coming into a world that hungers for hope. Come into our lives, which so desperately needs Your presence. We need You. We need You ever hour and every moment to shine the light of eternal truth into the darkness of this world and our hearts. As the years fly past us, You remain the only constant in our lives so let us be open to hearing Your word. Let us be open to learning from Your truth by helping us to step into the story that changed the world. The story that reveals the never ending truth of the gospel that God so loved all of us that He came near to us, as one of us, to let all people know that there is hope, there is mercy and that there is love through the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Emmanuel, God with us. You fulfilled the promise of the Eternal One, that God will not forsake us, and even as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we will not fear because God is always with us.
Thank You Lord for this day. Thank you for the air that we breathe. Thank You for emotions, thoughts, and everything that we feel and experience in this life that let’s us know that we are alive. Let us let go and let God so that we can come into Your presence with a grateful heart and never forget or take for granted the many ways that You bless us. We come to You with both our successes and our failures and ask that You reach deep into our souls and release us from the past so that we can move forward in the future that You have in store for us. Fill our lives with all that is good and when we cross the line please be patient with us. Only You know how much time and breath each of us have left in this life, so give us the wisdom to live fully in the cause of Christ so that we can step into the miracle that is God’s unfailing and never ending love for all people. Let us praise You God, in everything that we do, and let our faith shine in every word that we speak, every thought that we think and every step that we take so that all people who see us will experience the awesome and life changing love of Almighty God whose mercy and grace endures forever.
Heavenly Father, Almighty God, Great Redeemer and Friend we thank You for the gift that is our lives. Each breath and each moment is a gift from heaven that allows us to live fully in the love of Jehovah Jireh who provides beyond the limitations of this world. This world is not our home for we have been promised a place in eternity: A place where we will be forever in the presence of God. But Lord, open our eyes in this life to know that You are always with us even in the darkness of this world. Help us to see how we can live as Christ lived when we see our brothers or sisters in need. Help us to not be so quick to dismiss the needs of Your people because how we treat each other is how we treat the Lord. Give us wisdom, strength, and patience as we journey this life towards an even deeper relationship with our Creator. In Your name we pray. Amen.
Lord God, You are the source of every blessing in our lives. You bless us each time that we breathe and each morning when we wake up. We ask that You clear away anything that would take us away from You. Give us the wisdom to stop worshiping things that are just not worth it because those things are not God. Stop us from performing and give us the courage to just be real: To be real with others as You are with us. Tune our hearts to the newness of Your love each day so that we can stop focusing on the negative and instead focus on something great: The greatness of Your love, grace and mercy. Help us to look past the smiles today so that we can see the needs of our brothers and sisters in this very room and in our lives. Be the God of our hearts and minds because You alone are able to accomplish the impossible. Worshipping You, Lord, is more than just a song, it’s more than just the right words, and it’s more than just one hour on Sunday. It is a way of life. Help us to make time for You so that we can just be still and know that You are everything that You say You are.
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