Lord, every good gift comes from You. “Direct our footsteps according to Your word, and let no sin rule over us.” (Psalm 119: 133) Push us out into the world of the living and push life back into us. Let our faith be bigger than our fears, so that we can represent You and glorify You in all that we do, because we only get this one life to make a difference.
Because of You, we are strong enough to carry each other through the long twisted turns of life. So take our faith to another level. A level of doing, and not just empty words, because what we allow is what will continue but “where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17) to do all that God has planned for us.
“In the blink of an eye everything can change…Life is short” (Zig Ziglar) so let us truly live it. Because “when we leave this earth, we can take with us nothing that we have received (and) only (carry) what we have given: (so let us continue to give) a heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.” (St. Francis of Assisi)
Hear us now O Great Redeemer, and “clothe us in your compassion, kindness, humility and patience.” (Collossians 3:12), “Turn away our eyes from our own vanity and revive us in your ways” (Psalm 119:37).
We’re just ordinary people, flawed and prone to sin, but You see us as no one else does. You understand our potential. So as these battles rage on in all of us, we pray that You would reign in us and remind us that “nothing can separate us from God’s love” (Romans 8:38), that “You have been with us since the beginning” (John 1:1) and that You will always be, Emmanuel, God with us.
When words fail “hope will not be silent” (Harvey Milk). For it is “By faith (that) we began, by hope (that) we continue, and by revelation (in which) we shall obtain the whole (truth of God)” (Martin Luther). For “if there is anything in us, it is not our own; it is a gift of God…that it is entirely a debt (that we) owe to love…and must serve others with it, not ourselves” (Martin Luther).
Lord of all, calm our hearts and minds. Don’t let us doubt You, and don’t let fear rule or feed our thoughts. Interrupt our lives, when we forget the miracle of each breath that You give us, so that we can face these obstacles and not cower or retreat back into the false security of what once was.
Let us let go of our egos and move forward, by faith, into the promise of God so that we can feed the hungry, heal the sick, and be as one body united by the unwavering love of our Creator.
Because of You, our story has been rewritten. So let us dare to know You, to be more like You, to be quick to forgive and slow to anger. Don’t let our own insecurities inhibit ourselves from ministering God’s grace and doing what is right in the eyes of God. We may not “understand the mystery of grace…but grace meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us.” (Anne Lamott).
Thank You for awakening us in to a new day that we have never seen. Surrounded by chaos, we enter into Your presence with praise as You enter our circumstances with the power of hope. Remind us, that no matter what pit we have dug ourselves into or that others have left us in, that the love of God is deeper still and envelops us throughout the good days and the bad. For “the will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us. “ (Billy Graham) And not matter where we are, “we can never go where God is not.” (Toby Mac)
Through our faith we have a purpose, and because of Jesus Christ we have been appointed to stand by others as God stands by us. So let our words and actions not harm each other. Let our prayers and thoughts uplift one another to build God’s kingdom here on earth, as it is in heaven, so that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, friend and advocate for all of us.
This was the first song that I ever conducted at New Song 10 years ago. I will never forget this piece and how the Holy Spirit fills my heart each time I step into the family known as New Song Church. Time does fly and each moment is a precious gift from God. Don’t waste it and live in His truth and light!!!
We come into this place to experience You, the great I AM…the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. Speak Your authority into our lives and introduce Yourself to us in a new way. Communicate to us beyond what we can see and hear, so that we can fulfill the promises that we make to You and to each other.
Don’t let our own insecurities stop us from living this life. You sacrificed Yourself on the cross for us. You won the battle, and because of the blood of Jesus all people have access to a relationship with a God who will never stop loving them.
Your story, Your truth, lets us know that “there are far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” (C.S. Lewis) So, give us the courage to “let go of what we think should happen and just live in what is happening:” (Unknown) God’s love. God’s love is always happening and we should always be sharing the same love that is given to us. We may not reach everyone but don’t let it be because we did not try.
Loving God, we come into Your presence seeking a revelation of something greater than ourselves. Give us the wisdom to read, hear and receive Your Word so that we can see our part in Your story: the story of a people that cannot make it on their own and the story of the indestructible love of God.
And “when we feel like we are not good enough to be loved by God, we should remember that God’s love is greater than our doubts. So silence the sounds of condemnation so that we can hear the voice of God, the voice of Grace and the voice of truth. (1 John 3 – The Voice Bible )
Open our eyes to the blessings that we didn’t see before. Help us to recognize the lessons that need to be learned. Illuminate the light of Christ, in all of us, so that we can see that we are all sinners in need of the same forgiveness, grace and love given to all of us at the foot of the cross and the empty tomb.
New Song’s first time marching in Las Vegas Gay Pride 2014
Almighty One, thank You for being the truth, thank You for being the Way, and thank You for being the Life. Make our love for You and each other be as real as Your love is for all of us. Lift our eyes away from ourselves and reveal to us the world that You want us to see: a world that needs hope, compassion and peace.
We cannot love God, whom we do not see, and hate those that we do see. So let us forgive and let go of what once was and move forward and enter into Your promise that lives in the here and now, so that we can stand up for love…stand up for the elderly, the poor, the sick, and the broken hearted. Help us to stand up for our brothers and sisters, in this very room, whom the world has forgotten. Help us to stand up for You, so that our light will shine and glorify our Father in heaven.
Shine in our lives Lord “so that we can see that to follow You is less about avoiding sin and more about courageously and actively doing God’s will” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer). For it is through Christ, that we can do what the world will not do for us: Love God, love ourselves and love our neighbor.
Almighty God, You spoke everything into motion. Speak to us now and speak us into the motion of Your love. Shield us from the storms and the crashing waves of this life and give us the courage to take a giant leap of faith so that we can hold on to Your word in all that we do.
Remind us that there are no pieces missing from the gospel. There is no exclusion of anyone from the grace and sacrifice that confronts us at the cross. God’s love is for all and even though we run from so many things we cannot escape the truth that we have all been saved and redeemed by the Son of God.
Because of Jesus, our past does not define us. Because of Jesus, we are free to live a life full of love. And when we meet our maker, the only thing that mattered in this life is our relationship with God and with each other.
Almighty Creator, breathe new life onto us. Wash away the ugliness of sin and make a message out of our messes. Let the glory of the Lord walk through us, minister to us and speak to us now by breaking down the walls that cause us to be strangers to each other.
Give us the courage to reach across the room, the street, or whatever stands before us, so that we won’t miss an opportunity to bring people closer to the gospel by letting Your light shine brighter than anything else in our life. Let people see You in us.
Prepare us for the mountains and valleys. Nurture us as we grow in faith. And remind us that no matter where we go that God goes with us always.
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