Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday.

Today marks Palm Sunday. The day Christ made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem before his arrest, crucifixion and resurrection. His arrival was marked by shouts of Hosanna and praises to God for the mighty works people had witnessed Jesus do. His entry was a fulfillment of OT prophecy and according to John, his disciples were shouting “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

As believers, our hearts and lips should be shouting similar praises for the deeds that Christ our King has accomplished on our behalf. Those deeds are the foundation of our faith today and our hope for the future.

I’m going to share a slightly modified prayer from the Valley of Vision prayer book this morning.

It speaks the truth about what we should be preaching to ourselves as we prepare to celebrate Christ’s atonement and resurrection this upcoming week as we consider Christ’s death, burial and resurrection.

Let’s pray…

Oh LORD,

We marvel that You would become incarnate, be crucified, dead and buried.

The tomb calls forth our adoring wonder, for it is empty and You are risen; the Gospel attests to it, the living witnesses prove it, and our hearts’ experience knows it.

Give us the grace to die with You that we may rise to new life, for we wish to be as dead and buried to sin, to selfishness, to the world; that we might not hear the voice of the deceiver and might be delivered from his lusts and his deceit.

O LORD, there is much sin about us – crucify it, much flesh within us – mortify it.

Purge us from selfishness, the fear of man, the love of man’s approval, the shame of being thought old-fashioned, the desire to be cultured or modern.

Let us recognize our old life dead because of crucifixion, and never feed it as a living thing.

Grant us to stand with our dying Savior, to be content to be rejected, to be willing to take up unpopular truths, and to hold fast despised teachings until death.

Help us to be resolute and Christ-contained. Never let us wander from the path of obedience to Your will. Strengthen us for the battles ahead. Give us courage for all the trials, and grace for all the joys.

Help us to be a holy, satisfied people, free from every wrong desire, from everything contrary to Your mind.

Grant us more and more of the resurrection life: may it rule us, may we walk in its power, and be strengthened through its influence.