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

Lord God Almighty,

Hallowed be your name. We thank you for graciously drawing us to our Lord Jesus Christ. (John 6:44)

The bright and mornings Star (Rev 22:13) – the beginning and the end (Rev 22:16), along with the multitude of heavenly hosts, we praise you. Be glorified in the highest. As your people, we recognize that you are our glory. We praise you for that, Lord of Lords and King of Kings (Rev 17:14)

Father, our hearts are swelling with gratitude that you allowed us to meet together all of this year. Please grant us that we would be able to do so till the end of our days and even after us, may the body of Christ in every generation be able to gather and worship until Christ returns in every part of the world.

Thank you for the many life events that occurred in the lives of the members of our body, this year. In each of those events, we got to experience your goodness, comfort, peace and grace. We thank you for your faithfulness through it all.

Father, we remember those in our body who have been battling various illnesses, temporal and chronic. Please have mercy upon each one of them and heal them in accordance with your sovereign will.

Gracious Lord, we remember those who have been home bound due to chronic conditions or age. Please encourage their hearts in you. May your living word abide in them and transform them.

I pray for those who couldn’t be with us in person for various other temporal reasons. Thank you for the technology that allows them to follow along our worship services remotely. And if and whenever they could, please help them to be part of us in person that we might worship and grow together. Thank you, Lord, for teaching us last Sunday on how exactly Jesus is the reason for this season. We praise you that this reason incorporates all that the incarnation of Jesus entails from Him taking in human flesh to sinless life, His perfect sacrifice and mediatory reconciliation work.

God who searches our minds and hearts (Rev 2:23), may Jesus be the reason for everything we do even outside of the Advent season as individual believers and corporately together as the body of Christ.

Holy God, who has the key of David, who opens that no one will shut, and who shuts that no one can open (Rev 3:7), please help us to persevere till the end by keeping your word, by heeding to the warnings from your word and not denying your name.

Father, our hearts do wander, and we do mindlessly waste our time in worthless pursuits. Please forgive us. Please help us to take advantage of the open door in front of us, and be the flavorful salt, a city on a hill, a light on a lampstand - pointing and leading people unto Christ.

Prince of Peace, just the like the lowly shepherds (Luke 2:8-20) and the wise men (Matthew 2:1-12) were faithful to exactly do as they were instructed at the birth of Jesus Christ, we desire to be faithful and complete in our obedience.

Please may our obedience be backed by the Biblical motives of the heart. Please grant to us boldness to develop relationships and clarity of speech to share the gospel of peace among all men to the ends of the earth. Please help us not to add to the gospel message or subtract from it.

Be glorified in our obedience through the work of Holy Spirit in us. We pray this in the name of the Lion of Judah (Rev 5:5) our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.