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

Before the Advent reading, we sang a great song - Come and Stand Amazed.

It’s a song some of you might not find familiar and it’s probably not the song most commonly sung while caroling with friends. Nonetheless, it is a great song filled with rich theological truth. Did you catch it while we were singing? Sometimes I miss the deep truth while I’m caught up in singing myself. There was nothing light or sentimental about that song. The first two verses were an amplification of Phil 2:6-8 as the third verse concludes the song with a prayer. My prayer today is going to rehearse again some of the truths highlighted in this wonderful song.

Before I pray, I’m going to remind us of God’s word from Philippians 2:5–8 that inspires much of this song.

"[5] Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, [6] who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, [7] but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. [8] And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Let’s Pray.

Father God, I pray that we would be a people ready to Come and Stand Amazed. Amazed at your son’s humility. Amazed at your love for us. Amazed at your loving plan to reconcile rebellious sinners like us to you, our holy God. Amazed at the gift of your son, born as a child. A helpless babe. Unrivaled in might, yet Christ came as a newborn child after spending months in his mother’s womb, helpless as all newborns are dependent, weak and tender.

The Word, who was in the beginning with you God and the Word was God. Yet, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He could not speak. He was without splendor. He shed his glory. He emptied himself of all that he deserved to receive your wrath that he in no way earned. This is simply described as amazing grace. Help us stand amazed. Guard our hearts from rounding off this truth or diminishing its grandeur in any way. Forgive us when we replace marveling at truth with a cheap sentimentality of the season.

Help us to be astounded today that this babe wrapped in swaddling clothes remained the Lord of all creation who rules the wind by his commands. He is an all-powerful King, yet came to this world so gently, so unassumingly. This babe is given the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of you, God the Father.

As your son Christ came to us in a perfectly humble manner, humble us O Lord. Conform our wishes and desires to your perfect will. Help us to eagerly submit our lives to King Jesus. May the light of Christ chase away the darkness of our sin and self-centeredness. Let your son’s frailty strengthen us. Let his meekness give us boldness. Let his burden set us free. O Emmanuel, our savior, Let Christ’s death be life for us. It is in his name we pray.