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

Father you are the king of all creation, the God who reigns over all things.

You are the God who saves, the God who draws us near, the God who protects and sustains his people.

You are a father full of goodness and mercy and kindness and grace.

As we begin a new year, we are reminded of the past and how you have provided for us. When life was uncertain, you provided stability and security. When life changed for us, you reminded us that you do not change – your authority over all things never ceased, your love for your people always as strong as ever. When we think of the past, help us to remember how you have been good to us in all things.

As we begin a new year, we are also reminded of the present and of how you provide for us daily. Each day we are alive, we are dependent upon you – for breath, for bread, for health, for understanding, for joy. Whatever our current situation in life, we walk through it knowing that you are leading us, that you are sustaining us, and that you have us securely in your hands. Remind us that we live each and every day in dependence upon you and your grace.

As we begin a new year, we are also reminded of the future and of how you will continue to provide for us. We do not know the future, we do not know what challenges or joys the new year will bring. We do know that we are often distracted by challenges and joys to the point that we take our eyes off of Christ and are overwhelmed by the circumstances around us. But we know that whatever the future holds, you will see us through it, you will hold us securely, that you will be in control of whatever happens. Remind us that whatever the future holds, you will not be distracted or surprised by what it brings. You already know what’s coming.

We are reminded of Paul’s words in Romans 8:

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen.