Our Resurrection Weekend services begin with our Good Friday Evening Gathering, March 29 at 7:00 pm, and conclude with our regular Sunday activities on Resurrection Sunday Morning, March 31!

Elder's Prayer

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

My prayer today is based on Psalm 51. A Psalm of David after he had sinned with Bathsheba. Let’s pray.

Father, each of us need to plead with you to forgive us of our sin, just as we see David call upon you for forgiveness. He said “Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin.”

Father, remind us that your forgiveness is based on your nature, based on who you are, your lovingkindness, your great compassion that we in no way deserve. We have no standing to make this appeal for grace. We sin against you. We intentionally rebel and ignore your commands. We disobey. We go astray. We miss the mark of your holy standards and we do so willingly. Our greatest problem is our sin. Our greatest need is for you God and your mercy. Almighty God, we need your grace, love and compassion. We need you.

David continues his plea “3 For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. 4 Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities.”

God you are a just and you are a righteous God. We sin because we are sinners by nature. None of us are blameless. Help us to see our sin clearly. Help us to be aware of our sin and be quick to seek your forgiveness. Help us not to compound our sin or sear our hearts by rationalizing our sin or covering up our sin. May we be like David and lay out our sin bare, making ourselves utterly dependent on your mercy dispelling any notion of self-reliance. We need your mercy as we have sinned against you, our Holy God. Help us to feel the enormous weight of sinning against you. Help us to rightly hate our sin. Only a merciful God can blot out our sins.

David continues “10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.”

Father we first beg for your forgiveness and then we ask you to change our hearts and revive our hearts and minds so that we won’t sin against you again. Help us to seek wise counsel and put in safeguards and to avail ourselves to instruction so we might not repeat our sin. Don’t let us be like the hypocrites who seek forgiveness, only to go right back to the same sin. I pray God you make us ready to obey, that you restore our integrity and renew our joy in your kind salvation.

David continues “13 [Then] I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You. 14 Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; [Then] my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Your praise. 16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”

Father as we seek restoration, may we also anticipate how you might use us as redeemed tools for your glory. My human mind often struggles with seeing how sin can be used for good. Yet we know that is true because your word says it is so. Help us not wallow in self-pity but restore us to obedience and gratitude that will fuel our heralding of God’s grace that we have experienced personally. May our lips joyfully worship and praise you with great fervency as we declare your greatness. May our humble hearts reflect a rejection of our self-willed arrogance that leads us into sin. May our contrite hearts be evidence of our dependence on your ultimate provision for our sin and the atoning work of Christ.

As we recognize our sin and seek your forgiveness, I pray we rise from our repentant knees and stand as those assured that you Lord will put away our sin as far as the east is from the west. What a gracious God you are. What a merciful God you are. Overwhelm us with gratitude for the cross. May these truths fuel both our repentance and our worship.