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

This morning we celebrate and we sing of God’s greatness.  He is greater than we can imagine!  He is great and greatly to be praised!

And we celebrate His history.  He was and He is, the only awesome God.  All the world rejoice your Creator reigns.  He rules with grace, rejoice all the world rejoice!  

And because of the history, He writes in His living, life-changing Word, we have evidence of His faithfulness.  He preserves His people for His own glory.  That is one of the main purposes of the writing of Scripture - that God might display Himself Sovereign and Faithful.  He sovereignly preserves His chosen people, we who are called according to His purpose.  Oh, there will be suffering, yes.  There will be times of joy and times of crying.  There will faithless failure on our part.  But God will remain faithful!  There will be death, there may even be martyrdom…. But God remains faithful!  We know that He will be faithful because we read of His faithfulness in history.

We know He will remain faithful because He has also evidenced His faithfulness through His incarnation.  God shows His faithfulness to us by becoming one of us.  By walking in our steps with us.  By experiencing our joy with us.  By suffering daily human trials with us.  By eating our food.  By walking in our dirt.  By being loved and by giving His love.  By giving His life for us.

He proves He is faithful not just because He came for us.  He proves He is faithful because He became one of us.

The Word made flesh, Emmanuel!  The Everlasting Light will return!  And because He lives we can joyfully and confidently sing of the return of the King descending from the clouds to finally redeem us, restore us to His glory, and reunite Himself to us.  All His people will ascend, and we will reign with Him for eternity.  Rejoice, all the church, rejoice!

We can sing of His faithfulness in deep trials and pain.  And we can claim the love of our Redeemer because God became flesh and dwelt among us.  He took upon Himself the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of humble man.  

We can sing of His faithfulness because He promised to remain faithful.  By the blood of Jesus, we have hope.  (Hebrews 10:23,25)  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful!  Encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

From Psalm 37:

Lord, let us not fret ourselves because of the evil around us.  They will soon fade but you will preserve your own.

Help us to trust in the Lord.  Help us to do good.  Help us to dwell in peace and to rely upon your faithfulness.

Give us a confident delight in yourself, our Lord.  And give us desires for holiness, and conformity to your will.

We commit our way to you.  We trust in you to act on our behalf.  Faithfully go before our way and make our actions your own.

Let your righteousness be seen in us.

Calm the noise and fear that might tempt us to faithlessness.  Give us patience, stillness, to wait upon you.

You know the days of the blameless.  

Our steps are established by you when we delight in your way.  Though we fall, we will not be utterly cast down, for you uphold us with your very hand.

Help us to turn from evil and to do good.  Give us the gifts of quick, genuine, humble repentance, and faith unto lives of obedience and eternal life.

39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him