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.

Father, your work in salvation is a mystery. Why would a holy, righteous, self-sufficient God save those that reject him? Why would you send your son to take on frail flesh in order to live and die in our place, to redeem us from the penalty of sin and make us your children?

We bring nothing to you.

We are broken – everything in us affected by sin. We are born in sin, full of darkness and unrighteousness and selfishness; trapped in our sin, unable to get out of it, unable to free ourselves from the hold of sin on our minds and our hearts; our thoughts and attitudes corrupt.

We are empty – there is nothing good in us; instead we are full of evil, disobedience, enslaved to our lusts and pleasures, spending our time in malice and envy and hate. Pursuing passing pleasures and vanities, living only for today. Having no affection for you or your son or your word.

We are guilty – each one of us standing condemned before a holy God because of our sin, fully deserving of an eternal punishment for our sin. Each of us bereft of any argument to save us, of any evidence of righteousness, of any thing that we could bring to you and say ‘this is enough to save us.’

Yet you offer salvation to us.

Because of your eternal plan, in all its wisdom, you provide redemption for us, you provide righteousness for us – in Christ. You sent your holy son to take on flesh and live the life that none of us could live, obeying you in every way, never turning against you, always doing what was right in your eyes.

Because you are a gracious god, you pardon our sin by directing your wrath against sin toward your son. And giving us the gift of faith, so that we may believe in Jesus to save us from our sins. And now we are always the recipients of your never-ceasing grace.

Because you loved us, you fill us with your spirit, who unites us with Christ, guaranteeing our salvation forever. And your spirit changes us – our hearts, our attitudes, our affections – are all changed and made new. And your spirit fills us – fills us with your word, your wisdom, and the ability to love you.

You are the holy and righteous God who has brought salvation to his people.

Amen.