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

You are eternal. You are holy. You are righteous, good, long-suffering, merciful, and loving. There is no god like you, no other god who provides for his people like you, no other god who has made himself known so clearly and intimately like you, no other god who saves his people from their sins like you. 

Each of us is born in sin, born as your enemies. Your law makes clear to us that none of us is without sin, none of us able to keep your commands, none of us able to obey in every way, none of us righteous in our own character, in our own strength or abilities.  

Each one of us desperate, hopeless, far from you, slaves to our own sin, destined for hell and eternal judgment for our sin against you.  

But you still love us and have told us of your love. In your love, you provide for everything that we need.  

You provide knowledge of our sin, so that we can understand that we are in need of salvation. 

You provide a man to save us from our sins, Jesus Christ, who lives the perfect life we cannot live, who keeps all of your commands perfectly, who achieves the righteousness that we cannot achieve.  

And this man dies in our place, shedding his blood for us, completely satisfying your wrath against our sin, a once-and-for-all sufficient sacrifice for our sin. 

So help us to hold on to what we know about you and your love. 

We know that we have traded our sin for Christ’s righteousness. Your mercy has cleansed us completely from the stain of our sin and has declared us righteous in Christ. 

We know that you have adopted us as your own children, no longer enemies, no longer slaves to our sin, but now slaves to righteousness, no longer far away from you. 

And we know that you will hold onto us. 

It is you who provided salvation. It is your love that is greater than our sin. It is you alone who has the power to save, and that nothing can take us out of your hands.  

When we suffer, you sustain us. When we sin, it is you who forgives. When we are tempted to stray, you hold onto us and help us endure.  

Glory belongs to you alone, to our loving, reigning, conquering God.  

Amen.