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

Father God, your word, reveals to us who you are.  You are the eternal God.  You are the one who made the universe and everything that it contains.  Your word tells us that through your son Christ, all things are held together and you sovereignly ordain all that has and will transpire.  We often struggle to understand the work of your hand, but we still know your character.  You are the God who is more holy, more glorious, more powerful than our feeble minds can comprehend.  You are the God, according to your great mercy, who chose to adopt us as your children, as your heirs.  While we were yet still sinners.  Humans in active and antagonistic rebellion against you, our sovereign King.  Your word describes us as being your enemies, as being spiritually dead, as being haters of God and even children of wrath.   

Yet you loved us first and you continue to love us.  You care for us.  You desire communion with us.  If we repent and place our trust in you, we are spiritually connected to you God.  Not based on our performance, our efforts, or our obedience but based on the perfect righteousness of Christ.  We don’t earn your gift of grace, nor can we change our status before you after receiving that gift of grace.  Nothing can separate a believer from God’s love in Christ.  Father help us be convinced like Paul was convinced in Romans 8:38-39 “…..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.”  Father help us to walk in this truth.  Father help us to obey in this truth, and Father help us to worship you in this truth. 

Your word describes what our relationship with you should look like.  We are your friends who obey your word as we seek to know your ways.  We are in fellowship with the Father, with the Son, and with the Holy Spirit.  We are adopted as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ Himself, according to the kind intention of your will to the praise of your great name.  We are connected to you as part of your body and even called your bride. 

We know you God as exceedingly powerful and perfectly holy.  We know you as a consuming fire and a glorious King.  Your might and your perfection might intimidate us.  We can fear you in a worldly sense where we are afraid of you instead of being in awe of you as we should.  We can be mindful of our sins and failures that cause us to be too terrified to seek the communion you desire and that we so desperately need.  I pray that you will forgive us for this wrong thinking.  Instead, I pray that as we draw close to you, remind us that we will not find your anger at our failures but instead, we will find sympathy, mercy, and grace to help us in our times of need.  You will not reject us because of our weaknesses and failures but you will bear those burdens with us.  We have a great High Priest in Christ who sympathizes and identifies with our sufferings and endured temptations without sin.  Father, I pray we have the confidence to draw near to your throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our times of need which in return brings you much glory.