Scripture: He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 PETER 2:24) But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” (ROMANS 10:8-11) For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (ROMANS 5:6-8) Prayer (by Pastor Chester): Heavenly Father, we lift up to You this sacred time of preparation leading up to Easter. With prayer, fasting, and tears, help us reexamine our walk with Your Son, purge us away from a love for the world, and free us from the addictions for things on earth so that we might return to see and embrace Your preeminence, beauty, and pleasure in knowing Christ Jesus as our Savior and Lord again. For He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree of the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds, we have been healed from the power of sin and the pleasures of sin in our flesh. Now the life we live in our bodies, we live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself for us. Holy Spirit, fill and indwell this body, and show us Your nearness, for the word is near to us through Him. It is in our mouth and our heart. Let the confessions flow out of it this Easter with a fresh new faith that Jesus is Lord and that You, Father God, raised Him from the dead. With our hearts we believe and are justified. With our mouth we confess and are saved. Everyone who calls upon Your name and believes will not be put to shame. Father, may the name of Your only Son Jesus Christ be in our hearts and on our lips again without shame, because He came to us while we were still weak. He poured out His life for us while we were still a fallen people turned against Him. Yet You showed us the extent of Your love for us in that while we were still sinners, You sent Christ to die for us. Lord, You did not wait for us to turn to You. You first died and first came to us. Thank You for this grace that first initiated and brought us into Your family. Let us continuously share this grace that first pursued us while still weak, while still sinful, through Christ Jesus who died and rose for the ungodly, amen & amen.
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Scripture: He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” (LUKE 24:6-7) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 PETER 1:3) Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (JOHN 11:25-26) Prayer (by Pastor Chester): Heavenly Father, we lift up to You this sacred time of preparation for forty days leading up to Easter, preparing our hearts to behold the resurrection of Your one and only Son again. With fasting, tears, and reexamining our walk with You, purge us of the love for the world, addictions for things on earth, and polluted hearts full of fallen thoughts, words, and actions. Even now, as Your prophet Joel declared, may we return to You with all our heart to the LORD who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. Realign us to the reason why we live – because You live. Lord Jesus, You are not in the tomb, but have risen. Help us remember what You have told us in Your words – that You must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise. So also, You call us to die to ourselves and to be born again by Your great mercy, into a living hope through the resurrection. You are the resurrection and the life, Lord Jesus. Help us believe and live in You. Although we will pass and fall asleep on this earth, we will never die but always live and be with You. Strengthen our faith! Help our unbelief. When we fall, strengthen us to trust in Your risen life and the power in it to press on in this life, until we meet and see You face to face, through Christ Jesus our resurrection hope, amen & amen.
Scripture: “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (MATTHEW 6:16-18) Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (MATTHEW 4:1-4) “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. (JOEL 2:12-13) Prayer (by Pastor Chester): Heavenly Father, we lift up to You this sacred time of preparation for forty days leading up to Easter, preparing our hearts and live again to behold the resurrection of Your Son. According to Your great mercy, You have caused us to be born again into a living hope through Easter. Refresh us again and again that Jesus has risen and is alive from the dead, so also we too can rise today and will rise at the last day to be with Him. Let us not be gloomy, but refigure our faces through your gift of fasting to hunger for the risen Christ again. Let fasting not be done for the eyes of others, but for You alone in secret. Give us a refresh hunger and thirst to be led by Your Holy Spirit, even into the wilderness. Just as Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights, although His hunger drove Him to His physical limits, He did not turn stones into loaves of bread to obey the Tempter, but to obey Your living word. Let us not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from Your mouth through the Scriptures. Even now, Lord, let us return to You with all our hearts with fasting, with weeping, with mourning. Let us offer our hearts and not our garments. Let us look inside and not just live for the outside. Let us return to You as our God alone, for You are gracious. You are merciful. You are slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Lift us up to Your Son’s resurrected life, through Jesus Christ risen from the dead, our powerful Savior and Lord we pray, amen & amen.
Scripture: And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. (1 THESSALONIANS 5:14) That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. (LUKE 24:13-15) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (COLOSSIANS 3:16) Prayer (by Pastor Chester): Heavenly Father, we lift up to You our breakout discussion group ministry into 2025. Bless this ministry with deep discussions, new friendships, sincere prayers, and flourishing fellowship in Your Son with one another. Challenge us to draw near to new faces, speak boldly Your truth, and be humbled by Your Spirit’s conviction. As we sit around Your communion table, may Your light shine into our darkness through the fellowship of one another. Where two or three are gathered in Your Name, You are there amongst us. Around Your table, may the idle be admonished, the fainthearted encouraged, the weak find help, and your patience and gentleness be known to all. Just as You, Lord Jesus, drew near to the Emmaus road disciples while they were talking and discussing, draw near to these groups as we breakup common groups, breakout into smaller groups, and break-forth into godly unity around Your Word. Let Your word dwell richly amongst our tongues, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in our hearts to You. Help us be Your body. Christ Jesus, make us Your beautiful multifaceted body interacting with one another and giving Your life to each other. Thank you for calling us together to open our mouths and hearts to be a fountain for Your life-giving Spirit to go forth, through Jesus Christ our risen Lord and Savior, amen & amen. |
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