Scripture: I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. (JOHN 17:15-18) And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (MATTHEW 28:18-20) Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (JOHN 20:21) *******At this time, I’ll invite Pastor Chester forward for the time of commissioning and prayer.
0 Comments
Scripture: You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. (JOHN 15:16) Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. (1 PETER 5:2-3) Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. (ACTS 20:28) Prayer (written by Pastor Chester): Heavenly Father, we pray together for Your son and servant Will Zhao. He did not choose You, but You chose him and appointed him that he should go and bear much good fruit. We ask You, O Father, in Your name, that you prepare Will for the ordination retreat intensive next week at the ECO headquarters in Irving. Let it be a time You validate Your choice and calling upon Will, how You took a hold of his heart from those days he came as an exchange student in Engineering, to give up that successful career path to follow You into seminary and deep study in the Old Testament. Thank You for calling Will to shepherd Your flock, to exercise godly oversight willingly – not for shameful gain or domineering over those you will entrust to him, but as a gentle and true example of Christ, his chief shepherd, to the flock under his care at Highland Park Chinese Church and Solid Rock Fellowship. We pray for Will’s parents, brother, sister-in-law, and niece in China to come to faith in Christ Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Even now, bring circumstances, people, situations where they will think about You, Your Word, and about the Christ who indwells their son, brother, and uncle Will. We wait in eager expectation for all the glory You will receive through Will’s pastoral calling. Let him pay careful attention to himself and to all the flock of Solid Rock Fellowship, in which the holy Spirit has made him an overseer, to care for Your Church, which You obtained with Your own Son’s blood, through Jesus Christ’s resurrected Name we pray, amen & amen.
Scripture: Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore. (PSALM 133:1-3) Let brotherly love continue. (HEBREWS 13:1) Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart… Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. (1 PETER 1:22; 1 PETER 3:8) Prayer (written by Pastor Chester): Heavenly Father, how good and pleasant it is when brothers in Your eternal Son Christ Jesus dwell in unity! Just as unity flowed from You, through Aaron the priest, down to Your people like precious oil from the head down to the collar of his robes, may unity flow throughout all the Hosanna brotherhood – from You, O LORD, first to the brothers who are elders and deacons and matured disciples down to those younger in the faith – may the oil of true worship fill the prayers and voices and conversations of our brothers, maturing into mighty men and warriors for Christ. Let brotherly love continue to flow, like the oil that flows down and the dew that comes down. May Your every blessing in Christ continue to flow down as our brothers earnestly obey the truth and love each other from a pure heart, with unity of mind and tender-hearted humility in mind. And send us more brothers, O God! Entrust to us more brothers, so that more of our sisters will be loved and served and prayed for and protected by them. Through Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior of all the men of God’s Word at Hosanna, amen & amen.
Scripture: For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. (PSALM 139:13-16) Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. (ISAIAH 43:7) Prayer (written by Pastor Chester): Heavenly Father, we give you praise with a thankful heart, for You are the author and the finish of life and of faith. You formed our inward parts, knit them together in our mother’s womb. We praise You for the fearful and wonderful work You have done. Our frame was not hidden for You, but You made us in the secret place of Your Kingdom, intricately woven in the depths of Your wisdom. Your eyes saw our unformed substance, and already all our days were formed before us. Father God, thank You for creating and delivering to us our newest and youngest sister this past Friday, Irene Joy Park. We wait in eager anticipating the way Your glory will be manifested through her, and the legacy of Christ she will spread throughout the earth. As Juhae and Hoon already begin to teach her about Your Son, may the seed of passion and love for Jesus grow to bear great and good fruit. Help Juhae and Hoon steward this gift well, foremost as Your daughter, through Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior, amen & amen.
Scripture: For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (HEBREWS 12:11) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7) Prayer (written by Pastor Chester): Heavenly Father, for the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but we trust that later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. May each of us examine ourselves, to keep under Your control, lest after preaching to others we ourselves should be disqualified. Let us not despise Your discipline or be weary of Your reproof, for You reprove only those you love, as a father does to the son in whom he delights. Would Your Kingdom advance through our fellowship of the Fall Picnic next Sunday. Keep us all safe and overflowing with your joy. Grant us good weather so we can enjoy You presence among us. Let us all walk in the light, as You are in the light, and have koinonia fellowship with one another, with the blood of Jesus cleansing us from all sin. Thank You for what You will do through the Congregational Meeting and the Hosanna Fall Picnic. We devote them into Your hands, through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen & amen.
*The Scripture for today is: Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 TIMOTHY 4:13-16, esv) Prayer by Pastor Chester: Our Father in heaven, Thank You for appointing Your choice servants – Deacons and Elders – to lead Your church together. Not that they chose You, but You chose them and appointed them for this time. More than the spiritual gifts they possess or the areas of ministry they serve, may they be known for the character of Christ they uphold to imitate and represent Jesus well. May they devote themselves to the reading of Scripture, to being taught by it and to teach one another, to not neglect the gift they’ve been given, but practice the things they learn with the holy Spirit so that all may see their progress in faith. Raise them to be dignified, not two-faced, not heavy drinkers, not greedy, holding on to the faith that has been revealed with a clear conscience, tested and found without fault, not gossipers, sober-minded, faithful to their spouse and stewardship of their children in their households. Help them persist in Your godliness so that by being examples to the flock, salvation might come upon their household and all those who hear about them. Thank you for these approved candidates who will take Hosanna into a new year of Your harvest, through their Chief Shepherd, risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, amen & amen.
*The Scripture for today is: In the same way, servants in the church should be dignified, not two-faced, heavy drinkers, or greedy for money. They should hold on to the faith that has been revealed with a clear conscience. They should also be tested and then serve if they are without fault. In the same way, women who are servants in the church should be dignified and not gossip. They should be sober and faithful in everything they do. Servants must be faithful to their spouse and manage their children and their own households well. Those who have served well gain a good standing and considerable confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 3:8-13, CEB – Common English Bible translation) Prayer by Pastor Chester: Our Father in heaven, We bring before You Your servants, Your candidates for ordained office in Your church. More than the spiritual gifts they possess or the areas of ministry they serve, let our congregational election today uphold the character they seek to imitate – the character of their Lord Jesus – dignified, not two-faced, not heavy drinkers, not greedy, holding on to the faith that has been revealed with a clear conscience, tested and found without fault, not gossipers, sober-minded, faithful to their spouse and stewardship of their children in their households. Lord, we cast our vote today, but affirm You are the one that makes every decision. May Your will be done instead of ours! Appoint Your candidates through our sacred election. We give thanks for all that You will do ahead of us through Your candidates, in the chief servant our risen Lord Jesus Christ we pray, amen & amen.
*The Scripture for today is: And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. (ACTS 6:2-6)
Revival and rapid church growth have characterized China’s churches since the 1990s. About 130 million Chinese are Christians, most of whom worship within the house church movement. Millions of others worship with the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), which, as the only legal church, is controlled by the Communist government. Despite continuous pressure and oppression from the Communist government, house church leaders refuse to compromise the gospel by joining government-controlled churches. Because of decades of government oppression, many Chinese Christians do not have their own Bible or access to discipleship literature. Those living in rural areas have little access to Bibles and usually cannot afford them even when they are available. Bibles can be purchased at some bookstores operated by the TSPM, but rarely in significant numbers. Influenced by their atheistic government, many Chinese are nonreligious. About 20 percent are Buddhists and another 20 percent practice Chinese folk religion. 9 percent are Christians. In the early 2000s, many unregistered churches enjoyed some freedom from government intrusion and harassment despite their illegal status. However, in recent years restrictive religious regulations and persecution have increased significantly. Hundreds of churches have been forced to close, pastors and church members have been arrested or detained and the online sale of Bibles has been prohibited. The government has installed hundreds of millions of facial recognition cameras, many in or near churches, to identify those who attend worship services. Church leaders are under intense pressure to join the government-controlled TSPM. It is illegal to disciple anyone younger than 18. Christians are often charged with participating in cults or with other spurious accusations, such as “bad business practices” or “intent to undermine the state.” *The Scripture for today is: And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (ACTS 2:46-47) Prayer by Pastor Chester: Our Father in heaven, we bring before You our brothers and sisters in China, east Asia. Day by day, as they gather in their homes, worshipping You and sharing their bread together, would You add to their number those who are being saved? No matter how fierce the government tries to bring control, may Your untamable and uncontrollable Spirit go forth to reach the nation of China, to the farthest rural corners to the biggest city centers, with the gospel of Your only eternal Son, our Lord Jesus Christ! In the powerful name of Jesus, we speak against all idolatry, all folk religion, every atheistic spirit in this land.! Open up new churches despite the forceful closure of some. Open up the prison doors to free Your detained servants. Make way for more Bibles to get into the hands of our Chinese brothers and sisters, especially the children. Raise up a new generation of godly Chinese youth who will change the country for Your glory. Continue to make us Your house of prayer for east Asia and for all nations. Thank You for the grace to gather in freedom and to pray for China. In the risen Savior of the people of China, Jesus Christ we pray, Amen & amen. |
Sunday AnnouncementsThis is a secure unlisted private webpage.
November 2024
|
Copyright © Hosanna Presbyterian Church of North Dallas. All rights reserved.
4020 Marchant Blvd Carrollton, TX 75010 ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians. |