Prayer & Praise: 03/27/2022
COLLECT
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
JOSHUA 5:1, 9-12
As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel.
And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.
While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
PSALM 34:1-8
I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!
I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
2 CORINTHIANS 5:17-21
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
LUKE 15:11-32
And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”
Prayer request.
I am being pressured into going to a relative’s church by another relative, a church that is charismatic, conservative, expecting the Rapture to happen any day now and, yes, full of Trump supporters.
I believe in the gifts of the spirit, I am centrist, I don’t believe in the Rapture and I will not state my political views here because I don’t believe in feeding the demon that is driving people apart over b.s. like who you voted for/voted against.
I have been attending an online church, a progressive church based out of Nashville that is further to the left poltiically than I would like…but the likes of LifeChurch simply isn’t an option for me anymore. This church is like every other church I’ve been to online and offline: the more outgoing people get attention while the shy people like me don’t, and there’s a clique and I’m not in it.
I have a close relative who has told others (without my consent) that I don’t go to church because I have my eyes on people. Well, the church is full of people, and looking back I see plenty of times when I didn’t feel like a part of anything, but totally apart from the crowd, and it even led me to, for a time, reject God.
There it is. First time I said it here.
I later came back to God, but coming back to His church is another thing. I’m close to giving up on the NashVegas online experience and I don’t know what to do .
BrianD,
You don’t have to do anything.
We’re at a sad juncture where unless I know the pastor I don’t advise anyone going to an evangelical church.
I do recommend liturgical churches where you are a participant in the prayers and worship of the church.
A small Anglican Church may be worth investigating just for the sake of the liturgy.
The nonsense about keeping your eyes on people?
You can keep your eyes on Jesus far more easily in other settings where you don’t have to deal with people…
If there’s a liturgical church around here that is open to someone like me, I’ll consider it.
I do like the online option though. You don’t have to dress up and you don’t have to worry about finding a parking space.
Come to think of it, this blog even at its lowest point is the only place so far that felt like church to me and you are the one man who has actually been a pastor to me and didn’t stop when I walked away or acted like an ass.
BrianD,
I would imagine that any real church would be open to you…the performance venues aren’t real churches.
I was just returning the favor…you’ve stuck with me when I struggled and acting like an ass seems to be something I’m known for…
Depends.
The one church that I know is open to me is not one I would ever choose on my own. The only reason I would give it consideration is family. What keeps me away is…let’s just say Andrew Wommack is one of their influences…and their theological experts are found on Daystar, TBN and wherever you find Jesse Duplantis and Kenneth Copeland nowadays. They’re definitely not progressive and I doubt any of them have even heard of someone like Eugene Peterson or J.I. Packer…I’m not sure they’ve even heard of Martin Luther.
The other churches? Dress up, look like you’re presentable, and be active and give give give. And, put yourself out there and meet people. That was the formula for success in evangelicalism when I was in it and I’m sure it hasn’t changed a bit.