Prayer & Praise
Ā Collect
Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Ā Jeremiah 3:19-4:4
āāI said,
How I would set you among my sons,
and give you a pleasant land,
a heritage most beautiful of all nations.
And I thought you wouldĀ call me, My Father,
and would not turn from following me.
Surely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband,
so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel,
declares theĀ Lord.āā
A voice on theĀ bare heights is heard,
the weeping and pleading of Israel’s sons
because they have perverted their way;
they have forgotten theĀ LordĀ their God.
āReturn, O faithless sons;
I will heal your faithlessness.ā
āBehold, we come to you,
for you are theĀ LordĀ our God.
TrulyĀ the hills are a delusion,
the orgiesĀ on the mountains.
Truly in theĀ LordĀ our God
is the salvation of Israel.
āBut from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.Ā Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. ForĀ we have sinned against theĀ LordĀ our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of theĀ LordĀ our God.ā
āIf you return, O Israel,
declares theĀ Lord,
to me you should return.
If you remove your detestable things from my presence,
and do not waver,
and if you swear, āAs theĀ LordĀ lives,ā
in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,
thenĀ nations shall bless themselves in him,
and in him shall they glory.ā
For thus says theĀ LordĀ to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
āBreak up your fallow ground,
andĀ sow not among thorns.
Circumcise yourselves to theĀ Lord;
remove the foreskin of your hearts,
O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem;
lest my wrath go forth like fire,
and burn with none to quench it,
because of the evil of your deeds.ā
Ā Psalm 130
Out of the deep have I called unto you, O Lord; * Lord, hear my voice.
O let your ears consider well * the voice of my supplications.
If you, Lord, were to mark what is done amiss, * O Lord, who could abide it?
For there is mercy with you; * therefore you shall be feared.
I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for him; * in his word is my trust.
My soul waits for the Lord, * more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.
O Israel, trust in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy, * and with him is plenteous redemption;
And he shall redeem Israel * from all their sins.
Ā 1 Corinthians 7:17-24
Only let each person lead the life[a]Ā that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him.Ā This is my rule inĀ all the churches.Ā Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised?Ā Let him not seek circumcision.Ā For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, butĀ keeping the commandments of God.Ā Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called.Ā Were you a bondservant[b]Ā when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.)Ā For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant isĀ a freedman of the Lord. Ā Likewise he who was free when called isĀ a bondservant of Christ.Ā You were bought with a price;Ā do not become bondservants of men.Ā Ā So, brothers,Ā in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.
Ā
Ā Mark 1:14-20
Now after John was arrested, JesusĀ came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God,Ā Ā and saying,Ā āThe time is fulfilled, andĀ the kingdom of God is at hand;Ā repent and believe in the gospel.ā
Ā Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.Ā And Jesus said to them,Ā āFollow me, and I will make you becomeĀ fishers of men.āĀ And immediately they left their nets and followed him.Ā And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets.Ā And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
I have a telemed appointment this coming Tuesday morning with a gastroenterologist. Was able to get on a sliding scale plan with county hospital. Not cheap, but definitely helpful.
No doubt Iāll need labs and radiology tests, but Iām thanking the Lord for this opportunity and hoping to finally get some answers and treatments for whatever is going on with my digestive system.
CK,
Praying it all goes well…
Thanks so much, Michael!!
please remember in prayer
Captain Kevin -I have a telemed appointment this coming Tuesday morning with a gastroenterologist. Was able to get on a sliding scale plan with county hospital. Not cheap, but definitely helpful.
No doubt Iāll need labs and radiology tests, but Iām thanking the Lord for this opportunity and hoping to finally get some answers and treatments for whatever is going on with my digestive system.
sarahmorgan ā .my Dec surgery was cancelled and rescheduled to January, and now due to continuing covid cases overwhelming the county, the January date has now also been cancelled and I was told it will be several weeks before they can talk about setting a new dateā¦.last fall, when I learned I needed surgery, I asked, āCan this wait until spring?ā and was told that there were too many red flags for possible cancer for that to be a good idea.
Dan from Georgia -My father-in-law passed away earlier this afternoon due to COVID-19. He was 77. Prayers appreciated for wife and I and my sister-in-law and her daughter.
Mike E.-May I ask for prayer for my daughter and her young family? There are four of them. They all have Covid. My grandsons, a13-year-old and a one-year-old have Covid, as do both her mother and father.
Duane Arnold ā my mother is in assisted living.
Martin Lutherās Disciple ā my 96 yr old mother in law is in a similar situation in SoCal.
Jlo ā my niece’s husband Aaron is having a tougher time of it. Has a persistent cough and fever. He has new meds today so hopefully he has a breakthrough.
Michael ā Ray Garza is in the hospital with Covid 19
Michael ā Tom Stipe is in the hospital with kidney failure from sepsis
Captain Kevin ā job related difficulties, housing situation, pain everywhere, depression, Please continue praying for me. My GI issues are getting worse. Not sure if the symptoms are related, but Iām also having low back and pelvic floor pain. Iāve lost 26 lbs in the last 5 months, and not because Iām trying. I had been wanting to lose weight, but not this way. Honestly, Iām afraid.
sarahmorgan ā my surgery is scheduled for mid-December, I wonāt know if I have cancer until after the surgery, and all of the local news says that time will be the height of the pandemic here, so thereās a chance my surgery will be delayedā¦trusting God is very difficult right now, sigh.
Em ā Victoria, homeless with a cat, shelters wonāt allow the cat in and the cat is all she has.
Erunner- Our brother in law who is in his early 50ās has learned that his carotid artery is 70% blocked. It appears he will be undergoing surgery. They have also found an issue with his heart. Heās a believer with a gentle and wise spirit.
Please pray for him, his wife, and their three grown children.
London ā My brother, a healthcare provider, and SIL tested positive for covid
Raina R.-Please pray for my sister-in-law. She has been having horrible headaches and is recovering from surgery
jtk ā I request prayer for our outreach to the university. 25% of those 18-23 have considered suicide in the last 30 days. This is so urgent in my heart and spirit.
Em ā Prayer for my daughter on city council would br appreciated, received 24 plus threatening Emails demanding that they disband their police department
Our Phoenix Preacher family, health, healing, joy, peace
Kelly -I have a real need to continue to see my counselor. In addition to the other reasons I see him for I have been having day long panic attacks, on top of the depression and PTSD-C symptoms.
Alissa-My sweet husband has Autism and was let go from his job yesterday.
Patrik -Pray for me, an ER nurse in Indianapolis.
Dan form Georgia- I work in aviation/transportation. We are getting hit HARD as many of you know. I am not even confident when I go into work everyday that it will be my last day (layoff or termination). Also struggling a lot with anxiety.
Chris -My wife started her second career as a nurse this week on the hospital floor that they treat the Covid patients.
Linneia ā joint and muscle aches
Nancy ā prayer for her discernment of an unexpected opportunity to become a more public advocate for the homeless,
Em ā daughter is healing from fracture spine
Linnea ā Would you pray for Greg? He was treated for an aggressive brain cancer and thought he was clear, but it has roared back. Please pray for healing and that he and his wife come to know the Lord. Thank you!
Paige ā Asking for prayer for a family issue and the silencing of a lying gossip who is spreading slander about me to family members and others. Itās an on going issue that is quite perplexing, and apparently demonic. Twisted, delusional and strange.
cash ā depression , PTSD
David H ā I was diagnosed with Bellās Palsy . Right side of my face is paralyzed. Prednisone and an antiviral.
Michael ā heart aneurysm and a bad valve, bad back and neck issues.
JD ā Marshal whose mother told him that she doesnāt love him
Linnea ā Jon and Sarah. Please pray that they would know Godās love and would follow Him out of horrible lifestyles to freedom.
Michael, Rick, Joel, Dan, capt. Kevin, Owen ā wand to hear from God in their prayer life
JTK- ongoing back issue.
David H ā Aunt Ramona has Adenocarcinoma primary lung cancer.
Victor- chronic back pain
Linnea- sister salvation
Paige- 4 boys to be pleasing to God
Mercy Father, please, have mercy on us. Guide us. Heal us. Protect us. Save us.
mercy mercy mercy
Thank you dear dusty – praying…
Amen to Dustyās prayer. Lord, have mercy on us all.
In prayer all, thank you Dusty. āļøšš»
Need prayer cover up here in the mountains – my daughter (nurse) went out to go to work and noticed what looked like oil on the ground. Someone had drained all the oil out of her car AND her truck She going to work in my car which just had a new engine installed – hoping they didn’t empty it also. We’ve got people moving up here now that aren’t good folk, to put it mildly… and we do need prayer for protection now
Thanks, dusters…
Em,
Praying…time for cameras and a dog…
CK, praying for wisdom and caring from the doc.
Em, praying for protection for your daughter and your family. The first day we put up our cameras, we found the neighbors dog attacking our rooster.
Dusty, joining you in your prayer for all of the family.
Many of you know of the journey that I have been on these past years regarding my returning to pastoral ministry. There has been supporting, as well as opinions of disapproval. I have posted before that my heart’s desire would be to find a small church that wants an older pastor to come and faithfully teach the Word of God and love His people.
While I was hoping that a small church would be in the Pacific Northwest, a church in Iowa has contacted me about a pastoral position. They have watched me teach via a Zoom session where I told them that the basis for me to accept a call to pastor them would not only be based on God’s direction but also the opportunity for my wife and me to meet the people. Their committee met and have unanimously agreed to fly us to Iowa.
If I accept the position, I would be returning to my roots, which is the Friends Church. I spent 30 years of my life pastoring 5 different Friends Churches in 5 different states. I can honestly say, that Iowa was never on my radar! I pastored a church in Kansas back in the 80’s, and it was the finest group of people that I ever had the opportunity to pastor.
This is not a done deal. We would be leaving our family to move 1600 miles away. I am feeling both blessed and scared. I am posting this on PP because many of you have faithfully prayed and encouraged me over the years. Please pray that my passion to serve the Lord in this capacity would not cloud my judgement.
Bob,
Praying God grant you wisdom and favor…
Bob–I’m so happy for you and join with Michael in praying for wisdom and favor.