Great and Wondrous God, through the abundance of your steadfast love, we enter your house, we bow down toward your holy temple in awe of you. Let all who take refuge in you rejoice, let us ever sing for joy because you are our rock and our redeemer.
You shower us with grace upon grace, Father. Through your limitless love and the blood of the Lamb, our sins are forgiven, our souls are cleansed, and we are made whole.
We can never repay you for your great gifts, your great love, and you do not command repayment. What you do command us is to respond, to follow the words of Jesus: that we love one another like he has loved us and that we take up our crosses and follow him. You call on us to commit our lives to you, not a portion, but our entire lives so that all we think, all we say, and all we do serve to glorify you and your kingdom.
Free us, Lord. Free us to follow you. When we worry about our lives, turn our eyes toward you. When we fear evil, give us the strength to cast the devil away. When we focus on our pleasures instead of your will, call on our Christian brothers and sisters to set us straight. When our earthly plans get in the way of serving your kingdom, remind us of the empty cross.
Free us from our earthly clutter, Father. Teach us, gird us, focus us, strengthen us…to take on the full armor of God and serve you like our lives depended on it.
Forgive us when we fail you. Help us not lose heart, but redouble our efforts to please you. Bless us as we work through the process of commitment and recommitment to you.
We ask your blessings, Lord, on those who are sick or in need, whatever the need may be.
In the silence, hear us as we share our joys and our sorrows, our pain and our thanksgiving.
Bless our enemies, Father. Have mercy on them as you do on us.
We ask special prayers today, gracious Lord, for Dennis and Fabienne Freeland and their family as they serve with other missionaries in Cameroon to spread your word in their part of the world. Bless them and keep them, especially Dennis and the other pilots, as they support operations in western Africa.
And now we pray together as Jesus, our rock and our redeemer, taught us to pray:
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