Faith's First Time at Church

Some have called me the "Father of Faith"...other's have called me a man of "little Faith". Whatever I am, I am proud to show off pics of my baby girl (and her beautiful mother) on her first Sunday at church.

Also, I wanted to share with you a prayer by one of our shepherds (Dan P.) last Sunday morning. (Faith's first corporate prayer...) He lead us to the throne with this prayer, which was interspersed with periods of silence...it was an awesome moment before God. I hope it's an encouragement to you...

“Lord, God, Father, Your very name is to be revered. We your people come to seek the fullness of your supreme magnificence, and to give you the praise you so richly deserve. Please help us now to cast away thoughts of this world and focus our thoughts purely upon you…

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, who is, and who is to come. The whole earth resounds with the brilliance of your glory, Lord. From the rising of the sun, to where it sets, everywhere…your name O Lord, is to be praised. Your glory fills our thoughts, our hearts, our very souls...

O God, have mercy on us, for in your presence we realize how embarrassingly short of your glory we have fallen. According to your renowned steadfast love and your great compassion, have mercy on us. Things we know we ought to do, we’ve left undone. Things we know that are clearly opposed to your will for us, we’ve done without hesitation. Over and over, we have failed to rely on your strength in overcoming temptation and avoiding sin. We have pushed you out, pushed you away in our stubborn willfulness. Please let us know your forgiveness. We humble ourselves before you in a time of silence, while we recall our failings and acknowledge them in your holy presence…

According to your promise, as far as the east is from the west, so far have you removed our transgressions from us. Though our sins are stained bright red as scarlet, you have made us clean - white as snow. For your flood of mercies, and sacrificing your only Son for the sake of our grievous sins, we are overwhelmed with gratefulness.

O God in this new year we realize now more than ever, how much we need you. There are so many paths to take and we see so dimly on our own. We need your guiding hand to show us the right way to go. There is so much to do and we are so weak and limited without you. We need your continued provision as we work for the growth of your unbounded Kingdom while in our limited flesh. Lord, we are so full of naive notions about ourselves, please shine the light of your face upon us, so we can see ourselves as you see us.

As we seek to show Jesus in all we do, we need you to open the eyes of each of us to see how we can imitate Him more fully. Please wake us up to see those in our midst who need encouragement and exhortation. Please open our hearts to your wisdom and insight about how we can raise up our children in the way that is right for them to go. And please show us who in our community is ready to respond to the good news about your Son.

May we live bold lives of prayer and worshipful sacrifice through the power of Jesus, our Lord, and your beloved Son….