A Memorial Day Prayer
A Memorial Day prayer
(Adapted from a prayer posted: https://baptistmessage.com/a-memorial-day-prayer/)
Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be Thy Name.
We, your children, come with very grateful hearts for all You have done for us as individuals and as citizens of this great nation. We recognize it is because of Your Grace and the sacrifice of so many that we can call ourselves Americans and can be a part of the most blessed nation in the world.
On this Memorial Day enable us to remember.
To remember those who have given their all for the values we hold as Americans. To remember those who have returned with wounds so physically and emotionally deep, that they may never be the same as before.
May we sympathize with those who will never see the birth of their child, their child’s graduation, see their daughter as the beautiful bride, or stand with their handsome son as the groom. May we also sympathize with the many who will never hold a grandchild, cruise the oceans, or live to see old age.
Your Word says, “No greater sacrifice can be given than to give one’s life for his friends.”
That is what so many have done. They have given their lives for their country, for the freedom and values we hold so dear.
Father, as we remember on this memorial day, help us join with the grief stricken families that live every day with the sorrow their loss has brought. May we who live in freedom bow our heads and grieve for the many that have died in war and out of our grief we urgently pray for peace and the end of war.
Heavenly Father, Creator of this world, as we remember this day, let us also be thankful for the men and women who are willing to lay it all on the line and die so their families and friends can live in freedom.
Help us to remember with sincere gratitude those who’s final resting place may be in one of our beautiful national cemeteries or in a small family plot as well as those whose remains rest abroad or whose resting place has yet to be found.
God Bless those who have given their lives; God bless their families who grieve, and God bless America with a continued freedom to live and share our faith in you. May we hold close and dear the values for which our men and women died.
Lead all who serve in our armed forces to find their hope, peace, and eternal comfort in the life, death and resurrection, so that should their life be giving in sacrifice of our country, their soul might live with you forever.
On this Memorial Day we pray for peace in America, and around the world. We pray for the protection of our soldiers today who are in harm’s way. We pray the world will know You are the True and Living God, the Father who created each of us, the Son who gave his life for all of us, and the Spirit who brings life to our hearts to trust you.
In the Name of our Triune God. AMEN
Church Launch: The Basics…People Changed by the Gospel
Devotions this week based on the Message: “The Spirit of God Launches His Church!”
We like to see results.
In fact, we like to see lots of them really fast.
But sometimes we don’t control the results, just the activity that has potential to lead to results.
Gardening…we think we can control the results…but not really, we just plant, water, and fertilize the seeds.
Sometimes in the church we take responsibility for the results. We find success if many people come to church or engage online or whatever the measurable is. We find failure if people don’t attend or don’t engage online.
But God reminds us, the results are his doing not ours. Our role is to be the ones who share the Gospel with those who need the Gospel. Our role is to give the Holy Spirit as many opportunities with the power of the Gospel to change hearts. Changing hearts is the Spirit’s job, not ours.
Pentecost the Spirit changed the hearts of 3000 individuals to trust Jesus was the Messiah and Savior.
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (Acts 2:37-41)
At the end of the Pentecost day we see the convergence of the basic elements of the Church as God Launched it.
The Gospel message based on the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus was prominent and proclaimed to the crowd in the language of their heart. The Spirit communicated clearly the Gospel message.
The Spirit gave confidence to those he set apart to share the message of the Gospel. He gave them confidence to confront the skeptics, boldness to confront sin, and joy to point people to Jesus.
Finally, the Spirit of God convicted hearts with the law of God and healed them with the promise of forgiveness found in baptism and a new orientation of their heart to the Lord Jesus who was their Savior who lived, died and rose again for them.
It is just that simple. The Gospel…people who need the Gospel…and people to share the Gospel.
This is the Church the Spirit launched…this is the Church the Spirit has made you part of.
Apply: Ask the Lord to give you confidence to proclaim Jesus to people…then wait for the Spirit to change hearts. He will do it in his time and his way. Don’t give up!
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for the Gospel, people who need it, and people to share it. Lead us back to the heart of your Church to take your gospel and share it with people who need it…including ourselves. AMEN.
Church Launch: The Basics…Bold Sharers of the Gospel
Devotions this week based on the Message: “The Spirit of God Launches His Church!”
The difference 50 days make.
It wasn’t a “Grow your Boldness in 40 days” book. It wasn’t a “How to Be Your Best after You’ve Been at your worst” podcast. It wasn’t a 40 day mentoring program by the best public speaker of the first century. It was a gift of God.
Boldness from the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:1-4 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Jesus had left 10 days earlier and told his followers to stay in Jerusalem and wait for this promise: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
Boldness turned into courage. Cowardice turned into conviction.
Peter who denied Jesus three times just 50 days earlier when the pressure was on by the opposition to Jesus boldly confessed he was a follower of Christ. The group that deserted Jesus in the Garden stood confidently in front of people from all over the Mediterranean world proclaiming the wonders of God. Those that yelled “Crucify him” Peter confronted with clarity with their sin of rejecting Jesus as the Messiah.
The Spirit turned the focus from fear of what is going to happen to me to a conviction of knowing that without faith in Jesus what was going to happen to them was eternal destruction.
This power of the Spirit did not end on Pentecost, but is still active and working in and among us today. The purpose of the power of the Spirit is to do what the Church was designed to do: Preach the Gospel and Make Disciples.
Will we have skeptics and opposition? Yep. It’s Ok – carry a concern for their soul to and speak the truth in love.
Will we have to confront sin? Absolutely, but we don’t do it with a judgmental “I’m better than you” spirit, but rather with a compassionate, “I’m concerned for you” and let the Spirit go to work with a conviction of sin.
But then we get the fun of sharing Jesus as Savior. This is the goal of the Gospel – that all would see the solution for sin is in the very one they sinned against.
Peter said it this way: “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).
Are you timid? Cowardly at times to engage in a spiritual conversation? I am too. But we are not alone in this work. The Spirit of God loves to give power to the weak and courage to the cowards.
Apply: Simply pray for the Holy Spirit to give boldness to your witness. Don’t be surprised when he gives you an opportunity to be bold!
Prayer: Spirit of God give boldness to the cowards, give confidence to the timid. As you came to the disciples with power, come on all who pray this with that same power to be your Church…proclaiming the Gospel and making disciples. AMEN.
Church Launch: The Basics…The Gospel Part 2
Devotions this week based on the Message: “The Spirit of God Launches His Church!”
If you are reading this, there is a Bible you can read.
For nearly 500 years, if you are an English speaking person you have been able to have a Bible in your heart language, your native tongue. William Tyndale is credited with completing an English translation of the New Testament in 1526 with a full version of the entire Bible completed by Mile Coverdale and published in 1535. Up until this era, the printed word of God was in Greek, Hebrew or Latin.
We take an English Bible for granted. We open our Bible app or pick up a printed version and think nothing of reading about the wonders of God in our own language.
At our May 2021 Pastors’ Study Club I gained a whole new appreciation for one of the miracles of Pentecost and the heart of God to make sure people hear the “wonders of God in our own language.” Dr. Chris Pluger and his wife Janine spoke of their work with Lutheran Bible Translators. This group of individuals has as a mission to bring the written word of God into the hands of 180 million people who do not have a Bible in their heart language.
He spoke of the 3.5 year project he completed in 2016 of bringing the New Testament to the Nsenga speaking people of Zambia, Africa. This group of 2 million people until 4 years ago did not have a Bible in their native language. Now they do. This video link is to the celebration they had when they received the New Testament in the Nsenga language for the first time.
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1CmFNogDAE
Translation of the song:
We are happy, we have joy
We are very happy, we Nsenga people
Because you have given the Nsenga Bible
We are very happy, we Nsenga people
(NOTE: Dr. Chris and his wife are headed to Ethiopia in August of 2021 to oversee work on 20 more translations of the Bible. To receive his newsletter or support his work financially, go to www.lbt.org/pluger.)
The Spirit of God is intent on bringing the message of the Gospel clearly to the ears of people. It is true that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, but as the Apostle Paul said,
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
… 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:14-17)
At Pentecost, the Spirit of God ensured that those that were there “heard the wonders of God in their own language” (Acts 2:11) A project that humanly speaking would have taken at least 3.5 years for each language represented at Pentecost was done in 3.5 seconds with the gift of the Holy Spirit.
God has gifted us the message of the Gospel in our hearts. He has gifted us a printed copy of the Bible in our language. The Church, which includes each of us, was established by the Spirit of God to be the instrument to take the Gospel message and communicate it clearly in the language of those that need to hear. So receive the gift …and then let’s share it confidently (more tomorrow!).
Apply: What is your first memory of hearing the Word of God…or reading the Word of God? Perhaps you don’t have one. Take time this week to read your favorite chapter of the Bible and then thank God’s Spirit for giving you the Bible in your heart language.
Prayer: Spirit of God, thank you for giving to me the Words of God in the language I understand. Forgive me for taking it for granted. Inspire me to bring the word of God to others that they may hear, believe and be saved. AMEN.
Church Launch: The Basics…The Gospel
Devotions this week based on the Message: “The Spirit of God Launches His Church!”
So what are the basics of the Church? What are the essential components?
A professor of evangelism put it to us students this way.
“Evangelism pared down to its essentials is pretty basic. You need three things:
1) The Gospel.
2) Someone who needs the Gospel, and
3) Someone to share the Gospel.”
I would say that this is true not only of evangelism as a discipline but the Church as God established it. Any one of these eliminated and the Church has no reason to exist.
But there seems to be something missing. There was something missing prior to the first Pentecost as well. We have the Gospel. We know there are people who need the Gospel and we know we are here to share the Gospel. So why doesn’t it happen?
We chicken out. We lose courage. We get discouraged. We worry about how we will be seen. We worry about how people will react to us.
That has to change.
So God did…by sending his Holy Spirit in a powerful way to ensure the message of the Gospel was clear, empower the disciples to share the Gospel boldly, and worked on the hearts of 3000 people to receive and believe the message of Jesus as the Savior.
We need the Spirit to do the same in us and with us today as well.
The Spirit brings us back to the Gospel and ensures that it is communicated clearly.
Because it can honestly get lost in the clutter of church. The “customs,” the “rules,” the “rituals,” “the politics,” etc. can all get in the way, overshadow and clutter the heart of the Church’s purpose and existence: The clear message of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus.
Peter quoting the prophet Joel put it this way:
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21)
There are not many ways to heaven. There are not multiple expressions of faith that lead to heaven. Jesus is as he said he is “The way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
This message of the Gospel of Jesus is the GIFT of the Holy Spirit to the Church. There is NO OTHER place that is designed and set up to simply proclaim Christ. The church wasn’t initiated to be a social club, wage social justice, or cure the ills of world conflict or homeless crisis. The church has two purposes: Preach the Gospel. Make disciples. Period.
It’s time we get back to the basics and ask the Spirit to kindle in us the conviction that “Salvation is found in no other name…” (Acts 4:12) and remind us that at the heart of what we are here to do for “every tribe, nation and language” is to share the message of who Jesus is and what he has done.
Apply: Where have you personally or in your observation of the Church noticed that it has drifted from its purpose to preach the Gospel and Make Disciples? How can you be part of refocusing the church on its mission: Preach the Gospel…Make Disciples?
Prayer: Spirit of God, clarify and make us confident always that there is only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ. Lead us to embrace the calling once again to share this message of grace and truth boldly and confidently. AMEN.