Almighty God, you have safely brought us to the beginning of this new day, open our lips that we may praise you, guide our feet so that we may follow you, speak to us and let us listen, for you oh Lord, will lead us this day, we believe that you will provide all that we need, because you promised us new mercies each returning day, you promised to hover over us whilst we pray, so keep us from presumptuous sins, lead us far away from evil and deliver us from those who seek to harm us. Lord, bless our homes, our families and our friends, and be never far from us, comfort those who morn, heal those who are sick and hurting, provide for the homeless and the destitute, give hope to all those who are lacking in faith, and above all, set us free O God from the bondage of sin, so that we may live our lives in peace, the peace that only you can give. Lord, you promised to hear the petitions of all those who call upon you, hear our prayer this morning O Father, for we ask all these things in your powerful name. Amen!

Dear Lord, I ask you to be with us, that you lead us, and guide us, as we light lamps that others may be able to see. Lord, many of us as Christians are walking with lamps that are not trimmed and burning, our way is dark, and therefore we allow others to stumble. We are not diligent in prayer and worship, we fail to give you the glory in the face of others, because of shame or fear, we don’t step out in faith as we ought to, we are worried throughout the day and fearful of tomorrow, we are burdened by presumptuous sins, we carry on in ways that are not acceptable in your sight, we think thoughts that are not lovely towards our neighbors. Lord, I pray this morning, that you will break every yoke, loosen every chain, banish every veil under which we hide and are burdened, and set us free oh God, from anything, which will prevent us from walking uprightly, that will keep others from seeing by our lighted lamps, all of the good things that you have in store for all those who love you, and are obedient to your calling. Give us courage to pursue, and the grace to accomplish the work you have set before us, that will bring honor and glory to your name. Accept these our prayers O Father, for Your Son Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen!

Psalm 19: The law of the Lord is perfect and revives the soul, help me O Lord, to uphold your laws; the testimony of the Lord is sure and gives wisdom to the innocent, show me how to use my testimonies Lord, to bring others closer to you; the statutes of the Lord are just and rejoice the heart, thank you, Lord, for gladness of heart because I uphold your statutes; the commandment of the Lord is clear and gives light to the eyes, Lord, help me every day to do what you command, so that I will not stumble; the fear of the Lord is clean and endures forever, teach me to fear you O Lord for all of my days; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether, more to be desired are they than gold, much more than fine gold, and by them your servant is enlightened and in keeping them is great reward. Lord, cleanse me from secret faults and keep me from presumptuous sins and let them not have dominion over me. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be always acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Amen!

Lord, we thank you for your great mercies and promises which you deliver each day, give us grateful, thankful hearts, so that at all times and in all places we will give you thanks. Lord, we have made it through yet another week with your aid, and we thank you for health and strength to work, continually set tasks before us which demands our very best, and when we fall short O Lord, let us not look at our shortcomings as disappointments, but an opportunity to acknowledge our dependence on you to lead us to greater accomplishments. Lord, we can do nothing in our own strength, but we can do all things through You who strengthens us.  So therefore, we will thank you in advance for faith and courage to finish the good works you have prepared for us to do, and continue on in faith, believing, that with God all things are possible. Thank you Lord!

Let us pray. “ Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole, I want thee forever to live in my soul, break down every barrier, cast out every foe, Lord, wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Lord Jesus, let nothing unholy remain, apply thine own blood and extract every stain, to get the best cleansing I all things forego, now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Lord Jesus, thou see that I patiently wait, come now and within me a new heart create, to those who have sought thee, thou never said no, Lord, wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.” Thank you, Lord, for songs of praise and meditation, they help to bring us closer to you.

Lord, we acknowledge you this day, and we humble ask you to correct and control the willful spirits within us which causes us to walk away from your truth, and humbly bring us back into your fold Good Shepherd. Lord, we know that you are able to order our unruly minds, in your own time, you will direct and control us, we know of your awesome works in that you have been sought by those who did not ask for you, you have been found by those who did not seek you, you said, here I am, to a nation that was not called by your name, you have stretched out your hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, according to their own thoughts, a people who provoke you continually to anger. Who else, could be so accepting of us; who else, could love us still, but our Heavenly Father? So, this day O Lord, favorably hear us, and let our cry come unto you, for we are still rebellious at heart, and we humbly ask you to correct, control, and order our unruly minds, and give us faithful, loving hearts to serve you all the days of our lives. All this we ask in your precious name. Amen! 

Let us thank God this morning for grace which abounds, because we are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed, we are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed; Why? All because of God’s grace which abounds, his mercies which are new every morning, his love which surrounds us like a shield. Therefore, scripture reminds us not to lose heart as we go through our various trials, for even though the outward man is perishing, the inward man is being renewed every day, and that all things are for our sakes, that grace, having spread through many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. Oh, what a mighty God we serve! Praise Him!

 As I read my bible this morning, this passage just stuck with me, and as I continued reading, I was moved to tears, for I know the tribulations I endure in my walk with God, and I was reminded of how much Paul suffered for Christ’s sake, but he said he served the Lord with all humility, with many tears and tribulation, but that he kept back nothing that was helpful, and spoke boldly of the Lord and all that he have done, and he said the Holy Spirit testified to him in every city that he went, saying, that chains and tribulations awaited him, but none of these things moved him, nor did he count his life as his own, but the Lords, so that he may finish the race with joy, and the ministry he received from the Lord Jesus Christ, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. My brothers and sisters in Christ, I want to encourage you to continue to run this race for God, no matter what trials and tribulations confront you, know that you are God’s chosen one and that his banner over you is love, and his love will comfort you, guide, you and surround you like a shield, so that you may not be overcome by your tribulations, but that you will overcome your tribulations. Praise the Lord!

Hate, curse and use, are three emotionally charged actions, they take more from you than they give to you, but loving, blessing and praying, gives more to you that they take from you. So today, we will try, yes, we will try, because it is not easy to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, to bless those who curse us, and to pray in a good way for those who spitefully use us. But, God demands this of us, so in trying to do the will of God, we will pray this prayer together: Lord, not my will but thine be done, instill in me a heart to love, to bless, and to pray for those who hate me, curse me, and intentionally and spitefully use me. Lord, show me how to love them, how to bless them and how to pray for them in a good way. For in so in doing, I believe that I will find peace, that my reward will be great in heaven, that You, O Lord, will work through me to bring positive changes to their lives, changes that will enable them to see, that even though they have been evil and unkind, that I am able to show them kindness and love, and bless them O Lord, with the peace that surpasses all understanding. All this we ask for Christ’s sake. Amen!

Somebody somewhere this morning, is happy to tell out their soul the greatness of the Lord for what he has done. What wonderful thing has God done recently in your life? Are you excited about it? Do you want to tell the whole world about it? You may have just received the greatest gift, the gift of salvation and you want the whole world to know, it’s ok, I too, wanted to tell the whole world about it, and I still am. You may be feeling a little bit uncomfortable, I was too. I was at first hesitant to tell others about the blessed gift I received, but we should not be, for when the Lord delivers you, it’s something to shout about, it’s something to share with the whole world. Many will judge you because they think they know where you came from, and where you have been, but what they don’t know is that before you were born, God knew you, he predestined you, he knew where you were going, and the path you would take to get there, so when you are challenged, you just tell them that they just happened to meet you along the path God chose for you to get where you are today, and now you have left them behind. Praise the Lord.