Lord, we come to you this morning, and we lay before you all the idols that we keep in our hearts which makes us estranged from you, we lay down all the evil desires of our hearts which causes us to stumble, we will no more profane your name, we will instead do good works which will bring honor and glory to your name. Lord, we are blessed, in that though we have sinned you will mercy and pardon us. Lord, this day, we come to you with repentant hearts, we will turn away from our idols, turn away from all abominations which grieves your Holy Spirit and call upon you, and you promised that you will answer us and cause us to no more stray away from you, that we will no longer be persistently unfaithful to you, that we will be your people and you our God forever. Amen!

Open our eyes Lord to behold your goodness.Every day we are faced with new challenges, but how many of us are able to thank God for those challenges? We focus so much on the challenge that we miss the blessing in it. Today we will not allow the challenge we face to discourage us, we will not break under its yoke, we will instead go through it valiantly, for trouble don’t last always and this too shall pass; but, we must go through it, in order to see the blessing in it and give thanks to the Lord who will indeed sustain us through it all. The Lord is good and his mercy endures forever. Let’s just praise the Lord!

Lord, your word is a light unto our feet and lamp unto our path, your word teaches us the way, shows us the truth and leads us in the light. Lord, we want to abide in your tabernacle, we want to dwell in your holy hill, so help us to walk uprightly, to do righteous works, to speak truth from our hearts, to keep our tongues from backbiting, keep us far from doing evil to our neighbors, or take up reproach against our friends. Lord, you have assured us in your word that if we keep ourselves from all these things that we will then be able to abide in your tabernacle and dwell in your holy hill, so we pray thee therefore Father, to keep us in your way, so that we may abide with you always. Amen!

My brothers and sisters in Christ, let us press on towards the goal, serving Christ without fear or shame, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are ahead of us. Let us glory in the cross of Christ, being mindful that he laid down His life for us, therefore we should be able to stand up and defend His name, a name that is above all other name. Let us never put anything or anyone before Him, because these things which are worthless will draw us farther away from God and the end thereof will be destruction. All the things that you and I have gained in sin could never be compared to what we have gained with Christ within. Praise the Lord!

^“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” How could we ever forget to thank the Lord for all His goodness and mercy towards us? He forgives all of our iniquities; He heals all our diseases; He redeems us from destruction; He crowns us with loving-kindness and tender mercies; He satisfies our mouth with good things; He daily renews us so that our youth is renewed like the eagles. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He has not dealt with us as we deserve, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.  For the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children, and to such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. How could we ever forget to thank the Lord for all His goodness and mercy towards us? “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.”

Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia! Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia! Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia! Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia! Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia! Unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia! Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia! Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia! But the pains which he endured, Alleluia! Our salvation have procured; Alleluia! Now above the sky he’s King, Alleluia! Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!

Up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph o’er His foes, He arose victorious from the dark domain and He lives forever with His saints to reign. He arose! He arose! Allelujah! Christ arose! Death and the grave could not hold him, He arose! Allelujah! Christ arose! No more will sin and sorrow and unforgiveness reign in our hearts, for He has raised up a mighty horn of salvation for us. He arose! Allelujah! The Lord is risen indeed!

Lord, we are not deserving of the kind mercies you show us, but we are thankful that we serve a God of compassion, a God who knows our hearts, a God who understand our ways, a God who is able to show us mercy so that we also could show mercy to others. Lord, we have been blind to your goodness, we have not been patient with others as you have been patient with us, we have been unforgiving and relentless in doing evil, we continue to put stumbling blocks in the path of others, but Lord, let not your anger consume us, let us search out and examine our ways and turn back to you, let us lift our hands to you, let us fall prostrate at your feet and ask for forgiveness, for you O lord, will not cast off forever, for though you show grief, yet, you will show compassion according to the multitude of your mercies. Thank you Lord!

When Jesus knew that is hour was drawing near, he went into the garden of Gethsemane to pray, and he asked his disciples to watch and pray, for he was exceedingly sorrowful, he was deeply troubled and distressed, and he prayed to the Father that this cup will pass from him, but he was alone, he had no one to watch and pray for him. Lord, we are thankful that in the midst of trouble and anxiety that we have you, that we are never alone. You said that we should cast all of our anxieties on you because you care for us, that we must be of sober spirit, being vigilant, for the devils prowls around seeking to devour us, but that we must be strong in the faith and resist him knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being faced by our brethren in the world. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Let us therefore submit ourselves, to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from us.

God will use anything that was mean to hurt you for your good, even your affliction. The Lord has his way in the whirlwind and the storm and clouds are the dust of his feet. When we are afflicted, many times we become rebellious rather than drawing closer to God, but many of us find God in the midst of our afflictions. I have learned to say, “Thank you Lord,” in my afflictions, I talk to him more, I am on knees more, I meditate on his word more because I know that the enemy does not attack those he already has, he attacks those who belong to God. If we remain faithful to God in the midst of our afflictions, he will be faithful to us and deliver us through whirlwinds and storms, and we will give him all the glory and praise and will come to understand that if it was not for the affliction that we would have strayed farther from God. Let us learn to praise God in the midst of trouble and affliction knowing that he is very present and will deliver us.