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"Agreeing to disagree
is not walking in unity, it's just occupying the same general space."
—Reverend/Chaplain
Kent L. Svendsen, Ordained Elder, NIC Conference, Army Reserve Chaplain |
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"The gospel does not
explain the resurrection. The
resurrection
explains why we have the gospels."
—Martin Luther |
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"If you believe what you like in the gospel, and
reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but
yourself."
—St. Augustine
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Meditation
God of grace and God of glory
- God of grace and God of glory,
On Thy people pour Thy power.
Crown Thine ancient church’s story,
Bring her bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
For the facing of this hour,
For the facing of this hour.
- Lo! the hosts of evil ’round us,
Scorn Thy Christ, assail His ways.
From the fears that long have bound us,
Free our hearts to faith and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
For the living of these days,
For the living of these days.
- Cure Thy children’s warring madness,
Bend our pride to Thy control.
Shame our wanton selfish gladness,
Rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
Lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal,
Lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal.
- Set our feet on lofty places,
Gird our lives that they may be,
Armored with all Christ-like graces,
In the fight to set men free.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
That we fail not man nor Thee,
That we fail not man nor Thee.
- Save us from weak resignation,
To the evils we deplore.
Let the search for Thy salvation,
Be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
Serving Thee Whom we adore,
Serving Thee Whom we adore.
And Can It Be That I Should Gain
- And can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Savior's blood!
Died he for me? who caused his pain!
For me? who him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
- 'Tis mystery all: th' Immortal dies!
Who can explore his strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
to sound the depths of love divine.
'Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
let angel minds inquire no more.
'Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
let angel minds inquire no more.
- He left his Father's throne above
(so free, so infinite his grace!),
emptied himself of all but love,
and bled for Adam's helpless race.
'Tis mercy all, immense and free,
for O my God, it found out me!
'Tis mercy all, immense and free,
for O my God, it found out me!
- Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
fast bound in sin and nature's night;
thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
my chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.
- No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in him, is mine;
alive in him, my living Head,
and clothed in righteousness divine,
bold I approach th' eternal throne,
and claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach th' eternal throne,
and claim the crown, through Christ my own.
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(Esther 4:14 NIV) For if you remain silent at this
time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but
you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have
come to royal position for such a time as this?"
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Dear Lord Jesus,
We humbly come to you now professing and confessing that you are the one
and only Son of God, who was indeed born of the Virgin Mary as the
Scriptures teach; that in your great love and obedience to the Father, you
humbled yourself to become a man, to be tested and tempted, and to live a
sinless, blameless life; that you willingly laid down your life to die for
us, to take our place on the cross, that you shed your blood for the
remission of our sins, and that on the third day you arose from dead and
presented yourself to your disciples in your body so that they could claim
victory over sin and death through you; and that we, through our belief in
you, have eternal life and that you are one with the Father; and that we will
be will be with you in heaven as you have promised.
We ask that you forgive us as a church for our complacency; for our
unwillingness to see that we have been remiss in proclaiming this most
important Truth of all truths; that we have not loved our neighbors and
our friends and our community enough to feed them the Bread of Life as you
have commanded; to tell them of your saving power; to pray for their
salvation. We repent and turn from our sin.
We ask now for the power of your Holy Spirit to give us strength and
courage and wisdom to see what we need to change in our lives, in our
church, and in our denomination to be fully committed to you in a life of
holiness that is based on the gospel of Jesus Christ and no other and that
is lived in a life of fruitful witness of your love, your grace and your mercy to
a sinful world in need of salvation and of changed hearts. We see that the
changed hearts start with us, and our church, and we ask that you guide us
to be a beacon of light wherever there is darkness. We are willing, we are able
through you power. We thank you for the privilege to serve you. Out of
hearts of gratefulness for your love of us, we ask you to help us love so
much that we are willing to risk proclaiming your name in Truth, no matter
what the consequences.
In Jesus precious name,
AMEN
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Lord, hear my prayer.
Lord Jesus:
As I contemplate
the way You have established Your Church, Your
Body, I am struck with the thought that You would choose to work through
ordinary people, such as me, for work in guiding a huge denomination. I
am humbled and awed that You would put requests
on the hearts of ordinary church members, such as submitting petitions to
General Conference, so as to work for the reclamation and renewal of the
United
Methodist Church to our primary purpose and mission in this world – spreading
the Gospel Message of Your salvation. We are but ordinary men and women
whom You have called forward for Your very
extraordinary work. We are not worthy for such a calling, nor can we be.
Even so, Lord Jesus, You trust us to listen to You
and follow Your guidance. And so, with faith as small as a mustard seed,
we obey.
We have labored
in these endeavors, doing the best that we can do. We’ve attempted to
give mindful and prayerful thought to the details of how the
Book of
Discipline needs to be changed
to help hold our leaders accountable to the doctrines and mission of Your
Church. We do not know what You will do with
these petitions now, but we lay them down at Your feet and ask You to do
with them what You will. We ask for Your
blessing upon them and upon all who contemplate them during this coming
General Conference.
Lord, we ask
You to send the Holy Spirit ahead of these
petitions and resolutions and prepare the way for
them to be used for Your purposes. Please protect them and guide them to
their destinations. Let nothing interfere with their acceptance for the
consideration of General Conference. Please use them as a testimony to
Your holiness and the requirements of
righteousness for those who would be called Your brothers and sisters and
children of Our Father.
Jesus, we ask
You to use these
documents as a strong wake-up call to this church –
to return to the first Love that she was founded on and through which You
spread hunger for You, Your word, and Your holiness across the land. Let
this year, the year that marked the 300th anniversary of the
birth of your faithful servant John Wesley, be the beginning of a new
spirit within the United Methodist Church. We ask for the
Holy Spirit to descend upon us with a mighty conviction of our sin and a
steadfast purpose to repent. Let us bow our knees, in utter humility, at
what we’ve become in some of our churches and annual conferences. Let us
seek forgiveness, as a whole body, and do whatever it takes to cleanse our
hearts, minds, and souls. Let us set about the cleansing of each church
that has been unfaithful to You. Please direct
the feet of people to this work, beginning at whatever level we need to
work on first. Jesus, only You can redeem us
from this mess. We ask You to please come and
save the church in America that was founded on the desire for salvation
and holiness in God alone.
Jesus,
You know all hearts and minds of all of the
people in this denomination. For those who still have an ear to hear, we
ask for Your intercession in their lives and to
bring them to the life that Our Father has planned for them. For those
who have hardened their hearts and set up other gods and other purposes,
we ask You to remove them from the church, in
order to stop them from doing further harm to themselves and the church.
You have said in Your Scriptures that where there are lawsuits among us,
we are already defeated. We admit that we have failed and look now for
You to save us. Please save us all, doing
whatever it takes. Lord, we know that You hate
divorce. But, at the same time, we recognize that there is no compromise
when it comes to sexual morality. So, if it be in
Your will, let us part ways, trusting that somehow, some way, you
will restore unity in Your Church. We long for that day, when every
tribe, every tongue, every nation will join together in worship in spirit
and in truth. Come, Lord Jesus. Come, Holy Spirit. Transform us.
Lord, we ask for
Your help for those people who have become so
discouraged with our church that they are looking for a new church home.
Please, provide them with a church family through which to worship and
raise their families in concert with Your holy
word. And for those whom you call to stay and work for reform, we ask
You to imbue them with Your strength and love.
This is a tough road, it appears to me, so
please equip us for everything that we need.
Jesus, we ask
You to protect each of us and our families.
Please help us to resolve all of the issues that arise in daily life,
raising our children in this unclean world. We thank Our Father for all
of the provisions that He has bestowed upon our lives. Let us forever
live in gratefulness for all that has been given to us. Please restore us
to full health and bring us to full rest, that we might have the energy
that we need. Let us rest in Your arms and
know that You alone are God, praying as You taught us:
Our Father,
Who are in Heaven
Hallowed be thy Name
Thy Kingdom come
Thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For Thine is the Kingdom
And the power
And the glory
Forever
Amen.
Prayer
regarding petitions to General Conference 2004, by
Cathy Bihler.
Cathy is one of the members of the Steering Committee for
The Faithful
Christian Laity of the United Methodist Church, a group formed in the
Pacific NW Annual Conference of the UMC seeking reclamation of Wesleyan
Methodism.
Lord, hear my prayer.
Send the Holy Spirit upon us with deep
convicting truth. Bring us to our knees in understanding and sorrow, such
as the Ninevites demonstrated to us. Bring to us contrite hearts and
humility and deep sorrow for all of the pain and destruction that the UMC
has wielded against its own people and against the world, truly against
You.
Flood our hearts with sorrow and grief that
we, too, may truly dawn the apparel of repentance, that we might actually
become the salt and light and the aggressive force against evil that You
intend us to be.
Father, forgive those of us who have seen
the evil but have not spoken out for fear of our security.
Forgive those of us who have chosen to
leave the UMC in the hands of heretics, and the broken and wounded. Please
heal them.
Forgive us for embracing some truth, but
not all of it, for neglecting our own sins of commission and omission.
Father, we ask You to empower and protect
those who have stood against the evil that resides in our church houses.
Raise them up to be catalysts for true repentance. Put them into the high
places and make them become strong personal witnesses for Jesus Christ.
Return them from their places of exile, stronger and effective.
Jesus Christ, Lord of Lords and King of
Kings, I ask You to claim us as Your Own and shape us into Your image. Do
whatever it takes, in every single life, that together we can be prepared
for Your imminent return of glory and possession of us. We are without oil
for our lamps.
Please send in the Holy Spirit with His
anointing power. May the fire touch each of us to burn out the dross we
have embraced in our sins.
I ask all of these things in the name of
Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Prayer of repentance, by Cathy
Bihler. Cathy is one of the members of the Steering Committee for
The Faithful Christian Laity
of the United Methodist Church, a group formed in the Pacific NW
Annual Conference of the UMC seeking reclamation of Wesleyan Methodism.
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As they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon . . . , and
on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus
—Luke 23:26
If we obey God, it is going to cost other
people more than it costs us, and that is where the pain begins. If we are
in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything—it is a delight.
But to those who do not love Him, our obedience does cost a great deal. If
we obey God, it will mean that other people’s plans are upset. They will
ridicule us as if to say, "You call this Christianity?" We could prevent the
suffering, but not if we are obedient to God. We must let the cost be paid.
When our obedience begins to cost others, our
human pride entrenches itself and we say, "I will never accept anything from
anyone." But we must, or disobey God. We have no right to think that the
type of relationships we have with others should be any different from those
the Lord Himself had (see
Luke 8:1-3 ).
A lack of progress in our spiritual life
results when we try to bear all the costs ourselves. And actually, we
cannot. Because we are so involved in the universal purposes of God, others
are immediately affected by our obedience to Him. Will we remain faithful in
our obedience to God and be willing to suffer the humiliation of refusing to
be independent? Or will we do just the opposite and say, "I will not cause
other people to suffer"? We can disobey God if we choose, and it will bring
immediate relief to the situation, but it will grieve our Lord. If, however,
we obey God, He will care for those who have suffered the consequences of
our obedience. We must simply obey and leave all the consequences with Him.
Beware of the inclination to dictate to God
what consequences you would allow as a condition of your obedience to Him.
Taken from My Utmost For His Highest,
Oswald Chambers
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