Your heart is for Your people to "grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18).
Wow! You long for us to "grow in grace."
I love the truth of Micah 7:18-19.
"There is no God like you. You forgive those who are guilty of sin; you don't look at the sins of your people who are left alive. You will not stay angry forever because you delight in showing mercy. 19 Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and hurl them into the depths of the ocean."
This reality alone should regularly drive us to our knees in awe of You! You are the God who "delights in showing mercy." You will "hurl our sins into the depths of the ocean."
Help a2 Church to live with a conscious awareness and in reverent awe of Your extravagant grace and sacrificial love! Help us to be a community so blown away by the reality of grace and the beauty of what Jesus did on the cross that it becomes our very nature to extend the same grace to others that we have experienced ourselves...
It's my prayer that a2 would live with open arms and open hearts. That we would follow in the footsteps of Jesus who was known as “a friend of sinners” (Luke 15) by creating an environment and atmosphere that welcomes and accepts broken, sinful, messed up people.
Help us to nurture authenticity so that there is never any pressure on people to perform or pretend. I pray that we would encourage people to be “real,” transparent and vulnerable. By giving people “permission” to be “real,” we will help them avoid the trap of lying to or about themselves and constantly attempting to convince people around them that they are better, holier or whatever, than they really are.
May a2 Church be made up of broken, sinful, messed up people who become equipped to meet the needs of other broken, sinful, messed up people just like ourselves by serving them with practical acts of love and sharing the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Help us to nurture authenticity so that there is never any pressure on people to perform or pretend. I pray that we would encourage people to be “real,” transparent and vulnerable. By giving people “permission” to be “real,” we will help them avoid the trap of lying to or about themselves and constantly attempting to convince people around them that they are better, holier or whatever, than they really are.
May a2 Church be made up of broken, sinful, messed up people who become equipped to meet the needs of other broken, sinful, messed up people just like ourselves by serving them with practical acts of love and sharing the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Father, I pray that a2 Church would never be intimidated or turned off by the “messiness” of sinners. That we would never be overly concerned about what other people will think if and when we get involved in unconditionally loving, accepting and ministering to the needs of the broken, sinful, and messed up people in our world. But that we follow in the footsteps of Jesus who said, "Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners" (Mark 2:17).
I pray that we would always be concerned about and preoccupied with the interests, needs and wellbeing of other people – especially outsiders; instead of being self-absorbed and narrowly focused on the interests, needs and wellbeing of the insiders who already belong (Philippians 2:4).
May we never be preoccupied with “what people have to offer,” but instead, that we would always stay focused on extending the same extravagant grace we have received to as many as possible, regardless! Help us to be a church that doesn't want something “from” people, but always wants something “for” people.
Heavenly Father, help us to create a culture of repentance where people don’t avoid sin, but confess it and forsake it!
Empower and enable us to extend forgiveness and seek reconciliation whenever someone is hurt or wronged. May we always refuse to to allow conflict to go underground, but make every attempt to resolve it as quickly and thoroughly as possible.
Empower and enable us to extend forgiveness and seek reconciliation whenever someone is hurt or wronged. May we always refuse to to allow conflict to go underground, but make every attempt to resolve it as quickly and thoroughly as possible.
And finally, may a2 Church always be a church that keeps the focus on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus!
It's my prayer that we live this reality: it's all about Jesus! It’s always about Jesus! It’s only about Jesus!
May we constantly live with the awareness that our fundamental identity is found in who we are in Christ and what He has accomplished by dying for our sins, in our place and being raised again to life!
Father, may a2 Church be a church that "grows in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ."
It is in Jesus' name we pray!
Amen!
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