Sermons from Redeemer
Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
‘And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. ‘ – Philippians 1:6
Attached is the picture that I referenced yesterday. I wanted to send it as a reminder to us all that we are works in progress. Give yourself (and others) grace in this life as God works on us to form us into the image of Christ. He is coming back, and on that day we will all be complete!
Below is a prayer for the 2nd week of Christmas. Allow it to draw you into a time of Sitting with Jesus.
Prayer for the 2nd Sunday after Christmas Day
O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Merry Christmas,
Ford
Church –
Below is a prayer for the 1st week of Christmas. As you Sit with Jesus this week, I pray that it will help to remind you of the impact that Jesus, the incarnate Word, can make in our lives.
Prayer for the 1st Sunday after Christmas Day
Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Redeemer –
Last night was a wonderful Vision Sunday celebration as we looked back on all that the Lord has done in our presence over these past 6 months. We have needed the Lord to lead us and guide us to this point. We will also need him to lead us and guide us going forward. Which makes this week’s prayer particularly applicable to our lives together.
Below is a prayer for this week that acknowledges our need for the Lord to direct our lives in all things. As you Sit With Jesus this week, meditate on this prayer and invite the Spirit of God to lead you in every area of your life.
Prayer for the Sunday closest to September 14
O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
It has been a joy and a privilege to be a part of this new work with each of you.
Redeemer -
Yesterday was another great joint service. Thanks to everyone who participated and served in order to make it happen. Who knew Teresa, Glenn and Andy had such pipes and amazing dance moves! That joint choir may have to make another appearance in the future.
As we begin a new week, I want to pass along a prayer that may help you as you Sit with Jesus this week. It is a prayer which asks the Lord guard and keep those who trust not in their own strength, but in the mercy of the Lord. We are always tempted to trust in the things we can see and touch, but the scriptures always call us back to the only one who can truly keep us safe. I hope that this prayer is helpful for you this week.
Prayer for the Sunday closest to September 7
Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Church –
Below is our prayer for our church this week. It is a prayer asking the Lord to allow our unity to show forth His power. What a fitting prayer in light of our sermon yesterday from Psalm 133. How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity. I pray that this prayer will be helpful as you Sit with Jesus this week.
The Sunday closest to August 24
Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Also, I wanted to include the Prayer for Unity from our Prayer Book that we prayed yesterday at church together.
For the Unity of the Church
O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Redeemer –
As Barney reminded us last night from Psalm 131, it is good for us to calm and quiet ourselves before the Lord. This is why we encourage the church each day to take time to Sit with Jesus. It is in these moments of stillness and quiet in the presence of God that we learn to listen to His voice, discover our true selves and find our ability to trust and hope in Him.
Below is the prayer for the church this week. I pray that it might help you find a few moments of quiet and stillness with your Lord today.
The Sunday closest to August 17
Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of this redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Church –
I pray that Psalm 127 will bring each of you a new perspective on both your family and your work this week. Remember to consider how your daily work is a participation in the work that the Lord is doing here on earth. If you have questions about how this is true for your particular situation, I would enjoy an opportunity to sit down and discuss it with you. Please let me know if that would be of interest.
Below is a prayer for this week. I pray that it will encourage you as you Sit with Jesus.
The Sunday closest to July 27
O god, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
- Ford
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me . . . (Isaiah 61:1a)
This is it. Today is the day we go to Gikomero to do what we came to Rwanda to do. Pray. Sure, we’ve been praying at various places and for various people since we arrived in Rwanda, but today is the day we go to Gikomero to lay hands on those who have come to receive healing prayer. This time will be similar to communion prayer time at COTA and RAC, only it will be extended by about 3.5 hours. As I eat breakfast with the team before we leave, I can feel the Holy Spirit at work in me. He is telling me that he has already gone ahead of me to select the people I will pray with and for and that He will put His word in my heart and on my lips. Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say (Exodus 4:11). With that, I am ready. Not anxious. Not apprehensive. Just ready.
We arrive at Gikomero and go directly into the sanctuary where we join some folks for a short time of worship and to hear a brief teaching on Jesus’ healing of a paralytic as told in Luke’s Gospel. (Luke 5:17-26) Then it’s time to divide our team into two prayer groups. As we do so I pray – “Lord may these groups be divided according to your will and for your purposes.”
Prayer team #1 – Pastor Eric, John, Teresa, Elizabeth and Patterson – is to go to the Pastor’s house to pray along with some Gikomero church members and a translator.
Prayer team #2 – Pastor Curt, Barbara, Will, and myself, along with Pastor Alfred and three other Gikomero church members – are stationed just outside of the sanctuary – in the sun – and about 50 yards away from an outdoor stable housing about 8 very chatty cows. Before I can even ponder (i.e., freak out about) all of the distractions surrounding me (school children are now starting to swarm), the Lord puts a hymn on my heart. “For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies . . . Lord of all, to thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise.”
I (silently) call on the Holy Spirit just before we begin and immediately He sends a steady, cool breeze and the women inside of the sanctuary begin singing and I know He has surrounded us. Time to get our prayer on.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion. Isaiah 61:1b-3a
Our first patient (not sure what the appropriate noun is in this situation) is a woman requesting prayer for healing from a tumor in her belly. Got it. Prayers are said. Amen. Who’s next? But then the Spirit moved in Pastor Curt and he asked if the woman was a Christian. And thus the proverbial floodgate was opened and we were introduced to our first of numerous persons requesting prayer for healing and protection from the effects of witchcraft, curses, or demons.
This woman had attended a wedding in which a “healer” was also in attendance. She was healthy before the wedding, but soon thereafter developed a massive tumor in her belly ("Massive" as in she looked about 5 months pregnant). The culprit? Witchcraft. And she had been questioning her faith in God ever since.
Being the logical person I am, I was quick to slough off the idea of witchcraft. My response was to chalk these ailments up to something that I could understand. Something I had experience with. Something – well – logical. The only thing I could wrap my brain around was a medical diagnosis (I’ve read enough on WebMD.com. I know the drill. You’ve got a common cold, cancer, or you’re pregnant. Easy enough.) Before I could finish assessing this woman’s symptoms, the Lord interrupted my thoughts with Scripture from Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not again flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Almost instantly, I could feel the darkness pressing in on all sides. There was a spiritual battle happening around our prayer circle and the presence of evil was palpable. But stronger still was the light of Jesus Christ. “The light that shines in the darkness and the darkness has not understood it” (John 1:5). It was clear to those of us praying what the task before us was. So with full confidence in the power of Jesus’ name, we entered into prayers for spiritual cleansing and protection knowing full well that it is only because of Jesus’ shed blood that we were able to rebuke Satan and his effect on these people’s physical and spiritual health. Jesus Christ died once and for all. The enemy has been defeated and Christ is seated on the right hand of the Father. The strife is over, the battle won.
And so it was for the remainder of the morning. At times the Holy Spirit prayed through me as I interceded for patients. Other times it was necessary to intercede for the other members of our prayer team as they fought against the forces of evil in the heavenly realms. It was at these times that I had a clear vision of Aaron and Hur holding up Moses’ hands as he prayed on the hill top when Joshua and the Israelites fought against the Amalekites. “As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired . . . Aaron and Hur held his hands up” Exodus 17:11-12
Periodically, the Lord would give us a small respite from the battle. One which was particularly memorable came in the form of a woman who was a week past her due date requesting prayer for the safe delivery of her child. I had the good fortune of laying hands on her very pregnant belly and feeling her baby move (leap for joy?) at the mention of Jesus’ name. It was a beautiful experience and most certainly a gift from God.
There was also a young woman whose family was Muslim but she wanted to receive Christ. What a joy and honor it was to walk alongside this young woman as she confessed her sins and received Jesus. We later heard from Pastor Alfred that she was going to go home and share the Good News with her family. Yesu ishimwe!
Despite the weight of many of the prayer requests we received, I left our time of healing prayer confident in God’s faithfulness to his promises.
He will bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. Isaiah 61:3
Although I may not ever see how the Lord responds to our intercessions, I know that He will. How do I know this? Because I’ve experienced His supernatural empowering of my prayers through His Holy Spirit. He was there while we prayed. He heard our cries to him for mercy and healing and he did not turn a deaf ear to us. And he will answer our requests in ways unexpected, because He is able to do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine. Thank you, Jesus for your great love for us!
Can I get an Alleluia, Amen, Imana Ishimwe (Praise be to God)?
---Taylor Waren
Below is our prayer for this week. It is a prayer that acknowledges that the Lord knows what we need before we even ask and requests that He will give us what we need whether or not we ask for it. There is some rich theology in this prayer.
The Sunday closest to July 20
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Have a blessed week.
ford
