21 Days of Prayer and Fasting: January 10 – 30
Welcome to the Trellis Podcast. Through this podcast, we will share resources and guides around practicing and learning the ways of Jesus. Subscribe to follow along.
php/* */ ?>
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting: January 10 – 30
Welcome to the Trellis Podcast. Through this podcast, we will share resources and guides around practicing and learning the ways of Jesus. Subscribe to follow along.
Copyright: © Fellowship Church
Today's Passage and Prayer: Colossians 1: 9-14
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage: Ezekiel 36:25-27
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Today's Prayer:
Almighty God, Creator of Heaven and earth, author and perfecter of our faith, holy is Your name. Lord it is by grace and grace alone that you transformed us from a people who once rebelled against you into a people who now live to glorify you and to bring you praise. And so Father today we are grateful, grateful because the work you began in us is being seen through to completion by the power of your Spirit. Lord with each passing day like a potter shapes clay you are shaping us into a people who resemble you. And so as we take this time to fast and to seek Your face, we pray that you would open our eyes to the formative work that you’re doing within us. Continue to cleanse us and to make us holy as we surrender ourselves over to you daily. Lastly, God we pray that we would not rely on our own strength but on you and you alone. It’s in your holy and precious name that we pray all these things, Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
And I, when I came to you brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Today's Prayer:
Father, would you give us more of your Spirit that allows us to become more like your son Jesus. May we feel your presence that directs our path towards life. As we encounter so much that today brings allow the power of the Spirit shine through. So that when people see us, they see you. O Lord, not to us, and only to your name be the glory. Amen
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage: Romans 8:26-27
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Today's Prayer:
Father, thank you for always being with us, your Spirit never leaves us alone, even in our darkest moments you are there.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage: John 7:37-39
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Today's Prayer:
Lord, thank you. Thank you for this river of living water, and that out of your abundant love this river flows through us.
As we continue on today, through this week, and the rest of the 21 days, father would you open our eyes? Help us to pay attention, to be in tune with your spirit and catch a glimpse of the river and where we see life spring up in the spaces around us. You have been so good to include us in this sharing of life. Lord we love you. Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage: Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
Will you give us more of these Fruits of the Spirit? Will you grow them all? Will you give us such a portion that the boughs of our lives will bend under the weight of so much fruit… so much love, so much joy, so much peace and patience, kindness and goodness, so much faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And God, I pray for every specific fruit that you brought to mind to every specific person listening to this podcast. I pray that you would grow that Fruit in them today. We love you.
It is in the name of our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ that we pray,
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage: Ephesians 3:14-19
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Today's Prayer:
Spirit, would you move upon our hearts, even now in this moment. Would you allow each of us to experience your goodness and your affection in a deeper way - one that goes beyond mere information. Let us know the length, the width, the depth, and the height of the love of Christ. Would you unlock our hearts, free us from shame, and fill us with all the fullness of God.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage: Ephesians 5:13-14 and Romans 8:6.
But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible. For anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says, Awake O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. - Ephesians 5:13-14
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. - Romans 8:6
Today's Prayer:
Lord make us white-hot for the Gospel, Your Kingdom, Your work, and Your love. Help us to love the people of this world, but not to love the things of this world too much. Lord, wake us up from any slumber that gets in the way of being desperate for you. Amen
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage: 2 Corinthians 5:5-9.
And [the Lord] said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, the sound of a low whisper.
Today's Prayer:
Lord, I pray that you would give us the ability to notice how your Holy Spirit is moving in our lives in this season of prayer and fasting. Help us to understand our circumstances through the lens of your truth and interpret our present experience in light of your eternal perspective. Allow our longings to lead us into deeper relationship with you and each other. Give us grace to love and serve you, now and forever. Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage: 1 Kings 19:11-12
And [the Lord] said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, the sound of a low whisper.
Today's Prayer:
Lord, thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit who comforts and guides us. Lord, I confess that I often expect dramatics when anticipating your voice and can overlook the quiet ways you speak to me. Forgive us for the times we let noise, distractions, and fear drown out Your voice. I ask that you continue to teach us to discern Your voice amidst the noise of life. Help us to quiet our hearts and listen for the still, small whisper of your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage: Psalm 105:37
Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold, and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
Today's Prayer:
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. - Jude 1:24-25
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage: 2 Corinthians 3: 17-18
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Today's Prayer:
Holy Spirit, we pray today that you would remind us that you are the very freedom that we thirst and hunger for. Through you, we are reminded of who we are – who we belong to – and the truth about us.
We are free. Having been rescued out of the obligation and slavery and consequence of sin.
And you, Holy Spirit, are changing us. Day by day. Degree by degree. Moving us towards glory until we are fully home with you.
We offer you the places that we do not feel free, God. The places that we feel stuck. Or sideways. Polluted or perplexed. The places we feel fake or like an imposter. Take all of these and do that thing you always do where you remind us again of your mercy and grace. And help us to recall, today, that our freedom was a gift that was offered to you in great delight. You saw us at our very worst and moved into rescue us. May our life be lived in the freedom and truth of that great love. To you be the Glory, God. We pray this through the power of your very present Spirit. Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage: Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Today's Prayer:
Thank you God for being our Source of Hope and ready to fill us with joy when there seems to be anything but joy. Thank you for peace in the midst of chaos. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is powerfully working within us so we may overflow with Hope! We believe and hold tightly to this Truth today! In your name we pray AMEN!
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage: Genesis 1:1-3
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Today's Prayer:
Jesus, In the beginning, You spoke, and from the void, You brought forth all that is. From the formless, You shaped the heavens and the earth, Calling forth light from the darkness, and filling the deep with Your presence.
Jesus, today we confess that we too, at times, are formless and void, Lost in the darkness of confusion, fear, and doubt. Yet even now, Your Spirit hovers near, Ready to bring light into the deepest parts. Would you speak, Jesus, that we might hear.
In the strong name of Jesus, Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage: John 14: 25-27
These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Today's Prayer:
Oh Lord, we love you.
We acknowledge that you are the same yesterday and today and forever. Our circumstances cannot and will not change you or surprise you.
We praise you for your spirit that has been poured out on us.
We confess that we forget you and we need your Spirit to help us remember you in all things.
As we pray and fast today, remind us of your words & the ways in which you have taught us. Fill us with hope knowing that you will never leave us or forsake us and you will continue to teach us as we walk along.
Give us peace where we feel hopeless or afraid or restless.
Give us joy where there is sadness or longing.
Help us to look to you in all things & for all things.
We love you.
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage:
Acts 2: 38-39
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
John 14: 25-26
These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Today's Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the gift of your spirit. We are in awe of how your plan from the very beginning was to lavish us in kindness, love, mercy, and grace. We praise you for equipping us with the very spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, and we ask that you help us to believe and trust in that power. Would your spirit call to our remembrance your truth as we engage with the practice of fasting. You are the bread of life. May we find deep comfort in knowing you, far beyond what physical sustenance can provide. We ask for the same renewal of spirit that was sought in Psalm 51. Thank you for the scriptures and how they give us such deep insight into your heart and our purpose. Give us a craving to know you more through your word, and engrave what we learn on our hearts that we may echo the heavens that declare your glory. We love you, and we ask these things in confidence- not in our abilities- but in your everlasting love, power, and glory. Amen
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage: John 15:26-27
But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness because you have been with me from the beginning.
Today's Prayer: Father, help us to be a people who rely on the Spirit to hold our eyes up. Protect us from forcing life to happen, and instead put us in a place of submission and humility. Please inspire us to be on mission in a way that points other to Christ. Amen
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage: Romans 8:1-11
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Today's Prayer: Father, you are the one who brings us from death to life.
You release us from the failures of our flesh
And freely give us the life and peace that is ours in the Spirit.
You sent your Spirit as our Helper and our Advocate.
You promised that he would dwell within us
And intercede on our behalf according to your will.
Lord, increase our desire for your Spirit today.
Your Word tells us in John 6
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said,
Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
We thirst for your living water today.
Strip away the things that distract us.
Help us understand that only the water of the living God will satisfy.
We need more of you today.
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage: Ephesians 4:1-16
4 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says:
“When he ascended on high,
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”
9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Today's Prayer: Lord, we submit today to you once again. We know that it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can live our lives in ways that are worthy of all that you have done for us. We ask that you fill us again with your power and that you work in and through us. Help us to be humble and gentle and patiently help one another with our burdens.
We recognize that you have gifted us, and all of your people uniquely and also designed local churches such that we can only function by using our gifts together. Would you give each of us individually a clear view of how you have gifted us and the work that you intend for us to do in your power and in collaboration with your people.
We ask that you empower us and give us clear vision to equip your people here in this time at this place we call Fellowship Church to do the work of ministry you intend for us to do together. We ask that you mature us and draw us in to Yourself so that we might know You more and more each day. Help us to reflect your glory in this church; knit us together so that we would grow together and build each other up in your love as we each do the work you have prepared for us to do. In all things, God, let us be for the praise of your glory!
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage: Galatians 5: 16-18
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Today's Prayer: Father, we love you, Lord. Today we give you thanks that you have filled us with your Spirit, that you have invited us to take up a burden that is easy and is light. Lord, today I ask that you would teach us to walk with your Spirit, to trust in you, to rely on you. To empty ourselves of any desire to prove ourselves and to trust you instead. Would you teach us to live out of the posture Not by might, not by power, but by your Spirit. May we be a people of radical trust and dependance on you. Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Today's Passage: John 16: 4-15
“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Today's Prayer:
Our Father, you speak to us through the Holy Spirit, our Helper, our Comforter, our Friend. Strengthen our hearts to receive your Word, to receive your Truth. There are many things you desire to tell us, but we cannot bear them yet. Lead our hearts into the places where we can bear more, receive more, and hear more from You.
Help us to hear, O God, what more you have to say to us and Lead us on, our Father, into the highlands of Your heart, which you have made so wonderfully accessible to us through He who dwells gladly in us — the Holy Spirit.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Stacey Tafao, R.D. McClenagan, Krista Elmore, and Erik Chandler provide an introduction to the 21 Days of Fasting & Prayer.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Website
Subscribe to the 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting Newsletter
Stacey references RD's sermon "God Has More For You." Watch it here.
Today, RD Reads from Luke 2.
From all of us to all of you, Merry Christmas.
The Names of God:
· Adonai – The LORD, the majestic One who has set His glory above the heavens. (Psalm 8)
· El Elyon – The God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; (Gen 14)
· El Moshaah – The God Who Saves
· El Nehkumah – The God of All Comfort
· El Shaddai – The All Sufficient One
· Elohim – All Powerful One, Creator, whom we read about in Genesis 1.
· El Roi – The God Who Sees Me
· Yahweh, I AM
· Jehovah-Jireh, The Lord Will Provide
· Jehovah Magen – The Lord my Shield who appears in Psalm 33: “Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name."
· Jehovah Nissi – The Lord is My Banner
· Jehovah Ori – The Lord is My Light, Psalm 27 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
· Jehovah Rohi – The Lord is My Shepherd; Psalm 23 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff,they comfort me. The One whose goodness and mercy chases after us every single day of our lives.
· Jehovah Sabaoth – The Lord of Hosts from Psalm 24 Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty,the Lord, mighty in battle!
· Jehovah-Rapha – The Lord Who Heals
· Jehovah-Shalom – The Lord is Peace
· Jehovah-Tsuri – The Lord My Rock
· Logos – The Word
· Rabbi – Teacher
· Messiah – The Christ, our Messiah, so identified and called by Andrew, Simon Peter's brother in John 1
· Parakletos – Helper, the One who will be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. John 14
· Shalom – Prince of Peace, prophesied about by the prophet Isaiah: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
· Immanuel - God With Us
Prayer and Reflection Questions:
1. Can you think of a time you felt particularly close to God? For me, I often experience Him in nature. There’s a mountain in North Carolina my family has spent a significant amount of time on. From it, you can look down on clouds and the Blue Ridge mountains and it never fails to bring me into a deeper awareness of God’s presence with me.
2. It can look a lot of ways, but as you think of your “God moment,” would you pray a prayer of appreciation (out-loud) of who the Lord is for you and your appreciation of His character. Perhaps one of the names of God has held special significance for you this season – thank Him for that.
3. Now, knowing that He is Immanuel, notice where He is with you at this moment. The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to us, and so ask the Spirit for an awareness of God’s presence with you.
4. Ask Jesus directly what He wants you to know, or what His good plans for healing are for you today.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: Isaiah 9:2-7
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
You have multiplied the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
For the yoke of his burden,
and the staff for his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Today's Prayer:
Shalom, our great Prince of Peace,
We seek rest in you today.
Our world is broken,
And our hearts are heavy,
Yet we rejoice in knowing that you are our promised Peace.
Your Word tells us in Colossians 1 that you are before all things.
That in you all things hold together.
You are the beginning, preeminent in all things.
You reconcile to yourself all things.
And you make peace by the blood of your cross.
We need your deep, healing peace today.
Not the circumstantial peace that the world seeks,
But the true, everlasting peace that only you can provide.
We trust in your goodness
And we rest in the hope of your promised return.
Amen.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: John 14:15-21
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
Today's Prayer: Lord, may we yield our posture to You who permanently indwells us. We ask You to fill us afresh to walk closer to You. May we confess when we grieve You and say a radical “yes” to where You leads us. Since You are our Helper who is called to our side and the One who comes to our aide, let us keep in step with you every step of this holiday season.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: John 1:39-42
He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
Today's Prayer: Jesus, you are our Messiah. Our Christ.
The promised one that was spoken of from long ago.
You are our rescuer, the one that has promised to bring us out of darkness and into light.
You are the anointed one. The one set apart from the very beginning to be the one who delivers us to a new Home. Your Kingdom coming.
Jesus. Help us, this Advent season, to know without doubt, that you are the one that the prophets spoke of long ago. Help us to believe that there is no other way but following you.
The Messiah. The Christ.
Amen.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: John 1:35-38
The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “what are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means teacher) “where are you staying?”
Today's Prayer: You are the Lamb of God. We proclaim that you are holy and above all. There is no one like you. Thank you, Lord that you are the perfect teacher. Even the best among us cannot compare to you. You are gentle and kind. Our hope is in you. Teach us how to forgive just as you forgave us. Teach us to be generous. Just as you poured out yourself lavishly on us. Teach us to be humble. Just as you humbled yourself by being obedient to the point of death on the cross. Our hope is in you. We love you, Lord. Amen.
Amen.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Today's Prayer: God, we love you and praise you. We acknowledge that we here today are numbered among those who have beheld your glory and experienced your goodness. We are included among those Isaiah spoke of when he said "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the land of deep darkness. A light has dawned." Our world is dark. Full of shadows, doubts and hidden places. Yet in your love you refused to leave us stumbling alone. Instead you gave us yourself your word, The Logos, Jesus stepping into our darkness to bring light, clarity and truth. Today we honor you as our Logos, the eternal word who speaks life into our weary souls. You are the light that never fades. The Word that never stops speaking. So, Jesus, we ask you today. Shine your light into the hidden corners of our hearts, exposing what needs to be revealed and calling us into the abundant life you promised. Speak your words of truth in life over the lingering doubts, the unanswered questions, and the fears that lurk in the shadows of our minds. Illuminate our paths and lead us into your presence, where light and life abound forever. Amen.
Amen.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: Psalm 18:1-2
I love you, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
Today's Prayer: Father, we love you.
You are our rock, Jehovah-Tsuri.
You are the one in whom we find refuge.
Our salvation, and our strength for today.
Remind us today of your faithfulness.
Remind us today that your ways are perfect.
In the dry and weary places of our lives,
Teach us to lean fully on you.
Teach us to make you our first move.
In the broken places and in places of contentment,
Reveal our need for the hope that only provide.
Keep us from trying to become our own deliverer – our own strength.
Lord, only you will satisfy.
Help us see you at work today,
And help us walk in the confidence of your good and perfect ways.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: Judges 6:22-24
“Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.”
Today's Prayer: Lord Jesus, we love you. More often than we care to admit. More often than we want. We need to hear your words. Peace be to you. Do not fear. Lord. But you remind us that you are our peace. It is not our circumstances. It is not what is happening around us in the world. Though we do ask for peace, Lord, it is you yourself who is our peace. That we, like Gideon, would understand. Now, I have seen you face to face. I know who you are. And Lord, how much more in Jesus, our Prince of Peace, do we see you face to face? Because you are Emmanuel, God with us. Standing in front of us. Present in the Holy Spirit. The love of the father made manifest among us. Lord, may we be that peace to each other. May we pass the peace of Christ amongst our brothers and sisters, and all those we come into contact with. Lord, knowing always it is you that has brought us peace through your cross where you loved us enough to take away the penalties. The debts we owed, the way we had invited sin and turmoil into our lives. You made peace by the blood of your cross. Because you loved us. Lord, let that peace invade our identities today. May that tell us who we really are.
Amen.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: Exodus 15:22-26
Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”
Today's Prayer: Lord, we love you.
You are Jehovah-Rapha – the Lord Who Heals.
Your blood was shed and your body was broken that we may receive an everlasting healing.
A gift we can hardly comprehend.
Your Word so beautifully points to this truth from the first words to the last.
And we cling to this promise today.
We need your healing, and we need your hope today.
Reveal in our hearts today where we need your healing power to bring life to our bitterness.
Reveal in our minds where we need the truth of your Word to overcome our selfish thoughts.
Help us see you anew today,
In the simplest of moments,
And in the places of deep pain.
We praise your beautiful name.
Amen.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: Psalm 24:7-10
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD, strong and mighty,
the LORD, mighty in battle!
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
he is the King of glory!
Today's Prayer: Oh LORD of Hosts, Jehovah Sabaoth, you are the King of glory above all others, and the victory is already yours.
We call upon you in awe and praise when we perceive just a small portion of your character. Sometimes that comes out of us in speechless wonder and sometimes in shouts of praise. You are the LORD of hosts, the one who is above all and in whom and through whom all are created.
We call upon you in our distress when we perceive just a small portion of your character. Sometimes this comes out of us in speechless sobs of sorrow and sometimes in cries of agony. You know our inner hearts and the troubles that we are going through in this world. We want to rest assured that you are our refuge.
You are our God, and we are your people. We submit to you as the Lord of Hosts and ask that you would reveal more and more of yourself to us. Reveal to us, LORD, more of how you empower us to cooperate in your work here, more of how you protect us in all of our battles, and more of how you are our strong refuge. LORD, we ask that you knit us together here in this place that we call Fellowship Church into a people who passionately serve you by serving each other and the world for the praise of your glory! Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.[
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Today's Prayer: Father, as we reflect on your first coming this Christmas and live in the liminal hope of your second coming, turn our hearts away from lesser things that are only wind and waves of distraction. Help us to worship you and you alone in spirit and in truth. Help us yield our lives to your ever loving care and shepherding. We are your sheep. We hear your voice. We are known by you and desire to follow you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: Psalm 27
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.
For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.
And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!
For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will take me in.
Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.
I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living!
Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!
Today's Prayer: So, father, we wait for you. In our waiting we seek your face. Please, Lord, reduce of anything that hinders us from coming to you. Release of any doubts, shame or areas in our life that are steeped in darkness. Search our hearts and show us what we might need to be sacrificed to you. That we may do this with shouts of joy.
Because we know that darkness will not overcome the light. Amen.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: Exodus 17:14-16
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner, saying, “A hand upon the throne of the LORD! The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
Today's Prayer: Oh LORD our Banner, Jehovah Nissi, we call upon you both in our distress and in our victory. We submit to your leadership and ask that you would reveal more and more of yourself to us. Reveal to us, LORD, how you have gifted us to cooperate in your work here. LORD, we ask that you knit us together into a people who passionately serve you by serving each other and the world for the praise of your glory! Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: Psalm 33: 20-22
Our soul waits for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
For our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
Today's Prayer: Lord you are our shield and our ever-present help.
Your steadfastness deepens our hope and draws us near to your side.
The brokenness of this world often leaves us feeling discouraged.
The circumstances of this life so easily weigh us down.
But, your word reminds us to take refuge in you.
It reminds us to trust you.
It reminds us walk in integrity.
It reminds us that your ways are perfect.
Your very words remind us that we will face trouble.
Yet we have an eternal hope.
We have the beautiful eternal hope of trusting in the One who has overcome the world.
As we wait eagerly for your return,
Let us not lose sight of our great help and our shield.
We love you Lord.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: Genesis 22:9-14
When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
Today's Prayer: Father God, Jehovah Jireh – we recognize the ways seen and unseen that you have provided for us and our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout all of time. You are always on time. And even though it doesn’t feel like that sometimes, we believe it ultimately to be true.
Remind us again, in this advent season of waiting and longing for you, that your heart is one of outpouring and generosity. Abounding in love and blessings to those of us that call on you.
Jesus, we praise you, for being the provision we needed. At just the right time, while we were powerless in our sin, you became our sacrifice and made a way for us to come home to God. How can we ever stop thanking you? We celebrate your coming and your victory this Advent season. And we eagerly await to be reunited with you.
Holy Spirit, through your power, would you remind us when we forget that Jehovah Jireh is our God. Call to mind the ways and times he has proven himself true to his character. And help our hearts to grow in wisdom and trust as we wait and hope for Christ’s return.
Amen.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: Exodus 3:11 -15
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’
God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.”
Today's Prayer: Lord, we love you, and we praise your beautiful name.
You are the great I AM.
The one who is in all and holds all things together.
The one who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Our need for you is great.
Remind us today that you alone are our sustainer.
Remind us today that we can rest in the fullness of who you are.
Let us see your power in all of our brokenness.
Let us see the constancy of your presence throughout every season of our lives.
Let us see where you are revealing your eternal nature to a broken world.
And let us not miss where you are inviting us into this beautiful work.
As we walk through each hour of this day,
Make your presence known,
And let us rest in all of who you are.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: Genesis 16: 11-13
And the angel of the Lord said to her,
“Behold, you are pregnant
and shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,
because the Lord has listened to your affliction.
He shall be a wild donkey of a man,
his hand against everyone
and everyone's hand against him,
and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”
So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”
Today's Prayer: Father we love you.
We long to for the day we will see you face-to-face,
But, in the waiting, we rest in knowing that you are the God who sees us in this very moment.
We rest in knowing that you see us in our laughing and in our weeping.
We rest in knowing that you see every longing and every place of brokenness.
We rest in knowing that you see every high and every low.
Throughout this day, attune our hearts and minds to you.
Let our eyes not drift from your glory.
Let us not forget your deep, unwavering love for your children.
When we are tempted to numb the pain through our own strength, Keep our eyes on you.
When we struggle to see the good in your plan for today, Keep our eyes on the promised joy that is to come.
You are the God who sees all that was, all that is, and all that will be.
We trust your good and perfect ways.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Today's Prayer: Elohim…God…
The fact that you have existed from the beginning of all time is incredibly reassuring to my heart. So often, I get caught up with the details of my own life and forget that it is meant to be part of the grand story You have been writing from the beginning of all time.
I confess that you are all-powerful and are the creator of all that surrounds us. While you rule and reign over all of creation help me to trust that Your sovereignty extends to my life. The details of my life are not hidden from You. Your Word remind me the very hairs of my head are all numbered and that I am far more valuable than many sparrows.
In the same way that your Spirit hovered over the face of the waters, would you hover over me on this day? I desire for my life to be motivated and animated by Your Spirit. I ask the Spirit would shape my heart and affections for You today. I give You access to my life, Elohim. Have Your way.
In Christ’s name…Amen.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: Genesis 17:1-8.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty;[a] walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram,[b] but your name shall be Abraham,[c] for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
Today's Prayer: Oh Lord we love you.
We confess that you are El Shaddai, God Almighty, The All sufficient One.
We pray that you remind us of your sufficiency, over and over again. Let us not get distracted by the things of this world but instead keep our eyes fixed on you.
Give us hope knowing that the same sufficiency you promised Abraham is what you offer to us. You are continually with us. You guide us with your counsel. You are the strength of our heart and our portion forever.
Amen
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
Today's Prayer: God of all Comfort, we are encouraged today by the words of the prophet Isaiah:
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
In a season that seems to leave no room for sadness, we take great comfort from knowing You took our pain and bore our suffering.
We ask that Your Spirit would help us to know You more deeply on this day as the God of all Comfort.
Amen.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: Psalm 68:19-20
Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation. Selah
Our God is a God of salvation,
and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
Today's Prayer: Father, we love you.
We are in awe of the salvation you so freely give to those who believe.
We bless your name.
We rejoice in the promise that your salvation is the same yesterday, today, and for all eternity.
We trust in you.
We rest in your perfect goodness.
Lord, reveal any places in our lives where we are not yet resting in the assurance of your salvation.
Bring them to light, and allow us to lean a bit more fully into your grace today.
As we walk through our day, use our very lives as you continue bringing the light of your salvation to this broken world.
Heighten our awareness to your salvation at work in your Kingdom today.
We confess our need for you today.
Help us not lose sight of you in the busyness of our lives today.
Help us hold tight to the promise of the salvation that only comes through you.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: Genesis 14:17-22
17 After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”
And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth…
Today's Prayer: El Elyon, God Most High, we praise You today because you are over everything in our lives – friendships, family, homes, work, brokenness, victory, and joy - all of it. We declare that there is nobody like You and we take comfort in knowing that you have positioned Yourself far above all that surrounds us in this world. Father, we recognize that “Faith doesn’t deny reality, it leaves room for You to grant a new reality” and so as your children, we’re asking You to do that very thing.
Thank you for Your goodness over us and Your presence with us.
Amen.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: Psalm 8
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings[b]
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Today's Prayer: Father, we love you.
We are in awe of your faithfulness throughout every generation.
Thank you for revealing your sovereignty time and time again in your Word.
As we cry out to you today, remind us that you are Adonai, The LORD.
The one who rules over all creation.
As we cry out to you today, remind us that you are the God who holds all in perfect balance.
The one who was, who is, and who will always reign supreme.
As we cry out to you today, remind us that your sovereignty extends beyond our understanding.
You are the one who holds all things together and has good plans for your people.
You are Adonai, The LORD.
You are our sovereign King who reigns over all.
You proclaim blessing over your people, and we need only believe.
Open our ears and turn our hearts toward you today.
Allow our eyes to grasp the fullness of your glory
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
Today's Passage: Isaiah 63:16
For you are our Father,
though Abraham does not know us,
and Israel does not acknowledge us;
you, O Lord, are our Father,
our Redeemer from of old is your name.
Today's Prayer: Abba, Father – we come to you today so thankful for your nearness.
We confess we need Father’s love. Set us as a seal upon Your heart and reveal to us how much we are sons and daughters with whom you are well pleased. Where there are places of wounding, we ask for healing. Where there are places we resist Your love, bring a softening that we might know you more as a Good Father.
You know us personally and so we ask that You would speak words that bring hope and strength where hope and strength are needed. Speak words that bring rest and joy where rest and joy are needed. Speak encouragement and life where encouragement and life are needed.
We thank you for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that allows us to cry “Abba, Father” and reminds us of our new identity in Christ.
It is in Your name that we pray, Amen.
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
The many names of God found throughout Scripture are a testament to his power, love, and faithfulness across generations. He is the God who was, who is, and who is to come, and he never stops revealing himself in new ways to his people.
As we spend these 24 days of Advent rejoicing in his birth and longing for the day he will return, we invite you to create space to reflect on these beautiful names. Each day on our Advent Podcast, we will explore one name of God found in Scripture along with a guided time of reflection and prayer. During a season often filled with busyness, our heart for you is that you would begin each day being rooted and established in Christ, and, from there, you would move out in the world, shaped and held fast by the Word.
Daily Reflection:
- How does this name allow me to deepen my trust in and dependence on the Lord?
- Where is this aspect of God’s character at work in my life today?
- Are there places in my life where I need God to retrain my affections to the truth of who he is?
For more information about this Advent season, visit our Christmas at Fellowship page. There you can find more resources, as well as information about pursuing Christ and celebrating him this season with our church.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 6:18-24
Today's Prayer:
Lord, as Paul closes his letter to the Ephesians,
I am struck by his final phrase regarding the type of love that comes from you, Jesus.
He calls your love, “incorruptible”.
Master, how powerful is this word to me, especially in our day and time.
Not merely for the corruption that I see in the world around me.
But for my own corrupted heart.
How frequent is my love corrupted by sin and selfishness.
Yet, yours is pure.
And it is this love that we have access to in sharing with those around us.
This, like Paul, gives us courage to speak boldly about you!
May we stay close to your word, close to your heart, close to this incorruptible love.
For it is the fountain of everlasting life for our weary souls, and for those souls we interact with every day.
May we continue, even after these 21 days, to meditate on your word, for it is life.
Amen.
Thanks for joining us. Grace be with you, who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 6:10-18a
Today's Prayer:
Our great defender and our strong tower, it is in you we have ability to stand.
Because of all that you have done, we can stand.
So often I remember these verses from times of my childhood –
times in my Sunday school classes.
Yet, as my mind wanders to these sweet memories and songs,
may I be reminded how powerful these verses truly are for me today.
Just as you clothed Adam and Eve in the Garden, so you clothe us.
Now, not to cover our shame, but to bear arms with the seal of Christ.
The insignia of Jesus is on our chest and shield.
You, Holy Father, equip and clothe us.
You provide these items that we need to defend the flaming arrows.
You arm us with the power of your word, that is like a two-sided sword.
May we remember your provisions in times of need.
May we lean into your protection.
May we remember that in you we stand.
It’s in you we stand.
May we stand and remember who we are, for we more deeply know who you are.
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 6:1-9
Today's Prayer:
Lord, you are our great Father.
You are our great master. Our Lord.
Whether in Roman culture or early American culture, we have a tragic past in the handling of Your image bearers, and those who are siblings in Christ, as lesser beings.
Father forgive us.
As Paul confronts this, He points both slaves and masters to You as our great Lord and master.
We all answer to you.
The concept of slavery has changed in our Christian language, as so often it now relates to our bondage to sin.
How ironic it is for us to consider slavery to YOU as freedom, for Paul says to the Romans, “You have been set free from sin and slaves to God.”
It is in submission to you that we find true freedom.
May you deeply teach us what this means as our independent spirit wrestles against the concept of slavery.
As a Father, a people-pleaser, a man who has looked at others as less than, and a man who has found himself in bondage, I am convicted in these verses.
God, how often I want things to look good or do well... for me.
Yet, you call me to have a sincere heart.
That I trust in you.
That I bear the burdens of those in my life.
That I would love my brother as myself.
And that I would love you with my whole heart.
This, I believe is the sincerity of heart. Would you convict us and challenge in this today.
For the moms and dads, I pray for patience in this space as they wrestle with the souls of their children, like you wrestle with us.
For the children contemplating what honor means, may you give clarity.
For the fathers seeking your peace, may you provide it.
May we listen to these words with refreshed ears to hear you speak to us again.
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 5:22-33
Today's Prayer:
Oh Lord we love you.
We praise you.
You loved us, your bride, the church, and gave yourself up for us.
You sanctify us, cleansing us with the washing of the water with the word.
Because of you, we are holy and without blemish.
Lord you know the word submission brings out a lot of feelings.
Submission is the opposite of what the world preaches.
But Jesus you submitted to your Father – don't let us forget that.
When we feel too important or grand to submit to you and your will,
remind us of your prayer in the garden "yet not my will, but yours be done."
When we feel too important to submit to one another,
remind us that you are calling us to holiness and humility – because you are holy and humble.
Thank you that you Lord that have taught us what it means to lay down our lives for another.
You don't call us to anything you haven't experienced.
We can trust you.
You are worthy to be followed and we praise you.
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 5:15-21
Today's Prayer:
Oh Lord, we love you.
Fill us with your spirit.
We want more of you.
Lord I pray today we are a people marked by thankfulness.
Make us acutely aware of all that you have done for us.
Psalm 103 reminds us to forget not all your benefits:
you forgive all our sins,
you heal all our diseases,
you redeem our lives from the pit,
you crown us with love and compassion,
you satisfy our desires with good things so that our youth is renewed like the eagles.
You have given far more than we could ever ask or imagine –
Let this awareness shape the way we interact with one another and with you.
Lord shape us;
make us a people quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to be angry out of reverence for you.
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 5:6-14
Today's Prayer:
Oh Lord, we love you.
Anything we are is because of you.
Through you all things were made.
Without you nothing was made that has been made.
In you is life and that life is the light of all mankind.
That light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
What a privilege it is to be children of that light.
Today I ask that you give us aware of the opportunities to be light in our day to day lives.
Lord I pray you give us opportunities to be kind to people who are not kind,
I pray you give us opportunities to be gentle to people who are harsh,
I pray you give us opportunities to share the truth of the Gospel to those who have not heard it.
I pray you shine your light on places that our dark in our own spirits.
Call us to holiness.
You are faithful to do that.
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 5:1-5
Today's Prayer:
Oh Lord, we love you.
We praise you because you are holy and worth imitating.
Let the truth that you call us beloved children sink in throughout our day.
We have done nothing to deserve that title, yet you have given it so freely.
Let our status as beloved children transform our thoughts, words, and deeds.
Father, you know how easy it is for us to read your word and want to perform.
It is easy to read these verses and create a list of behaviors to avoid.
I pray today you begin to shape a new spirit in us.
Take away the impulse to perform and replace it with a deep desire in us to be light in dark places.
I ask that today that you fix our eyes on you –
in all of our moments, big and small.
You are worthy of our praise.
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 4:25-32
Today's Prayer:
Jesus, We love you. You Who there is no falsehood in. Who spoke the truth with your neighbors. You were angry and you never sinned.
You did honest work with your own hands. And you had something to share with anyone in need. No corrupting talk came from your mouth, but only what is good for building up .Your words gave grace to those who hear. There was nothing malicious in your words, in your ways. You were kind, tenderhearted.
Jesus, may we follow you in these ways? May we confess the ways that we have fallen short in these areas. To seek kindness, ask you for a tender heart and to constantly forgive one another as the Father has forgiven us.
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 4:17-24
Today's Prayer:
So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom[b] and forgave our sins.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 4:8-16
Today's Prayer:
Jesus, we love you.
You who are the head of the body, the church. The firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything you might have supremacy. For all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in you, and through you to reconcile all things to himself, things on earth or in heaven, making peace by your blood, shed on the cross.
Jesus, may that be the ballast that stabilizes us today. May we mature a little bit more today in to the stature of the fullness of Christ, the unity of faith, the knowledge of the Son of God.
Let the gifts you have given us express themselves today as you see fit. That we may live a life that is worthy: the good life.
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 4:1-7
Today's Prayer:
Jesus we love you. You who have shown us the way, shown us the humility and patience, how to bear with each other in love, you who united us in the Spirit, You who has brought us back to the God and Father of all, you who has not left us as orphans, but have empowered, and equipped us, love us, and will love us.
Fill us with your Spirit as you lead us into the good works you’ve prepared for us: the good work of being this body, this people, this church today. Jesus, give us the eagerness to maintain this unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Where we have sinned, let us confess, to that brother or sister we have wronged, may we reconcile and repair. May we forgive as we have been forgiven.
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 3:14-21
Today's Prayer:
Father, we bow our knees before you today.
We ask that you will strengthen us by the power of your Spirit.
We ask that your Spirit will be alive and active within us.
Make us a church with hearts dependent upon you.
Dwell within our body so that we are firmly rooted and grounded in love.
Strengthen our minds that we may begin to know the fullness of who you are.
Let us rest and find peace in the love of Christ that is beyond what we can understand.
We praise you, Lord –
You who are able to accomplish far more than we could ever imagine.
You who are ever at work in our lives.
Let our words and our hearts forever bring you praise and proclaim your glory to all generations.
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 3:7-13
Today's Prayer:
Father, your manifold wisdom is beyond our understanding.
You don’t see as the world sees.
You use the least of all the saints.
You are not held back by our earthly constraints.
Your ways are better.
Empower us to speak the truth of your Word.
Work through our lives to bring light to a broken world.
Stir a passion within our hearts to make known the beauty of the Gospel.
We are in awe of your wisdom.
We are in awe of the magnitude of your plan.
Let us not lose heart.
Create in us a boldness and confidence that only you can give.
Use your church to display the beauty and complexity of your wisdom.
Stir something new in us today.
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 3:1-6
Today's Prayer:
Father, help us today as we long to grasp the mystery of the Gospel.
You have given us your Word that we might read and know the truth of who you are.
You have given us your Word that we might be encouraged and bound together as one body.
As we hear your Word spoken over us, allow your people to have clarity.
Create in us a depth of insight that only your Spirit can provide.
You have promised unity with our fellow heirs.
You have promised the unmatched hope of Christ.
As we seek to understand, allow our eyes to be opened and our hearts to be turned to you.
As we continue reading and reflecting on Paul’s words to the Ephesians,
Remind us that you are faithful to include us in your work,
Remind us that your plan is greater than our circumstances.
Remind us that your grace is unmatched.
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 2:18-22
Today's Prayer:
Father, you have joined us together and called us your dwelling place.
You have called us fellow citizens and invited us in.
You have built a firm foundation and given us your Son as the cornerstone.
You have given us your Spirit that we may know you more fully.
Let us not forget that we were once lost, strangers without a home,
But you have called us your own.
You have hemmed us in.
Let us not forget that we were once easily swayed, tossed to and fro by the waves,
But you have given us a firm foundation.
You have joined us together and strengthened the body.
Let us not forget that we were once unable to come before you, unable to know you deeply,
But you have chosen us as your dwelling place.
Your Spirit dwells within us and is transforming our lives.
Keep us close to your side.
Create in us a longing for more of you.
Teach us to love one another deeply.
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 2:11-17
Today's Prayer:
Father, you have called us to remember.
Remind us today that we were once far from you.
Separated from Christ, and unable to grasp the hope that only you can give.
But, in your great mercy, you sent your only Son.
You bridged the gap, through the blood of Christ.
Remind us today that you alone are our peace.
You have overcome the law, making us one in Christ.
You have created a way and have called us to live in unity as one body.
We confess we are a people who are quick to forget.
Quick to find ourselves longing to return to Egypt.
Quick to question your ways and attempt to fix things on our own.
Quick to forget to love one another as you have so extravagantly loved us.
Lord, remind us today.
You are our hope.
You are our peace.
We are brought near by the blood of Christ.
We are made one through the cross.
Your ways are always better.
Your love is unfailing.
Thank you for continuing to draw us near and reveal yourself to us.
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 2:8-10
Today's Prayer:
Father, we were created by you and for you.
You have prepared our steps, and you have numbered our days.
You have invited us to join you in the work of your Kingdom.
We are your workmanship.
Yet, we are quick to assume we can earn your love.
We so often find ourselves working harder, checking the boxes of our spiritual to-do list.
So quick to forget that your grace is a gift, not a thing to be earned.
Lord, keep us from boasting in our own works.
Remind us today that we are your workmanship.
Remind us that we need only have faith and walk in the path you have prepared before us.
Thank you for allowing us to join you in your work.
Thank you for sending your Son to show us the way.
Help us to know you deeply and hear your voice clearly.
Help us to walk in step with your Spirit.
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 2:1-7
Today's Prayer:
Father, you alone are our redeemer and our hope.
You have called us your own.
You know every part of our hearts.
You know every harsh word that has come from our mouths.
You know every worldly desire that consumes our thoughts.
Yet, in your great love, so rich in mercy, you chose to make us alive with Christ.
When we find ourselves caught up in the shame of our short comings,
When we find ourselves discouraged by the same struggles that we have yet to overcome,
May we remember that you are a Father who is rich in mercy.
May we remember that you alone bring true, everlasting life.
May we remember that you draw us into a new family and seat us in heavenly places.
Lord, we long to understand the fullness of your great love for us.
We long for the day when we will see you face to face.
We long for the day when we will understand the immeasurable riches of your grace.
Draw us near in the waiting.
Teach us to walk in a way that brings glory to your name.
Use our imperfections to point to your great love, so rich in mercy.
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 1:15-23
Today's Prayer:
When I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn’t stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I’d think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!
And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church – Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 1:11-14
Today's Prayer:
Father, we give you thanks and praises for causing us to hope in Christ and calling us your possession. For making us your children and heirs. Today, we choose to lay hold of the hope that is ours in Christ. In the places of our lives where we’re resigned and exhausted, we speak the hope God. In the seemingly intractable situations in which we find ourselves, we speak the hope of God. In the places of tender green buds barely pushing above ground, we speak the hope of God. In hard decisions that need to be made today, we speak the hope of God.
Jesus, we give you thanks and praises for both being and bringing the Good News. We say there is none like you.
Spirit, we give you thanks and praises for sealing us, for confirming that we are indeed the Fathers, for making us holy - separated and set apart for God. For marking us as His and for guaranteeing our inheritance. Set us aflame today with the resounding reality that we belong to a King and Kingdom that is beyond what we can see. With the resounding reality that we are not paupers but heirs of the Most High.
And in response, we choose to live our lives today for the praise of Your glory. Strengthen our faith today. Call us to remember your faithfulness. We claim the hope that is ours as we call to mind who you are and what you have done from the beginning of all time to this time and THIS day, and what you will do to the end of all time.
We put your grace and power and perfection on full display.
We choose lives that magnify you.
All of us for all of who you are.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 1:1-10
Today's Prayer:
Father, we thank you, for how you have named us as saints.
For how You are right now speaking a truer and better identity over us - calling us blessed, chosen, holy, blameless, adopted, redeemed, forgiven, and lavished with grace.
Not just Blessed… but Blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…
Not just Chosen… but Chosen before the foundation of the world, that we should be…
Not just Holy… but without blame…
Not just Tolerated…but Adopted according to your good pleasure…
[Not just Accepted…but Accepted in the Beloved]
Not just Redeemed…but a permanent redemption through Your blood, and
Forgiven…of all our sins…
And Lavished with Grace…over and over again…
Father, it’s almost too good to be true! It would be enough to be known by you, but to be named as an adopted son or a daughter is scarcely more than we can comprehend.
Jesus, we praise you for your goodness over us. Your sacrifice for us. Your deep care and attention toward us. May praise be our response to all You have accomplished on our behalf.
Spirit, as we walk throughout this day, lead us in this truth. Keep our identity ever before us. We choose to walk as a particular kind of people.
It is in the strong name of Jesus that we pray…
Amen.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Reading Ephesians Website
Men's and Women's Summer Studies Info
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
We long to be a people committed to knowing our Father intimately, being attuned to where He is at work, and knowing His promises. We long to be a people who remember His ways are true and better. We long to be a people committed to learning and trusting His Word.
Throughout the month of May—a month that can easily overwhelm and distract—our prayer is to draw our body closer to the Father through the reading of Scripture.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Information and Sign Up for the Missionary Lunch Dinner with Delaney Driscoll On February 5th from 6:30 to 8:30pm.
Information on 21 Days Worship & Prayer Night on February 4th from 5 to 7pm in the Student Center
Today's Passage: Galatians 4:19, Habakkuk 3:2
Today's Prayer:
O Lord, we have read in your word of your fame and your deeds. We have seen in our lives your fame and your deeds and we have seen in our church of your fame and your deeds.
We ask for more, here and now, in our time, for your sake. We are so thankful for our salvation and we ask for you to restore our joy in Your salvation.
Lord, it is all about You, it is all for your glory.
We are yours, shape us into your image day by day as we behold you.
Would your voice be the loudest in our lives and in our church.
For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Hebrews 10:19-25
Today's Prayer:
Lord, we love at all because you have loved us.
We make room for you, Jesus.
Will you animate us to deep, costly love for each other?
Quicken within us a heart that finds it easy to love our neighbors, our neighborhood, our city, our basketball team, our department, our world.
Jesus you have made a way for us. May we make a way for others saying “There is room for you. There is room for you. On the darkest day, there is room for you. At the bottom of the pit, there is room for you.”
And may we never forget it for ourselves.
Because of you Jesus.
For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Matthew 25:34-36, 40
Today's Prayer: Father, you are so close to the poor. You even identify yourself with them. You are concerned with their needs; you fight for those that are oppressed and you have called us to follow in your steps. We ask that you would break our hearts for what breaks yours. We ask that you would slow us down, open our eyes, and attune our hearts to the plight of those on the margins. Lead us into meaningful relationships with those in poverty. I pray that we would be a people marked by compassion that leads to action, that we would take seriously the call to take care of the poor, that we would be openhanded with our lives and our resources, to literally feed those who are hungry, to clothes those who are naked, to shelter those who are alienated and alone. May our hearts be obedient to our new mission, willing to be uncomfortable, to risk, to sacrifice for those suffering from poverty, for You Jesus. Destroy the stereotypes, the negative thoughts, and the busyness in our hearts and lives that keep us from being close to You and those in need. May we truly, truly love our neighbors as ourselves. For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Micah 6:6-8
Today's Prayer:
Christ Our King,
Our world is overtaken
by unexpected calamity,
and by a host of attending
fears, worries, and insecurities.
We witness suffering, confusion,
and hardship multiplied around us,
and we find ourselves swept up
in these same anxieties and troubles,
dismayed by so many uncertainties.
Now we turn to you, O God,
in this season of our common distress.
Be merciful, O Christ, to those who suffer,
to those who worry, to those who grieve,
to those who are threatened or harmed
in any way by this upheaval.
Let your holy compassions be active
throughout the world even now—
tending the afflicted, comforting the brokenhearted,
and bringing hope to many who are hopeless.
Use even these hardships to woo our hearts
nearer to you, O God.
Indeed, O Father, may these days of disquiet
become a catalyst for conviction and repentance,
for the tendering of our affections, for the stirring
of our sympathies, for the refining of our love.
We are your people, who are called by you,
We need not be troubled or alarmed.
Indeed, O Lord, let us love now more fearlessly,
remembering that you created us, and appointed us
to live in these very places,
in the midst of these unsettled times.
It is no surprise to you that we are here now,
sharing in this turmoil along with the rest of our society,
for you have called your children to live as salt
and light among the nations, praying and laboring
for the flourishing of the communities where we dwell,
acting as agents of your forgiveness, salvation,
healing, reconciliation, and hope,
in the very midst of an often-troubled world.
And in these holy vocations
you have not left us helpless, O Lord,
because you have not left us at all.
Your Spirit remains among us.
Inhabit now your church, O Spirit of the Risen Christ.
Unite and equip your people for the work before them.
Let us be willing to share in your suffering, serving
as your visible witnesses in this broken world.
For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Mark 2:1-17
Today's Prayer:
PSALM 116:3 - “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.”
Jesus, we hold out to the world the only hope we have: New Life through you. May we, who have tasted and seen that you are good, offer the same precious drink to those around us who do not know you.
ROMANS 10:14 "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? “Jesus, make our life a megaphone for your grace and glory. Put us in the path of people that are far from you, that we may - through patient friendship and well-earned trust - offer to them what they are most after: You.
And , finally, JOHN 20:21 "Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” Jesus, you do not have me in this world to simply indulge in my own salvation. Send me like you went: Into the lives of those who are from you. So that they, by your grace, may come to fully know you - the Savior of the World.
For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Matthew 9:18-22
Today's Prayer: Lord, as we go about our days, planned and scheduled, let our hearts not see discipline as our righteousness.
If discipline masks the idolatry of control, may we humbly submit to the perfect timing of the Lord.
May we imitate Jesus who embraced interruptions and those who were causing the interruption with compassion.
Let us remember that some interruptions are far more than delays – that You, in your perfect goodness, create holy divine moments out of what we are quick to consider interruptions to our day. Moments where we can tend towards others with supernatural compassion.
When we aren’t planning on the change in direction, let us listen to the Holy Spirit for how you may be moving.
Turn our heads to those whose hearts need tending.
Turn our heads to the broken hearted.
Turn our heads to the lonely.
Turn our heads to those lost in darkness.
For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: James 4:13-17
Today's Prayer: Lord, You alone are the Author or our lives, and you alone order our steps.
You call us to remember that our time on earth is “a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
Will you to remind us today that our time belongs to you and that your ways are always greater?
Remind us today our own ways, our own plans, may seem fruitful in the eyes of the world but that Your ways will produce everlasting fruit.
As we consider how we spend our days, would you bring to our attention areas where we are reluctant to offer you full control? Would you lead us in repentance and help us turn our hearts toward you?
Thank you, Father, for graciously allowing us to join you in your work.
Open our eyes to those around us. Open our eyes to those who are hurting and searching. Open our eyes to where you are at work.
Let us not neglect the work we know we are called to in your Word.
As we go about our days, let our words “always be gracious, seasoned with salt” as you instruct us in Colossians chapter 4. Let us speak your truth in love. And let us remember that our actions often speak louder than our words.
Lord, we place our schedules in your hands today.
Lead us.
Reveal where you are at work.
Give us the strength and wisdom we need to join you in your work today.
For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Romans 12:10
Today's Prayer: Father in Heaven, the God of all glory and honor. Worthy of all worship and praise. You are the God who has bestowed your honor and glory upon your people. Through the person and work of your Son, Jesus Christ, who now resides in us through the Holy Spirit, we are agents of your grace and temples of your glory. What a privilege and joy! We ask that you’d make us people who see the ways your glory is at work in those around us. To be people who call out and honor the ways you’re making others more like your Son. To be people who really do outdo one another in showing honor. We need your help to do this. Holy Spirit, we cry out asking for the power necessary to faithfully live this Gospel implication out. We are powerless apart from your presence. Help us be a people, a Church of honor in a world of shame and criticism. To reflect your beauty and glory to a watching world. To live in a way that makes your Gospel even more attractive. We simply want more of what you have for us. We simply long to be more like Jesus. In His Name we pray. For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Philippians 2:1-8
Today's Prayer: Oh, Father, how challenging a call to be like Christ. Oh, how much I grasp for my own peace and security... Yet, again, I’m reminded that the ability to consider others above myself is only done through the truth that I am encouraged, comforted, cared for, and loved by the deep well that is Christ Jesus. May this prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi be our guide as we continue to seek him in this day of prayer and fasting... Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring love. Where there is offense, let me bring pardon. Where there is doubt, let me bring faith. Where there is despair, let me bring hope. Where there is darkness, let me bring light. Where there is sadness, let me bring joy. O Master, let me not seek as much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that I receive, it is in self-forgetting that I find, it is in pardoning that I am pardoned, and in dying that I am raised to eternal life. For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Romans 12:4-5
Today's Prayer: Lord, where would I be without my brothers and sisters in Christ? As we move into a time of prayer, ask the Lord to reveal areas of your own life that you have been reluctant to share with the Body. Ask Him to speak life and truth into these areas. Ask Him to deepen your faith and allow you to trust Him in the vulnerability of sharing your gifts with others. Lord, we know that your ways are better than our own. We know that your ways alone bring fullness of joy. We confess our attempts to live in isolation, despite your command to live as one body. We confess our attempts to withhold our gifts. Unwilling to be vulnerable. Unwilling to risk rejection. You have given us a better way. You have given us the gift of a New Family. Through your Spirit, you have made us one. Thank you for allowing us to reflect your glory as we live as one body. As we walk through our day, remind us that your Word tells us that “two are better than one.” Remind us that your strength and perfection are made known as we live in unity. Deepen our understanding of what it means to belong fully to one another today. Remind of us our need for you. Remind us that your ways are better. For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: John 5:2-9
Today's Prayer: Jesus, the one who’s gaze never waivers from those that you care for. Today, right where I am, give me eyes to see those around me, right where they are. In their loneliness or brokenness, in their hiding or their shame. Let me love those who are longing to be known, and know those who are longing to be loved. You are a God who notices - the small victories and the deepest of pain. We pray that we would become more devoted to your teaching - To rejoice with those who rejoice, and to weep with those that weep. Teach us more deeply how to dignify others with our presence and our personal attention. Jesus, you never seemed to be in a hurry. You stopped and called people by name. You took the long way around. You lingered. You inquired. You asked questions you no doubt already knew the answer to. Tune our hearts to be like yours - on the lookout for those that need to feel the simple hope of companionship today. For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Today's Prayer: Lord Jesus we love you. May you give us the grace to daily love you more. May our lives be marked by a choice to turn away from the idols surrounding us. Fill our hearts with a love of your word and a desire for those around us to know that your word is truth. Today we consecrate our daily mentality. Instead of being people just trying to get by or trying to be as happy as can be, let us be people moved by a desire to know you and trust you more and more. Move our hearts from being just hearers of the word to doers of the word. Today and tomorrow and all our days to come are yours. For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Ephesians 4:31-32
Today's Prayer: Father, in faith, I thank you for the instruction to forgive in Ephesians 4. I confess the places in my life where I need to practice this. With the friend I feel wronged by…My colleague at work…The child who actively rebels and resists relationship…The situation that did not go the way I desired...
I confess the places in my life that have been tainted by bitterness and anger. I confess that I have said things I should not have said. I confess that I have not desired others’ best good.
And in faith I come to you and whisper: “I forgive.”
I release people and circumstances into Your hands and I choose to walk in kindness and compassion, entrusting the details of my life into Your care.
- When I think of old hurts…I trust You to make me new.
- When I recall recent wounds, given and received…I trust You to make me new.
- When I remember hurtful words, spoken by or to me…I trust You to make me new.
- When I recount unfairness, toward me or by me toward others…I trust You to make me new.
- When I’m tempted by a quarrelsome spirit…I trust You to make me new.
- I walk in kindness…knowing You have me new. - I put on compassion…knowing You have made me new.
- And bind them both to me…knowing Your forgiveness has made me new.
Because You forgave me, I choose the way of forgiveness. For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: 1 John 4:19 and 1st Corinthians 13:4-7
Today's Prayer: Spencer prayed over us and for us, enjoy that today.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Psalm 62:5-8
Today's Prayer: Lord, you alone are my strength and you alone are my hope.
You alone sustain me.
Lord, I confess that I find myself time and time again falling into the rhythm of trying to define my worth by my own productiveness – attempting to earn your love, earn your approval, by my own list of accomplishments.
But you, Lord, have called me to something different. You have called me to come to a place that is quiet and still. You have called me to step away and create space for solitude.
Lord, I long for the rest that only you can provide. My own efforts fail time and time again and leave me weary.
Your Word tells us that You make us lie down is green pastures. That you lead us by still waters and restore our souls. Remind us today that You are the provider of true and sustaining rest. Remind us that your promised rest is greater than anything we can achieve by our own strength.
Lord, we pray today that you will enable us to quiet our thoughts and sit with you in the stillness. We ask that as we remove the distractions of our day, you will reveal yourself to us in a new way. We trust that you will alone sustain us.
Lord, you alone are my strength and you alone are my hope.
You alone are my rest.
For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passages: Proverbs 2:6-15 & James 3:13-18
Today's Prayer: Father, thank you that you graciously give us all things. Today, unlike other days, we seek wisdom as we walk through our day to day life.
Let the wisdom I have be pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits. Let me be impartial and sincere. Convict me when the wisdom I seek is for selfish ambition.
In my seeking of wisdom, let me become a clearer reflection of You and your heart. Help me trust you when the wisdom you give asks me to wait, rather than illuminating my next step.
Thank you for how you generously lavish your gift of wisdom on me. You are a good God and I trust in you. AMEN
For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: John 15:1-8
Today's Prayer: May we start our day with truth.
Jesus, you are the vine and God is the gardener.
From your true vine is where we grow.
We fight the urge to water our own soil with comforts of the world, disconnecting from the true vine.
Prune away the places in our lives that are withering and dead.
Areas where apathy, impatience, anger, idleness, indifference have begun to take root.
As you prune the branches producing good fruit and we feel the wince of discomfort,
may we find comfort in the nearness of your presence and hand as the pruning takes place.
Remember, through pruning, more fruit can grow.
Abide in me and I in you.
An invitation and a promise that Jesus has spoken.
We are invited to abide in Christ as he promises to abide in us.
May we live in a way to stay connected to the true vine and have the words of Jesus come true in us.
For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Psalm 51
Today's Prayer:
O God, the dark is not dark to you.
You see in us the remnant of our old selves, still gasping for breath and contending to rule us.
Our wrong is not hidden from your loving gaze.
In your power, You are keenly aware of the ways our sin seeks to drag us back down into the pit.
We confess the ways we knowingly and unknowingly reject the life of freedom you have given us.
Our selfishness, our pride, our fear, our desires, our addictions and our sloth.
Our insatiable desire to be seen, Our doubts, our lusts, our pettiness and our violence. They writhe around in us - echoes from the heart of stone that once beat in our souls.
But you, O God, have done a mighty work.
You have cleansed us, washed us, made us new and declared us good-to-go in your sight.
You have both absorbed our wrong and bestowed on us all of your right-ness.
A holy exchange of which we are not worthy but lovingly accept in bewildered gratitude. In the moments that we think we are awesome, remind us how you’ve rescued us.
In the moments that we think we are awful, remind us how you’ve rescued us.
We confess that all our sinful desires in this life point to an eternal truth.
That we are hungry.
For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: 1 Timothy 4:7-16
Today's Prayer: Father, I will have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather, I choose to train for godliness, knowing it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
It is on you, the living God, that my hope is set.
I choose to be an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
I choose to devote myself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching.
In the year ahead I will not neglect the gift you have given me.
I will practice what you have commanded me, I will immerse myself in Your ways.
I will keep a close watch on myself and be persistent in following you into the future.
For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: Psalm 139: 1-6,23-24
Today's Prayer: O Lord, you know me better than I know myself.
There are no secrets from you.
I pray today I am reminded that is a blessing.
There has never been a time that you didn't know me.
Let me find comfort in knowing that with you, I never have to pretend.
I never have to hide from you. I never have to wear a mask.
You are not scared of my anger or sadness or regret.
You do not find my questions or doubts to be off putting.
O Lord, let that knowledge overwhelm me in the best way.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made by you.
I praise you because you knit me together, creating the intricate pattern of who I am.
Let the knowledge that you were specific in forming me sink in,
but continue to feel new every time I remember it.
O Lord, as I walk closely with you
Remind me who I am- a precious, adopted child of the king.
And, because I am your child, remind me I am safe with you as you call out the places in me – the anger, the regret, the disregard – that I need to confess to you.
As you lead me to holiness, there may be pain. There may be sadness or doubt or fear. But remind that in it all, you are with me.
I pray as you reveal the places in me where you want more of me, places where you need me to go or to rearrange, that I would trust that it is for my good and for you glory.
Today, Lord, I pray I find comfort knowing that where I am is never too far from you.
For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Today's Passage: 2 Corinthians 5:17
Today's Prayer: Father, today we receive again the Good News that we are not what we once were. That the sacrifice of Your Son has made a way for a new identity to emerge. We praise Your Name and thank You for your kindness toward us and your goodness over us. We confess we need to be made new in ways we’re not always able to find words for or explain. Today, however, we take our place as sons and daughters of the Most High. For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever…AMEN.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Reach out to the Adult Ministries Team
Devon Accardi and Stacey Tafao from the Adult Ministries team provide an introduction to the 21 Days of Fasting & Prayer. What is it? How do we participate? What is fasting? For a lot of us, fasting is something we've read about but never done ourselves. Devon and Stacey answer those questions while setting forth the heart for our church as we move into this season of consecrating.
NOTES & LINKS:
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting Website
As part of the 21 days, we're committing to 21 days of 24/7 prayer. Sign up here.
Stacey references Trellis Nights. More info here.
Stacey references RD's sermon "God Has More For You." Watch it here.
Welcome to the Trellis Podcast. Through this podcast, we will share resources and guides around practicing and learning the ways of Jesus. Subscribe to follow along.