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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

: Seek and you shall find

31 October 2012

Opening Prayer/Worship

Hymn: Abide with me

Theme: Be filled with the Holy Spirit

Topic: Seek and you shall find

Reading: Mark 10:46-52
They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. 47When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ 48Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ 49Jesus stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’ 50So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man said to him, ‘My teacher,* let me see again.’ 52Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

Introduction
We live at a time when believing that God hears and answers prayer seem difficult.  Knowledge and desire for acquiring knowledge are increasing exponentially, daily.  It appears that discoveries in Science and teachings in Arts can explain all life situations.  But when you compare the things that are inexplicable to the known, you will begin to wonder at how much we really neither know nor understand- they are simply enormous and unimaginable.  It is only God that knows all things; He knows the end from the beginning, for before time He already exists.  God desires that we seek Him daily; and when we do, we find Him.  When we call upon Him, He hears, answers, heals and delivers us.  There are numerous ways through which we seek the Lord- prayer, Scripture, Holy Communion, fellowship, praises, worship and so on; and when we seek Him in humility and in faith, He answers and fills us with His Spirit.  In today’s study, our focus will be on seeking the Lord.

Questions/Discussion
1. What does it mean to seek the Lord? 
Deuteronomy 4:15-31
Since you saw no form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire, take care and watch yourselves closely, 16so that you do not act corruptly by making an idol for yourselves, in the form of any figure—the likeness of male or female, 17the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. 19And when you look up to the heavens and see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, do not be led astray and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples everywhere under heaven. 20But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron-smelter, out of Egypt, to become a people of his very own possession, as you are now. 21 The Lord was angry with me because of you, and he vowed that I should not cross the Jordan and that I should not enter the good land that the Lord your God is giving for your possession. 22For I am going to die in this land without crossing over the Jordan, but you are going to cross over to take possession of that good land. 23So be careful not to forget the covenant that the Lord your God made with you, and not to make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. 24For the Lord your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God. 25 When you have had children and children’s children, and become complacent in the land, if you act corruptly by making an idol in the form of anything, thus doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, and provoking him to anger, 26I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to occupy; you will not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27The Lord will scatter you among the peoples; only a few of you will be left among the nations where the Lord will lead you. 28There you will serve other gods made by human hands, objects of wood and stone that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29From there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul. 30In your distress, when all these things have happened to you in time to come, you will return to the Lord your God and heed him. 31Because the Lord your God is a merciful God, he will neither abandon you nor destroy you; he will not forget the covenant with your ancestors that he swore to them.

1 Chronicles 28:8-10
Now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and search out all the commandments of the Lord your God; that you may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you for ever. 9 ‘And you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve him with single mind and willing heart; for the Lord searches every mind, and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will abandon you for ever. 10Take heed now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary; be strong, and act.’

2 Chronicles 7:11-22
Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house; all that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished. 12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: ‘I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. 13When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. 16For now I have chosen and consecrated this house so that my name may be there for ever; my eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 17As for you, if you walk before me, as your father David walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my ordinances, 18then I will establish your royal throne, as I made covenant with your father David saying, “You shall never lack a successor to rule over Israel.” 19 ‘But if you* turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, 20then I will pluck you* up from the land that I have given you;* and this house, which I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 21And regarding this house, now exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished, and say, “Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this house?” 22Then they will say, “Because they abandoned the Lord the God of their ancestors who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they adopted other gods, and worshipped them and served them; therefore he has brought all this calamity upon them.”

Jeremiah 29:10-14
For thus says the Lord: Only when Babylon’s seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfil to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. 12Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. 13When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, 14I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

2. Discuss some of the practical ways we seek the Lord, individually and/or communally.
Psalm 105:1-15
1 O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
   make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
   tell of all his wonderful works.
3 Glory in his holy name;
   let the hearts of those who seek
   the Lord rejoice. 4 Seek the Lord and his strength;
   seek his presence continually.
5 Remember the wonderful works he has done,
   his miracles, and the judgements
   he has uttered, 6 O offspring of his servant Abraham,*
   children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 He is the Lord our God;
   his judgements are in all the earth.
8 He is mindful of his covenant for ever,
   of the word that he commanded,
   for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
   his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
   to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, ‘To you I will give the land of Canaan
   as your portion for an inheritance.’
12 When they were few in number,
   of little account, and strangers in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation,
   from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them;
   he rebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, ‘Do not touch my anointed ones;
   do my prophets no harm.’




Psalm 119:1-2, 9-16
1 Happy are those whose way is blameless,
   who walk in the law of the Lord.
2 Happy are those who keep his decrees,
   who seek him with their whole heart,
9 How can young people keep their way pure?
   By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you;
   do not let me stray from your commandments.
11 I treasure your word in my heart,
   so that I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord;
   teach me your statutes.
13 With my lips I declare
   all the ordinances of your mouth.
14 I delight in the way of your decrees
   as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts,
   and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes;
   I will not forget your word.

Isaiah 55:6-11
6 Seek the Lord while he may be found,
   call upon him while he is near;
7 let the wicked forsake their way,
   and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the Lord,
that he may have mercy on them,
   and to our God,
   for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways
   and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
   making it bring forth and sprout,
   giving seed to the sower
   and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out
   from my mouth;
   it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
   and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.



Matthew 7:7-12
Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? 10Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? 11If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! 12 ‘In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.

3. What are the benefits of seeking the Lord in terms of the process and the blessings thereof?
Psalm 34:4-7
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
   and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Look to him, and be radiant;
   so your* faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor soul cried,
   and was heard by the Lord,
   and was saved from every trouble.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps
   around those who fear him,
   and delivers them.

Psalm 119:57-64
57 The Lord is my portion;
   I promise to keep your words.
58 I implore your favour with all my heart;
   be gracious to me
   according to your promise. 59 When I think of your ways,
   I turn my feet to your decrees;
60 I hurry and do not delay
   to keep your commandments.
61 Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,
   I do not forget your law.
62 At midnight I rise to praise you,
   because of your righteous ordinances.
63 I am a companion of all who fear you,
   of those who keep your precepts.
64 The earth, O Lord, is full of your
   steadfast love;
   teach me your statutes.


Proverbs 8:12-21
12 I, wisdom, live with prudence,*
   and I attain knowledge and discretion.
13 The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
   and perverted speech I hate.
14 I have good advice and sound wisdom;
   I have insight, I have strength.
15 By me kings reign,
   and rulers decree what is just;
16 by me rulers rule,
   and nobles, all who govern rightly.
17 I love those who love me,
   and those who seek me diligently find me.
18 Riches and honour are with me,
   enduring wealth and prosperity.
19 My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold,
   and my yield than choice silver.
20 I walk in the way of righteousness,
   along the paths of justice,
21 endowing with wealth those who love me,
   and filling their treasuries.

Hebrews 11:6
6And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Intercession/Worship

Conclusion
The Lord tells us in His Scripture to seek Him in faith and we shall find Him.  Let us seek Him always, with all our heart, mind and strength; then we will find Him, and He will continually fill us with His Holy Spirit.

Closing Prayer
We thank You Lord for the call to seek You.  Grant us hearts that will earnestly seek You all the days of our lives.  We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Called by God


24 October 2012

 

Opening Prayer/Worship

 

Hymn: God is working his purpose out

 

Theme: Be filled with the Holy Spirit

 

Topic: Called by God

 

Reading: Hebrews 5:1-10

Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.2He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; 3and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people.4And one does not presume to take this honour, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him,
‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’;
6as he says also in another place, ‘You are a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchizedek.’ 7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus* offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.8Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; 9and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, 10having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

 

Introduction

God has called everyone and can use anyone.  Regardless of the manner or whether any special tasks are attached to the call, we are all called by God.  Called to be His and for Him to be ours.  In spite of any perceived differences among individuals’ experiences with regards to the Divine call, the important component is Jesus Christ- to know Him and make Him known.  The choice to respond positively to the call as well as how committed we are to the purpose for which God has called us, rests upon us.  The knowledge that God has a plan and purpose for our lives reassures us even in moments things seem not to be working out well.  At such moments, God is still working out His purpose in our lives and in His creation.  As we allow the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts, we will be increasingly empowered to live according to the calling of God in our lives.  The Holy Spirit is the power behind answering the call of God and living according to Divine purpose.

 

Questions/Discussion

1. How do we know we are called by God? 

Matthew 22:1-14

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: 2‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.3He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come.4Again he sent other slaves, saying, “Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.”5But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business,6while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them.7The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.8Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy.9Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.”10Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 ‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe,12and he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” And he was speechless.13Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”14For many are called, but few are chosen.’

 

Romans 1:1-7

Paul, a servant* of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,2which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures,3the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh4and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit* of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name,6including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7 To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Romans 8:28-30

We know that all things work together for good* for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.29For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.*30And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

 

1 Peter 2:4-10

Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and5like living stones, let yourselves be built* into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.6For it stands in scripture: ‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him* will not be put to shame.’ 7To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner’, 8and ‘A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people,* in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy

 

2. What is the purpose for which God has called us? 

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.19For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’ 20Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe.22For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom,23but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,24but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.25For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. 26 Consider your own call, brothers and sisters:* not many of you were wise by human standards,* not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.27But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;28God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are,29so that no one* might boast in the presence of God.30He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,31in order that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in* the Lord.’

 

2 Thessalonians 1:3-12

We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters,* as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.4Therefore we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith during all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring. 5 This is evidence of the righteous judgement of God, and is intended to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering.6For it is indeed just of God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,7and to give relief to the afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels8in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.9These will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,10when he comes to be glorified by his saints and to be marvelled at on that day among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.11To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfil by his power every good resolve and work of faith,12so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

2 Timothy 1:3-14

I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.4Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy.5I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.6For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands;7for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. 8 Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God,9who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,10but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.11For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher,*12and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him.*13Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.14Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.

 

3. How do we overcome the hindrances to living according to God’s purpose?

1 Corinthians 7:17-24

However that may be, let each of you lead the life that the Lord has assigned, to which God called you. This is my rule in all the churches.18Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision.19Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing; but obeying the commandments of God is everything.20Let each of you remain in the condition in which you were called. 21 Were you a slave when called? Do not be concerned about it. Even if you can gain your freedom, make use of your present condition now more than ever.*22For whoever was called in the Lord as a slave is a freed person belonging to the Lord, just as whoever was free when called is a slave of Christ.23You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of human masters.24In whatever condition you were called, brothers and sisters,* there remain with God.

 

Ephesians 1:15-23

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love* towards all the saints, and for this reason16I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.17I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him,18so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints,19and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.20God* put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,21far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.22And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church,23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

 

Ephesians 4:1-16

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,3making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling,5one Lord, one faith, one baptism,6one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. 7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.8Therefore it is said, ‘When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.’ 9(When it says, ‘He ascended’, what does it mean but that he had also descended* into the lower parts of the earth?10He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.)11The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,13until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.14We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.15But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,16from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

16Rejoice always,17pray without ceasing,18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.19Do not quench the Spirit.20Do not despise the words of prophets,*21but test everything; hold fast to what is good;22abstain from every form of evil. 23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound* and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.24The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

 

2 Peter 1:3-11

His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by* his own glory and goodness.4Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants in the divine nature.5For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge,6and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness,7and godliness with mutual* affection, and mutual* affection with love.8For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.9For anyone who lacks these things is short-sighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins.10Therefore, brothers and sisters,* be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble.11For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.

 

Intercession/Worship

 

Conclusion

It is God who called us and chose us.  Let us come to Him with confidence, not based on what we have done, but on what He has done for us through His Son Jesus Christ, and through His Spirit living within us.

 

Closing Prayer

Lord we are grateful to You for calling, choosing and loving us.  Fill us with Your Holy Spirit, to love and serve You, all the days of our lives.  We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.