My Prayer for our churches, cities, and communities for the 5th Sunday of Eastertide 2019; based on Leviticus: 19:1–18, Acts 11:1-18, 13:44-52, 14:21-27, Psalm 145, 148, Revelation 19:1-9, 21:1-6, and John 13:31-35

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I thank you for your work in the world. You have been at work since the beginning, you are at work in your People, and you will be at work until the day that all nations, tongues, and peoples worship you. You are at work right now in our churches and our cities and communities. Praise the LORD! Glory be to your name. Lord, Glorify your name through our lives. Holy Spirit, help us, help me, help our churches , help us to be a witness to the world by how we would love one another, and how we would live lives of blessing our cities and communities and their people, and may we see many join us in praising your name, being washed by the blood of the Lamb who was slain. Help us to honor you in all we do, worshipping you in ways that you are pleased with, serving our cities and communities and welcoming others in ways you are glad to use to make the name of Jesus known. Bring many to salvation, this salvation you opened up to all who repent and believe. We ask that you would be with us and help us to bring honor to you, help us to love our neighbor as ourselves, let us see your Holy Spirit raining down on our churches and on our cities and communities, that others would join us in saying, “Praise the LORD!” We thank you for the blessings you have given and will give our churches and our cities and communities. We look to you, for we know this is all your work. Let us be a part of it, because we love you. I especially pray that you would use the worship of our churches this Sunday to prepare us to live lives like this for you and for blessing our cities and communities in the week to come. (My Prayer for our churches ND our cities and communities for the 5th Sunday of Eastertide 2019; based on Leviticus: 19:1–18, Acts 11:1-18, 13:44-52, 14:21-27, Psalm 145, 148, Revelation 19:1-9, 21:1-6, and John 13:31-35) But chiefly we are bound to praise You for the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; for he is the very Paschal Lamb, who was sacrificed for us, and has taken away the sin of the world; who by his death has destroyed death, and by his rising to life again has won for us everlasting life. (Preface from BCP for Eastertide) Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.(Collect from BCP for 5th Sunday in Easter)

My Prayer for Churches for the Fourth Sunday of Easter 2019

Father, I thank you for our churches and that you are our great shepherd. I thank you that your sheep always respond to your call because the Lamb who was slain has bought our salvation. I ask that you be at work in our cities and communities this Sunday and guide them to lie down in green pastures, that you would indeed make their cups overflow so that would enjoy you all the days of their life. I thank you, Jesus the Good Shepherd, that you love us so much that you would shepherd foolish sheep like us. Guide our churches to the under-shepherd you are leading to be their pastor, whether it’s me or another, that our churches may more and more be about your word, serving our cities and communities, and the world, calling other sheep home (may they see many lost sheep put their faith in Jesus even this Sunday and this week) and may your name be glorified through their worship and through their whole lives this coming week. Holy Spirit, be at work helping the people of our churches and our cities and communitieshear the voice of Jesus this coming week, and use their worship to start just that. Be with us all and guide us. We know you will, and we love you for that Lord. We pray together, in Jesus’s name. Amen. (My Prayer for our churches and our cities and communities on the Fourth Sunday of Easter 2019, based on Acts 9:36-43, Psalm 23, Revelation 7:9-17, John 10:22-30)
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP 4th Sunday in Easter)