Call to Worship
Oh come, let us sing to the LORD!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the LORD is the great God, and the great King above all gods.
In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also.
The sea is His for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you will hear His voice: “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they saw My work. For forty years, I was grieved with that generation, and said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath ‘They shall not enter My rest.’”
– Psalm 95
Thanksgiving
Almighty God, we thank You for the sons, brothers, fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers of Lakewood Church! Their legacy of faith and service are a treasure to us who follow in their path. May they always feel Your strength and Your favor, as they follow You. May they always look to You for wisdom, guidance, fulfillment, peace. Amen.
Scripture Reading
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
Prayer of Intercession
O Lord, direct our steps this day into the way of peace, and strengthen our hearts to obey Your commandments. May the Dayspring visit us from on high, and give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, that they may adore You for Your mercy, follow You for Your truth, desire You for Your sweetness, for You are the blessed God of Israel, now and forever. (An ancient Collect, A.D. 440)
Holy God, we ask You to bless the men in this congregation for they are truly a blessing to Lakewood Church. Strengthen them in righteousness. Encourage them in faith. May they grow in the knowledge of Your grace and word. Through the power of Your Holy Spirit, make them strong and courageous leaders in Your word, in their homes and in their communities. We pray to Your glory, in the name of the One Who called Himself, Man of Sorrows; we pray in Jesus’ name.
As The Spirit Leads
Please continue in prayer for any personal, church, community, nation, or world needs, concerns, or thanksgivings.
Lord’s Prayer
Let us close by praying the words that Jesus taught.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Refer: Matthew 6:9–13
Thank you for joining us in prayer. We hope you join us tomorrow.
The LORD bless you and keep you.
The LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
The LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
—Numbers 6:24–26
