Tag: worship

HouseHold Prayer: On Mission

““Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it with a container or puts it under a bed, but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.” Luke 8:16 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/luk.8.16.LSB

Brothers, meditating on Luke chapters 8-11. I pray we walk daily in our mission. I pray we light our lamp every morning for all to see (Luke 8:16), that in our households we “recount what great things God has done for” us, “proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for” us (Luke 8:39). I pray we are ready for the mission to sow the word of God (Luke 9:2,10; 10:1-3; 11:33). Worship, disciple, proclaim, and build. “Whatever you do,” in your household, in church, at work, in your civil duties, “do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men” (Colossians 3:23-24; Gen. 2:15).

““Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it with a container or puts it under a bed, but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.” Luke 8:16 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/luk.8.16.LSB

““Return to your house and recount what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.” Luke 8:39 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/luk.8.39.LSB

“And He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick… And when the apostles returned, they recounted to Him all that they had done. Taking them with Him, He slipped away by Himself to a city called Bethsaida.” Luke 9:2, 10 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/luk.9.2-10.LSB

“Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go! Behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.” Luke 10:1-3 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/luk.10.1-3.LSB

““No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light.” Luke 11:33 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/luk.11.33.LSB

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. Serve the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23-24 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/col.3.23-24.LSB

“Then Yahweh God took the man and set him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.” Genesis 2:15 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/gen.2.15.LSB

THE GOOD NEWS

There is a God that created the heavens and the earth. We humans are created in His image.

We are sinners, we have rebelled against Him, our Creator. Our rebellion has brought “all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice… envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness” to the world. Romans 1:29-31 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.1.29-31.ESV

Therefore we justly deserve our due punishment of death and damnation, “as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’” Romans 3:10-12 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.3.10-12.ESV

But good news! God is merciful and loving. Jesus is God the only begotten Son and He took our punishment upon Himself in our place. Jesus rose from the dead, defeating death and securing the hope of our salvation. 

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.15.3-8.ESV

““Brothers, what shall we do?” 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.”” Acts 2:36-38 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/act.2.36-38.ESV

We need only repent and believe it. Repent: turn away from our sins, proclaim Jesus is lord and savior, and we will be forgiven our sins and have life ever after! “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”” Romans 10:9-11 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.10.9-11.ESV

There is hope. Believe in Jesus! ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.3.16.ESV 

It doesn’t matter who you’ve been or what you’ve done, God stands with arms wide open, ready to forgive you. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1jn.1.9.ESV

Household Prayer: Repentance and Reformation

“Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day…O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”” Daniel 9:3-19 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/dan.9.3-19.NKJV

Brother’s I’ve had to confess and repent before my family this week. They called me out on some attitude issues. Praise God! I also read Daniel’s prayer for his people this week. I pray we would come before God in confession and repentance when we stumble. I pray we would, like Daniel, confess on behalf of our families and pray for reformation in our souls as the heads of our households. “O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.” Daniel 9:19 

Four steps to reformation: Lord’s Day Worship! Give your children a Christian education! Sing! Cultivate Christian fellowship! 

Lord’s Day Worship! “Preach, pray, sing, and celebrate the sacraments… with exuberant, expectant faith.”

Give your children a Christian education! “next to Lord’s Day worship, teaching disciples to obey Jesus in everything is the next most important thing we do, and parents (and fathers in particular) are commanded to teach their children all day long, every day about how everything relates to Christ, how the whole Bible applies to all of life. Children are the heritage of the Lord, and they are arrows and weapons in the hands of warriors. Therefore, the training and teaching and thorough enculturation of children in the knowledge and love the Lord is essential.”

Sing! “a singing people is a joyful people, and the joy of the Lord is our strength. And if you’re not careful, you might break out in song in the streets, around your dinner table, or after football games.” “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” Eph 5:19 

Cultivate Christian fellowship! “we work, we build, we sing, we marry, we worship, and we feast because we are walking in the light and have fellowship with God and another.”

Excerpts from  https://tobyjsumpter.com/how-to-start-a-reformation-in-four-easy-steps/ 

“when the world went crazy and our tyrants began tyrannizing, the only thing you had to do to win was be open. Have church, don’t mandate masks or vaccines, sing to the Lord, declare His word with authority, and celebrate the sacraments (in person) and face to face. The churches that did this have grown, and in some places they have simply exploded. Some ministers were arrested; some were fined. But everywhere there has been fruit… I believe that when God gives us Reformation, it will mostly consist of a bunch of people doing relatively ordinary things with God’s extraordinary blessing upon them. So this is not rocket science. This is not some kind of deep, esoteric masterplan. This is just simple obedience in faith. But if someone were starting from scratch, and they wanted to know what I think are the top four things they should do in order to work for Reformation and Revival, this is what I would say: …” https://tobyjsumpter.com/how-to-start-a-reformation-in-four-easy-steps/ 

THE GOOD NEWS

There is a God that created the heavens and the earth. We humans are created in His image.

We are sinners, we have rebelled against Him, our Creator. Our rebellion has brought “all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice… envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness” to the world. Romans 1:29-31 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.1.29-31.ESV

Therefore we justly deserve our due punishment of death and damnation, “as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’” Romans 3:10-12 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.3.10-12.ESV

But good news! God is merciful and loving. Jesus is God the only begotten Son and He took our punishment upon Himself in our place. Jesus rose from the dead, defeating death and securing the hope of our salvation. 

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.15.3-8.ESV

““Brothers, what shall we do?” 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.”” Acts 2:36-38 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/act.2.36-38.ESV

We need only repent and believe it. Repent: turn away from our sins, proclaim Jesus is lord and savior, and we will be forgiven our sins and have life ever after! “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”” Romans 10:9-11 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.10.9-11.ESV

There is hope. Believe in Jesus! ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.3.16.ESV 

It doesn’t matter who you’ve been or what you’ve done, God stands with arms wide open, ready to forgive you. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1jn.1.9.ESV