This Sunday and next Sunday we will be speaking on the topic of Thanks Giving. Today we are going to talk about compassion as an expression of giving thanks. As you know, the bible calls and teaches us to give generously of our time, talents, and resource to the people around us. And at times, to people we will never know and never see. Jesus helps us to live a generous life when we look at people through His eyes. At the center of the heart of God we find a spirit of extravagant generosity. This is a characteristic that God desires for each of His children to have. In one of the parables Jesus taught, He talks about eyes that looked at the same thing but see things differently. In it, Jesus gives us a powerful lesson on the significance of loving our neighbor. Transition I want to begin by asking you what these three words have in common? Deoxyribonucleic Acid, Ethos, and Identity. • Deoxyribonucleic Acid – also known as DNA is the molecule that constitutes the essence of who we are. • Ethos – is a characteristic spirit of a culture, era, community, or an organization as manifested in its beliefs and aspirations. • Identity – the fact of being who or what a person is. What these words have in common is that they all point to the essence and characteristics of what a person or an organization is and is known for. Hope Distributed From its beginning, the DNA, the Ethos, and the Identity of the Church of the Nazarene has been centered on expressing the generous and extravagant love of God to others in tangible ways. Since its beginning, our church has focused its mission evangelism, education, and compassionate ministry. Today we celebrate, with Hope Distributed, 20 years of compassionate ministry to our community. Hope Distributed was founded in October of 2004. The very first day we served 12 people, right here, from this kitchen that is to your right. The first year we served a total of 1,667 individuals and distributed 16,993 pounds of food. In the last 20 years Hope Distributed has served 412,638 individuals and distributed more than ten million pounds (10,272,718) of food. Video – play video HD 2024 If you have served and volunteer at Hope Distributed giving your time, talent and resources please stand up. On behalf of Jeff Wilhelm, Ellen Braun, and our board of directors I want to thank you for making a difference in our community. 2 Throughout the years many people have had a part in making this happen. Members of the Joy Group were instrumental in our success. Special thanks to Chuck Oster, Earl Clark, Dick Shoemaker, Ron Garber, and Marvin Varner. We have enjoyed a great partnership with the Blueridge Area Food Bank, food partners like Walmart, Food Lion, Target, and Martins. We have been blessed with great leadership from Vickie Waldrop, Jenny Meadows. We have been led well through the pandemic and into new growth with the leadership of Jeff Wilhelm and Ellen Braun. Countless lives have been impacted with the grace and love of God through Hope Distributed. Illustration To illustrate the impact that Hope Distributed has on a weekly basis you were given a 3×5 index card. It is possible that you may have lost it or misplaced it. That’s ok. If you have a card, and you remember receiving a card, please stand up. We distributed 400 cards. This number represents only half of the people that are fed through Hope Distributed every week. A total of 825 individuals receive food from Hope Distributed each week, every week of the year. Give Us Eyes to See Why do we do this? Because it is at the center of the heart of God. As a body of believers, it is our DNA, our Ethos, it is part of our identity. Jesus said: • Love your neighbor (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:34-39). • For as much as you have done to one of the least of these you have done unto me (Matthew 25:40). Serving the needs of the poor and marginalized is equivalent to serving him directly. • I have come to serve not to be served (Matthew 20:28). • I have come to proclaim good news, freedom to the captives, heal the blind, and set the oppressed free (Luke 4:18-19) Parable of the Good Samaritan In Luke 10:25-37 we find what has become known as the parable of the Good Samaritan. The bible tells us that on one occasion an expert of the law stood up to test Jesus. He asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life.” Jesus replied by asking him what was written in the law. The man responded saying “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said to him, “Do this and you will live!” The man wanting to justify himself asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus, if I am going to do this, who qualifies as my neighbor. Jesus replied by telling the man a parable. He said, a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and left him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. Sometime later a Levite came to the place and saw the beaten man, he too passed by on the other side. But there was another man traveling on the road. When he saw the man beaten and half dead laying on the side of the road, he took pity on him. He 3 immediately went to his aid. He bandaged his wounds. He put the man on his donkey and took him to a safe place and took care of him. The next day he took his own money paid the owner of the establishment and asked him to take care of him and when he returns, he would reimburse him for any extra expenses. Then Jesus asked the expert of the law, “Which of these three was a neighbor to the man who was beaten and robbed?” The expert of the law responded, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him to do the same. Four Sets of Eyes This story reveals to us four sets of eyes. Four sets of eyes that teach us a powerful lesson about what it means to love our neighbor. The first set of eyes are . . . 1. Eyes of self-interest. The eyes of self-interest are representative of the robbers. They disregard rules and believe rules do not apply to them. They are inconsiderate. They only see what they can get. They are focused on their own interest and gain without regard to who gets hurt in the process. They take what is not theirs. They use, abuse, and take advantage of others for personal benefit. The eyes of the self-interested person only focuses on themselves. They are not concerned for others and how their thoughts or actions impact those around them. They take more than they give. They are quick to blame. They avoid responsibility. They lack empathy and compassion and are unwilling or incapable of putting themselves in someone else’s shoes. The eyes of self-interest have a hard time loving others, giving to others, and helping others. 2. Eyes of indifference. The second set of eyes are the eyes of indifference. These eyes represent the eyes of the Priest and the eyes of the Levite. The Priest was a man whose full-time ministry was to represent the people before God. He offered sacrifices and interceded for the forgiveness of sin and sought God’s favor and blessing for the people. The priest was to pray and intercede and care for the needs of hurting people. The Levites were temple assistants who helped the priests carry out their duties. The Priest and the Levite at different times arrived at the location where the man was. They saw the blood. They saw his wounds. They saw he was stripped of all his belongings and clothes. They saw he was beaten so badly that he was almost dead. They saw he was stripped of all his dignity. The Priest and the Levite were the most qualified to help and to respond. They were the most qualified to bring hope, relief, and salvation to this man. But they did nothing. They did not want to complicate their lives. They did not want to inconvenience themselves. They saw, but they ignored and were indifferent to the need of the man. They had eyes of indifference. 3. Eyes of desperation. The third set of eyes are the eyes of desperation, they represent the eyes of the man that was beaten and left for dead. These could also be the eyes of need, the eyes of hopelessness, or the eyes of brokenness. 4 If you have ever been robbed, you know that the range of emotions caused by such an event can be overwhelming. Shock, fear, anger, vulnerability, anxiety, and insecurity set in. The man in the story could have been someone’s dad, someone’s brother, someone’s son. Jesus does not say. All we know is that man was beaten, robbed, stripped of all his belongings. He is hurt, fearful, desperate, and broken. He sees a priest coming. He probably sighs with great relief. Here comes someone who represents God’s love, God’s care, God’s goodness, God’s compassion – but he does nothing. The man feels alone, abandoned, forgotten. These eyes of desperation are looking for someone to care, for someone to help, for someone to stand in the gap and make a difference. The eyes of desperation are all around us, looking for someone to make a difference. 4. Eyes of Compassion. The fourth set of eyes are eyes of compassion. These eyes represent the eyes of the good Samaritan. The bible says that the Samaritan saw him and took pity on him. He had compassion. Compassion means to be moved as to one’s bowels. In essence, it means to be moved deep within. It is to feel something deeply in your gut. Eyes of compassion move you to action at the sight of someone’s need. They move you to action when you see hurt, abuse, or injustice. Eyes of compassion causes you to put yourself in someone else shoes and do something about it. Jesus had eyes of compassion that moved him to action. Notice the following passages: Matthew 9:36 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 14:14 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Luke 7:13 Jesus responds to a widow who lost her son: 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Mark 8:2 tells us what he said about the crowd who followed Him: 2 “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. People with eyes of compassion don’t walk by and ignore the needs that surround them, they see and take action to meet the need. 5. God’s love transcends all boundaries There is one significant lesson Jesus is teaching us today as He did the expert of the law. Here is the point . . . Jesus showed that authentic love transcends all human boundaries of race, religion, nationality, economic class, and educational status. Meaning of Samaritan It is interesting that Jesus names a Samaritan to be the hero of the story. Today, we understand that a Good Samaritan is a person that does a good deed for someone who is in a bad situation that they cannot do anything about. 5 This was not the case in during the time of Jesus. In fact, a Samaritan was not considered to be a good or popular person. A Samaritan was a despised person by the Jews. The historian Josephus writes that 721 during the invasion and then captivity of the Northern Kingdom of Israel by Assyria, the Jews intermarried with the Assyrians producing a half-Jewish and half-gentile Samaritan race. To complicate matters, the Samaritans established their own temple, they had their own version of the first five books of the bible, and they rejected the writings of the prophets. When the Jews of the Southern Kingdom returned to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem they were opposed by the Samaritans. According to bible historians all of this contributed to the hatred between Jews and Samaritan. Jesus himself was not received well the Samaritan. On one occasion he asked the disciples to go to a Samaritan town to find lodging, but the people did not want Jesus to stay there. When James and John experienced this, they asked Jesus if He wanted them to make fire fall from heaven to destroy the Samaritan. Jesus did not share their sentiment, because their sentiment did not reveal the heart of God. Scripture tells us that Jesus ministered to a Samaritan woman (John 4:4-20) and that he healed 10 men from a Samaritan town who had leprosy (Luke 17:11-19). The expert of the law had a hard time with this parable. It exposed his bias, his indifference, his discrimination. Things that keep anyone from loving his neighbor. But Jesus reveals that authentic love transcends all human boundaries. Nothing should keep us for expressing it to others. Conclusion I pray that God would grant us eyes of compassion that move us to action. That move us to give generously to others as God has given to us

  JOSHUA 24:1

1. “Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.

JOSHUA 24:2

1. Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.

JOSHUA 24:3

3 But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave

him many descendants. I gave him Isaac,4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.

 JOSHUA 24: 5-6

5 “Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. 6 When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea.

 JOSHUA 24:7

7 But they cried to the Lord for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.

JOSHUA 24:8

8 “‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land.

· THERE ARE 13 I’S IN THE FIRST 8 VERSES.

· GOD SPEAKS AND REMINDS THEM- I DID THIS

SLIDE 11: JOSHUA WARNINGS

· WARNINGS/ADISEMENTS STRAIGHT OUT OF V’S

14-15. WHAT DOES HE STATE THEY SHOULD DO?

 JOSHUA 24:14

14. “NOW FEAR THE LORD AND SERVE HIM WITH ALL FAITHFULNESS. THROW AWAY THE gODS YOUR ANCESTORS WORSHIPPED BEYOND THE EUPHRATES RIVER AND IN EGYPT AND SERVE THE LORD.

 JOSHUA 24:13

13. BUT IF SERVING THE LORD SEEMS UNDESIRABLE TO YOU, THEN CHOOSE FOR YOURSELVES THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE, WHETHER THE gODS YOUR ANCESTORS SERVED BEYOND THE EUPHRATES, OR THE gODS OF THE AMORITES, IN WHO LAND YOU ARE LIVING. BUT AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD.”

PROMISE KEEPER

· 1997- LIVING IN PENNSYLVANIA

· ATTENDING A CHURCH

· GROUP OF MEN GOING TO DC TOGETHER

· WEEKEND SERIES OF MEETINGS/CHURCH SERVICES

· RFK STADIUM IN WASHINGTON DC (COMMANDERS)

· PASTOR JAMES RYLE (SMALL NOTEBOOK)

· 2ND LEVEL – CENTERFIELD

· I WAS DATING – LIVING AS A MISERABLE CHRISTIAN

· HAVING MOMENTARY FUN (SIN IS FUN)

· PASTOR RYLE SAID- YOU NEED TO END GAME TONIGHT

JOSHUA 24: 23

23. “NOW THEN,” SAID JOSHUA, “THROW AWAY THE FOREIGN GODS THAT ARE AMONG YOU AND YIELD YOUR HEARTS TO THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL.”

 JOSHUA 24:24

24. AND PEOPLE SAID TO JOSHUA, “WE WILL SERVE THE LORD OUR GOD AND OBEY HIM.”

JOSHUA 24:25

25. ON THAT DAY, JOSHUA MADE A COVENANT FOR THE PEOPLE, AND THERE AT SHECHEM HE REAFFIRNED FOR THEM DECREES AND LAWS.”

 JOSHUA 24:26

26. “AND JOSHUA RECORDED THESE THINGS IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW OF GOD. THEN HE TOOK A LARGE STONE AND SET IT UP THERE UNDER THE OAK NEAR THE HOLY PLACE OF THE LORD.”

· WORD FOR STONE HERE IS E’BEN

· SAME WORD USED FOR STONE IN GENESIS 28

· JACOB HAS AN ENCOUNTER WITH GOD

· WITNESS “YOU HAVE SEEN YOU’VE BEEN WITNESS TO GODS FAITHFULNESS” NOW WILL YOU BE?

_________________________________________________________

· LIFE GROUP CURRICULUM

· DR. BRIAN CHARETTE AUTHOR

· TITLE OF THIS LAST LESSON IS ‘ALL IN”

· WHERE DOES THIS PHRASE COME FROM?

·

VIDEO “ALL IN”

· STAKES RAISED

· MUCH ON THE LINE

· JOSHUA IS CLOSE TO THE END

 PRIDE

SIN

SLIDE 22: DIE

WHO WILL YOU SERVE ?

THE ISRAELITES SERVED MANY GODS

GOD OF FERTILITY

GOD OF CROPS

GOD OF RAIN

WE DON’T HAVE THAT AS MUCH NOW AS

I DECIDE NOW WHICH GOD I WILL SERVE OR

WHO WILL I SERVE- FOR MOST OF MY LIFE I HAVE SERVED ——- ME

THIS CHAPTER SAYS “I” (GOD SPEAKING 18 TIMES?)

I THEN HAVE TO WRESTLE WITH THE OTHER I-

ME

· LISTEN TO HOW HE ANTICIPATES

· SAYS ALL THIS AS IF THEY ARE NOT GONNA DO IT

https://www.bible.com/events/49345129

Church of the Nazarene East Rockingham Campus

Joshua: Part 8 East Rock

All-in

We conclude with Part 8 of our teaching series through the book of Joshua.

Within the story of Joshua we read of the people of God encountering real obstacles to living out their faith in the Lord. Flooded rivers, fortified cities, and giant armies. real things that would cause any normal person to fear.

But what we see is that in the face of these challenges, is the power of God’s presence and his continued faithfulness to his people. That’s the story of Joshua, and that’s our story today.

Real challenges met with the real and true faithfulness of God.

Today we are in Joshua chapter 24 to hear his final call “Choose this day who you will serve”

Joshua 24:14-15

“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

With everyone leaning in and listening, Joshua gives the people a clear-cut invitation to choose who they will serve.

No coercion, no threats, no manipulation, just a plain and simple choice.

Choose to go and worship other gods, things from the past, or the ways of the world you’re living in now- OR- Go ALL-IN serving the Lord your God.

Today as we conclude our teaching series on the book of Joshua, we will see Joshua’s final act as the leader of Israel is to invite them to be ALL IN in their relationship with the Lord.

Fully committed, totally invested, nothing held back. All in.

The message of Joshua rings loud and clear down through the centuries to us today. We have a choice Go all in, or don’t go at all.

Are you all in?

Joshua 24:1-2

Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.

Joshua begins his farewell address speaking on behalf of the Lord.

Before any specific challenge would come, God wanted to remind his people of all he had done for them in leading them to this point.

ii.He begins all the way back with the story of calling Abraham to follow him, and traces it up to their time in Egypt.

Joshua 24:5-10

“ ‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea. But they cried to the Lord for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time. “ ‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you. But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.

Verses 5-7 recount the stories of Moses and Aaron and how God brought the people out of Egypt.

Verses 8-12 bring the story up to their present day. How the Lord fought for the children of Israel in the promised land.

Joshua 24:13

So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’

From the distant past, to their present day, God was at the very center of the story.

He was the one who made this life possible in the promised land.

It wasn’t their efforts, it wasn’t because they deserved it. It was because he gave it to them. It was by God’s grace, motivate by his love for his people.

One way to put it would be that God had gone “all-in” for his people.

Joshua 24:14

“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.

In full view of all that God had done for his people, Joshua calls them to respond.

In rapid fire succession, Joshua calls for 4 things from his people in light of all that God has done for them.

Fear the Lord

Serve him with all faithfulness.

Throw away their gods.

Serve the Lord

This is ALL IN for the Lord.

Joshua 24:15

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua’s final command to his people was that they had to choose for themselves, who they were going to serve.

They could go ALL IN for the Lord or they could cling to the god’s of their parents and grandparents in Egypt. The way things had always been.

They could turn to the world around them and try it their way.

Joshua has already made his decision-As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Without further coercion, without exaggerated claims, without any sales pitch at all, Joshua lays it out before the people

“Choose this day who you will serve”

Be all in for the Lord or be all in with the other gods- it’s your choice and it’s my choice.

Choose this day who you will serve!

Church of the Nazarene Harrisonburg

Gethsemane Gathering

“Stay awake with me and pray”

Today we are going to have what we call a Gethsemane Gathering.

You may recognize the name Gethsemane from the gospels as it is the name of the garden where Jesus went to pray.

Let’s dive into the story in Matthew 26

Matthew 26:36-41

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to pray with him. Hours before his crucifixion, Jesus is pouring his heart out to the father, and he doesn’t want to do it alone. He wanted his closest friends to pray with him, to keep watch.

Jesus is pouring his heart out in prayer and he returns to find his 3 closest friends are taking a nap. Arguably when he needed them the most, they missed the opportunity.

Jesus goes away a second time, wrestling, pouring his heart out in prayer. As he finishes praying he comes back a second time to check on his friends, and they are fast asleep. again. This time, he doesn’t even wake them up. Jesus just goes back to pray on his own. A foreshadowing of what was in the hours ahead. That’s the story of the Garden.

Today our goal is to symbolically give back that one hour that the disciples missed that night in prayer.

We are going to spend our time together today in prayer and worship. We will focus on 7 different areas in prayer while the band leads us in worship throughout the service.

Our first area of focus is Souls

Father,

For the one, for the many, I pray.

None are lost to You, for You know just where each soul You created has wandered.

Let me be to those who don’t know You a voice of hope, a peace-filled presence, and an example of the transformation You can make in a surrendered life.

So that they each and all might come to know You. Amen.

Opportunities

Father,

Open my eyes that I may see the opportunities You place in front of me.

Let no conversation, no interaction, no path crossed be wasted.

I give You each coincidence and happenstance and invite You to give meaning to each moment of my life, so that I may be a part of Your movement all around me. Amen.

Petitions

Father,

I don’t know how to ask it.

I don’t know what to say.

Tam without words.

But You know. You know my heart, my mind and my needs better than I know myself.

So I trust You and give myself over to Your way. Amen.

Relationships

Father,

Where they are wrong, give me the grace and humility to forgive.

Where I am wrong, give me the grace and humility to apologize.

Where others are at odds, help me broker peace.

Where I am at odds, help me accept counsel.

Father, forgive us, for we know not what we do. Amen

Adoration

You are more than all I could ever hope for.

You are perfect and holy, above all others.

You give such good gifts and yet without a single gift given, I am richly blessed with You alone.

When I was all that is undeserving, You gave everything I could never deserve.

Father.

Abba.

Lord.

Yes/Yield

Father,

You have my yes.

Yes to whatever, to wherever, to whenever, to however.

Yes, to all of You. Amen.

https://www.bible.com/events/49341785

Church of the Nazarene East Rockingham Campus

Gethsemane Gathering

“Stay awake with me and pray”

Today we are going to have what we call a Gethsemane Gathering.

You may recognize the name Gethsemane from the gospels as it is the name of the garden where Jesus went to pray.

Let’s dive into the story in Matthew 26

Matthew 26:36-41

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to pray with him. Hours before his crucifixion, Jesus is pouring his heart out to the father, and he doesn’t want to do it alone. He wanted his closest friends to pray with him, to keep watch.

Jesus is pouring his heart out in prayer and he returns to find his 3 closest friends are taking a nap. Arguably when he needed them the most, they missed the opportunity.

Jesus goes away a second time, wrestling, pouring his heart out in prayer. As he finishes praying he comes back a second time to check on his friends, and they are fast asleep. again. This time, he doesn’t even wake them up. Jesus just goes back to pray on his own. A foreshadowing of what was in the hours ahead. That’s the story of the Garden.

Today our goal is to symbolically give back that one hour that the disciples missed that night in prayer.

We are going to spend our time together today in prayer and worship. We will focus on 7 different areas in prayer while the band leads us in worship throughout the service.

Our first area of focus is Souls

Father,

For the one, for the many, I pray.

None are lost to You, for You know just where each soul You created has wandered.

Let me be to those who don’t know You a voice of hope, a peace-filled presence, and an example of the transformation You can make in a surrendered life.

So that they each and all might come to know You. Amen.

Opportunities

Father,

Open my eyes that I may see the opportunities You place in front of me.

Let no conversation, no interaction, no path crossed be wasted.

I give You each coincidence and happenstance and invite You to give meaning to each moment of my life, so that I may be a part of Your movement all around me. Amen.

Petitions

Father,

I don’t know how to ask it.

I don’t know what to say.

Tam without words.

But You know. You know my heart, my mind and my needs better than I know myself.

So I trust You and give myself over to Your way. Amen.

Relationships

Father,

Where they are wrong, give me the grace and humility to forgive.

Where I am wrong, give me the grace and humility to apologize.

Where others are at odds, help me broker peace.

Where I am at odds, help me accept counsel.

Father, forgive us, for we know not what we do. Amen

Adoration

You are more than all I could ever hope for.

You are perfect and holy, above all others.

You give such good gifts and yet without a single gift given, I am richly blessed with You alone.

When I was all that is undeserving, You gave everything I could never deserve.

Father.

Abba.

Lord.

Yes/Yield

Father,

You have my yes.

Yes to whatever, to wherever, to whenever, to however.

Yes to all of You. Amen.