Lord Jesus, thank you for the Apostle Paul’s encouragement to us today to pursue a godly life. And whenever we forget what that means, help us to remember to pursue a life in becoming more and more like you every day. Help us to make it our life goal to pursue righteousness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness and contentment.
Lord Jesus, help us to be more like you in our mission as a church, in the way that we relate to others, in the way that we handle our finances, and in being content with the blessings you have given us. Take our lives and let them be consecrated, Lord to thee.
And just as the Apostle Paul reminded Timothy in last Sunday’s scripture reading to emphasize prayer in his church, we turn to you now in prayer. And part of our prayer this morning is for each one of us to grow in what it means to be more like Jesus, more loving, more gracious, more compassionate, more empathetic, more welcoming, and more generous with our time and our resources.
We also pray on behalf of those who on our church’s prayer list and others who are on our hearts and minds this day. We pray for those in need of healing, those who are going to a time of loss and grief, those who are in need of guidance and direction, and those who are facing a challenging situation in their lives. We lift all of these needs up to you.
As we continue to live out Paul’s instructions to Timothy to help his church set a culture of being welcoming and gracious, of being a praying church, and a church where we are all seeking to pursue a godly life, we also give you thanks for the peace and contentment that comes from being the church you call us to be.
Lord Jesus, take our lives and let them be consecrated Lord to thee even as we pray the prayer that you taught us to say together…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is 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 thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
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