judgement shall not be suspended measured with colors from your heart black and white with no grey humility could have saved us at any moment before you were at home you were at home saw a black man jogging grabbed your gun unlocked your truck put in the key turned the ignition reverse then drive a neighbour joins you started down the road drove past him parked in the street exited your vehicle released the safety waited for him we can only suppose maybe more or less but here he comes ambushed him weapon fired now he’s fighting for his life he falls he dies you go home we can only suppose damn stew so familiar you eat it cold with your father ………………………….. Ahmuad Arbery’s blood cries out
On 23 February 2020 Ahmaud Arbery went jogging in a community outside of Brunswick Georgia. He was shot dead by a father and son who chased him down. Justice seemed suspended until cell phone video was made public.
Thank you for bringing us into your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This costly grace formed in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus has granted us the faith in which we stand and has changed our lives forever. Thank you!
In Christ Jesus you have radically altered our past, present, and future. You have forgiven us of our sins. You have wiped the slate clean. You have loved us. You have brought us out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of Your Son. You have given us a new heart. You have filled us with your Spirit.
You are making us new. You are renewing our minds. You are transforming our attitudes and actions. You are giving us new desires. You are fulfilling your word. You are pouring your love into our lives.
You will cause every promise in Christ to be a Yes. You will return to set all things right. You will redeem our lives. You will be praised forever!
Oh Spirit, Come— Gather the Church of Jesus into praise and into intercession with you.
We long for every tear to be tenderly wiped from our faces. We long for our faith to be sight. But even now Lord fortify us with the disciplines and rhythms that tap deeply into your life and your Word.
Oh Lord, we set before you peoples who feel forgotten and crushed in this coronavirus pandemic. We plead with you for healing across the whole planet. We seek You for peace in homes and the transformation of relationships fractured by neglect or even violence. We pray that the love of Jesus would abound so that our neighbours experience love and not accusation and hate because of race.
We seek You & your Kingdom so we pray as Jesus taught us: (Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer)
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one; for yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen
Thank you for giving us the grace of faith. We know we do not live by sight but by faith. Yet, you have given us the eyes of faith to recognize you in the Gospel and in the world around us. Thank you for the delight of residing in your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In seeing Jesus in the Gospel we are getting to look into what angles had longed to see. Oh Lord grant us the grace of living full into this mystery revealed! Christ in us — the hope of glory.
Too often Lord our days do not seem all that glorious. Help us love you with all our minds, all our hearts, and all our strength in the course of our daily rhythms: making meals, washing dishes, cleaning spaces, folding laundry, taking up our work, setting our work down, and loving the people closest to us.
Grant us the courage and wisdom required to be curious about people and inquisitive without judgment. May kindness flow from our faces, our speech, and our actions because you are close.
Oh Lord we grieve with the people of Nova Scotia who are reeling from the violence and hate that has visited them. Protect them Lord from the evil one. In the name of Jesus bind up their wounded hearts and cast out the seeds of suspicion and bitterness that have been sown.
Lord we ask for grace to help those who are suffering through the coronavirus pandemic. Every loss requires its own grace. But Lord, so many around the world are in danger of disease and famine. We retreat from the castles of our greed and ask that you would show us how to love our neighbours well and to support those serving the least of these. But even here in our city and around our campuses people are being oppressed by loneliness and depression. Instruct us in the word that will lift them up.
We are among those who cry out — we would see Jesus. Oh Lord, we would see Jesus lifted up in His church.
So we pray as He taught us (Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer)
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one; for yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
The Prayer of the People for 24 April 2020 was used the in the Origin Church Weekend Broadcast. If you would like information or encouragement for hosting a House Church during the Coronavirus Pandemic please reach out to me.
When it comes to church planting and student ministry I have always appreciated the dandelion, even if I don’t love it my yard. At least once a year I would pay my kids to clear these from the yard. 10 cents a plant if it included the roots. Some years I was shocked to see the pile of plants they created!
But when it comes to a metaphor, the dandelion is the ultimate for discipleship thinking.
Dandelion Discipleship Lessons
The dandelion will come up anywhere! This clump is located in a yard full of gravel. So it is with disciples of Jesus!
The dandelion is bright and doesn’t mind being seen. The yellow flower is unmistakeable. So it is with disciples of Jesus!
The dandelion drives its root down deep. The longer the plant is given liberty to reside in place, the deeper its roots will go to seek out sustenance. So it is with disciples of Jesus!
The dandelion is highly committed to multiplication. One plant can produce thousands of seeds. So it is with disciples of Jesus!
The dandelion releases its seeds to the wind. The seeds carry with them everything for doing it all again. So it is with the Church of Jesus!
Hey — would you like to become a House Church Host? I’d love to connect with you. Email me: craig@craigobrien.ca
We glorify and honour you. We praise you! This week in the midst of our lives and concerns we have been reminded of the glorious thought that you get the last word. Jesus is raised from the dead and Jesus shall return to set all things right.
You have invited us into the communion of eternal life even now so we get to enjoy your communion daily — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Lord you bridged the greatest divide of all — the deathly divide created by sin; it kept us from seeing you and from fulfilling the purposes for which you created us in all our relationships. But now in Christ Jesus the Resurrected Lord we have tasted our salvation and our hope.
Lord, Strengthen our faith in these days and fortify us for loving people in Your Name.
Lord we are struggling to bridge the digital divide and the divides of hostility and fear created by racism, greed, and the desire to dominate. The Coronavirus pandemic is highlighting the painful realities we have been tempted to treat as normal. Grant us wisdom and Holy Spirit gumption to do something and support your servants and any who seek your righteousness in this season.
We lift up to you cities and regions especially grieved by loss in these days: Wuhan, Italy, Spain, New York City, Ecuador, and Montreal. We lift up to you government officials and the medical teams seeking wisdom and solutions in care and prevention throughout the world.
Oh Lord, may we look not only to our own interests but also to the interests of others as people who have been encouraged and comforted by Jesus Christ. He is our Risen Lord so we pray as He taught us:
(Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer)
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one; for yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
