Worship Notes and Bulletin for Sunday, July 6, 2014

The call to have a life permeated by prayer is a central role of being the Church and of being her people. Jesus declared that, “My House will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”Our service to Him begins with the Call to Worship from Psalm 66 and the praise, worship and honor due to God. We cry to Him and He listens. Praise to the Lord sings of His watchful and protective care of His people—He ordains the satisfaction of our souls and protects in the shadow of His wing. Psalm 5: Hear My Words reminds us that our prayers to the Father rise as incense before Him and He welcomes us in His house.

The New Testament Reading from Matthew 7 further emphasizes the good gifts that our heavenly Father gives His children as they ask Him in prayer. As the Psalmist writes in Psalm 66, if we cherish iniquity in our hearts, the Lord does not listen to our prayers, and so we come to Him in confession. The Prayer of Confession from Psalm 130 reminds us that God is attentive to our please for mercy and that we need to wait before Him.

Psalm 73 reinforces the idea that “all is made plain” when we enter the house of prayer and we more clearly recognize the guiding hand of God even in times that appear to be full of anxiety or despair. Our two Communion Hymns are invitations to come to Jesus as we are and know that He hears us and answers our prayers.

As we sing Jesus Shall Reign, we speak to our souls with the assurance and blessed reminder that with Jesus on the throne, there is nothing that surprises Him or catches Him off guard and that everything that lies behind and before us is shaping us in His image and for His glory. So as we join the “endless prayers,” we pray for the work of His Kingdom in our hearts and on earth even as it is in heaven.

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