Gracious and Merciful Father,

We come before you to confess our sin as Your redeemed and beloved children. May Your Spirit alone convict us of our sin and remind us of our pardon in Christ through repentance.

We confess that we often fail to properly fear You and keep Your commandments as our whole duty choosing instead to try to find other means of contentment (Ecclesiastes 12:9-14).

We confess these things before You because You are faithful to forgive us in Christ.

Bless us with the assurance of our pardon by Your Holy Spirit in Christ alone by faith alone through Your grace alone from Your Word.

Amen.

Gracious and Merciful Father,

We come before you to confess our sin as Your redeemed and beloved children. May Your Spirit alone convict us of our sin and remind us of our pardon in Christ through repentance. We pause now to silently confess our individual sins before confessing together as a congregation from the text in Ecclesiastes.

We confess that we often fail to remember You as our Creator choosing instead to get entangled in the cares and fears of this world (Ecclesiastes 12:1-8).

We confess these things before You because You are faithful to forgive us in Christ.

Bless us with the assurance of our pardon by Your Holy Spirit in Christ alone by faith alone through Your grace alone from Your Word.

Amen.

Gracious and Merciful Father,

We come before you to confess our sin as Your redeemed and beloved children. May Your Spirit alone convict us of our sin and remind us of our pardon in Christ through repentance.

We confess that we often fail to pay attention to the way that we’re walking in union with Christ (Ephesians 5:15-21).

We confess these things before You because You are faithful to forgive us in Christ.

Bless us with the assurance of our pardon by Your Holy Spirit in Christ alone by faith alone through Your grace alone from Your Word.

Amen.

Gracious and Merciful Father,

We come before you to confess our sin as Your redeemed and beloved children. May Your Spirit alone convict us of our sin and remind us of our pardon in Christ through repentance. 

We confess that we often set our minds on the things of this world instead of setting our minds on Christ above and our life together in Him (Colossians 3:1-17).

We confess these things before You because You are faithful to forgive us in Christ.

Bless us with the assurance of our pardon by Your Holy Spirit in Christ alone by faith alone through Your grace alone from Your Word.

Amen.

Dear Family at Christ Community,

       On Sunday, we will engage with the Gatherer’s seventh admonition concerning joy from Ecclesiastes 11:7-10. He will call for the experienced as well as the young to rejoice in the formative opportunities entrusted to them as gifts from God. The true measure of the value of a given day, week, month, or year should be determined by how it helps to form us further into God’s image. The value of these gifts of time is not to be measured by what we earn or accomplish as these things are fleeting and will be forgotten. God cares more for the formation of our character in Christ than the development of our resumes in our own strength. This allows for any circumstance that we’re in or have gone through to have lasting meaning and ultimately bring us joy as it serves to form us further into the image of Christ.

       As part of our worship, we will celebrate communion together. Our invitation to the table isn’t based on anything that we’ve accomplished; it’s based on who and Whose we are in Christ! This reality serves both as the ultimate gift from God and reality that transforms all our days, weeks, months, and years. As John D. Currid writes in Ecclesiastes: A Quest for Meaning? :

The book of Ecclesiastes is about joy: it is not a book of despair or fatalism. Yet it is about the right type of joy. True joy only comes from having a relationship with Jesus Christ. True satisfaction, true joy, and true understanding only come from our surrender to our King, who sits enthroned over the universe.

       Please rejoice in your forgiveness in the past, present, and future as represented in the broken bread! Please rejoice in your resurrected newness of eternal life as signified in the lavish cup! This forgiveness and resurrected newness of eternal life make it possible for you to rejoice in the ongoing transformation further into the image of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit day by day. Most of all, please rejoice in the fact that the Lord will complete the work that He started in our lives!

In Christ,
Cameron

Gracious and Merciful Father,

We come before you to confess our sin as Your redeemed and beloved children. May Your Spirit alone convict us of our sin and remind us of our pardon in Christ through repentance.

We confess that we too often squander and fail to rejoice in the formational opportunities that You entrust to us as a gift for Your glory, our joy, and the life of the world (Ecclesiastes 11:7-10).

We confess these things before You because You are faithful to forgive us in Christ.

Bless us with the assurance of our pardon by Your Holy Spirit in Christ alone by faith alone through Your grace alone from Your Word.

Amen.

Dear Baptized Ones,

This Sunday we will have the privilege of participating in the baptism of Henry McLeroy. It will be a great joy to see this sign of God’s promises to Henry and to his parents, Jared and Becca. In baptism we get to behold, in a tangible way, all that we have been given in Christ Jesus. We are who we are because Jesus has washed us clean of our sin by His shed blood, brought us into fellowship the Triune God, given us an eternal inheritance with His holy people, given us the certainty of eternal life by His resurrection from the grave, and empowered us to live obedient, joyful lives by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

John Stott tells of a Hindu convert to Christianity who was questioned by a close friend as to what he had found in Christianity that was better than Hinduism.  “The better thing I have found,” said the man in reply, “is Christ.”  “But what particular doctrine have you found?” asked his friend. “The particular doctrine I have found,” said the man, “is Christ.”

So, as we prepare to witness the precious and very great promises of God in Henry’s baptism, let’s seek to improve upon our own baptisms by asking the Lord to help us to better see our union with Him through this means of grace. Let’s spend time giving thanks to Him for the forgiveness, reconciliation, and fellowship we have because of what He has done for us. Let’s come ready to celebrate with Henry and his family as faithful witnesses to the new life we share in Christ as signified and sealed in baptism.

In Christ,
Robby

Gracious and Merciful Father,

We come before you to confess our sin as Your redeemed and beloved children. May Your Spirit alone convict us of our sin and remind us of our pardon in Christ through repentance.

We confess that we too often fail to be generous with the gifts and perseverant in the work that You give us because of our uncertainty in and lack of control over the results (Ecclesiastes 11:1-6).

We confess these things before You because You are faithful to forgive us in Christ.

Bless us with the assurance of our pardon by Your Holy Spirit in Christ alone by faith alone through Your grace alone from Your Word.

Amen.

Gracious and Merciful Father,

We come before you to confess our sin as Your redeemed and beloved children. May Your Spirit alone convict us of our sin and remind us of our pardon in Christ through repentance..

We confess that we too often fail to work, speak, and steward wisely in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit for Your glory, our joy, and the life of the world (Ecclesiastes 10:8-20).

We confess these things before You because You are faithful to forgive us in Christ.

Bless us with the assurance of our pardon by Your Holy Spirit in Christ alone by faith alone through Your grace alone from Your Word.

Amen.

Dear Family at Christ Community,

       As we’ve been hearing from the Gatherer in Ecclesiastes, how we live matters to our ability to take joy in and be grateful for the good gifts that God gives to us. He has consistently emphasized that living wisely, though it doesn’t grant status or control, proves better than folly, though it may gain status or perceived control. Paul makes this argument in Ephesians 5:15-17:

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

       This Sunday the Gatherer in Ecclesiastes 10:1-7 will instruct us in how to walk as wise. Though the proverbial wisdom that he offers us isn’t exhaustive, it will help lay a firm foundation for how to think and live wisely for our joy and the greater good of those around us. As we saw from Ecclesiastes 9:11-18, this wise influence for the good of others could result in us being poor, despised, and forgotten. However, out of our gratitude for God’s good gifts and reverence for Christ, we’re to choose to live wisely in Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.

       To do this consistently over the span of our lives, we’ll need some help to travel this narrow way. Our Abba Father provides nourishment for this faithful calling in the Lord’s Table! The broken bread helps free us of the burdens of shame and guilt that weigh us down and reminds us of our forgiveness in Christ. The overflowing cup helps to make merry our redeemed hearts as we now have access to all the heavenly blessings and wisdom through the Holy Spirit who now indwells us. Please come prepared to be gratefully nourished by these good gifts given by the grace of God!

In Christ,
Cameron