Lord, You speak to us about our sin and Your salvation.

Lord, You speak to us about our sin - ‘Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people’ - and Your salvation - ‘I will... put a new spirit in them...’ (Ezekiel 12:2; Ezekiel 11:19-20). Show us, Lord, that we must receive’ with humility, the bad news concerning our sin - ‘The wages of …

Lord, we’re on a journey – from grace to glory.

Lord, we're on a journey. We're travelling from grace. We're travelling to glory. Everything comes to us from Your grace. Everything is leading us to Your glory. You have given us all that we need - all that we need to bring us into Your salvation, all that we need to take us on into …

Lord, the world seems so strong.

Lord, the world seems so strong – but You are stronger! “The world is ever near … my foes are ever near me … but, Jesus, draw still nearer, and shield my soul from sin.” Sometimes, the battle seems to be too much for us. Sometimes, we feel like giving up. Come to us, Lord. …

We thank You, Lord, for the Scriptures.

We thank You, Lord, for the Scriptures. They lead us to our Saviour - Jesus. The Scriptures speak to us of His suffering and our salvation. When we think of all that Jesus has done for us, may we receive, from You, the spirit of thanksgiving - joyful thanksgiving, heartfelt thanksgiving.

Lord, where have all the years gone?

Genesis 5:1-17 Lord, where have all the years gone? Five years become ten years. Ten years become twenty years. Twenty years become forty years …. Is there something more than this? - We thank You that You are the eternal God. In all the changing circumstances of our life, help us to remember this: “The …

Lord, we thank You that You are so determined to keep on blessing us.

Lord, we thank You that You are so determined to keep on blessing us. There are times when we're not expecting very much - and then You come to us with Your blessing, and everything changes. Everything becomes so much brighter. You are with us. You are leading us forward. You are leading us on …

The Lord Leads Us in His “Everlasting Way.”

We thank You, Lord that, through Christ our Saviour, You lead us ‘in the way everlasting’: ‘God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son’ (Psalm 139:24; 1 John 5:11). Your great purpose of eternal salvation seems ‘too wonderful’ - ‘too good to be true’! ‘It is a thing most wonderful, …

Lord, we thank You that the blood of Your Son, Jesus, cleanses us from all sin.

Lord, we thank You that the blood of Your Son, Jesus, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). We come to the Cross of Christ in our failure. At the Cross of Christ, we receive Your forgiveness. We bring our sin to the Saviour. He gives to us His salvation. Bring us, Lord, out of …

Lord, when You speak to us

Genesis 1:4-13 Lord, when You speak to us, help us to say, ‘Your will be done’ (Matthew 6:10). ‘Let it be to me according to Your Word’ (Luke 1:38) - This was Mary’s prayer. May it also be our prayer. By ourselves, we are helpless and hopeless - Without Your help, we have no hope of …

We thank You, Lord, that victory comes from You.

We thank You, Lord, that victory comes from You: "I have handed Jericho over to you" (Joshua 6:2). Help us to receive Your victory by faith: "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down" (Hebrews 11:30). We don't achieve this victory in our own strength. You give us Your promise of victory. Help us to …

In our own homes – Let us return to the Lord and hear His Word of salvation.

https://youtu.be/BUT-G4xHYpo ‘The Lord roars.’ ‘The Lord thunders’ (Amos 1:2). We thank You, Lord, that Your Word comes to us from above – ‘The Lord will roar from on high.’ You speak to us from heaven – ‘He will thunder from His holy dwelling.’ We dare not ignore Your Word. Your Word comes to us as …

“Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.”

Lord, we sense Job’s deep disappointment, as he says to his ‘comforters’, “How then will you comfort me with empty nothings? There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood” (Job 21:34). We thank You, Lord, that Job was looking beyond his ‘comforters’. He was looking to You: “He knows the way that I take; …

Lord, give us Your wisdom.

Lord, give us Your wisdom. Help us to see that walking in Your way is better than getting our own way. When we are being drawn away from Your way, bring us back again - back to the way of obedience, back to the way of blessing.

We thank You, Lord, for the defeat of Satan – and the victory of Jesus, our Saviour and Lord.

We read about "a foe and enemy! The wicked Haman!" (Esther 7:6). There's a more powerful enemy than Haman - Satan! "Haman was hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai" (Esther 7:10). Satan tried to get rid of Jesus - but Jesus turned the tables on him. We thank You, Lord, for the …

Fulfil your vows.

"Fulfil your vows" (Nahum 1:15).  * Faith We're going to think together about our Church membership vows. These vows can be summarized in five words: Faith, Worship, Devotions, Giving, Witness. The first vow is the foundation upon which the others are built. The other four vows are the practical implications of the first vow: our …

In our own homes – let us be faithful in worshipping the Lord, reading His Word and praying to Him.

https://youtu.be/s3hNZT6ddJg ‘Fulfil your vows’ (Nahum 1:15). Lord, You’re calling us to be faithful to You. We are to be faithful in worship. We are to be faithful in reading Your Word. We are to be faithful in prayer. We are to be faithful in giving. We are to be faithful in witness. Our faith is …

Even when we get ourselves into a right mess, You’re still in control.

Even when we get ourselves into a right mess, You're still in control. You are Lord. Nothing changes that. we wonder, "Can things be turned around?" You say to us, "Yes. They can." You say to us, "It's not all about you. I am there with you. I have never left you. I'm not going …

What does the future hold for us?

We think, Lord, about the future, and all we can say is this, “We don’t know what the future holds.” We turn to You. We ask You, “What does the future hold for us?” You give us Your answer to our question. It may not be the answer that we were looking for – but …

Lord, which is most important to us – pleasing ourselves or serving You?

1 Kings 6:14-7:12 We read about Solomon – he built “his own house”, and he built “the House of the Lord” (1 Kings 6:37-7:1). Which was the most important to him? Which is most important to us – pleasing ourselves or serving You? Help us, Lord, not to be “lovers of self, lovers of money, …

In our own homes – May the Lord fill our hearts with His love, joy and peace.

https://youtu.be/-Msh0PAJfPU Lord, we read about Your judgment upon sinful nations – Ammon (Ezekiel 25:1-7), Moab (Ezekiel 25:8-11), Edom (Ezekiel 25:12-14) and Philistia (Ezekiel 25:15-17). You speak to us. You say to us, ‘You will know that I am the Lord’ (Ezekiel 25:5,7,11,17). You speak to us as our Judge. You speak to us about ‘sin, …

Lord, when we come to You

Genesis 4:1-5 Lord, when we come to You, we come with our sin. We can’t do anything else. Sin is a part of what we are. It’s the heart of what we are.

Sometimes, Lord, Your ‘No’ means ‘Not now – later.’

1 Chronicles 16:37-17:27  Sometimes, Lord, Your "No" - "You shall not build Me a House to dwell in" (1 Chronicles 17:1-4) - means "Not now - later" - "one of your sons ... shall build a House for Me" (1 Chronicles 17:11-12). What are we to say about the 'delay'? We call it a delay. …

The Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.

Proverbs 28:1-28 ‘Blessed is the one who always fears the Lord. If you harden your heart, you will be ruined’ (Proverbs 28:14). Lord, Your blessing comes to us through the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Saviour: ‘The Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes’. To those who refuse to come to …

In our own homes: Let us look to Jesus – and be changed by Him.

https://youtu.be/mgzRB4gEPf4 We compare ourselves to other people. We like to think that we’re doing pretty well. What, Lord, do You think about all of this? Are You impressed? You’re saying to us, “What about Jesus? How do you compare to Him? Help us, Lord, to look at Jesus – and see where we need to …

What, Lord, is most important to us – the person who leads us in worship, the place where we worship, or the God whom we worship?

Praying through God's Word: 1 Kings 8:14-53 What, Lord, is most important to us – the person who leads us in worship, the place where we worship, or the God whom we worship? We know what our answer should be – but, often, our lives tell a very different story. Help us, when we worship, …

In our own homes – let us praise our Saviour.

“In the beginning, God … ” (Genesis 1:1). “Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start… ” (from the film, The Sound of Music). When we go back to “a long time ago”, do we go back far enough? The first four words of the Bible takes us back beyond “a long …

Let us praise the Lord.

We thank You, Lord, that Jesus has risen from the dead (Luke 24:6). Death could not hold Him (Acts 2:24). He has triumphed over death – “Where, O death, is your victory? … Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57). _____ When we read the …

Lord, the things that are most important to us are not always the things that are most important to You.

Lord, the things that are most important to us are not always the things that are most important to You. Jesus, Your Son, tells us that eternal profit is more important than personal profit. He says to us, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” (Mark …

In our own homes – let us worship the Lord our God.

Lord, we thank You that You are in control of the things that are happening to us. We do not always understand what’s going on – but you do! Sometimes, Lord, we wonder what it’s all about! When we feel like this, help us to know that You love us. Help us to see that …

Loved with an everlasting love, we are God’s treasured possession (prayers based on the book of Malachi)

Malachi 1:1-2:17 Lord, You look upon us in our sin. What do You see? You see ‘the Wicked Land. You see ‘a people always under the wrath of the Lord’ (Malachi 1:4). You look at what Christ has done for us - ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’; ‘While we were still …

Lord, You are our God.

Lord, You are God. Who are we to tell You what to do? Who are we to say, “We’ll do what we like” – when You’re saying to us, “I know what’s best for you.” Help us to choose Your way – and stop insisting on getting our own way. How are we to do …

Where, Lord, does true comfort come from? It comes from the Holy Spirit – the Comforter.

Job 15:1-16:5 Lord, we feel the pain of Job. He’s been listening to Eliphaz. Now, Job says, “how often have I heard all this before! What sorry comforters you are!” (Job 16:1). Job needed “words of encouragement” (Job 16:5) – but he didn’t get them from Eliphaz. Where, Lord, does true comfort come from? It …

Lord, we look at Solomon – and we see ourselves.

Lord, we look at Solomon – and we see ourselves. There is strength (2 Chronicles 8:16) – and there is weakness (2 Chronicles 8:11; 2 Chronicles 9:12). We want to love You more, but the world keeps on pulling us back – away from you and into sin. We come to You, Lord. We come …

We hear so much bad news. We wonder, “What, Lord, do You think of all this?”

“Carried off to Babylon” (2 Kings 20:17); “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!” (Revelation 14:18 & 18:2). Everything seems to be falling round about us. We hear so much bad news. We wonder, “What, Lord, do You think of all this?” Even “in Babylon” there were “the chosen” – people who belonged to You (1 …

In our own homes – let us lift up our hearts and voices to the Lord.

The first four worship videos are choruses I remember from my youth. I hope they will encourage you all in the Lord. The first one is sung by a young man, who is, also, playing his guitar. For God so loved the world https://youtu.be/Gl1uoaLVwkM ‘Let us go to the Lord’s House; let us worship before …

Lord, it’s Your love for us that calls us to love You (prayers based on the book of Nahum)

Nahum 1:1-2:9 ‘Fulfil your vows’ (1:15). Lord, You're calling us to be faithful to You. We are to be faithful in worship. We are to be faithful in reading Your Word. We are to be faithful in prayer. We are to be faithful in giving. We are to be faithful in witness. Our faith is …

Lord, there is such a difference between those who wait on You for Your strength and those who rush ahead in their own strength!

‘Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie’ (Jeremiah 28:15). Lord, there is such a difference between those who wait on You for Your strength and those who rush ahead in their own strength! Your Word warns us against trying to serve You in our …

Lord, Your Word challenge us to think seriously about ourselves.

Jeremiah 13:1-27 ‘These wicked people, who refuse to listen to My words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them will be… completely useless’ (Jeremiah 13:10). Lord, Your Word challenges us to think seriously about ourselves: Am I on the way to becoming ‘completely useless’? Each …

Some prayers (based on Psalms 87-100)

Psalm 87:1-7 ‘Glorious things are said of you, O city of God… The Lord will write in the register of the peoples: “This one was born in Zion”. As they make music they will sing, “All my fountains are in You”’(Psalm 87:3,6-7). We thank You, Lord, that the ‘city of God’ is our glorious destination …

Lord, it’s Your love for us that inspires our loyalty to You.

“Your love is ever before me, and I will walk continually in Your truth” (Psalm 26:3). Lord, it’s Your love for us that inspires our loyalty to You. You love us. This is what makes us want to walk with You. In Your love, You lead us in the way of Your salvation. We don’t …

Lord, we thank You that Your love is “an everlasting love.”

Lord, we thank You that Your love is "an everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3). Human love can be strong. It can be weak. Human love can come to an end. Your love is always strong. Your love never comes to an end. Your love is "everlasting love" - the only "everlasting love"!

Help us, Lord, to see the light at the end of the tunnel – “the salvation of our souls.”

Proverbs 13:1-11 “The light of the righteous rejoices” (Proverbs 13:9). We thank You, Lord, that Jesus is our Light. He’s “the Light of the world” (John 8:12). In Him, we rejoice (Romans 5:11 – “the blood Of Jesus, Your Son, cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). We thank You that, through Jesus, You …

In our own homes: In our troubled times – let us praise the Lord and pray to Him.

‘I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the House of the Lord”’ (Psalm 122:2). Why, Lord, do we go to Your House? We go ‘to give thanks to the Name of the Lord’ (Psalm 122:4). We seek Your mercy for our past sins: ‘Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!’ …

Lord, Your Word brings light into our lives.

‘The entrance of Your words gives light’ (Psalm 119:130). Lord, Your Word brings light into our lives. Sadly, many people ‘love darkness rather than light’. They  refuse to ‘come to the light’. They prefer to remain in the darkness. They refuse to listen to what You are saying to them through Your Word. Then, when things are not …

‘He’s a great guy.’ We like it when people say this kind of thing about us.

2 Samuel 16:1-23 'He's a great guy.' We like it when people say this kind of thing about us. It makes us feel good about ourselves. What do You think of us, Lord? Yours is the one opinion that really matters. What does it mean to be truly 'great'? Do we want to be called …

Prayer To The Lord, Blessing From The Lord

"When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the Lord, he rose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven. He stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying, Praise be to the Lord, who has given …

Lord, help us to become “mighty” for You.

We read, Lord, of "the mighty men of the armies", "the mighty men who helped ... in war" (1 Chronicles 11:26; 1 Chronicles 12:1). Lord, You're teaching us about spiritual warfare: "We are not carrying on a worldly war ... the weapons of our warfare are not worldly ... the weapons of our warfare ... …

Sometimes, Lord, we’re so busy, looking at the opposition that we fail to see the opportunity.

Sometimes, Lord, we're so busy, looking at the opposition that we fail to see the opportunity. Sometimes, the opposition can have some success - "the work on the House of God came to a standstill" (Ezra 4:24). Whenever Satan attacks Your work, You raise up Your servants to keep the work going: "Zerubbabel ... arose …

Lord, what are we to do when we’re going through a hard time? (Praying Through God’s Word: Exodus)

Exodus 1:1-2:10 Lord, what are we to do when we’re going through a hard time? Hard times can be the breaking of us – or the making of us. We can blame You – or we can trust You. Help us to trust You – to know that You are near, even when it feels …

Help us, Lord, to give a friendly welcome.

Help us, Lord, to "give a friendly welcome" (Hebrews 11:31). What a difference the friendly welcome makes! It's the word of encouragement that makes us feel loved. It's the act of kindness that lets us know that love is more than words. Lord, You are our Father. Help us to be like You - "when …

Seek the Lord. He is mighty to save… He will renew you in His love.

Zephaniah 1:1-2:7 ‘The great Day of the Lord is near - near and coming quickly... That Day will be a Day of wrath... I will bring distress upon the people... because they have sinned against the Lord’ (Zephaniah 1:14-17). This, Lord, is Your Word of warning. You're calling us back to Yourself: ‘Seek the Lord …

Help us, Lord, to choose Your way, the way that leads to eternal life.

Proverbs 16:18-33 Help us, Lord, to think about the way we’re living. Is it a self-centred life? – “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 16:25). Is it a God-centred life? – “He who gives heed to the Word will prosper, and happy is …

You, Lord, are the God whom we worship. You are so much greater than the worship we bring to You.

‘Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. His greatness is beyond understanding’. We worship You, Lord - our great God: ‘I will exalt You, my God the King. I will praise Your Name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise You and extol Your Name for ever and ever’ (Psalm 145:1-3). …

We thank You, Lord, for the love of Jesus.

We thank You, Lord, for the love of Jesus. There is no love like the love He has for each and every one of us. Before we ever thought of loving Him, He loved us. Before we were even born, He gave Himself, in death, for us. What a wonderful love! It’s the greatest love of …

In our own homes – Let us sing our praises to the Lord.

‘Daniel resolved not to defile himself’ (Daniel 1:8). We thank You, Lord, that Daniel was devoted to You. It was not easy to live as Your faithful servant. His dedication to You was put to the test – ‘Test your servants’ (Daniel 1:12). Our faith is put to the test. We ‘suffer many trials’. Why, …

Lord, help us to be single-minded in our devotion to Jesus.

Lord, some of the names, in Your Word, make us think about ourselves: What kind of people are we? What kind of people are we becoming? "Esh-Baal" (1 Chronicles 8:33) means "man of Baal" or "man of shame." "Merib-Baal" started off as "opponent of Baal", then it became "loved by Baal" or "my Lord is …

Lord, You are the God of love. You are also the God of holiness.

Lord, You are the God of love. You are also the God of holiness. We like to hear about Your love. It makes us feel good. We're not so keen on hearing about Your holiness. You are the holy God. You are the God who calls us to be holy. Help us, Lord, not to …

When, Lord, we are tempted to turn from You

When, Lord, we are tempted to turn from You, help us to turn to You. Help us to take our stand on your promise of victory over temptation: ” … God is faithful … with the temptation He will also make the way of escape … ” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Help us, Lord, to say, with …

We thank You, Lord, that Jesus has come to be with us so that we may go to be with Him.

Isaiah 8:1-22 “Immanuel … God is with us” (Isaiah 8:8,10). Lord, we read these words – and we thank You that Jesus has come to be with us so that we may go to be with Him. He has come from heaven to earth so that we might go from earth to heaven. He died for …

Prayer: our great privilege and our great responsibility

We can only pray to God, our loving, Heavenly Father, because of what Jesus has done for us. He has died for us. Now, we have access into God’s holy presence. May we never forget Jesus. Let us pray for the attitude of gratitude, When we pray for one another, let us pray that God …