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Triple 'T' Truth Tellers HELP US LORD TO BE SO CONNECTED TO YOU THAT WE MIGHT BECOME THE SERVANTS OF OTHERS. TRIPLE ‘T’ TRUTH TELLERS LEAD US TO CHRIST, REPENTANCE, AND RESTORATION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ IT WAS 31 YEARS AGO THAT I ATTENDED MY VERY FIRST BOSTON RED SOX GAME… AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE, SPECIFICALLY AS I WALKED OUT OF THE TUNNEL AND FENWAY FIELD ENVELOPED MY VISION FOR THE FIRST TIME… UNFORGETTABLE. BUT I’M NOT TELLING YOU THAT STORY BECAUSE OF THE GAME, I TELL YOU THAT STORY BECAUSE OF THE PERSON WHO TOOK ME TO…THE GAME, HIS NAME WAS TED, FRIEND OF THE FAMILY AND AN AMAZING FIGURE IN MY LIFE. IN ADDITION TO TAKING ME TO MY FIRST RED SOX GAME,, AND EXPANDING MY WORLD OF SPORTS, TED WAS THE ONE WHO ON LONG WALKS WOULD EXPLAIN THINGS LIKE FORGIVENESS, REPENTANCE AND THE DEPTH OF THE LOVE OF JESUS, AS I REFLECT, I WOULD CALL HIM THE FIRST, IN MY LIFE OF WHAT I WOULD NAME… A TRIPLE 'T,' A TRUSTED TRUTH TELLER. 16 YEARS FOLLOWING THAT, ANOTHER TRIPLE ‘T’ NAMED ALLEN, A GUY WHO LOVED THE LORD, AND TURNED MY LIFE TO THE CROSS IN A WAY I HAD NEVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE.. A MAN WHO HELD MY FEET TO THE FIRE OF THE GOSPEL IN A WAY THAT WAS DIFFICULT, PAINFUL AT TIMES, BUT SO RIGHT, SO LIFE CHANGING… 3 YEARS AFTER THAT, ANOTHER TRIPLE ‘T’, A MAN NAMED EDWARD, HE WAS THE ONE WHO PUT HIS HANDS ON MY HEAD AND ORDAINED ME.. HE’S THE ONE WHO CONTINUES TO PUT ME IN SCUBA GEAR, TAKING ME TO THE DEPTHS OF THE GOSPEL TRUTH… 2 YEARS AFTER THAT, A MAN NAMED RICK WHO TRAINED ME AND BLESSED ME IN AND FOR PRIESTHOOD… AND THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY OTHERS, INCLUDING MY FATHER AND MOTHER.. IT IS THAT LEADERSHIP GENIUS JOHN MAXWELL WHO SAID… IN ALL OF LIFE, WE HAVE TO HAVE SOMEONE IN FRONT OF US WHO IS MENTORING OR SHEPHERDING US.. AND THOSE BEHIND US WHO WE ARE MENTORING AND SHEPHERDING… ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER ISN’T QUITE RIGHT. AND SO I ASK YOU THIS MORNING MY FRIENDS, WHO HAVE BEEN THOSE TRIPLE ‘T’S IN YOUR LIFE? THOSE WHO HAVE SHAPED YOU, AND THOSE YOU ARE SHAPING? I’M NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT GOOD FRIENDS, BUT BELEIVERS WHO HAVE BROUGHT YOU CLOSER, YES EVEN PAINFULLY CLOSE TO THE BEAUTIFUL PRESENCE AND LIFE CHANGING POWER OF JESUS THE CHRIST…. CAN YOU NAME THEM RIGHT NOW? IF WE WERE TO HAVE ASKED THAT QUESTION YEARS AGO, AND TO A CERTAIN CROWD IN PALESTINE… MANY WOULD HAVE SAID –THAT MAN- IN OUR CENTER AISLE TODAY IS A STATUE OF JOHN THE BAPTIST.. HAIR SHIRT AND ALL.. HERE WAS A MAN WHO TOLD THE NAKED TRUTH WHEREEVER HE SAW IT- AND WOULD NOT SOFTEN OR CHANGE THAT TRUTH WHEN MORE FORMIDDABLE ELEMENTS APPEARED EVEN IN HIS OWN CONGREGATION! HE DEALT WITH ROMAN SOLDIERS AS DIRECTLY AS HE DEALT WITH ANYONE ELSE. PEOPLE, WHILE KNOWING THAT JOHN THE BAPTIST DIDN’T BEAT AROUND THE BUSH, ALSO LOVED HIM FOR THE ENEMIES HE DARED TO MAKE! THERE WAS NOTHING HE WAS AFRAID OF! YET PEOPLE KNEW HE COULD BE TRUSTED FOR TELLING THE TRUTH. YOU SEE, LIKE ANY GOOD TRIPLE ‘T’ JOHN THE BAPTIST’S PREACHED, TAUGHT, AND CAME ALONG SIDE PEOPLE WITH ONE PURPOSE IN MIND, TO OPEN THEIR HEART TO THE MESSAGE OF JESUS. AND THE ONLY WAY HE COULD DO THAT WAS THROUGH REPENTANCE. ONLY THROUGH REPENTANCE COULD HOPE EMERGE. THE OPENING OF THEIR HEART THROUGH REPENTANCE! NOW REMEMBER, JOHN DIDN’T COME ALONG SIDE TO BE A SAVIOR, BUT TO POINT THE WAY TO THE SAVIOR AT EVERY TURN. AND WHAT A CROWD HE HAD TO PREACH TO! WE ARE TOLD THAT THE PEOPLE COMING OUT TO JOHN THE BAPTIST BELIEVED THAT BECAUSE OF THEIR JEWISH LINEAGE, THEY WOULD BE GIVEN SPECIAL DISPENSATION BY GOD HIMSELF. BECAUSE THEY WERE JEWISH, THEY BELIEVED THEY WERE SAFE FROM JUDGEMENT! TALKING ABOUT NEEDING A TRUTH TELLER! DO YOU REMEMBER THE WORDS OF THIS TRIPLE ‘T’ TO THIS ENTITLED CROWD? YOU BROOD OF VIPERS! KEEP IN MIND VIPERS WERE DESERT SNAKES THAT LIVED UNDER ROCKS.. YOU VIPERS, PRODUCE FRUITS WORTHY OF REPENTANCE…’!! I-E…CHANGE YOUR HEARTS, SHOW THE SORROW FOR THOSE THINGS YOU’VE DONE WRONG AND LIVE WITH A DETERMINED HEART TO LEAD A HOLY, REPENTANT AND SET APART LIFESTYLE… AS PAINFUL AS IT IS, JOHN THE BAPTIST PUTS A BIG MIRROR UP TO THE PEOPLE SO THEY COULD SEE THEMSLEVES FOR WHO THEY WERE. WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THIS TRIPLE ‘T’? THE FIRST IS FOR US PREACHERS, MARCIA, TED AND I AND ALL YOU BUDDING PREACHERS OUT THERE! FOR ALL WHO ARE TRUTH TELLERS AND MENTORING OTHERS… WE HAVE MUCH TO LEARN FROM JOHN. FIRST, TRIPLE ‘T’S MUST LIVE THE LIFE OF THE MESSAGE BEING PROCLAIMED, LIVING THE GOSPEL IN THEIR PERSONAL LIVES BY BEING WILLING TO MODEL REPENTANCE! OUR PERSONAL LIVES MUST REFLECT THE GOSPEL BEING TAUGHT! THAT SET’S UP THE SECOND LEARNING… AS SHEPHERDS, WE MUST BE TRUTH TELLERS, POINTING OVER AND OVER TO JESUS CHRIST, NOT MAKING UP OUR OWN TRUTH, NOT POINTING TO SELF. UNLIKE SOME MODERN DAY PREACHERS, JOHN THE BAPTIST DOES NOT TRY TO ACCOMMODATE THE MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLE, JOHN’S MISSION IS TO ACCOMMODATE PEOPLE TO THE MESSAGE YOU SEE, SHEPHERDS, MENTORS, PREACHERS MUST GIVE YOU THE GOOD NEWS AS WELL AS NEWS THAT EXPOSES SIN ABOUT OUR LIVES… SOME PREACHERS IN THE PAST TENDED TO EMPHASIZE SIN SO MUCH THAT ONE WONDERED WHERE GRACE MIGHT BE FOUND! TODAY, OUR PROBLEM IS THE OPPOSITE, WE LIVE IN AN AGE WHERE THE BIG SIN IS TO OFFEND OR JUDGE ANOTHER… BUT ONE OF THE THINGS WE FIND IN JOHN THE BAPTIST IS THAT JUDGEMENT IS ACTUALLY A GOOD THING! FOR IN JUDGEMENT, IN JUDGING A SITUATION OR A FELLOW BELIEVER WITH THE HEART OF CHRIST, MERCY THEN FLOWS! THERE CAN BE NO AUTHENTIC MERCY WITHOUT JUDGEMENT! A TRUTH TELLER IS CALLED TO JUDGE, SO REPENTANCE CAN TAKE PLACE.. REMEMBER THOUGH, JUDGEMENT FOR THE SAKE OF JUDGEMENT IS DESTRUCTIVE, JUDGEMENT FOR THE SAKE OF REPENTANCE AND RESTORATION IS GOSPEL. IN AUGUST OF 2001, A KANSAS CITY PHARMACIST WAS CHARGED WITH DILUTING THE CANCER TREATMENT DRUGS GEMZAR AND TAXOL- IN ORDER TO MAKE A LARGER PROFIT. THAT MAN HELD LIFE SAVING POWER IN HIS HANDS BUT FOR THE SAKE OF PERSONAL GAIN, DILUTED IT TO THE POINT IT COULDN’T HELP PEOPLE. NO ONE KNOWS HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED AS A RESULT. ARE WE GUILTY OF THAT TODAY? OUT OF A DESIRE NOT TO PUT PEOPLE THROUGH ANY PAIN OR SELF INSPECTION, WE DILUTE THE GOSPEL MESSAGE AND END UP KILLING THE PATIENT! JUDGEMENT BY A TRUSTED TRUTH TELLER
ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS IS LINCOLN ON LEADERSHIP BY DONALD PHILLIPS. IN IT, PHILLIPS RECOUNTS A STATEMENT MADE BY ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN 1864, IN WHICH LINCOLN SAID…
ISN’T IT TRUE? TRUTH TELLERS CAN BRING JUDGEMENT, WHICH LEADS TO RESTORATION AND HOPE.. AHH, BUT I CAN’T LET YOU OFF THE HOOK MY FRIENDS… THE LEARNING ISN’T JUST FOR SHEPHERDS.. BUT FOR THOSE OF YOU IN THE PEW THIS MORNING, THOSE OF YOU IN THE CROWD THIS MORNING CAN LEARN SOMETTHING FROM THE CROWD LISTENING TO JOHN THE BAPTIST! YOU SEE, THERE IS A BEHAVIORAL EXPECTATION FOR THE CROWD, NOTICE AFTER JOHN SAYS BEAR FRUIT WORTHY OF REPENTANCE… AND EVERY TREE THAT DOESN’T BEAR GOOD FRUIT WILL BE CUT DOWN AND THROWN INTO THE FIRE---. THE CROWD RESPONDS…. WHAT THEN SHOULD WE DO TO AVOID THAT WRATH TO COME? HERE’S WHAT YOU AS THE CROWD MUST TAKE AWAY FROM THIS: THE CROWD HAS A TEACHABLE SPIRIT WHAT A GREAT PRAYER ISN’T IT? LORD GIVE ME A SPIRIT THAT IS TEACHABLE! DO YOU HAVE TEACHABLE HEARTS MY FRIENDS? A DESIRE TO GO DEEPER, REALIZING THAT LONG STANDING MINDSETS AND ATTITUDES NEED CONSTANT GOSPEL REFORMING? SECONDLY, IT ALSO TELLS US THE CROWD TRUSTED JOHN THEY MAY NOT HAVE UNDERSTOOD HIM, BUT THEY TRUSTED HIM TO TAKE THEM WHERE THEY NEEDED TO BE! A TRUST THAT LED TO ACTION… YOU SEE, JOHN THE BAPTIST COULD NOT ACHIEVE HIS PURPOSE UNLESS THE PEOPLE RESPONDED! THEIR HEARTS HAD TO BE STIRRED! THE GREATEST PREACHING AND TEACHING CAN’T PREVAIL UNLESS THE MINDS AND HEARTS OF EACH OF YOU REACHES TOWARD THE HEAVENS WITH DESIRE! I THINK OF A 19TH CENTURY PREACHER WHO AFTER CHURCH WAS CONGRATULATED ON A GOOD SERMON. IN REPLY HE SAID, YES, BUT WHAT DID IT DO? WHAT DID IT DO IN YOUR HEART? JOHN THE BAPTIST PREACHED FOR ACTION, FOR A RESPONSE OF THE HEART THAT WOULD PAVE THE WAY FOR JESUS! THAT PEOPLE WOULD REPENT AND BE RESTORED! AND WE’RE TOLD IT WORKS! REMEMBER? THE CROWD LITERALLY, [AGAIN] SAYS WHAT SHALL WE DO THEN? JOHN PERHAPS IN DISBELIEF OF THEIR HEART CHANGE SAYS…SHARE WHAT YOU HAVE WITH OTHERS… IF THAT’S NOT ENOUGH…EVEN THE TAX COLLECTORS ASK JOHN WHAT ACTION THEY SHOULD BE ABOUT! DO YOU SEE THE PHENOMENON? THE FORGIVEN PERSON IS BECOMING THE FORGIVING PERSON… THE DELIVERED PERSON IS BECOMING A DELIVERING PERSON! DO YOU SEE THEIR TEACHBLE AND TRUSTING SPIRITS THAT THEN WENT INTO ACTION? AND HERE IS THE KEY… IF WE HAVE TRIPLE ‘T’ TRUTH TELLERS IN OUR LIVES, WE WILL ALWAYS GO BACK TO THEM WHEN THE STORMS OF LIFE HIT. BACK TO THAT PERSON THAT SHEPHERD A TRIPLE ‘T’ WHO LOVES YOU TO THE POINT THAT HE WILL JUDGE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE, FOR THE SAKE OF REPENTANCE AND NEW LIFE! NOT SOMEONE WHO WILL TELL YOU, WELL, DO WHAT FEELS GOOD, IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU! I HAVE FOUND IN MY LIFE, THAT WHEN GOING THROUGH A CRISIS, I HAVE ALWAYS GONE FIRST TO THOSE I TRUST WHO WILL TELL ME THE GOSPEL TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, WHO HAS TIME FOR ANYTHING ELSE? DON’T YOU THINK JOHN THE BAPTIST WOULD HAVE BEEN THAT KIND OF A GUY FOR SO MANY? WHAT HAVE BEEN THOSE STORMS OF YOUR LIFE MY FRIENDS? WHO HAS HELD YOU THROUGH THEM? PERSONALLY, ONE SUCH STORM CAME IN THE FORM OF A PRESENTMENT LETTER AGAINST YOUR VESTRY AND MYSELF FILED BY 11 PARISHIONERS TO THE BISHOP OF WASHINGTON. IF YOU HAVEN’T RECEIVED A LETTER FROM THE VESTRY ABOUT IT, YOU CAN GET A COPY IN THE NARTHEX THIS MORNING. THE LETTER WAS WRITTEN BY FOLKS WHO ARE IN DISAGREEMENT WITH ME OVER THE THEOLOGICAL, PASTORAL AND OR LITURGICAL DIRECTION OF THIS CHURCH. I CAN PROMISE THAT MY RESPONSE TO THIS SITUATION PERSONALLY WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY DIFFERENT HAD I NOT BEEN LEANING MIGHTILY ON THE TRUTH TELLERS IN MY OWN LIFE. RESPONDING FROM A SECULAR PERSPECTIVE CERTAINLY WAS ALWAYS AN OPTION, BUT IT WAS ONLY BECAUSE OF THE TRIPLE ‘T’S IN MY LIFE IN MY LIFE, THOSE WHO HAVE SHAPED ME THAT GAVE ME ANOTHER RESPONSE… TRUTH TELLERS IN MY LIFE WHO TOLD ME…
MY FRIENDS I STAND BEFORE YOU TODAY REJOICING THAT THAT PRESENTMENT IS OVER, BISHOP SALMON AND I HAD SEVERAL ONE ON ONE, FACE TO FACE MEETINGS WITH THE SIGNERS THIS PAST WEEK. THE PRESENTMENT HAS BEEN DISMISSED AND IS OVER……OVER. AND THE TIMING IS AMAZING, WITH ADVENT NEARLY OVER AND CHRISTMAS UPON US, THERE ARE TWO MORE STEPS WE NEED TO TAK AS A PARISH.. SEVERAL WEEKS AGO, MARCIA IN HER SERMON POSED THE QUESTION TO ALL OF US, ARE WE READY FOR THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST? HAVE WE DONE THE WORK TO PREPARE OUR HEARTS, THIS COMMUNITY FOR THE ARRIVAL OF THE CHRIST? SHE SAID THE ANSWER WAS NO…I AGREE… TO TURN THAT ANSWER TO A YES, I THINK WE HAVE TO LOOK AT TWO THINGS…. FIRST, OUR TRIPLE ‘T’S CALL TO REPENTANCE… BEFORE ANY ACTION CAN TAKE PLACE, WE MUST LOOK AT THE RELATIONAL LANDSCAPE OF OUR LIVES AND ASK…WHO HAVE I HURT? INTENTIONALLY OR UNINTENTIONALLY? WHO HAS HURT ME? WHO DO I NEED TO FORGIVE, WHO DO I NEED TO ASK FOR FORGIVENESS, BOTH WITHIN AND BEYOND THIS CHURCH? ONLY WHEN THAT HAPPENS CAN WE BE READY FOR THE BIRTH OF THE CHRIST… AS YOUR LEADER, AND STANDING NOT ON MYSELF, BUT STANDING ON MODERN DAY TRIPLE ‘T’ JOHN THE BAPTISTS, I REPENT OF ANYTHING I’VE DONE THAT HAS HURT ANY OF YOU, EVEN ANYTHING UNINTENTIONAL, I HOPE YOU CAN RECEIVE THAT. AND STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF THOSE TRUTH TELLERS IN MY LIFE, I ALSO FORGIVE THOSE WHO HAVE HURT ME THROUGH THIS PRESENTMENT, THOSE WHO HAVE HURT MY FAMILY…. I CAN TELL YOU ALL, THAT JUST LIKE YOU, IT ISN’T IN ME TO FORGIVE, BUT IT IS ONLY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST LIVING IN ME, AND THOSE WHO HAVE SHAPED ME THAT I CAN STAND BEFORE YOU TODAY AND UTTER WITH MEANING WHAT I JUST DID. AS YOUR LEADER, I ASK YOU, WHO IS IT YOU NEED TO FORGIVE? WHAT DO YOU NEED TO REPENT OF? IN YOUR BULLETIN, THERE IS A SMALL SHEET OF PURPLE PAPER, AND ALL IT SAYS ON IT IS: FOR, DECEMBER 24, THE 10AM SERVICE. NEXT WEEK, BECAUSE CHRISTMAS EVE IS ON A SUNDAY, THIS IS WHAT WE’RE GOING TO DO. WE WILL HAVE ONLY ONE MORNING SERVICE, IT WILL BE AT 10AM, ALL OF OUR SERVICES WILL COMBINE ON THAT DAY, AND WE WILL CELEBRATE THE LAST SUNDAY OF ADVENT. THAT EVENING WE WILL CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS EVE AT 4 AND 10:30PM. AS WE LIVE INTO A NEW BEGINNING HERE AT ALL SAINTS’, I ASK YOU TO WRITE DOWN THOSE THINGS YOU’VE DONE THAT YOU HAVE CARRIED WITH YOU ALL THESE YEARS, THINGS YOU WANT TO OFFER THE LORD… RELATIONSHIPS IN YOUR WORKPLACE, YOUR FAMILY, PERHAPS DREADING THE IN-LAWS COMING TO TOWN FOR CHRISTMAS, AND THEY ARE STAYING WITH YOU! REMEMBER FORGIVENESS DOES NOT MEAN YOU ALL OF A SUDDEN ARE AFFIRMING WHAT THE PERSON DID! DOESN’T MEAN YOU HAVE TO LIKE OR HANG OUT WITH THEM! IT SIMPLY MEANS I CAN LOOK AT THAT PERSON WHO HAS HURT ME WITH NO OBSTACLES BETWEEN US AND RECEIVE COMMUNION WITH THEM! THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT UNLESS WE HAVE REPENTED AND HAVE FORGIVEN THOSE AROUND US, WE CANNOT TAKE COMMUNION! THINK ABOUT NAMES OF PEOPLE YOU KNOW YOU NEED TO FORGIVE, OR THE NAMES OF PEOPLE WHO YOU PRAY WILL FORGIVE YOU! RELEASING ANYTHING IN HERE THAT NEEDS TO BE GIVEN TO CHRIST. BETWEEN NOW AND NEXT WEEK, I WANT YOU TO WRITE DOWN THOSE NAMES, AND THEN BRING THOSE SHEETS BACK WITH YOU, WE WILL THEN COLLECT THOSE SHEETS OF PAPER, PUT THEM IN A BARBECUE PIT AND BURN THEM AS A SIGN OF PURITY AND NEW BEGINNINGS. RIGHT HERE AT 10AM ON THAT FINAL SUNDAY OF ADVENT… THEN WE WILL BE READY FOR THE NEXT STEP… LIKE THE FOLKS HEARING JOHN THE BAPTIST WILL WE BE READY FOR ACTION… FOR SOME, THAT WILL MEAN TURNING FROM A FOLLOWER AND A SUPPORTER OF ME TO A FULL FLEDGED DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST..…. FOR OTHERS, TRUSTING ENOUGH TO COME IN FROM THE FRINGE, ASKING, AM I A CONSUMER OR A DISCIPLE? CAN I BESTOW TRUST BY TAKING OWNERSHIP IN THE VISION OF OUR MINISTRY AND PARTICIPATING IN IT! WE ARE TOLD BY OUR TRUTH TELLER JOHN THE BAPTIST THAT EVERY TREE THAT DOESN’T BEAR GOOD FRUIT IS CUT DOWN AND THROWN INTO THE FIRE… IF WE FEEL WE CANNOT BE FRUITFILL AND PARTICIPATE HERE AT ALL SAINTS’, HOW CAN YOU BEAR FRUIT! SO MUCH IS ON THE LINE! FOR OTHERS, IT MEANS CHANGING OUR COMMUNICATION HYGIENE, CHOOSING ONLY TO SPEAK TO THE SOURCE OF THE QUESTION AND NOT THOSE AROUND THE SOURCE… BEING ACCOUNTABLE TO EVERY WORD UTTERED OUT OF OUR MOUTHS. LET’S MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER WITH OUR TRIPLE ‘T’S, BECKONING US INTO REPENTANCE AND ACTION, LET’S MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER, AND WITH THAT SHEET OF PAPER IN HAND, LET US PRAY. PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE…Sunday, December 17, 2006 IN THE SPIRIT OF JOHN THE BAPTIST.. LORD IN YOUR MERCY, FROM AFFECTATION AND UNTRUTH, CONSCIOUS OR UNCONSCIOUS, LORD IN YOUR MERCY, FROM ALL LOVE OF DISPLAY AND SACRIFICE TO POPULARITY, LORD IN YOUR MERCY, FOR THINKING SO MUCH ABOUT OURSELVES, THAT WE FORGET TO PRAY FOR THE NEEDS OF OTHERS, PRAYING FOR THE GLOBAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH, FOR OUR BISHOPS AND CLERGY, AND FOR THOSE WHO ARE SICK… LORD IN YOUR MERCY, IN TIMES OF DOUBTS AND QUESTIONINGS, WHEN OUR FAITH IS PERPLEXED, GIVE US THE FAITHFULNESS OF LEARNERS, AND THE COURAGE OF BELIEVERS IN YOUR TRUTH LORD JESUS CHRIST; KEEP US FROM HASTY ASSURANCE THAT WE ARE WISER THAN OUR FOREFATHERS.. LORD IN YOUR MERCY, TEACH US BY THE STANDARD OF YOUR WORD, BY THE JUDGEMENTS OF OTHERS, BY THE EXAMINATIONS OF OURSELVES; GIVE US AN EARNEST DESIRE TO STRENGTHEN OURSELVES CONTINUALLY BY DILIGENCE, PRAYER AND STUDY IN YOUR WORD. LORD IN YOUR MERCY, CHIEFLY WE PRAY THAT WE MAY KNOW YOU LORD JESUS AND SEE YOU IN ALL YOUR WORKS, ALWAYS FEELING YOUR PRESENCE NEAR, HEARING AND KNOWING YOUR CALL. LORD IN YOUR MERCY, FINALLY, BLOT OUT OUR PAST TRANSGRESSIONS, HEAL THE EVILS OF OUR PAST NEGLIGENCES AND IGNORANCES AND HELP US TO AMEND OUR PAST MISTAKES AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS: LORD IN YOUR MERCY, HEAR OUR PRAYER YOU WHO DO TRULY AND EARNESTLY REPENT YOU OF YOUR SINS, AND ARE IN LOVE AND CHARITY WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS AND INTEND TO LEAD A NEW LIFE FOLLOWING THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, AND WALKING FROM HENCEFORTH IN HIS HOLY WAYS, DRAW NEAR WITH FAITH AND MAKE YOUR HUMBLE CONFESSION TO ALMIGHTY GOD, DEVOUTLY KNEELING. |
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