WITH ONE ACCORD - Acts 1:12-14

Lord today, isn't it? You ready? We're gonna worship God and we're gonna start with a call to worship from Psalm 95 where the psalmist says,

Oh come let us sing to the Lord. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving for the

Lord. He is a great God. Hold on just a second, go back to that slide.

For the Lord is a great God. That's right, that's right.

Let's go on. In his hand are the depths of the earth.

The sea is his for he made it. Oh come let us worship and bow down for he is our

God and we are the people of his pasture. Amen.

All God's people said to in our study in Acts and it's it's going to be verses 12 through 14 of Acts chapter 1 but I'm gonna start reading in verse 9 to get the flow of the thought here from Luke.

In verse 9 he writes, And when he had said these things, this is when

Jesus had had finally given his last words to the disciples there, as they were looking on he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight.

That that glory cloud, the Shekinah glory, the glory of God that covered

Jesus as he ascended and while they were gazing into heaven as he went behold two men stood by them in white robes those two angels the messengers of God and said men of Galilee why do you stand looking into heaven?

This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet which is near Jerusalem a

Sabbath day's journey away and when they had entered they went up to the upper room where they were staying

Peter and John and James and Andrew Philip and Thomas Bartholomew and Matthew James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the

Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers.

What a great what a great account of what the early church was looking like as soon as Christ ascended.

We worship this morning an ascended Christ who sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for us.

We worship the triune God the one that Christ came to bring us into union with.

Christ came, God came to redeem us to buy us from him and to him.

You get that right? Christ came to buy us to purchase us from the wrath of God and bring us and present us into the glory and union and perfect holy righteousness with the triune

God, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Praise God. So let's pray a prayer of adoration this morning to that great

God. Oh Father we bow before you now we come as your children gathered.

I pray that we have been a people that have been communing with you this week. I pray that we have been your children your sheep and have been gleaning from your word, communing and speaking to you our needs and prayers of praise that our lives have been an act of praise to you through the righteousness of Christ but this morning we come together.

There is something beautifully unique about your children gathering on your day to worship you to encourage one another all the more but we pray that today would be honoring to you.

Oh I pray that our lives would be a reflection of your grace to a lost and dying world that it would be a reminder to the rest of the

Saints that are here in this building today that each one of us is fully and completely and thoroughly dependent upon your grace and your providence in our lives.

You are the sustainer. He who began a good work in us will see it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus and we all stand in that righteousness the very alien righteousness the righteousness of Christ and all

God's people said let's sing of the love of the Father. Get to see the imagery of others there's nothing special about the waters we all know that there's nothing unique about actually going through the act of baptism and the fact that it's it's not it's not saving you it's not actually washing away any sins it's it's a symbol it's a symbol and it's it's it's showing something of spiritual significance it's showing that that person is saying

I've been made new I've been washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ and he has called me in a sanctifying act of obedience to walk in this and be baptized just as our

Savior exemplified in his life of being baptized and so today we have two baptisms we're gonna have one later on in the service but I get the privilege of baptizing one of my children today you come on up here this is

Lorelei most of y 'all know her she stays quiet in the background watching little children because she loves the little kids

Lorelei just turned 13 this week so had a birthday and and so I've been watching and talking with Lorelei now for probably a year she has had a tender heart towards the things of the

Lord she has had a spirit that longs to be obedient to Christ she has had a understanding of the gospel but just as as any parent we want to make sure that we're not putting words in their mouths we're not influencing too heavily and I waited for her to come to us because I think

I've seen a regenerate child for quite some time now goodness of Christ saving and so she she took the initiative came and chatted with me and then eventually went and chatted with Pastor Jeremiah and Pastor Jeremiah said oh

I think that girl saved we need we need to baptize her and she has longed to be baptized and she's expressed a desire to be baptized here in front of y 'all with with her church family and actually be transitioning into being part of us being a member here at 12 five church what an exciting thing and it's a blessing for me to be able to baptize her today so come on let's climb in here ask you again if you put your faith in Christ and Christ alone is he your righteousness yes it is my honor sister to baptize you in the name of the

Father the Son and the Holy Spirit baptized to see anyone baptized but you can imagine that was near and dear to my heart so let's stand let's keep singing together singing praises to our

God the God that saves creatures of our

God lift up your voice and with us he's hitting

Sunward with you go ahead and open it you feel it feels like I'm jumping the gun here doesn't it we'll open it to the passage that I read a moment ago

Acts chapter 1 we're gonna be looking at verses 12 through 14 as we go into week 4 of our study through this eyewitness account of the acts of the

Holy Spirit through the Apostles in the early church carrying out the mission the heavenly ministry of Jesus today is going to be looking a little bit different our our order of service our structure you can tell it's a little thrown off we like to change things up around here a little bit the elements of worship are there but they may be in a different order

I was originally going to preach through verses 12 through 26 that entire section of the new

Apostle being chosen and I was gonna do so in a two -part series but providentially this week

I believe it will turn into as we see today a three -part of those texts for I want us to be sure to be doers of the word and not just hearers only y 'all hear me say that a lot

I quote James in that quite often because that is important many many of us today in Christian subculture we we have a tendency to be hearers of the word we hear it every week we get

Bible studies we get all this stuff but very little doing of the word and I do not want us to fall prey to this and here in a moment that will hopefully make some sense as to where we're going today here in the text we have the disciples they've just experienced the ascension of Christ they've just seen their

Savior their friend their their teacher ascend wrapped in the glory of God and then two angels come to them as we read a moment ago in verse 11 and what do they say they say men of Galilee they're looking at them like disciples men that have followed

Christ so far why do you stand looking into heaven essentially what are you doing there's a bit of a rebuke here actually these angels they're they're rebuking these men they're saying what are you doing you've been given orders why are you simply standing around right now and what were those orders well back in verse 4 we saw that Jesus had ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem right to stay stay in Jerusalem and for what and wait for the promise of the

Father the promise that was to come the Holy Spirit that the Father would send for them to have power to carry out the mission that he's laid before them so their orders were to wait in Jerusalem for the power of the

Holy Spirit and then look at verse 12 it says then they returned to Jerusalem they returned to Jerusalem this is what they've been told they've been said

Jesus said wait in Jerusalem and they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet which is near Jerusalem a

Sabbath day journey away so we see a couple of things here okay first they weren't yet in Jerusalem they were close but they weren't quite in Jerusalem where Jesus had told them to be and to wait they weren't far there's a

Sabbath day's journey you ever heard that phrase this is this is a phrase that they would have put together you know when when

God gives them rules like the the Levitical law he gives them regulations you know there to keep the

Sabbath day holy and his and his moral law we read that and then so what are the

Jewish leaders do they put parameters around that to make sure you don't get anywhere near breaking that law and so a

Sabbath day's journey was what they would have would have been referring to which was roughly about three -quarters of a mile okay in our in our terms so about three -quarters of a mile is a

Sabbath day's journey and that's all that a a Jewish person would be allowed to travel and walk on the

Sabbath so that they weren't extending themselves and doing too much so very arbitrary number right a

Sabbath day's journey but Luke writes this in here they weren't far from Jerusalem they were they were roughly three -quarters of a mile there at the

Mount these details are very Luke esque he's very precise with his accounting of of this landscape of geography this this problem this probably points to the fact that that the person that he's writing the letter to if you remember the introduction

Theophilus this probably a high -ranking Roman official he's writing this fact to him is he's not familiar with the layout of the land he's probably familiar with the customs of that land but he's not familiar with the area but second it gives us insight into where the ascension of Jesus took place the

Mount of Olives there's significance here there's a lot of speculation as to why

Jesus would have ascended at this particular place this region it does it has significance all the way back into the the time of David in the

Old Testament we see many acts of God taking place there however to focus on that loses in my opinion the forest for the trees so we're not going to focus there

I believe that Luke here is giving us the information to point to how the disciples are being obedient to what

Christ has called them to do and what is that wait to wait in Jerusalem and look at verse 13 and when they had entered

Jerusalem right when they finally got to Jerusalem what did they do they went up to the upper room where they were staying most scholars believe that this is the same upper room where the

Last Supper took place we have no reason to think otherwise this is a place where they're staying after all it had not been that long since the upper room experience so you can imagine the emotions put yourself in their shoes the memories heartache the joys the the anxiousness they had just watched their teacher ascend he'd given them commands and they're making their way up those stairs to the upper room and I could only imagine that they have the very words of their teacher their

Savior their master running through their heads it's just replaying his teaching his sacrificial actions think of the upper room at the

Last Supper what did he do he washed their feet this is replaying in their minds as they recall him saying as recorded in John 13

Jesus saying what I am doing you do not understand now what's happening right now you don't understand and they didn't did they they had no idea what was happening in the upper room in that moment as Jesus is washing their feet they're like what is going on he says you don't understand oh but afterwards you will understand can you imagine recalling that statement as you're walking back up into that same room and you're remembering the experience of what you have gone through and all that you have just seen recalling how

Peter says you're not washing my feet and Jesus says if I do not wash you you have no share with me that probably made no sense to them in the moment did it all but all of a sudden the pieces are starting to come together with him as he as he goes on later he says

I am the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through me oh it's almost like light bulb moments are just hitting these men as they're going to this upper room and then in chapter 14 verse 12 of John he says truly truly

I say to you whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do and greater works than these will he do because I am going to the

Father can you imagine going we've seen you raise people from the dead we've seen you heal the blind and the lame we see you do some unbelief then we've seen you raised from the dead and ascend in the glory cloud to the

Father as you had told us you're at the right hand of the Father interceding for us and and then thinking back to those words and going greater works how is this possible this is running through their minds you know that those words were reverberating in their heads but but I count but think that what

Jesus said next in John 14 was one of the most impactful things on these men in verse 13 he told them whatever you ask in my name this

I will do that the Father may be glorified in the Son if you ask me anything in my name

I will do it as they go back into that upper room and they're reminded of those words

I think this must have resonated reverberated into their minds and their souls because it's the very thing that they go and do in the midst of their waiting you notice that that's the one thing they do in verse 14 of Acts 1 all these right the 11

Apostles he had just listed that we read a moment ago notice Judas wasn't in there there's another

Judas that's a different one but Judas Iscariot wasn't in there because he's gone we'll talk about that in a couple of weeks but it says all these with one accord with unity they are all brought into perfect unity were devoting themselves to what now it wasn't just those 11 though look at what it says next together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brothers as a matter of fact verse 15 later tells us as a total of a hundred and twenty disciples all devoted to eating together so what it says all devoted to singing and what were they devoted to prayer and they're waiting they're reminded of what

Jesus had told them in that very upper room if you ask anything in my name and boy do they have a lot to pray about don't they they're devoted to prayer this small group as a side note very

I feel like I need to address this because we're here notice that Mary the mother of Jesus is not leading any of this

Mary's not in charge they aren't looking to her for answers they aren't trying to communicate through her to bend the ear of her son she is in no way according to these men and women a co -redeemer in any way she is just another one of the hundred and twenty disciples one whom

Jesus had asked the men to look after he did care for her but she was just like them

Rome would have you think otherwise but you must be prepared for that when someone wants to to try and tell you that we must pray to Mary that that she is a co -redeemer that she is sinless take them to her

Magnificat in Luke chapter 1 verse 46 and 47 this is

Mary's song of praise what does she say she says my soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God your

Savior is that that what she said no she said my Savior my

Savior Mary was not sinless she like every other person needed a

Savior so when Rome tries to tell you that she was sinless that she was an eternal virgin you can point to these texts okay

I'm giving y 'all some some Jeremiah apologetics here you can point to these texts where that virgin had other sons the brothers of Jesus James being one of them as a matter of fact you realize that his physical brothers his brothers

Mary's children his her other sons they didn't buy into this whole Jesus thing in his earthly ministry they didn't buy into it they didn't believe until his resurrection that changed everything they saw with their own eyes the truth of what

Jesus had done as a matter of fact I think James is the only person if I'm not mistaken

James is the only person that Jesus appeared to singularly alone in after his resurrection it points to him coming to James and James sees his his brother but now he knows he's his

Savior and it changed everything here's here's brothers willing to die now so that's just a little side note right here is the early church a small band of nobody's a hundred and twenty people hiding in an upper room waiting for the promise of the father boy they've got a lot to pray about don't they because they remember his words whatever you ask in my name

I will do corporate prayer is referred to I believe seven times in the book of Acts today we are going to be doers of the word and not hearers only here in a moment we will sing another song and go into a time of intentional corporate prayer

I've asked a few men to lead us and some specific prayers and then we will give a moment for all of us to pray together you know this is unfortunately a very uncomfortable thing for most

Christians today most church goers today and that is very unfortunate if you notice a lot of churches use prayer as a filler time it's time to get the band off the stage it's time to transition the layout it's time to to kind of fill in the gaps where we need to fill in I love what

Mark Dever says about corporate prairie says we should pray so much in our church gatherings that the non -believers get bored

I encourage you to ask yourself why this feels unnecessary or why it feels like a waste of time if you're feeling right now come on pastor

I wanted you to give me a little bit more meat I wanted the sermon to be a little longer why do we have to all go quiet and pray

I don't want you to ask yourself why you feel that way because Jesus himself promised this essential necessary powerful means of molding us conforming us to his will strengthen in our faith as we see him answer those requests because this is what these this small band of people not any different than this size gathered in a room waiting for the promise and that small group you're not long from this day will receive power from the

Holy Spirit that will turn the entire world upside down completely changed everything and God used the means of prayer the prayer of his

Saints now make no mistake that prayer in that upper room is not what caused

God to send the Holy Spirit prayer never changes

God it changes us God used that he laid that on the hearts of those

Saints to pray so that when he did answer the prayer it strengthened their faith and encouraged them it allowed them in those moments to see

God work and that they are a part of that work by the grace of God as we start off a time of prayer

I encourage you to spend a moment in reflection I'm going to start us off with a prayer of confession and assurance of pardon as we do each week and in this confession there is there is individual confession

I am NOT praying enough I am NOT I'm not trusting the Lord enough I am

NOT living as I ought to but then resting in that assurance of pardon that in Christ even those sins are paid for but then corporately also and then we will sing together the old hymn be thou my vision and time of prayer together so please bow with me

Heavenly Father we come before you now and we we confess

God I confess that so often

I believe that I need to do the things I need to accomplish stuff and I do it in my own power and in my own timing according to my own will

Lord I ask that you would change my desires

I ask this for all of us as a church corporately that we would be a people that trust in your providential timing in hand that we would be a church that says there is more power in prayer than in anything else that we could possibly do may we be a praying people lay it on our hearts forgive us for not praying as we ought may we confess that to you acknowledge our frailty in this but God we also know that your grace is sufficient for us

God we know that even in our failings and in our impatience you have covered that sin by the righteousness of Christ by his blood that purchased us and we have an assurance of pardon help us to rest in that so that we can come boldly into your throne room once again with our petitions with our needs with our prayers that we would pray diligently and trust in the power of the

Holy Spirit to guide and lead us as a people may you be honored in our lives and in this time of prayer today we thank you for your goodness and your grace we pray all of this and the wonderful and glorious name of our

Savior Jesus Christ and all God's people said let's stand and sing this great hymn that we are saved by grace and grace on top of grace on top of grace and we now get the privilege to come into the throne room of the car father our petitions with our needs and he hears us he doesn't hear the prayers of the unrighteous the world they can they can scream up to the sky they can bow their knee and try and pray all they want and he hears none of it but he hears yours every moment and every time let's lean into it saying so now here

I'm gonna ask pastor Keith to come up and and lead us in a prayer for the church here's the way this is gonna work

I'm gonna have men come up and lead us in a particular prayer and I want you to pray as they pray but you can go ahead and be seated if you would like to as soon as pastor

Keith leads us in this prayer what I'd ask is that you would spend a moment in prayer for this congregation for your brothers and sisters here and prayer that God would be honored in our lives as a church and as a ministry and that he would use us for his glory and his will and for his purposes if you would like to circle up right where you're at if you want to move chairs move chairs you can gather up you can pray together we're gonna give you a moment before we move on and we start praying for another particular need so we're just going to spend some time today in prayer pastor

Keith if you could lead us in a prayer for the church concerning prayer

I would like to see a show of hands who here was with 12 five church when we were over in the shop building if you'd raise your hands

I think you're gonna remember what I'm talking about we had received news that we no longer could hold church in the shop building right the

Lord was moving as if the timing was perfect most people agreed it was time to step out from being a startup church to being a church and there's not a lot of difference but there is some it was time for us to go out on our own to support ourselves to depend on the

Lord right we had a place that we had found that we were going to move to everything seemed to be falling into place we were excited about it we had made plans drawn up what we were going to do how we were going to do it the walls everything how much it was going to cost we had voted on it and we went back to the guy that's going to rent it and all we heard was crickets nothing we couldn't get him to reply to anything any of our phone calls messages text emails we heard nothing and we finally over about two weeks came to the point that we

God had slammed the door basically we came to realize but it was hard we were heartbroken because this was it but it wasn't so we regrouped and what did we do we're gonna go on a week of prayer is what the leaders decided we need to meet every day in this building and pray to the

Lord for his direction for his supply for him to give us and lead us and where he wanted to go and we started praying we prayed

Monday we prayed Tuesday we prayed Wednesday Thursday I got a call from from Nathan and Jeremiah that the person that was leasing this building was looking for somebody to sublease it and we came and met with him and it was unbelievable we were going to get this place for about a third starting out of the rent that we would normally have to pay because there's no way we could have afforded full rent in this building and the guy was it was just miraculous what the

Lord did and I kept on saying to Nathan we haven't finished praying it's just Thursday we were gonna pray to Saturday we haven't even finished and the

Lord is already blessing us way more than we were before thought we were blessed before and our prayer of need turned into a prayer of rejoicing three days prayer of need

Thursday Friday and Saturday a prayer of rejoicing and thanking the Lord so if y 'all would pray with me father it is by your hand that we stand here today gathered together as one as your bride is your church we recognize your hand it wasn't of us it was because of you your great mercy father we humbly come before you normally

I pray that you would work through us but today I pray that we would work through you then everything that we do would not be because of us our desire our will but would because of your direction would all bring glory to you where we walk would be according to your will where we speak we would speak the truth according to your word where we sing would bring honor and glory and praise to your holy name when we go out into the world people wouldn't have to ask they would know there's something different about us as we go about doing your business not our business

Lord we trust in you father we trust that you will supply our needs that you will supply our direction and you will show us where were to work through you father we come through acts

Lord we just ask that you show us the wisdom and how we can apply your word how your church began to what we need to be doing in this building in this body that we would come together like the

Apostles the disciples the wives came together in that room every

Sunday in unity seeking you in prayer recognizing that it's not by our will it's not by our power it's not by our direction it's about nothing that we could give on our own it's because of you what you have done in us and I am so thankful for that help us always to remember that the love that we have is because you loved us first I pray this in Christ's name amen chapter 2

Paul writes to his protege he says first of all then

I urge the supplications prayers intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people for kings and all who are in high positions that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life godly and dignified in every way

I don't know about you but I long to see change in the culture

I do I long to see it I want to see your will be done on earth as it is in heaven how often do

I pray for that how often do

I actually pray that God would bring about revival I'd like for us now to spend a moment praying for the leaders of the city leaders of the state and this country they may not be leaders because we're foreigners here we have a king we still pray for them for the sake of our neighbors let's pray for their salvation let's pray that they would rule well and that they would bend the knee to the king and he would kiss the

Sun lest he be angry I've asked Blake Davis to come up and lead us in this prayer as soon as Blake is done we can do just as we did a moment ago spend a moment praying for those men and women that are providentially placed in those positions and that God would bring about change in this culture dear

Heavenly Father God we know that you are the ruler of all the earth we know that you

God are sovereign that you nothing God goes beyond your plans but at the same time

God we pray and you call us to pray for our leaders here on this earth again you are our king and you are our ruler

God but you we are still here left on this earth God and I pray that when we lift up and we intercede for our community leaders

God here in this community our leaders at the state and leadership over this country

God that first and foremost God that you would save them because we know

God without a truly regenerate heart without a true heart of repentance and faith in your son

God that no true obedience can be had and so God we first and foremost pray for their salvation that he would turn their hearts to you

God that you would break them so that they can be made whole again

God and that that would trickle and affect our society

God and that it would align itself more to your will in your word and how you've called us to live

God we know that it is your power to save we know that it is your power to change and that your will will be done but God we pray that that their hearts would be changed and that that would make this community state country and world a more peaceful place and that we would be more honoring to you

God that your glory would shine more and more and that even if we have peace in this community in this world that we can joyfully and excitingly and prayerfully and praiseworthy that it would go back to you

God and recognize that it is nothing in and of us it is nothing in and of our leaders if that is changed but it is all by your power it is all by your gracious hand and mercy given to us and so God I am so guilty of not praying for our leaders please forgive me

God and I pray that you would grow us as a people to grow in our faith in you grow in our obedience to you and to intercede for our leaders as you've called us to God we thank you

God that we can trust in you we thank you that you are faithful we thank you and we pray that all of this would happen and that a revival that a an awakening

God would spread God that you would be honored and that it would be overwhelming not feelings not revivalism not trying to stir up these things

God but it would be a true working of your Holy Spirit and a deep abiding revival

God that is by your power by your spirit and that it is according to your word

God and I pray God that you would do that he would give us faith to believe and trust that you have the power to do that and that it would be for your glory and your glory alone and we thank you

God again for your son who gives us this opportunity to come before you

God gives us the righteousness the cleanness the forgiveness that we can stand before you because it is not anything of us

God and we thank you for your mercy and your grace and it's in his name we pray amen the 12th chapter of Acts we see that King Herod had killed

James with a sword he saw how it pleased the people so so what did he do he arrested

Peter of course planning to do the same to him but but as Peter is in chains awaiting for a sentence like this what happened if you remember the story angels came and they freed him from his chains and verse 11 says when

Peter came to himself he said now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angels to rescue me from the hand of Herod and from all that the

Jewish people were expecting when he realized this he went to the house of Mary the mother of John whose other name was

Mark where many were gathered together and were praying they were gathered together when when

Peter gets released they don't know he's been released he shows up and there they are praying they were no doubt praying for Peter once again

God used the prayer of his saints we have brothers and sisters today those who could not make it with sickness or difficulty we have others all over the world right now who are suffering you realize that like we have heat comfortable chairs good coffee there's literally no threat coming in through those doors to us but this very day this very

Lord's Day all over the world there are people just like the disciples hiding in an upper room fearful and suffering we forget about those

Christians often don't we and we need to pray for them

I don't know we pray for our brothers and sisters here we pray for those around us in the community we pray for the ones that could not make it that are suffering with different things now but we pray for all the

Saints all over the world in the midst of this suffering I've asked Bobby Clark he would come and lead us and praying for the

Saints mighty God and Father were humbled to stand before you we come with fear and trembling for the awesome

God that you are and yet we also come with boldness and with confidence because the veil is torn and we have access to you because the loving

God that you are and we thank you and praise you for that God and you have blessed us here

Lord as Nathan said that there's no one coming through the doors to stop us from praying to you to stop us from worshiping your name today and God we just give you thanks for that because we know that this is from your hand but even in the midst of our freedom that you have given us the liberty that we have here there are those that cannot be here because of things that they're suffering because of afflictions

God and we pray for them we pray that you would give them peace and comfort in their time of affliction

God that you would help us to be faithful as a people to pray for them to go to them when they can't come to us

God give them strength to be able to endure that and there are those here also that suffer for your namesake persecution even around us not necessarily from those in authority over us but from those in their family from friends from co -workers

God and their sufferings compounded by their concern over the souls of those close to them

God we just pray that you give them strength to endure and comfort them with the knowledge that not one soul that God has called will fail will he fail to save despite the way things look right now despite the circumstances surrounding them just pray that you'll help those that are being persecuted here by their family members by their friends to be faithful in prayer for those that they love and then

God there are those that don't enjoy the freedoms that we have all around the world that suffer for your namesake many are persecuted by those that are in authority over them

God and as Nathan said we forget them

God we forget their suffering God please give them strength to endure in the places where they're hiding where they're gathering secretly to in obedience to your word

God we pray that they would have wisdom help them to know how and when to act give them boldness and proclaiming the good news to the people in those areas that desperately need to hear it in the midst of that oppression help them to be faithful in prayer for their peoples and for those in authority over them as well give them strength to persevere in their suffering remembering that our

Savior declared blessing for those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven and for all of us that suffer whether through persecution or affliction may we be like Paul and regarding our current suffering is not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us may we as the

Saints gathered here remember to pray for those who are suffering around the world for your namesake and for your glory

Jesus name we pray we see in our text today that we looked at in Acts and all throughout the

New Testament how the Saints prayed for guidance anytime there was a big decision they sought the

Lord together today we should pray for guidance where God would have us serve him how we can serve him so I've asked

Brian AG if he would lead us in a prayer of God's guidance for us as a people today and then we will begin to conclude our time of prayer all right let's pray look out we as Nathan said earlier we are totally dependent on you

God we cannot do anything on our own and the things that we do try to do on our own if they're tainted by flesh

God will always lead to problems and destruction God it but we've seen that you've planted this church you've established every step

God you filled our church with men and women that love your word let us pray that any part of our foundation that's not your word if it's based in man's opinion or man's emotions that God you would cut it off that we'd be quick to love reproof that if we're wrong

God that we would love the brother that corrects us the Lord we do pray for guidance we do pray that we would continuously just love your word and to continue to grow in that word we know that your word is a foundation of all things when

I read through the prayers of Paul as he's talking about how he's praying for the churches it's not about any kind of earthly prosperity it's it's all about a growing knowledge of your word and growing in wisdom growing understanding so God that is our prayer that we would grow in wisdom and knowledge and understanding or just pray that our conversations will always be honoring and glorifying to you

I pray that how we conduct ourselves out as we're at work or just in the community would be honoring to you that they would be something that people look at how we conduct ourselves and know that we we belong we have a higher power we we belong to to you

God well I thank you for these families here just the blessings they've been to my family and again that our our conversations have been many men here

I've talked for hours and hours I have much trouble pulling away from when we're talking about that word just I just love learning new things

God and I see these that same passion and other people here guys thank you for all the people you're drawing here that again if they don't love your word they won't last long and so we're just thank you for all the things you're doing we ask you continue to guide our steps give us insight help us to know your will and God we know that you're gonna work all things out we pray this in Jesus name

Amen prayers today we are reminded of your love for us as we sang earlier the love of the

Father and now as we prepare to sing once again this great hymn how deep the

Father's love for us that we would rest assured that you heard our petitions and that you will answer them according to your will because you love us help us to rest in that and reflect on that truth as we sing this great truth of your great love a stand and sing together go around the outside is a table on this side a table on this you can take the wine and the bread and go back to your seat but today is the first Sunday of the month you know what that means as we partake together so don't take the elements when you get back to your seat hang on to them and we will come back

I'm going to read the text from Matthew 26 and we are going to partake together let us pray that God would be honored in our time of worship through the supper

Lord we thank you for this sanctifying ordinance that we get to be reminded of what our

Savior did for us and then we get to express the significance of it as we partake of the wine representing your blood spilled for us as we partake of the unleavened bread that represents your perfect spotless body that was given for us and as we take of these elements how they represent a significant glorious spiritual truth that we are one with you and you are one with us thank you for that Union we pray now that you would be honored in our time of worship through this table

Saints if you are in Christ today you are welcome to everybody's got their elements please stand the institution of the

Lord's Supper was accounted by Matthew in chapter 26 he says now as they were eating

Jesus took bread and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples that's what we just did we broke it and gave it to the disciples right let us pray we thank you for this sacrifice what a life -giving eternal truth

Christ given for us represented in this this bread may it sanctify us may we experience the presence of Christ and our lives in a unique and special way at his table which

Jesus gave the disciples the bread he said take eat this is my body

Christ took a cup and when he'd given thanks he gave it to them Lord we thank you for this wine this wine that represents the blood of our

Savior hey we'd be reminded continually of his sacrifice he said drink of it all of you for this is my blood of the

Covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins Jesus says

I I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you and my father's kingdom the men are gonna come around with the trays and gather the glasses but if you wouldn't mind going ahead and be seated

I told you we had another baptism today own dawn is going to be baptizing a good friend of his y 'all seen

Stephen Cooper here the past couple of weeks I I want to I want to kind of fill you in Stephen grew up Church of Christ and has realized that that that baptism was not a

Christian baptism because they proclaim a different gospel a gospel of works here we'll help you here in just a moment

Stephen there's a gospel of works and he has expressed a a true faith in Christ and Christ alone and a desire to be baptized for the first time

Stephen is wanting to pursue membership here and so he is planning on coming to the new member classes coming up in March and so we are looking forward to getting to know

Stephen better and he has desired for dawn to be able to perform the baptism so if I could get

Bobby could you help us over what a good day what a glorious and gracious God we serve and we get to see that represented together now

I'm gonna pray for our time of offering if some of the men could get the trays and pass them around we go into a time of worship a part of being a church is that the act of giving we don't have a specific amount we have a whatever

God has laid on your heart right and this is not law and regulation but it is something that we desire to give back to God what he has graciously given to us towards ministry work so let us pray that God will be honored in this time of worship and then we will sing the doxology together