Month of Prayer - Week 5

Fellowship

Abiding in Christ

Opening Meditation

Philippians 2:5-11

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

opening Prayer

We praise and glorify you our Lord and Owner,
for we and all things are your own.
We praise and glorify you our king and ruler,
for we are your subjects, and our perfect obedience is your due.
Just are all your laws and judgment; true and sure is all your Word.
We praise and glorify you, our great benefactor.
In you we live, and move, and are: all that we are, or have, or can do,
is wholly from you, the cause of all; and all is for you, for you are our end.
Delightfully to love you is our greatest duty, and our only felicity,
for you are love itself, and infinitely amiable. Amen. (Richard Baxter)

Assurance Reading

Galatians 2:20

Receive these words of comfort from God:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Response

Sing or Pray these words

Catechism

Confess what you believe while receiving instruction from the New City Catechism

Q25: Does Christ’s death mean all our sins can be forgiven?
Answer: Yes, because Christ’s death on the cross fully paid the penalty for our sin, God graciously imputes Christ’s righteousness to us as if it were our own and will remember our sins no more.

Q29: How can we be saved?
Answer: Only by faith in Jesus Christ and in his substitutionary atoning death on the cross; so even though we are guilty of having disobeyed God and are still inclined to all evil, nevertheless, God, without any merit of our own but only by pure grace, imputes to us the perfect righteousness of Christ when we repent and believe in him.

Q30: What is faith in Jesus Christ?
Answer: Faith in Jesus Christ is acknowledging the truth of everything that God has revealed in his Word, trusting in him, and also receiving and resting on him alone for salvation as he is offered to us in the gospel.

BIBLE READING

Lord God, we do not live by bread alone, but hunger for your every word. Nourish us today with your heavenly food, through Jesus Christ, Amen. (based on Matthew 4:4)

• Read along in your Bible Reading Plan
• Or read the sermon text for this upcoming Sunday
• Or meditate on and memorize this week’s readings

PRAYERs OF INTERCESSION

Thanks be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits you have given me, for all the pains and insults you have borne for me. O Most merciful Redeemer, Friend, and Brother, may I know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, day by day. Amen. (Richard of Chichester)

FAMILY

Pray that your household and church family would grow in considering ourselves crucified with Christ.

WHO’S YOUR ONE?

Pray that our unbelieving family members, neighbors, and coworkers would notice the hope that is within Christians and so be prepared to hear and receive His good news.

WORLD

Pray that missionaries would be called, raised up, and sent to the nations that a renewed sense of reverence, repentance, and rejoicing in Christ would fill the earth in our lifetime.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Conclude with the prayer our Lord Jesus taught us to pray (Matthew 6:9-13)