Do we believe God exists, or do we know He exists? Do we know the world is round, or do we merely believe it is round? Today we shall examine the difference between believing and knowing. In our certainties as well as our convictions, God goes with all of us through life, guiding, upholding, inspiring, loving, and reproving us. Let us together worship the God who leads us through life, enabling us to believe in Him until, at the last, we shall fully know Him as we believe we know one another.
Pastoral Prayer
We thank Thee, O Lord our God, that we have come to believe that Thou dost love us with a love which never falters or fails. Thou art like a mother or father who never give up on their children, regardless of their missteps or misbehavior. We sense Thy continuous care for us, even when we fail to do Thy will. Blessed be Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, for deigning always to love us, even us. Forgive us for the sins we commit against Thee and Thine eternal laws, and help us, once we believe we are forgiven, to strive anew to follow with greater determination in the paths of righteousness.
We pray for our new President, for his advisors, and for the people he has appointed or nominated to high office in our government. In the great unrest which many people are feeling all over the world because of decisions which seem to have been hastily made, we ask Thee to grant calmness of spirit to all who feel greatly distressed.
We neither ask Thee nor expect Thee to pacify events which our government and we alone can solve, but we do implore Thee to grant us new levels of perspective as we seek to adjust to a political situation never before faced in our country. Particularly we pray for Thy presence in the man who, more than anyone else, is the progenitor of this new and uncharted chapter in our history.
We pray for the many government officials in many different government agencies who have long operated on a commonly agreed upon set of guidelines, and who now are faced with new guidelines they may oppose on moral or legal grounds. Loving God, it is in times such as these when we realize how complex our communal life is, and how hard it is for those in authority to provide proper leadership in rapidly shifting conditions. Help us to keep our faith in Thee and in one another strong, so that together we may weather whatever it is that lies ahead of us, trusting that Thou wilt not forsake any of us. We remember Thy Son Jesus, and the turbulence of the time in which he lived. As Thou didst guide him through the uncertainly of his years, guide us also through the uncertainty of our years. All these petitions we offer in Jesus’ name. Now together we join in the prayer he taught to his disciples, saying, Our Father….