If you only showed righteousness, all we could expect is the just wrath of your judgment. Let us experience the sweetness Psalm 133 speaks of and may it increase our excitement as we look forward to the day we will live in perfect unity. Shine Christ through them. The Elk Range has six fourteener’s and 4 centennial thirteeners. When we struggle through the consequences of poor decisions we have made, you again are there. Forgive us, O God, for loving our comfort and our privacy more than our friends who don’t yet know Jesus. Father, you who answer prayer, thank you for Clara Jensen’s safe arrival on Friday. The noble army of Martyrs : praise thee. Our Heavenly Father, we give you praise today that you, Our God, care about justice. And we do this because we have seen your sure and true hand at work for you are righteous and just. As David says, “though your riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.”  Whether our riches are money, health, the end of a pandemic, political stability, racial reconciliation, or the return to our “normal,” help us to not set our heart upon these riches, but rather help us set our hearts upon the riches of Christ. Lift these people up and let them see their vocation as a mission field…  a place to make small differences on a daily basis. Forgive us, Father, for not making You the place we always turn our eyes. The glorious company of the Apostles : praise thee. How trustworthy you remain as the deliverer of your people even in the face of determined, insidious, subversive opposition. Father, we lift up the sale of the Little House, the parsonage, to you. From ancient Israel and Jerusalem to the heavenly Jerusalem and your New Covenant people, we are the beneficiaries of the faithful mercy and help of the God whose understanding has no limit, whose strength is surpassing, and whose goodness is displayed in so many ways. You, precious Jesus, are good and wise and strong. It is not the paradise You originally created. Thank you, Father, that as followers of Christ, we get to bear your majestic name and be a part of your family. Jesus, our Lord, our Messiah, our King, as we are learning together these days from the book of 2 Samuel what kind of King you are, we realize that this psalm also points us to you. You do not treat us as we deserve. And Father, we trust You to be King over all, the sovereign Lord who does what He pleases with the powers of Heaven and the people of the earth. May we rejoice in Your reign so that all nations will see and bring praise to You. We trust you Lord and we desire to join you in your work. It’s in the power of the name of Jesus that we pray. And you are not surprised by the daily difficulties we face—broken relationships, work that is unsatisfying, loneliness, discouragement, health problems, financial problems, infertility, injustice, cancer, or death. There are people here today that are in constant battle with their health, some who have unbearable financial stress, and some who are struggling relationally. In that way we are like the Israelites of long ago who wanted a king like all the other nations, who turned to Egypt for help, and who forgot to honor their Lord as King. In the words of the psalmist, “You have made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet.” What a great privilege and responsibility to be stewards of the resources you have given to us. We sit here today in the fascination and wonder and incomprehensibility of the birth of our Lord and Savior. May the teaching that they receive from Scripture be very nourishing and equipping to them. Help us to see those areas of idolatry, and teach us to repent by believing the gospel. Truly, Father, all nations will come to you because of glory like this. God, we know that you make beautiful things – clouds, rainbows, birds, towering trees, sparkling lakes, green grass, to name a few – but we seldom take the time to just be in the midst of your beauty. Father, may this psalm increasingly be our own experience, individually and as a community of worshipers. Father, in the wake of this week’s election, we come before you and ask for mercy. We thank you for the encouraging work that is being accomplished in Asia through our other global partners [name withheld]. Heavenly Father, our Psalm today, calls for all of creation to praise you. You are righteous. Bring this same awesome victory of the gospel to the persons in our networks of relationships who do not yet know you. Thank you for his servant leadership approach. We praise you today as the risen Messiah, Victor forever, the one who is good and whose love endures forever. Cause all of us to follow the example of your Son, Jesus, who suffered in our place to deliver us from our sin. We take our eyes off your watchfulness over the way of the righteous. You are supreme – great above all false gods. We thank you for the God fearing grandparents among us and pray that you would bless their efforts as they seek to draw their grandchildren to you. When we are unjustly treated, wrongly blamed, and suffering under cruelty or criticism, may You be the Rock on which we can stand firm. We look to you, our King, for protection, direction, and provision. We also lift up the Sullivan family as they lost Steve’s dad this morning. We praise You not only that Your creation is incredible and is a constant display of Your glory, but that Your truth is even more beautiful. May we be thankful for the blessing we have to freely worship you in our country. We ask You to comfort their family and be their strength. Thank you for our local mayors and city councils. Would you help us as a congregation to uphold the vows we have made during child dedications to pray for and come alongside of parents as they seek to make disciples of their children? Many here and many around the world resonate with David’s expression of suffering. Help them in leveraging the remaining summer season for connecting in fruitful relationships. Some of us are filled with guilt over our inability to be the father we wish we could be. Our eyes are frequently distracted by worthless things, or even by good things that we elevate on too high a throne. You have blessed the children here with a safe, loving community of adults who love them and love Jesus well. importantly you promise us yourself in the midst of COVID-19. Draw us to yourself, and lead us in your life. Father, we manufacture idols in our hearts in such creative ways and then we call them by other names to feel safe. May those who grow up at Centennial Church always know this community as a safe and loving place where they always belong. Just another site. In our hearts and in our actions may your character, your promises, your protection outweigh our circumstances. Please continue to work in our lives so that we can make strides to purify our hearts. Thank You, Father, that You hear us when we call to You. We praise You for being our righteous Deliverer, for reaching down to us when we were far from You and unable to save ourselves. Vacation Time, Holiday Pay and Sick Time. Give them the strength they need. Thank you God for the safe return of Pastor Larry last night from his trip to the Philippines with Training Leaders International. We pray that you would give them a hunger and thirst for your Word and to do your work, whether they are in Kindergarten or college. Turn our eyes away from worthless things and keep them centered on Your promises and Your guidance. Thank you, Lord. You have called us together in this local church community, and you send us out to be witnesses to your saving power and grace wherever we are. We are grateful that they all happen to be on home assignment right now. In contrast to all the earthly names that are exalted in our world—historical heroes, political leaders, entertainment luminaries, athletic stars—your name alone is truly exalted. There are times when you lift us out of difficult circumstances, but our greatest need is not better circumstances but a hope and a joy that cannot be contained by circumstances in the first place. We know, Father, that You are the only source of real healing, real justice, real freedom. Such a refuge you were for King David and such a refuge you were for David’s greater Son, your Son, King Jesus. From the beauty that surrounds us every day to the galaxies that reach so far we cannot comprehend the distance. Guest essay by H. Sterling Burnett, originally published on ClimateRealism.com. May our global partners like Nathan and Carey have your strength, protection, wisdom, and power to carry on their work with fruitfulness. We love Him because it was in Him that love, faithfulness, and righteousness all met together. When spiritual disciplines like prayer and meditation slip out of our lives because of the drowning wave of lesser things, we have said “there is no God.”  When we treat Sunday like a second Saturday in our week, we have said “there is no God.”  When it becomes more important that our children understand how to spell and how to multiply than that they understand the gospel, we have said “there is no God.”  Show us all those places in our own lives where we have become functional atheists. Father, for those of us you have grown in this way in 2020, help us to not walk away from you as our refuge as things (hopefully) take a turn for the better in our world. May the students be alert and attentive as they start the first course in their training. Protect us from the many influences around us that would dull that delight. Would you grant them creativity to know how to create a space where those who are not yet followers of Jesus can experience the community of the Church. Give them the confident assurance that You are good even when life is not, and that regardless of the shape of their future here, You hold eternity in Your hands and are preparing something wonderful for us and worthy of our deepest faith and joy even in times of pain. Thank You for being her Sustainer and ours. Feed us, correct us, and convict us, we pray. Remind us that our times are in Your hands, that You alone are our Savior, and that we can trust You. We cannot find human words to describe this. But Father, who are we that you should consider us? Our steps do not always hold to your paths and our feet often stumble. We would rather wallow in our sorrow, we would rather see the entire world as against us, and we would rather live as helpless victims than as the sheep of our pasture which we truly are. This psalm relays the experience of David, who–by his own words–is walking through the darkest valley. Make us a blessing to those around us, always reflecting and expressing your praiseworthiness. And we know that You want it to start first in our hearts. Your creation both reveals and proves your greatness, majesty, and splendor. But, Lord, forgive us we pray for how frail and feeble and gratitude is. Your holiness in punishing sin we see in the cross; your holiness in forgiving sin we see in the resurrection. We ask for their safety in traveling as well as Larry’s safety in traveling overseas. . It’s easy sometimes to feel so small and to wonder how You care so much about each one of us. remind us of how you walked with Adam and Eve; in the cool of the day. As echoed in this Psalm, the resurrection reminds us that you were our Lord Jesus’ strength and song in his hour of suffering and you became his salvation, raising him from the dead. Would you help us to learn silence, to ponder our experiences in light of Your truth and Your faithfulness, and to respond in love because of Your lavish love for us. confession is that we believe, and Lord help our unbelief. We ask that in the first couple months and years of their life together that You help them build a firm foundation of love and trust and joy, centered on You, that will be able to not only withstand the challenges of ministry in another culture, but will be a haven where many people can see and experience Your love because of them. When having the sin pointed out in his life he didn’t make excuses. We adore you for without Christmas, there would have been no child in the temple impressing the rabbis, there would have been no man miraculously feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and raising the dead; there would have been no perfectly lived life of complete obedience to you His father, from the heart; there would have been no conversion of the Passover to The Table, no betrayal, no arrest, no condemnation in innocence, no death on a Roman cross, and no victorious resurrection. Lord God, be our rock, as you are the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. And in all of this help us see you as our loving Heavenly Father. Help them in school and pre-school settings, online, and at home. We know that you value work and pray that you would help each of us to work for you in our vocations. Use it to shape us as a local church community of faith – leaders and followers, older and younger, men and women, singles and marrieds, veterans and newbies – that we might be a blessing to others so that they too can sing a new song to you. God, today we suffer and today our nation suffers because we have placed too much importance on human rulers. a voice in a guarded graveyard We are thankful to know  you truly care for each and every one us. Instead, as we worship you together and are challenged by the truth in your word, help us to be molded more into the image of Christ. Protect the peace among us in our families, in our place of vocation, in our church family, and in our gospel communities. I praise you for the opportunity to come before you today along with my brothers and sisters in Christ. We ask that as we read your Word, here and in our homes, that you would give us space to pause and meditate. You are our King. Cause us to praise you anew and continually as we taste afresh that you are good. Some come here today weighed down with the failures of just this week. We thank you for joy in the midst of hardship and provision in times of want. God, hear us in our distress. We pray for those who will have an empty spot at the table because of estrangement, distance, or death. We especially hear that today in the words of David’s suffering. Help us to feel what you feel and respond as you respond. You are the comforter and the satisfier. Please grant them wisdom and understanding in how to make decisions that would please you. Continue, O King, to lead us in a life that displays your kingship. For our gospel communities, please continue to help them process and pray through ways in which they can make a tangible difference in the community. May we treasure you, the giver, more than your gifts. May the truth of your gospel be boldly proclaimed in the years to come. We pray for deep community and relationships to be formed and for these families to catch a vision for opening up their homes and lives to others. Help us to have eyes to see how we can be missional in our communities. Your hand of judgment did indeed rest on him, and through his life, death, and resurrection we have been brought out of darkness and idolatry into newness of life. We ask that you would be growing our roots deep in you. We ask for a safe flight home today for Larry, and for times of rest in the coming days. Help us, as your people, to know and practice our need for one another. We once again rest in you, for you have dealt bountifully with us. We confess that we frequently find our identities in things that will expire. Ten decades ago, Anchorage s first settlers erected tents on Ship Creek. We ask that the leadership team would be Christ-like examples to the student’s as they mentor them through the challenges of middle and high school. It is a gift to have such a diversity of experiences among these ladies, and we look forward to hearing reports of how you have been at work among them over this last weekend. Day after day, they struggle with failing health, damaged relationships, or sinful habits that they are unable to put to death. How much longer will we have to hear of such horrors? The result was the Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act of 1919. May we seek to fit our lives into your great story, rather than retrofitting you into our plans. O Lord, You are our Rock of refuge, our Fortress, to which we may continually come. Thank You for their commitment and passion for reaching unreached people groups on the opposite side of the globe through music and relationships, and we ask that You give much fruit to their lives and ministry. For those caring for aging parents, bless them with patience and gentleness. We pray also for those we are sending away. Direct our attention to the Cross which demonstrates your love for us, and bring comfort to those who need encouragement and hope today. God, we pray that the anticipation of a movement of your extended grace would excite and motivate us. Give us Gospel community. But in the midst of all of the brokenness and messiness of life, the psalmist reminds us that you are mindful of us and that you care for us. O God, there are people in our midst this morning who feel like they are in the depths described by this Psalm. Lord, would You give them greater faith, hope, and joy as they toil for Your Kingdom? Our gracious heavenly father, in a time when we see so many rulers and leaders who are neither wise nor good, we long for your kingdom and we pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  We praise you for what we are reminded of in this psalm-that your faithfulness overcomes the unfaithfulness of even the best of human leaders. Show us that you meet us in our darkest experiences; you walk us through our loneliest valleys and use them to increase our dependence on you and develop in us the fruit of your Spirit. As we look to 2021, we pray for our church’s pastoral search. The mountains are on the border between Pitkin County and Gunnison County, Colorado, United States, about 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Aspen.Both peaks are fourteeners.Maroon Peak, at 14,163 feet (4317 m), is the 27th highest peak in Colorado. Lead us by your Holy Spirit away from the idol of power, and into deeper worship of Jesus, who surrendered his throne. We praise you today for your church—that community of faith where we learn of you together, where we serve you by serving one another, and where we find encouragement and comfort in all the ups and downs of life. We give you thanks for this new GC, for these people who are eager to step into disciple making relationships with one another. As we draw closer to you in hard times, help us to stay close and still pursue an ever closer relationship in good times. He is not only our King who leads us and protects us in a life of worship; he is also our priest, clothed in righteousness, having fulfilled his mission of giving his own life for our sins and now, risen from the dead, reigns at your right hand forever. This has unsearchable implications for how we see ourselves and our world. There’s so much in the world that leaves us weary. Many of us are so thankful to have our children with us yet are struggling to juggle the many demands placed on us and are missing our villages to do this together. For the long road of rebuilding after the storm passes. Our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home.”. Traversing ponderosa-pine forests, pastures, and open grasslands, the trail passes by several lakes and numerous stream crossings. Bless our church with many good and godly leaders. You protect us and surround us with songs of deliverance. Give wisdom to all those in this congregation trying to parent well, from those with children only weeks old, just beginning to know this precious little life, to those with adult children who face the challenge of learning to parent from alongside, instead of from above. All praise and honor be given to you, our Good Shepherd. You will deliver us, too, in a complete way, when you raise us from the dead and bring us to the new heavens and the new earth in the age to come. We ask for flexibility among all the people as they continue to grow into their identity as one congregation. Lord, there is so much hate and divisiveness in this world, but may your people love without boundaries and begin with us. With so many messages screaming at us in December, remind us of that which matters most; that it is in the person of your Son that righteousness and peace kiss each other. Lord, we pray that you would embrace the family and friends of the South Carolina six year old, who died after being shot in the school playground. Forgive your church for too often placing our hope in making a new Washington, D.C., instead of in the New Jerusalem. And we are quick to go to other sources to find temporary comfort and escape. And then ponder how this all relates to this Psalm’s theme of God’s people living lives of unity. Where can we turn? God says of it, “This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. This morning we take refuge in you afresh. God, we lift up our leaders who are nearest to us. God, I pray that anyone here or in our lives elsewhere who has questions about salvation, that you would guide them to ask questions. Lord, may the words of Psalm 19 become our words and the meditation we read become our hearts’ desire. This is our hope that the things we read about in the news don’t get the final word. As we look to the cross of our crucified Lord, cause us to respond with lives of compassion and justice. Truly in Jesus you have brought us the water of life to quench the deepest thirst of our hearts. The sinlessness of his life was affirmed; the truth of his words was guaranteed; the success and sufficiency of his work on the cross atoning for our sins was proven. We are grateful for your protection as Larry and the rest of the team traveled from the U.S. over the weekend. Please be with the families and friends grieving in Florida. Lord thank you for who you are, and who you say we are. Lord, we lift up Larry to you as he is preaching at Oak Hill today. May the truth of Your Word keep our minds free from worry and fear, which are at odds with the faith that You call us to and which You fully deserve. Thank You for loving us no matter what we do, just because You do. We ask, God, that you would bring comfort to those who feel lonely and discouraged. You are our Good Shepherd; you are our Refuge in times of trouble. Please remind us of these truths of who You are whenever we need to hear them. And Your word says You promised peace to Your people. Finally, Father, we bring to you the upcoming political election. make your face shine on us, We lift them up to you and ask that through the power of the Holy Spirit, you would advance their mission, your mission. Oh Father, keep our ways pure, for the glory of Your holy name, by which we make this prayer. May we, along with our brothers and sisters of the past, sing aloud your praises and rely steadfastly on you. You are Lord over all and we offer up our lives to you. We can walk through the darkest valley because you are with us and you are all we need. Thank You that we can rest in the knowledge that if we follow You, the directions in which You lead us are for the best. We confess that we are often neglectful of them in prayer, and slow to act when they need our practical help. 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