forgiveness

Forgiveness

Heavenly Father,
Tonight, as we continue to evaluate our relationships and work on getting right with You, ourselves, and those in our lives, we focus on forgiveness…and for guidance, we turn to the brilliance of Colossians 3:13, where Paul wrote, “Be gentle and ready to forgive; never hold grudges.  Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”
May we follow Your gracious example and model Your forgiveness in the lives of those who have hurt us.  By doing so, we know that we will move closer to You and closer to the personal peace we all seek, while at the same time living out Your will for us – and not our own.

In Your Son’s Name we pray, Amen.

amends

Amends

God,
Tonight we reach the point in our study where we begin to start evaluating our relationships, offering forgiveness to those who’ve hurt us and making amends for the harm we’ve done to others.  As we prepare to do this, we recall Romans 12:18, which reminds us “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Father, we are both comforted and encouraged by the knowledge that, in You, we can, indeed, live at peace with everyone.  May we gain strength, courage and confidence from Your love, and, with You working in us, may we become “merciful peacemakers” in the lives of those who’ve hurt us and those we’ve hurt.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Prayer of the Week

God,

Tonight, as we pass the half-way point in our annual review of the 25 lessons in Celebrate Recovery, we note with joy how far You’ve taken us already. As You prepare us to admit the exact nature of our wrongs – to ourselves, to You, and to someone we trust, we rely heavily on the promise of James 5:16 – “Confess your sins to each other, and pray for each other, so that you may be healed.”

What an incredible gift it is to sinners like us to know that, through sincere confession and prayer, we can experience the power of Your ability to heal us from all of our past transgressions. We are both humbled and grateful for this gift, and we thank You and praise You for placing people in our lives from whom we can draw the support we need to take this life-changing step along our personal roads to recovery.

In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

World of Speed

World of Speed

Our first time as a group visiting the local auto museum in Wilsonville, viewing cars from the Indy 500, Nascar and all the way to Land Speed Records.