LeRoy G. Christoffels

Please join in the prayer of Daniel, who was keenly aware of the sins committed by the people of God in his own time. Pray on behalf of the church, often divided, lacking in truth, offering up empty hearts and deeds. Pray for God's mercy in these words borrowed from this great statesman and prophet:O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets who spoke in your name.Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame because of our unfaithfulness to you. O Lord, we are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. All [of us] have transgressed your law and turned away refusing to obey you. All this has come upon us, yet we have not sought the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from your city your holy hill.[from Daniel 9:4-16]O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets who spoke in your name.Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame because of our unfaithfulness to you. O Lord, we are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. All [of us] have transgressed your law and turned away refusing to obey you. All this has come upon us, yet we have not sought the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from your city your holy hill.[from Daniel 9:4-16]

The Book of Daily Prayer by Robert Webber. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1993. 532 pages. Cloth, $39.99; Paper, $24.99. A Call to Prayer: Public Worship Through the Christian Year ed. by Caryl Micklem. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1993.176 pages. $12.99.

My Song of Deliverance The Gathering of the People for Worship Organ Prelude "Invocation in A Minor" [Guilmant] "Air" [Handel] Introduction to the Service

In a funeral service, as in any service of worship, well-chosen music can aid sorrowing people to lift their hearts to the God of all comfort. The community of mourners unites in song to express its sorrow and grief to the Man of Sorrows, and to rejoice in the gift of life from the One who has died. In song the mourners express together the faith that is the foundation of their recovery and renewal in hopeful living.

Dear Emily, This was the first year we tried a sunrise service, and at first we thought it might draw only 25 people .We decide to go ahead anyway, and as we planed, more and more people got interest.When Easter morning finally arrived, we must have had about 80 people there, including some community people who had been contacted through our Coffebreak and Men's Life programs.

During the fall season many North American Christians attend two celebrations. One is a commemoration of the past—of the sixteenth-century Reformation of the Christian church. The other is a national celebration of thanksgiving—a day of praising God for the ways 1 which he has blessed us in the past and the present.