Prayer & Preparation for April 30th, 2023
This Lord's Day
Hey church,
Here are some details about this week’s service:
Songs: “The Power of the Cross,” “Man of Sorrows,” “O the Deep, Deep Love,” “O Church, Arise
(Arise, Shine)”, and “O Great God”
Sermon text: 1 John 4:7-21
Cross-references: Deuteronomy 7:6-11; John 13:34-35; 20:30-31; 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13
Stand-out citations from my reading and study and sermon preparation:
“The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet
at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”
Tim Keller
As I preach on loving one another, would you please pray for me to speak the truth in love?
I want to preach the truth in love for the Lord God, so that he is glorified. How profound, yet
how familiar that God is love. Please pray that I myself am not bored with so profound a
truth, that familiarity has not and does not produce contempt in me or in our church. Please
pray for fresh eyes and open ears and hungry hearts in all of us.
I want to preach the truth in love for the church of our Lord, who loved the church and gave
himself for her…the people purchased with his own blood. Please pray for my heart and my
words and my tone to be genuinely and entirely loving, to be inspiring and encouraging,
instructional and equipping, practical and helpful.
I want to preach the truth in love for the lost that the Lord of the harvest and his workers
bring to church this Lord’s Day. Please pray for the Gospel to be presented lovingly and
clearly.
An oft-returned-to Thomas Watson quote is on my mind and in my prayers this week:
"God’s ministers must have their hearts fired—not with passion but with love—and as they are
Christ’s ambassadors, must come to sinners with an olive branch of peace. The thunderbolt may
crush, but the sun melts. It is better to love as a pastor than speak as an angel."
Jeff Tague
