Friday (Jan. 22) marks the 37th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court’s decisions in the cases of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. Taken together, the two rulings (authored by Justice Harry Blackmun, a United Methodist) effectively voided dozens of state laws aimed at protecting unborn children from abortion.
Since then, abortion doctors have [...]
Archive for the ‘Prayer’ Category
A prayer of hope for the New Year
Posted in Doctrine, Prayer on December 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Apostle Paul pronounced this blessing on the Church at Rome: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, until, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you overflow with hope” (Rom. 15:13).
LORD God, give followers of Jesus such a full measure of joy and peace [...]
A Christmas prayer
Posted in Doctrine, Prayer on December 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Father, we stand in awe of what we celebrate. How can it be that the all-sufficient God of the universe became a helpless child resting in a feed trough?
How can it be that the divine Word reduced Himself to unintelligible sounds?
How can it be that the hands that once sculpted mountain ranges, now made flesh, [...]
Podcast: Terry Teykl on ‘Praying for the Lost’
Posted in Evangelism, Podcasts, Prayer, Sermons, United Methodist Church, tagged Audio, UMC, United Methodist Church on December 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The final podcast of our fall season features prayer leader Terry Teykl, author of Acts 29, The Presence-Based Church, and Pray the Price: United Methodists United in Prayer.
Dr. Teykl, an elder in the Texas Annual Conference, is a “prayer evangelist,” traveling across the U.S. and around the world encouraging churches to develop and maintain prayer [...]
An Advent prayer
Posted in Prayer on December 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Originally written as an opening prayer for a Third-Sunday-in-Advent worship service:
Father God, since childhood Christmas has evoked in us all manner of feelings: joy, excitement, anticipation.
But as our understanding of Christmas has grown, what happened at that first Christmas now causes us to stand amazed — that you, the sovereign Lord of all the universe [...]
A Thanksgiving prayer
Posted in Doctrine, Prayer on November 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
This classic prayer of thanksgiving is adapted from the Book of Common Prayer:
Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you’ve done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love.
We thank you for the blessing of family and [...]
An Annual Conference prayer guide
Posted in Prayer, United Methodist Church, tagged UMC, United Methodist Church on June 11, 2009 | 1 Comment »
The following prayer points will help you intercede for this year’s gathering of your Annual Conference.
Thank God for His faithfulness to us, even though we haven’t always been faithful to Him. (Ps. 100)
Pray for God to open hearts and bring unity based on Jesus. (John 17:22-23; Ps. 133)
Repent of anything in your Conference and in [...]
Bishop Timothy Whitaker: A prayer for Pentecost Sunday
Posted in Bishops, Doctrine, Prayer, United Methodist Church, tagged UMC, United Methodist Church on May 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The following prayer by the Rev. Tim Whitaker was published in the January/February 2001 issue of the The District Beam, newsletter of the Virginia Conference’s Norfolk District. At the time, Mr. Whitaker was serving as superintendent of that district.
On Feb. 28, 2001, he was elected to be a bishop and was assigned to United Methodist [...]
The Global Day of Prayer
Posted in Discipleship, Holiness, Missions, Prayer, Revival, tagged Video on May 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Stopping in for a brief visit last week at a United Methodist Church in Indiana, I was pleased to see a poster in the narthex indicating the congregation would be participating in this Sunday’s Global Day of Prayer. This international prayer event represents one of the most remarkable spiritual movements of our time.
The Global Day [...]
A Good Friday prayer
Posted in Doctrine, Prayer, Sermons, tagged Audio on April 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Today we commemorate that day nearly 2,000 years ago when the way of salvation was opened. Jesus the Messiah, the One who knew no sin, became sin for us and suffered the death we deserved.
As the Apostle Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians 5:19, “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting [...]