Thank God for Pastor Chris’s message from this past Sunday, “Behold, I Make All Things New,” from Revelation 21:1–5. May God help us to turn to Himself when we are in danger or distress.

Pray for Pastor Chris as he prepares to preach this week. His planned message, “Image Restored,” is from 2 Corinthians 5:17-21. Ask the Spirit to empower his message and bless all who attend this week’s service. May our appreciation for Christ deepen our joy this Christmas.

Pray for those who have recently lost loved ones—including Darlene, Katie, and Pat. May the peace and hope of the gospel be theirs. 

Pray for Bob and Diane in their continuing journey with cancer. 

Thank God for the great performance of Handel’s Messiah by Camerata Chicago on Saturday. Many people attended. Ask the Lord to bless them and to plant seeds of interest in the gospel and in NCC. 

Pray for Chuck King and our musicians as they prepare for the Lessons & Carols service scheduled for this Sunday, December 21st. Ask the Lord to bless and draw our neighbors to Himself during the Christmas season. 

Ask the Lord to draw people to our Christmas Eve service, and may the Lord be glorified. 

Pray for some of our unchurched neighbors to attend our Christianity Explored class beginning in January, and may the Spirit be powerfully present among us. Ask the Lord to give us the bold joy we need to invite them. 

Pray for the Jewish people this Hanukkah. May they turn to their Messiah, Jesus, and receive His comfort. 

Ask the Lord to act in the wake of our governor signing into law a bill in support of physician assisted suicide. May God forgive us and protect the vulnerable. May His people be faithful and show our neighbors a better way. 

This morning we will pray for Judy Blumhofer who works with Give Hope 2 Kids to strengthen its care of foster children, provide medical care for children, and provide training and support for house parents. Judy desires to build relationships that allow the gospel to be shared in word and deed and let families know how loved they are by their heavenly Father.

I will be praying based on Titus 3:1–7. Please pray with me.
Father, we bow our heads in submission to you, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. You rule over all, and you are worthy of all our worship and trust.

We know that all authorities depend on you for their legitimacy. We pray for the Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker, that he would govern our state with wisdom. We pray that he would acknowledge you and make prudent choices in leadership. Help us to be submissive to rulers and authorities, whether local, state, or national.

We pray also that you would help us to be obedient to you, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 

As families gather this Christmas season, help us to speak with the love with which you have loved us. We confess that in our flesh, we tend to be foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, given passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. And we know that we have often given in to the bent of our flesh. So we confess our sins to you silently.

We give thanks that when your goodness and loving kindness appeared in Jesus our Savior, you saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to your own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom you poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. We know that you have done this so that, being justified by your grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

And what an inheritance that is! As we celebrate the birth of Jesus this Advent and Christmas season, help us to be your ambassadors, extending the love and sharing the light you have given to us through Jesus.

We pray for Judy Blumhofer, who shines as a light for you in Honduras. We give you thanks for answering Judy’s and our many years of prayer for Angel’s adoption, and we pray for strength for Judy to finish all the paperwork. We pray also for strength and wisdom for Judy as she treats unprecedented numbers of patients at the clinic where she serves. We also pray for your abundant provision for her financial needs, both through this Christmas season and into next year. 

As Christmas Eve draws near, we pray for your blessing and sustaining grace for Chuck, the choir, and our instrumentalists. We pray that in this busy season, the joy of Jesus’ coming may shine through and encourage their hearts.

We pray as well for Steve H., as he goes in for surgery this coming week. Guard him from illness before his surgery and from infection afterward. Lord, help his doctors to act skillfully and effectively and to identify correctly the next steps in his treatment.

And now, we pray that you would help us to have hearts eager to receive your word regarding your goodness and loving kindness and for Pastor Chris to speak that word with clarity, fidelity, and conviction, that you may be glorified and your church built up through Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, amen.