Congregation at Prayer for the 6th Week of Easter

The Congregation at Prayer

Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks. Then God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:6-7, God’s Word)

Congregation Prayer Topics

Pray for the ministry of Peace Lutheran Church:

Ê      That the LORD would help each disciple to be a faithful steward of the gift of life and faith.

Ê      That the Holy Spirit would give faith to our catechumens.

Ê      That each of us would boldly give testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

Ê      That the outreach to people with disabilities would succeed.

Ê      That many people would come to faith in Jesus Christ.

Ê      That the grant requests would be successful.

Pray for people according to their needs:

Ê      For peace in the nations of the world

Ê      For protection of the men and women in the military:

Ê      For those who mourn loved ones

Ê      For those who need the LORD’s healing or consolation:

Verse of the Week

John 15:13-14 (ESV)
¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you.

Psalm of the Week:             Psalm 98

From the Formula of Concord

IV. Concerning Good Works

First, there is no argument among our people on the following points: that it is God’s will, order, and command that believers shall walk in good works; that true good works are not those which people invent for themselves or that take their form according to human tradition but rather are those that God himself has prescribed and commanded in his Word; that true good works are not performed out of our own natural powers, but they are performed when a person is reconciled with God through faith and renewed through the Holy Spirit, or, as Paul says, “created” anew, “in Christ Jesus for good works” [Eph. 2:10].

There is also no argument about how and why believers’ good works are pleasing and acceptable to God, even though they are impure and imperfect in this flesh. We agree that this is so for the sake of the Lord Christ through faith, because the person is acceptable to God. For works that belong to the maintenance of outward discipline are also demanded of the unbelievers and unconverted and are performed by them. Even though such works are praiseworthy in the world’s sight and are rewarded by God in this world with temporal benefits, nonetheless, because they do not proceed from true faith, they are sin in God’s sight. That is, they are tarnished with sins and are regarded by God as sin and impure because of the corrupted human nature and because the person who performs them is not reconciled with God. For “a bad tree cannot bear good fruit” [Matt. 7:18], as it is also written in Romans 14[:23]. “Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” For a person must be acceptable to God beforehand (and that alone because of Christ), before that person’s works are at all pleasing to him.

Readings for the 6^th Week of Easter

Looking Forward to Next Week: 7^th Sunday of Easter