Awake Us Now

Oh Lord, our God, our hope is in You and in You alone and so we pray with confidence the words of "America, the Beautiful," Stanza 2: O beautiful for pilgrim feet  Whose stern impassioned stress  A thoroughfare for freedom beat  Across the wilderness!  America! America! God mend thine every flaw,  Confirm thy soul in self-control,  Thy liberty in law! Lord, that is the prayer of our heart for our...

Almighty God, we believe Your word that with You nothing is impossible and that You desire all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. And so we boldly pray for a massive move of God in our land. We pray for millions of hearts reopened to Jesus' call to repent and believe the Gospel, the Good News. We pray, Lord, that we may see the days when people will listen to You and hear...

Psalm 46:1 says, "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."  Lord, in trouble times we come before You on behalf of the nations and our nation. We pray, Lord, for a mighty move of the Holy Spirit in our land, we pray that You would be honored and adored in Your church and throughout the nation, we pray that hearts would be returning to You that a mighty move of the Spirit o...

Oh Lord our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, You told Your ancient people, Israel, I am the God who heals you. We pray healing over our land in these trouble days, Lord. We pray a restoration of honor and integrity in our nation's institutions, a respect for the rule of law in our society. Restore love and devotion in our families, faithfulness in our marriages, proper education in our institutio...

Luke 9:51-56; "Fire From Heaven" Our study today starts with a verse stating that Jesus "resolutely set out for Jerusalem." Jesus was, without any hesitation, heading to Jerusalem, into the very city in which He knew He would suffer, be crucified and die. Knowing full well what was ahead - He resolutely - without hesitation - headed to Jerusalem. No shrinking back! Jesus was relentless in accompli...

We pray Psalm 85:4, "Restore us again, God our Savior." Lord, in these rebellious times we pray for a mighty move of Your Holy Spirit. Open eyes blinded by the deception of the enemy, revive hearts hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, change minds corrupted by lies and half truths, restore wayward souls to the joy of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior and Deliver, restore us again, God our Savior....

Heavenly Father, we come before You in Jesus' strong name and we pray the words of the old hymn:   God bless our native land; firm may she ever stand thro' storm and night! When the wild tempests rave, Ruler of wind and wave, do thou our country save by thy great might.  Lord, we pray salvation over this land, a return to godliness, a repentant and godly spirit and a desire to love as we have been...

Paul wrote to his dear friend and colleague Timothy, "I urged then, first of all, that petitions, prayers and intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people and for those in authority. This is good and pleases God, our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth." Lord, that is the prayer of our heart that there would be a spiritual awakening in the land,...

Proverbs 14:34 says, "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people."  Lord, we pray for righteousness in the land. You are our Heavenly Father and have given us every good and perfect gift. Everything we have comes from You. May we be humble before You, repentant in Your holy presence and desirous of serving You in every way.  Give good wisdom to our nation's leaders, Godly w...

Our Lord Jesus taught us to pray these words, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That is our heartfelt prayer. May You be honored in this nation with godly leaders, with humble people, with obedient followers of Jesus the Messiah. May Your kingdom come in power in each of our lives that we may do Your will on earth e...

Three thousand years ago the Psalmist wrote, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance." Psalm 33:12. Lord, You have blessed this land in so many ways. We pray that we may receive those blessings with thanksgiving, with humility and with obedience. Turn hearts back to You, Lord, beginning with our own. Give us a desire to see one nation, under God, bless...

Some 2500 years ago the great Hebrew prophet, Daniel, prayed this prayer of repentance for himself and his nation. He said, "Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned and done wrong.  We have been wicked and have rebelled. We have turned away from Your commands and laws."  Lord, we are guilty of the same sins a...

Luke 7:11-17: "Death-Defier" Jesus is the TRUE Death-Defier, not by doing things that are wild and crazy but by doing things that destroy death, that defy the power of sin and death and decay and the devil. Today's story is a death defying story that's a precursor of what's to come! It's a story of Jesus raising a person from the dead. This story is only in the Gospel of Luke. Here's the story - a...

Heavenly Father, You have given us this good land as our heritage.  May we remember Your generosity, and constantly and do Your holy will.  Bless our land with industry, truthful education and a godly way of life.  Save us from violence and discord, from confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every evil. May we who came from many nations with many different languages, become one united peop...

Luke 4:14-30: "Hometown Visit." This story of Jesus going to His hometown appears to be a different trip than those told in the other gospels. This is a story of those listening to Jesus in Nazareth (His hometown) in comparison to those hearing Jesus in Galilee and who willingly received what Jesus had to offer. But those in Nazareth because of their pride and arrogance and boastfulness and being...

Luke 2:41-52: "Jesus at the Age of Twelve." Today we ask, "Why is this story of Jesus at age 12 in the Bible?" There is no mention of Jesus from age 2 -30 except this one story in the Gospel of Luke. Here's how this story goes: In the one and only account we have of Jesus as a child we're told he went with His parents to Jerusalem to worship and praise the Lord at Passover. This story is a foresha...

Luke 1:1-25. Today we begin a study of the Gospel of Luke with a look at Zechariah who was a devout man who thought he was prepared to meet the Living God - but reacted with fear and doubt when God showed up. God graciously gave him a second chance to respond with faith, and extends that same grace to us when we falter and fail. This story of Zechariah is a story that still speaks to us today. The...

Luke 16:1-13. Jesus warns that no one can serve two masters. Will you be devoted to God - or to "stuff?" This Parable of the Shrewd Manager is one of Jesus' most controversial parables and one of the most difficult parable to understand. Join us a Pastor Dodge digs deep into this parable and pulls out some amazing nuggets of the wisdom Jesus is sharing in the challenging parable. Luke 16:8, Jesus...

Luke 18:9-14, Romans 3:23, Isaiah 57:15, Psalm 51:15, 1 Corinthians 1:31, Micah 6:8. There is incredible danger in pride. God requires humility. Jesus told this story of two prayers - and the two pray-ers. One prayed about his own righteousness, the other prayed in humility and repentance. Which man went home forgiven? "To those who were confident of their own righteousness and look down on everyo...

Scripture - Luke 16:19-31, Luke 16:14. "The Rich Man and Lazarus" is a parable in which Jesus portrays two ways of living — and two destinies after death. What will your destiny be? This is many times a misunderstood parable. Jesus told this parable in response to the laughter and scorn of the pharisees. Pastor sets the stage for this parable sharing that no one is saved by: 1. Right Doctrines - W...

Luke 15:11-32; Exodus 34:6; Numbers 14:18; Psalm 86:5, 15; Psalm 103:8; Psalm 145:8; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Luke 15:10. This parable is called The Prodigal Son, but perhaps a better name for it is: "Prodigal Son - Prodigal Father." Why? The dictionary has 2 definitions for prodigal: 1. Wasteful - One who recklessly squanders what he has been given (This is the youngest son in this story) 2. Extrava...

Luke 12:13-21, Psalm 19:7ff. It's not what you posses that matters, but what possesses you. Our treasures are destined for a garage sale or a dumpster. What has enduring value? It's not what you possess that matters, it's rather Who possesses you. That is at the heart of what Jesus is talking about today in the story we are going to examine together. It is recorded in the gospel of Luke chapter 12...

Luke 11:5-13, John 7:38. When asked about prayer, Jesus told his listeners to ask God boldly - even "audaciously" - for the fulfillment of His promises. In this parable, The Friend at Midnight," Jesus takes a humorous story and converts it into a dramatic promise and powerful pledge. Because the friend at midnight, knocking on a neighbor's door asking for food, would not relent until the friend fi...

Luke 10:25-37. Jesus often answered a question with a question. But when asked "Who is my neighbor?," He answered by telling a story - a story that asks the same question of us. Today's study is The Good Samaritan, a 2000 year old parable from Jesus that still speak into our culture today. This story starts with an expert of Jewish law asking Jesus a question. Jesus answered the question with a qu...

In the parable of the sower, Jesus compares the Word of God to seed falling on four different kinds of soil - hardened, shallow, thorny, and productive. Which soil does God's Word find in you? Pastor shows us a picture of a wheat field in Israel that is actually a battlefield, in the Valley of Elah, where David battled Goliath. It's an amazing battle in which God won the victory. The picture of th...