Lord, hear us as we pray. We pray not in our own name. We do not bring our own righteousness to You, because our goodness is so mixed with sin, that it is no sacrifice worthy of being on the altar of God for entrance into the Holy Place. We plead the name of Jesus for His sacrifice was worthy. He was perfect. He never sinned. He shed His blood for us. He has opened the throne of grace to us, therefore we come boldly before You this morning.

Lord, we ask Your comfort on those among us who have witnessed death recently. The loss of a husband, a father, a grandfather changes our lives. It brings sorrow and grief. Grant the comfort of Your Spirit to those who bereave this very day. Give them joy in Thy holy will.

Lord, we ask Your wisdom as this congregation begins the search for a new pastor. It is a monumental task that will demand a great deal of hard work and prayer. Thank you for the ministry of this Church over the years. I think you for the covenant children who grew up in this Church. Growing up in this Church contributed to the fact that they love the Lord this very day. And from them come grandchildren who are being raised in the covenant. I thank Thee Lord for this is more valuable than all gold and silver in the world. Lord, we are a rich people.

Many of us have given all we had to give to this Church over the years. We have rejoiced with great joy and too we have cried alone when no one else knew we were crying. We have been greatly blessed and we carried sorrow willingly for the sake of Christ. We count is as our sacrifice of service. We have seen success and we have seen failure. Raise up a man for this congregation who has zeal. Raise up a man with a love for the word of God who will love this congregation with all his heart, mind, and soul. Give this congregation a man with boldness who does not fear the face of men, but give them a man full of gentleness and mercy.

Lord, we pray for the persecuted Church. The blood of the saints is not just something we read about in the Book of Revelation. The blood of the saints of God has been shed these last few weeks and they run in the streets of many cities.

Our Father, give us strength in this country as we continue to find ourselves marginalized. The Church has compromised with the world and lost its first love. The Church has become irrelevant. We no longer have prophets who speak to the sins of the day. Our freedom is being taken away from us. Leaders are becoming tyrants. Murder is cast in the name of self-defense. Theft if manifold and the greatest perpetrator is the United States Government. The Church wants be entertained and have a lot of fun. The whole counsel of God is not being preached. It is disheartening. Some of us are disillusioned.

Yet, Lord, we have over the last 40 years seen a silent reformation. The faith once for all delivered to the saints had been almost lost. There was no knowledge of our own heritage. We had been assimilated into a generic evangelicalism. Our Confesssions of Faith had been lost. Even the elders of the Church did not know the great truths discovered by their own fathers in the faith. Yet, some young men with fire in their bellies began a reformation. They helped begin a new denomination. They were called evil names. They lost money. The were run out of their churches. Few know of their sacrifice. We think the way things are today is the way they have always been. These faithful men may not receive their reward in this life, but they will in the next.

Because of their sacrifice, we now have good reformed churches, in theology and in practice. We have home schools. We have Christian schools. We have the insights of Calvin and Knox being taught to our youth. We know that King Jesus rules all the earth and we are taking every thought captive to Him. It has not always been this way, but because of a few men, often young men, reformation has come. We give thanks for such servants.