Jesus Prayed for Us!

Jesus prayed for us!

This morning I'll be reading John chapter 17 verses 20 through 26.

And I'll be reading the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

The verses that I'll read this morning,,, have always had a special place in my heart because of the fact that in this prayer Jesus prays for each one of us that are Christians. And I'll talk more about that as we go through these verses.

20 I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in Me through their message. 21 May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe You sent Me. 22 I have given them the glory You have given Me. May they be one as We are one. 23 I am in them and You are in Me.

May they be made completely one, so the world may know You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24 Father,

I desire those You have given Me to be with Me where I am. Then they will see My glory,

which You have given Me because You loved Me before the world’s foundation.

25 Righteous Father! The world has not known You. However, I have known You,

and these have known that You sent Me.

26 I made Your name known to them and will make it known, so the love You have loved Me with may be in them and I may be in them.

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord, as we begin this morning, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.

This week we were asked as Christians to pray for Pres. Trump, lawmakers, judges, our country and the unborn today by Franklin Graham and I wanted to be sure that we did that today.

He said that you cannot watch the news for 5 minutes without understanding why this is so important and I agree 100%.

We need to pray for our President as he carries out his duties leading this nation, that God will give him wisdom in every decision he makes and protect him from his enemies who would like to see him fall.

Franklin Graham said that the Bible tells us in , "The prayer of a righteous person has great power"… and I believe there is power in prayer.

We must not only pray today but we should be praying for all of our elected officials every day as we pray for everything else that we bring before God.

I have a prayer this morning that they posted and I wanted to use it this morning as we pray.

I will pray for President Trump

Heavenly Father,

We confess that we have sinned as the people of ancient Israel sinned in their day. We have polluted our land by the shedding of innocent blood through abortion and terrible violence against unborn babies. We have become guilty because of the blood we have shed. We know that their blood – the blood of 60,000,000 innocent babies – cries out to You from the ground for justice. We acknowledge that if we do not turn from this detestable practice, we will bring our days as a nation to a close, and the end of our years will come.

Even though we may not have committed these sins ourselves, we ask, in identification with our people, that You will forgive us. Forgive us as a nation for not recognizing Your image, the image of God, in every preborn baby. We confess that we have acted very wickedly toward You, and have not obeyed the commands, decrees, and laws You have given us. Please, Lord, renew a right spirit in us, that we may return to You and obey You so that You may gather us and bless us.

Raise up spiritual leaders among us who will not do violence to Your Word or profane Your holy things, but instead teach Your truth about life without adulteration and in the power and boldness of Your Holy Spirit. Remove from us spiritual leaders who do not distinguish between what is clean and unclean, who shut their eyes to Your truth, and in Your name, whitewash evil deeds.

Together, we pray for President Trump, for our lawmakers, and for our judges. May they use the authority You have given to them to do only what is right in Your eyes and never to do what is evil in Your eyes. May they recognize their sacred duty to establish and enforce policies that will protect from harm the most innocent and vulnerable among us.

We pray that those who do wrong will learn to live in fear of You as the Judge of the living and the dead.

We pray especially for every public official who stands for Your truth regarding the sanctity of human life. Please answer them in the day of trouble and deliver them with the saving might of Your right hand. May they trust in You and through Your steadfast love, never be moved. Put to flight all who plan evil against them, that once again we may honor the sacred value of unborn human life in this land.

In the name of Jesus, amen.

Now,,, going back to the scripture that I read,,, this scripture means so much to me because this part of the prayer was for each one of us that are Christians.

Jesus prayed for all the Christians that would come to believe that He was the Son of God that came into the world to die for their sins and would accept Him as their Savior.

This part of the prayer was for not only those who were in attendance at that time but for every believing Christian that came after that and continues today.

Until Jesus comes back,,, this prayer is for all Christians,,, even those that come after us,,, if we go on to Heaven first.

How comforting to us this should be!

When I was young,,, I'm not sure at what ages,,, maybe 3 to 6 years old,,, I can remember if at any time that I was scared or bothered by something at night,,, and I couldn't sleep,,, my mother would come to my bed,,, be sure that I was covered up and then she would stay and pat my back as I lay there and went to sleep.

Now,,, I look back and I compare how this passage makes me feel and how it's similar to the peace and comfort that I felt during those times.

And so it should be for each of us,,, to know that Jesus prayed for us then and He is a part of us now through the Holy Spirit inside us today!

Have you noticed how someone that has had a loved one to die and their hearts donated to someone else,,, will always share a special bond with that individual forever after that if they get to meet them and listen to the heart beat inside someone else's body?

They always feel connected to that person and that person that received the heart feels a connection to them.

Well,,, we have a better connection than that through the Holy Spirit being in us.

That is God living in us,,, each one of us that are Christians,,, He is a part of us and should be guiding our every move and act as we go about our life.

(8:18)

Just as a person that feels a connection with a donated organ inside them to someone else,,, we should feel even more of a personal connection to God since that once we become Christians we have a direct and personal link to God!

My Believer's Bible Commentary says that every believer living today can say that Jesus prayed for them personally over 1900 years ago.

In verses 21 and 22,,, Jesus talks about the unity that we should have with one another as Christians.

Satan loves to keep us fighting amongst ourselves because he knows that this will help hide the fact from others that we are connected to God.

Verse 21 says: 21 May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe You sent Me.

As long as we are having trouble inside the church,,, the devil is happy because he knows that people are watching and wondering how we can act the way that we do if we have the love of God inside of us.

Those that aren't Christians are searching even if they don't realize it and they want what we have if we truly display the love of God that we should as we go about our week.

Our love of God shining forth out of each one of us is what makes it believable to the outside world that God had sent Christ into the world.

My Believer's Bible Commentary says: this is the unity which makes the world say, "I see Christ in those Christians as the Father was seen in Christ.

This is what makes the arguments that we are having over human sexuality so damaging.

As long as we are fighting amongst ourselves over this issue,,, people won't see any of the love of God visible and that's why that it is so important that we continue to pray that this is resolved like it should have been years ago instead of allowing it to linger and cause more problems.

We also need to remember to pray that we continue with a biblical answer and not the worldly answer that they are wanting!

In verse 22 Jesus is talking about our unity in glory.

We are striving for perfection here on earth but we can see that we still struggle with sin as we go about our daily lives.

But through the help of the Holy Spirit,,, we are able to live the life that God wants us to live because as soon as we make a mistake,,, It will convict us and set us back on the right path again.

In this verse,,, we are looking forward to our perfect life that we will have when we see Jesus face to face.

In verse 23,,, the world will not only realize that Jesus is God the Son,,, but it will also know that we,,, as Christians,,, are loved by God just as Christ was loved by God.

(11:18)

I don't know about you,,, but I'm amazed to think that God can love me like this!

Then in verse 24,,, Jesus desires to have us with Him in glory.

Every time that a believer dies,,, it is in a way,,, an answer to this prayer.

To die,,, is to go to be with Christ and to behold His glory.

If we can remember this,,, it should be a comfort to us in our sorrow.

This glory that Jesus has is not only the glory of deity which He had with God before the world began,,, but also the glory that He acquired as Savior and Redeemer.

This glory is proof that God loved Christ before the foundation of the world.

In verse 25,,, the world has failed to see God revealed in Jesus,,, except for the disciples and a few others,,, and even they were going to forsake Him.

Remember that this prayer is on the night before Jesus is arrested and the disciples are still with Him for now but that won't last long as we know.

(12:17)

Jesus also knows this and is trying to help them by this prayer before He is arrested!

God will do His best to protect us and help us get through anything that is coming but we don’t pay enough attention sometimes.

Usually,,, we don’t think about God until we are knee deep in trouble,,, when,,, the whole time,,, He has been trying to keep us out of it or prepare us for it.

In verse 26,,, Jesus is saying that the love of God will be available to each of us through the Holy Spirit living in us.

But then we really do

The Holman Christian Standard Bible Chapter 15

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.

My Believer’s Bible Commentary says: “It is because the Lord Jesus is in the believer that God can love him as He loves Christ!”

So as we go through our week,,, I want us to remember with joy,,, that Jesus has prayed for us,,,

Remember that He wants us to remain united as a church family locally and worldwide,,, without fighting and tearing each other down,,,

Remember to pray that we can finally resolve the human sexuality issue with a biblical answer and not a worldly answer that they are wanting,,,

Remember that He’s trying to help us before trials happen if we will just pay attention,,, and He loves us by sending the Holy Spirit to help us when we aren’t able to help ourselves!

And most importantly,,, please remember that no matter what,,, God loves us and wants what's best for us,,, now and forever,,, if we will just keep our focus on Him!

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So as we sing our final hymn,,, let me remind you that the alter is always open,,,

If you feel God speaking to you,,, don't hesitate to come,,, maybe you just have questions,,, God will answer,,, you just have to ask Him,,, whatever the need may be,,,

As we sing the final hymn,,, come if needed!

Oakdale - Hymn Page 301 - Blue Hymnal

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Today we will gather at the alter to partake of the bread and cup to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.

It's not enough to sustain us physically, but what it represents is intended to sustain us spiritually.

"I am the bread of life," says Jesus, "Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

This morning we invite all of you to participate in Holy Communion.

In the sacrament of Holy Communion, God makes use of physical elements (bread and juice) so that with prayer and faith, they become a means of experiencing God’s grace in a special way.

This represents the union between God, ourselves and other Christians.

Eating the bread and drinking the cup shows that we are remembering Christ's death for us and renewing our commitment to serve Him.

Jesus said, "Do this, as often as you eat and drink in remembrance of me".

We do this by remembering what he did for us by his death and also in remembrance that he is coming again.

In

it says:

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24 gave thanks, broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”

25 In the same way, after supper He also took the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant established by My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

As we begin, I want to remind each of you that everyone is welcome to participate in Holy Communion in the Methodist Church.

This is the Lord's supper, not ours, and Christ that invites you.

As our ritual puts it: “Christ our Lord invites to his table all who love him, who earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another.”

We do not refuse any who present themselves desiring to receive. Whether you should receive Communion with us is between you and God.

Let's take our hymnals and turn to number 892.

And we will begin reading the bold print together at the top of the page until we get to the red writing where it says all pray in silence,,, then I'll begin with prayer,,, then we will have a short time of silence,,, to give each of us a chance to speak to God silently,,, then I'll close the prayer,,, then I'll begin reading the lighter print below that and we will read the last line together that's in the bold print.

Then we will come and gather around the alter,,, If you can kneel that's fine,,, but if you can't or unable,,, that's fine also. Standing will be just fine.

Let's stand as we begin reading together at the top of the page - #892

Our Heavenly Father,

Who by thy love hast made us,

And through thy love hast kept us,

And in thy love wouldst make us perfect:

We humbly confess that we have not loved thee with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and that we have not loved one another as Christ hath loved us.

Thy life is within our souls, but our selfishness hath hindered thee.

We have not lived by faith.

We have resisted thy Spirit.

We have neglected thine inspirations.

Forgive what we have been;

Help us to amend what we are;

And in thy Spirit direct what we shall be;

That thou mayest come into the full glory of thy creation,

In us and in all the people;

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Pray in silence) Bow our heads in prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father,,, we come to you this morning and thank you for all the blessings that we have received. We thank you for your Son who died on the cross for our sin's and made it possible to come to you in prayer. I ask for forgiveness for my sins and I know that the Holy Spirit will put before you any that I miss. Now we will take just a few moments in silence to allow everyone to speak personally to you, then I'll finish,,,,. ,,,,

(silence)

Most Gracious and Holy God,,, again we thank you for this opportunity to come before you. Now we ask forgiveness as a church family together,,, for any sins we've committed before we take of your Holy Communion. These things and all others we ask,,, in Jesus' name,,, Amen

The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

If any one sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;

And he is the expiation for our sins,

And not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Thanks be to God.

Now you can come together,,,

When all have received, the Lord's table is put in order.

The following prayer is then offered by the pastor or by all:

Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery

in which you have given yourself to us.

Grant that we may go into the world

in the strength of your Spirit,

to give ourselves for others,

in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hymn 130