Last Sunday, Tom Sturgeon brought a Prayer of Confession to our church as a part of the Sunday meeting. Many have requested the text of this prayer. Tom has provided it for us below.

American Christians are largely sheltered from the kinds of persecution believers face around the world. We don’t get arrested for giving someone a Bible, find for sharing the gospel, or beaten for pastoring a church. But many do.

In last Sunday's message, we saw in Mark 9:29 that prayer is necessary for spiritual work.  In fact, no lasting work ever occurs without prayer.  The Apostle Paul believed that, and frequently communicated that to his followers: "Pray for us!" So when Josh Blount, one of the pastors in our sister church in Franklin, WV,  asked how their church can pray for KingsWay this Sunday, I was so grateful.

“Deliver us from overpowering temptations and the evil one” In Jesus’ prayer, He reminds us that we are in a war with the world, our flesh, and the devil as our enemies.  It is a battle for our souls and we are often out-matched.  We need help! The first part is a prayer is for deliverance from overwhelming temptation that includes riches, power, and honor which incline our hearts to believe that we do not need God.  It reminds us that we are weak and prone to sin and in need of G...

“Forgive our sins as we forgive others” The glory of the Gospel is that Jesus died to set us free from the guilt and penalty of sin.  So God has graciously forgiven those who confess their sins through the finished work of Christ upon the Cross. But an unforgiving heart cannot accept the forgiveness graciously given by God. Because we have been forgiven, a forgiven man or woman must be a forgiver.

“Give us each day our daily bread” God created us to depend on Him daily!  Since we are in constant need and each day requires fresh provision, Jesus instructs us to bring our everyday needs to our Father.  We glorify our Father when we come with so-called "little things.” Jesus’ prayer is the only place in Greek literature where the word "daily" appears.  It is best translated, ”Our bread of tomorrow, give us today.”  Tomorrow reminds us of our eternal future with God. ...

“May Your kingdom come & Your will be done” In yesterday's blog, we saw that Jesus calls us to pray to “Our dearest Father” for His name to be respected as holy. The second petition flows from the first.  When God’s name is honored, His kingdom comes.  When someone recognizes the awesome holiness of God, he falls on his face before God as a subject kneels before his king. A prayer for God’s kingdom to come & His will to be done anticipates a future time when Jesus will return, ...

“May Your name be respected as holy” Names mean something.  So it’s easy to be offended when someone mocks, misspells, mispronounces or forgets our name because dishonoring a person’s name dishonors that person.  That was even more true in the Hebrew culture where a person’s family, character and position were often reflected in their name. For that reason, “Hallowed be Your Name” isn’t simply an extension of “Father” or an assertion that His Name is holy.  Rather, it’s a petition...

“When you pray, say: “Father” These words provide an amazing beginning to our week of prayer!  Rightly understood, this is the most unexpected part of the Disciples Prayer.  Jesus invites those who have turned from their sins and trusted the Savior to address the creator and ruler of the universe as “Father.” To make it even better, the Aramaic word Jesus uses is “Abba,” the familiar word used by Jewish children to affectionately call their daddy.  We might say, "Dearest Father.”&...

   Martin Luther wrote, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”  Praying is the great privilege of Christian life.  And the blessing of praying individually is even more pronounced as we pray together.  Jesus promised, “Where two or three come together in My Name, there am I with them." On Saturday, January 10, we’ll gather to begin the new year with our third annual Day of Prayer.  During the past two years, we’ve ...

God’s plans and purposes in this world are bigger than us.  His glory is too great for his praise to be confined to suburban America. God’s will and intent is that the praise of his name would be sung in every land, in every language, by every people and every nation. “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.

"Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!" (Psalm 67:3) On the last Sunday of every month, we set aside time to pray for the ministry of the gospel around the world. Last Sunday, Josh led us in praying for Malaysia, which has been in the news recently since the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.  Here's a short video that will help you know how to pray for Malaysia this month. If you're not able to view the video, click here.

Yesterday, Matthew & I had the privilege of hosting a group of 15 area pastors for lunch.  We call this group “Together for the Gospel” because a commitment to keeping the Gospel the “main thing” defines each of our ministries and churches.  Since I’ve been meeting with some of these men for several years, I opened the lunch by sharing the joy I derive from our relationships.  By contrast, when we planted KingsWay 25 years ago, there were few pastors I could link arms with bot...

"So how is your church involved in missions?" For many years, I never liked answering that question. Nearly every time it came up I was immediately attacked by a sense of guilt. My answer usually went something like this: "Here's what we're doing, but I know we should be doing more." Cue the condemnation.

Thanks to the many of you who joined us for the Day of Prayer & Fasting this past Saturday.  It was a very significant day of corporate prayer.  I am convinced that God is preparing us for many good works! Due to scheduling conflicts, we are canceling this Sunday’s Prayer & Worship Night.  But that doesn’t mean we aren’t praying!   Folks meet to pray every Friday at 7 pm in the Nursing Mom’s Room off the foyer and every Sunday at 9:30 am in the front of the auditorium...

Gene and I are both traveling to Orlando, FL this week to attend a couple different events. Here's a quick overview of what we're doing so you know how to pray for us.  On Monday afternoon, Gene will attend the annual Sovereign Grace Ministries Council of Elders (CoE) meeting. The CoE is basically the national governing board for SGM and is comprised of some 60 pastors.

In June of 1775, the Continental Congress issued the following proclamation, requesting a day of fasting and prayer. “This Congress, therefore, considering the present critical, alarming, and calamitous state of these Colonies, do earnestly recommend that, Thursday, the twentieth day of July next, be observed by the inhabitants of all the English Colonies on this Continent, as a day of publick humiliation, fasting and prayer; that we may, with united hearts and voices, unfeignedly confess and de...

Prayer is an expression of faith in God in at least three ways.  We must believe God is real.  We must believe God hears our prayers.

The Bible is a book overflowing with promises.  Most of them are promises God has made to his children.  For example, if you're facing a big decision, God makes a promise to you in Psalm 25:8-9.

"Pray without ceasing." (1 Thess. 5:17) Few Christians object to the priority of prayer.  Yet many feel like they don't know how to pray or battle a constant low-grade guilt over not praying enough.