Welcome to the DIY Sunday Service Kit for February 10th., 2024.
Today we are looking into how God addressed the situation of four faithful Jewish young men living under a political regime they had reason to be dissatisfied with. At a time when world politics seems to be on the move, this seems to be a fairly common topic in conversation around the world!
This week the way we produce the Deep-Dive into Scripture has been updated with automatically generated captions on the screen. As a result there is no longer a transcript ... it's all on the video.
The audio-only is still there, though, for all you marathon runners and extreme athletes out there to be able to download it and listen while you are exerting yourselves!
Let's pray.
Lord and loving Heavenly Father we thank you for the measure of freedom we currently enjoy in our culture to hold and to express our views without interference from the authorities.
We know that we can't ever take such things for granted and that our brethren in many places around the world do not currently enjoy the same freedoms as we do.
So we ask you to make us grateful today for the blessings that we receive, and to prepare and equip us as we seek you today to be faithful to you under whatever pressures we face today and that we may be called upon to face in the future.
We ask for Jesus' sake.
AMEN.
Let's sing
The week's seven-day prayer calendar from JustinLong.org is set out
under this pic.
(This prayer calendar comes from Justin Long. You could also seek fresh inspiration to pray for the world from his really excellent website HERE )
1. We pray for those Kingdom workers and efforts laboring on behalf of Iran. We praise God for the rapid growth of the church in Iran–many Iranians have become disillusioned and abandoned Islam, and while most of those have secularized, a significant percentage have become followers of Jesus. At the same time, the current tensions between Iran, its neighbors, Israel (in the context of Gaza), and the United States are undoubtedly complicating work on the ground. Pray for wisdom and boldness for workers and for the Iranian church.
2. We continue to pray for peace in Sudan, and for the believers working there. A quarter of the country is on the run. I think it likely the RSF will consolidate majority control over the nation, but all evidence indicates they are more interested in self-enrichment and ethnic cleansing than in establishing a functional state. The people of Sudan, particularly the non-Arab minorities, have been deeply wounded, and the scars of this civil war will last a very long time. Pray for the believers laboring to work in the region, for those working with the refugees in Chad, South Sudan, and Egypt, and for the many Sudanese abroad who fear for their families back home.
3. We pray for the church in Japan. The aging of the nation in general (low birth rate, longer life span) has led to a situation where many leaders in the church are elderly, but there are few to no ‘next generation’ of believers to take their place. Pray for a new generation of believers to rise up, be mentored and equipped by the current leaders, and be able to shoulder the work.
4. We pray for the current ‘opening’ trend in Saudi Arabia both to continue and to be well used. Saudi Arabia is welcoming in large numbers of spiritually hungry pilgrims, and at the same time investing significant amounts to encourage general tourism. Pray for believers to make wise use of the opportunities.
5. We pray for the millions who recently attended the Bishwa Ijtema, a massive Islamic congregation held in Bangladesh. We are thankful for the Kingdom efforts that occurred in the context of this space, seeking out the spiritually hungry. We pray that many who encountered Jesus will pursue him to discover the True Way. We pray for the continued perseverance of bold witnesses who labor in the context of such events.
6. We pray again for believers in India. In the wake of the dedication of the Ayodha temple, other mosque-temple conflicts are beginning to sprout. Both traditional churches and rapidly multiplying movements are experiencing increasing levels of persecution, including martyrdoms. As movements dedicate themselves to finding and filling every witness-lacking gap, encounters with persecution will undoubtedly increase. We pray for the explosive growth of followers of Jesus in India to continue, and also for these believers to stand firm in their faith and witness.
7. We pray for the believers laboring in the context of the Gaza war. The mixture of politics, religion, and violence makes it very difficult for people around the world to think about the war, the peoples involved, and how Jesus would act in this context. Pray for believers who are trying to be a blessing in this very difficult environment to have charity, wisdom, boldness and endurance. Pray for people to pray “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” over this region.
Today's Bible reading is Daniel 4 - click the open Bible to go there
Our next hymn is bi-lingual ... great words, great tune!
Now for the new-look Deep-Dive for this week (click the pic)
Video with sub-titles .mp4
Audio .mp3
Let's pray
Thank you Lord that we can find confidence in the person and in the work of our faithful God and King, who undertakes provides for His people in even the most challenging of circumstances.
Whatever challenges we face in the coming days, weeks and years, please
- keep us close to yourself,
- reveal the mysteries we encounter as and when we need that,
- show your superior power to deliver us from any powers and authorities that would oppress us,
- and both raise up and remove the powers that be in order to fulfil your plans and purposes according to your good pleasure
... for whom we also pray the intervention of the saving and redeeming grace.
In Jesus' Name and for His Glory,
Amen.
Thank you for being with us here at the DIY Sunday Service Kit today.
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