Category: The Abiding Faith

Let us proclaim the following verses out loud together:

John 15:4-5, 7-11 (NRSVUE)
4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing…. 7 If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

John 20:21-22 (NIV)
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

Let us pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in all our churches. May abiding faith be real in us in an unprecedented way. May we be people of his presence. For his glory in this generation.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, breathe on our churches and fill us with a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. May this filling be new and unprecedented. Let your truth and promises be an experienced reality for us. Let our lives bear witness to this reality of abiding in you and you in us. May we be people of your presence. May you receive all praise, honor, and glory in our churches! In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s pray, worship and sing to “Breathe on Me Breath of God” by The Worship Initiative feat. Hannah Hardin (click here).

-AS

John 15:16 (NRSVUE)
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.

Romans 10:14-15 (NIV)
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!

“To be a disciple abiding in the love of Jesus means to ‘do’ something…’The charge to go and bear fruit…is the language of mission.’ The sent ones of the Sent One will point people to him and his Father, not only with words, but also with Spirit-empowered deeds. To participate in the divine love embodied on the cross is to participate in the drawing of all people to the one lifted up on the cross…If that is love, and love’s purpose, then sharing in that love will be a natural and inseparable witness to both the Love and the Lover.” [Michael Gorman. Abide and Go.]

As we abide in Jesus, may God give us his heart and tears for this generation. May our prayers flow from being united with God and abiding in God. May we obey in this heart to reach the places and people he has sent us. Make this prayer from the Book of Common Prayer (For the Mission of the Church) your own.

Prayer: “Everliving God, whose will it is that all should come to you through your Son Jesus Christ: Inspire our witness to him, that all may know the power of his forgiveness and the hope of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.” May you receive the glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship and sing to “Because of Jesus” by Charity Gayle

.

-AS

John 15:5,12 (NRSVUE)
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

1 John 4:15-16 (NRSVUE/NIV)
15 God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.

“The subjective presence of love and the Spirit in the believer’s life is brought back to the objective basis of the incarnation of God in Christ. Because love for one another is based on the revelation of God’s love expressed on the cross of Jesus Christ, it is the one who acknowledges that revealed truth who has been reconciled to God. Fellowship with God would not be possible without the historical fact of the incarnation.”  [Karen H. Jobes. 1, 2, & 3 John. ZECNT.]

“…Each ‘branch’ must abide and bear fruit…it is not private. The majority of the pronouns and verbs referring to the branches in John 15 are plural: ‘All of you, together, must abide in me and bear fruit.’”
[Michael Gorman. Abide and Go.]

May we all be connected to Jesus, the one vine. We love because he first loved us expressed through his life, death on the cross, resurrection, and ascension. May the fruit of love for one another be born and bear witness to this world. Make Apostle Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV) your own prayer today.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I pray for those in my church, “16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s pray, worship and sing to “Abide With Me” by Matt Redman (click here).

-AS

Psalm 37:4 (NIV)
4 Take delight in the LORD,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

John 15:7-8a (NRSVUE)
7 If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this…

Scripture is supreme and has a greater weight than our personal experience and feelings. Our Lord said he will give us the desires of our heart when we delight in him. Jesus said that we can ask whatever we wish in prayer, it will be done for us when we abide in him. Jesus and his words are the standard. When we abide in him and his words abide in us, our will and desires are completely changed. Our very own sense of who we are and what we want are changed. Let us take delight in the Lord today. Let us abide in Jesus. When we abide in Jesus, we experience the unity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We experience intimate divine fellowship through the Holy Spirit. Our personal desires matter, because we are participating in God’s divine will to be done on earth. Make the Lord’s prayer your own prayer today. May God be glorified as we abide and ask.

Prayer: Our Father in heaven, help us to honor your holy name. May your kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us for doing wrong as we forgive others. Keep us from being tempted and protect us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours. Now and forever. Amen. (Modified 2020 & 2024, from NIV, NLT, CEV, and ELLC)

Let’s pray, worship and sing to “Abide” by Housefires feat. Nate Moore (click here).

-AS

Let us proclaim these verses out loud together:

John 15:4a, 9-11 (NRSVUE)
4 Abide in me as I abide in you…9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

“Abiding in Jesus – remaining in union with the crucified and resurrected Messiah…a relationship of mutual indwelling, or reciprocal residence…being in the presence of God in the intimacy of the divine household and within the pre-existing, eternal mutual indwelling of the Father and Son by means of the Spirit…’Abiding’ is also a relationship of profound dependence.” [Michael Gorman. Abide and Go.]

Let’s listen to Jesus and do all we can to abide in him today. Reciprocally he will abide in us. May we experience this mutual indwelling and divine intimacy with the Father and the Son by means of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen

Let’s pray, worship, and sing to “Walk With Me” by Jesus Culture feat. Kim Walker-Smith (click here).

-AS