Pastor's Blog

Lord, Bind Us Together in Love!

John 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

This summer it will be our great privilege to serve the body of Christ as it is lived out among us that are associated with our beloved Apostolic Lutheran Church of America. As a congregation we have been led to have as our theme for our annual convention the following statement:

Lord, bind us together in love! I

n addition to the scripture verses above, John 13:35 is also a verse on which this theme prayer has been founded. I say, prayer instead of saying, slogan or whatever, for it is indeed a prayer of our hearts that we would be bound together in love.

As the Lord prays for us, and as we pray for one another, may this love from Him burn brighter in our understanding, in our experience and in our extension of it unto others.

John 17:21 is part of what is commonly called “The High Priestly Prayer” and which was the expression of our Savior’s heart as he prayed for Himself, (verses 1-8) for his disciples (verses 9-19)and for all future disciples, including you and me. (20-26) He prayed this prayer just before He was betrayed by one of his own, Judas Iscariot.

Let us have this prayer on our hearts continually as we continue to serve one another.

In Christ,

Pastor Orval Wirkkala

Dear Heavenly Father.

Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

As many in your body all across this nation and quite possibly in many other areas of the world come before you in prayer and supplication for the benefit of Natalie Matson and her family, we humbly bow before you. Dear Gracious Father, your servant Solomon testified to your greatness many years ago when he prayed at the dedication of the temple that you directed him to build. For at that time he struggled with trying to understand your greatness and power when he said, "How will you live on earth among people when the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee?" And Isaiah:" To whom will we liken you? Or what likeness will we compare you with?” We are called to lift up our eyes on high, and to behold you, who has created these things. You bring out the stars by number and you call them by their names by the greatness of your might, and because you are strong in power not one is missing. Dear Holy Father, the earth is yours and the fullness thereof, the world and all those who live upon this earth. Every beast of the forest is yours as well as the cattle on a thousand hills.

Father, when you created all things, it was after you created us that you said, "It was very good." We have been created in your image, have suffered the consequences of the fall of mankind into sin, but have been renewed in the image of your Son through the cross and are now living in the power of His resurrection, and are the body of Jesus Christ today. Dear Father, it was not until you came to be as one of us that mankind was able to see in a clearer way of your great heart of grace and truth, for by Moses had only come a dim view of your glory through the Law, but by your Son came grace and truth. He healed the sick, raised the dead, enabled the blind to see, caused the lame to walk, and, yes, preached the gospel to the poor in spirit.

And now today, being in the body of your Son, Lord, we hurt and continue to suffer with one part of the body which is very sick today, young Natalie Matson. Loving, Gracious Father in heaven, nothing is too great for you, nothing is too hard for you to do, in you exists all the power and might that is able to heal that which is impossible to heal by human wisdom or earthly power. We come in the same spirit that the SyroPhonecian woman came to you in asking for the healing of her daughter, with a broken and contrite spirit, one that is totally dependent on you for the blessing, with hearts that realize that we do not deserve on our merit to have our prayer today answered, but yet know that you, according to your mercy, do reward the believing, persistence and fervent prayers of your children . Dear Holy Father, our cry is to you today to hear us; please Dear God, when these prayers come before you today, may they be a sweet-smelling savor of life to you. May you look with grace unto Natalie and bring about healing for her body. We ask that you hear our prayer today, Dear Father. We know that You will be glorified in all things and that you will do what is according to your will, but we have been given to understand from your Word that we are not just as spectators in life's events, but that we have been given hearts and voices to care for one another, to intercede to you for one another. We count it a great privilege to be our brother and sister's helper on the way to heaven, and therefore, we lift up our hearts and voices today for Natalie’s healing! And we know that the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because he makes intercession for the saints according to your will. As we pray in the Spirit, we know that you will be glorified through the life of Natalie. In the end, dear Father, we must say, ‘Thy will be done.”

For the sake of your Son, the Great Physician and Saviour Jesus Christ, we humbly plead this prayer before you this day, Dear Father. Amen.