Prayer Before Worship   Jesus, cleanser of temples and souls, look deep within our hearts and our lives, and clear away all that holds us back.  May our minds, spirits and bodies be a Temple that is open to Your presence: and may our words and our actions be transparent to Your love and truth.  We pray that this church community, will be purified in its life and mission, so that all that we do in and from here may reveal Your Gospel to others. Amen.

In Today’s Worship:  It is amazing that of all the honor, fame, and power Jesus deserved, instead He chose to die on the cross to pay for your sins. He chose the nails…for your sake.  What amazing love!  Today we discover God invites you into His presence.  In the Temple in Jerusalem the innermost room, Holy of Holies, had a thick curtain as the barrier separating sinful people from the presence of our God.  When Jesus died on the cross, He paid for our sin which separated us from God, and the curtain in the temple was miraculously torn in two from top to bottom.  Jesus’ forgiveness has opened the way to God for all people.  One of the great comforts of Christianity is that Jesus is present with us.  His promise is to be with us always.  Our God is not some distant impersonal God.  He touches our lives personally