International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Today's a little bit of a different day. It's a very special day, this is. And Pastor Kyle's going to share with you a little bit more information. But this. Today is a national, [00:00:11] Speaker B: worldwide [00:00:13] Speaker A: moment of. It's called the International Day of Prayer. And it's a time that we have as believers to pray for those that are currently engaged in what is known as the persecuted church. And so grateful that we have this opportunity to freely come into worship together. Amen. So good. Not everyone experiences this throughout the world. And our hearts, as brothers and sisters in Christ, are to become aware that our eyes would be open and that we would pray intently for them, and our prayers would be moved to action, to serve and to encourage one another. And so this morning, how important it is for us to speak this scripture together. So I'm going to invite you as a part of our worship this morning. We're going to read from Psalm 121. We're going to ask the question, where does our hope and where does our help come from? And so as we do this, would you stand? And we're going to say this together from God's word. Let's read this together. I look up to the mountains. Does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not let you stumble. The one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. The Lord himself watches over you. The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever. So maybe as a part of that, the truth of his word, we could sing together and tell him that we need him so desperately in this very moment. Let's [00:02:06] Speaker C: sing. Lord, I come, I confess bowing Here I find my rest and without you I fall apart. Yes, Lord, you're the one that guides my heart [00:02:32] Speaker A: from your heart to him. Let's sing this as a prayer. [00:02:36] Speaker C: Lord, I need you. Oh, I need [00:02:41] Speaker D: you [00:02:43] Speaker C: Every hour I need [00:02:48] Speaker D: you. [00:02:50] Speaker C: My one defense, my righteousness. O [00:02:57] Speaker E: God, how I need. [00:03:06] Speaker C: Where sin runs deep, your grace is more. Thank you, Lord. And where it is found is where you are [00:03:18] Speaker F: where you are and where you are, [00:03:23] Speaker G: Lord, I am free. Holiness [00:03:29] Speaker F: is Christ in me. Lord, I need you. Oh, [00:03:40] Speaker D: I need you [00:03:44] Speaker G: Every [00:03:46] Speaker F: hour I need [00:03:49] Speaker D: you. [00:03:51] Speaker H: My one [00:03:52] Speaker F: defense, [00:03:54] Speaker H: my righteousness. Oh, [00:03:58] Speaker F: God, how I need [00:04:01] Speaker D: you. [00:04:03] Speaker C: So teach my song. So teach my song to rise to you [00:04:11] Speaker A: when temptation comes my way. [00:04:16] Speaker C: And when I cannot stand, I'll fall on you. Jesus, Jesus, you're my [00:04:24] Speaker I: hope and stay. Yes, you are. [00:04:30] Speaker C: Let's cry it out. Lord, [00:04:32] Speaker F: I [00:04:32] Speaker H: need you. [00:04:34] Speaker F: Oh, I need [00:04:37] Speaker D: you [00:04:39] Speaker G: every [00:04:41] Speaker F: hour I need [00:04:44] Speaker D: you. [00:04:45] Speaker H: My one [00:04:47] Speaker F: defense, [00:04:49] Speaker H: my righteousness. God, [00:04:53] Speaker F: how I need [00:04:56] Speaker J: you. [00:04:58] Speaker F: You're my one defense, [00:05:02] Speaker H: my righteousness. Oh, God, [00:05:07] Speaker F: how I need [00:05:10] Speaker C: you. From your heart to him. You're my one defense. My righteousness. O God, how I need you. Jesus, how we need you. [00:05:28] Speaker A: Oh, for grace, Lord, to trust you more and more. We need you so much, Father. And all God's people said amen. You can be seated this morning. [00:05:44] Speaker B: Good morning, church. Good morning. My name is Kyle Smith. I'm your pastor. I'm so happy to be with you. And as Rick said, today is a different day, a very unique day. And part of what we're going to do today is look far, far, far beyond ourselves in our situation, and we're going to pray for believers all around the world. But before we zoom out, I really want to zoom in and just tell you whatever you walked in with today, that God is right in that with you. I mean, even if you feel like you have done something to push him away or drive him away, that's actually the very reason Jesus came here. So if you came today looking for hope and encouragement, it's never been more alive or more engaged in your life because Jesus is alive. Amen. Can I get an amen on that? Okay, so now we're going to move on. This is, as I said, this is a very unique day. So if this is your first time here, if you are a guest, this is not something. It's something we do every year, once a year. So it's not something we do often, but it is a big part of who we are before we move on. Also, if it's your first time, really glad you're here. Make yourself welcome at home. Comfortable restrooms are down that corner. Coffee's out in the commons. If you feel like today is super weird and you want to leave, that's cool too. Come back, though. Okay, so what we're gonna do, I'm gonna start with a why of why we're doing this. Last week we read from Ephesians 2. It's talking about two groups of people, God's chosen nation and then outsiders. So everyone, those are the two groups, it says together as one body. Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross. And our hostility toward each other was put to Death. So that means among believers of Jesus Christ, there's no division in this room or around the world. So that is why today we're joining churches all around the world to pray for those who are persecuted. Today is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. So we are going to focus on four different areas that suffer persecution. Right now, persecution is being mistreated, abused, harassed, even losing your life because of what you believe. And that belief is faith in Jesus. So we're praying for brothers and sisters around the world today who are facing that persecution. So we've a lot of it's going to be through videos and parents. There's nothing that we believe is heavy or scary for kids. But if Grace Kids would better serve your kids today. Nursery through fourth grade, we have that available down the hallway. And my goal is for us to see the people we're going to pray for today are real people. We're going to talk about countries and areas that often we don't hear in a positive context. We're praying for believers of Jesus in those places. So I want to show you this picture. I used this last week in the sermon. That's a girl and her dog, obviously, but they're in Ukraine and they're standing in the rubble from the war. So we hear about war, we hear about persecution. It just seems so far off from our reality. But then you see something like this. That's a girl walking her dog walking through the rubble of war. So the people we pray for today, they're people who want to walk their dog and pray, and they have to do it silently, right? They're people who go to bed and say, well, there's a chance the government is going to run us out of our home tonight. I've got a favorite sweatshirt, so I'm going to put it by my bed so that if I have to run, I can at least take my favorite sweatshirt. These are real people. We're praying because literally what we're doing today, Jesus said to do right. He said, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. So today we are joining believers around the world in doing what Jesus told us to do. Before we do that, I want to pray for those who defend our freedom to do this today. This Wednesday was first Responders Day. This crowd loves doing this. If you're a first responder, would you please stand? They love this attention. John, stand up. Ginny, stand up. Oh, stay up. Stay. I'll call your names again. Stay standing. Yes, I want you to stay standing. You're heroes. When people run away from things, you run to it. Stay standing, keep standing. If you're family of a first responder, would you stand? This doesn't happen alone. Kaylee, stand up. Come on. They don't do this alone. So thank you. Let's pray. God, thank you for these brave men and women who. Who risk their lives to defend ours, to protect ours. And one of the reasons we are here today in freedom is because they're braver than I am. So thank you, God. We are so grateful for them. Would you protect them? Would you guard them? Would you give their families peace while they are at work? We thank you for them, God, as they model your love to us. So we thank you in Jesus name, Amen. Okay, now you can be seated. So I'm going to pray just to begin our day of prayer. And then we have four countries that we're praying for. We're going to watch a video for each one and then someone will come up and share a little more context with us. Then we'll pray for them. It's going to look a little bit different each time, but that's, that's kind of the rhythm we're going to follow. So this is a very different day for us. But hopefully it'll turn our hearts to when we hear things in the news that our heart is towards the real people involved in that suffering and that our response would be to pray. So, yeah, let's pray. God, thank you that you are here, God, thank you that you are with those who are facing persecution. God, it's hard to understand why you would allow some of these things, God, why you would allow the suffering that's represented in this room. But God, we know your victory in life are in you. Hope is in you, joy is in you, even in the midst of suffering. So, God, we pray for those facing persecution. Pray that today your spirit would fall heavy on them, God, that you protect them, guard them. We pray for those who are doing the persecuting, God, because you can change hearts. You can, you can and still do work miracles. And we pray for the church to respond, to act, to step into the pain, to go towards the danger, God, for our people. We pray that world leaders would stand against persecution, God, that where they can make a difference, where they can stand in. That they would be bold, God, that they would act in truth. And so we also pray for our own country, God, for the election, that we would. That we would do our part, that we would vote, that we would be part of upholding truth, God, and We know you are over all things. So we pray that those who are elected God would be obedient to you, to your truth, to guarding it, to protecting it. God, this is one of the days that we say, this is a big world filled with big problems and you are a bigger God. So we praise you in Jesus name. Amen. So we're going to begin by focusing on Afghanistan. So let's watch this video. [00:14:42] Speaker K: Foreign. Nomadisha. Sai gutims and the gina medari mehostan mora mehostan mora. Sagar. [00:18:25] Speaker B: I forgot to mention, I don't know if you speak whatever language that is. I don't. The subtitles are kind of small. If you need to come closer where you can see there's some seats right here. We have, like, really don't, don't be shy. If you need to come forward so you can see this, like, this is really great stuff. I don't want you to miss. So, Afghanistan, the main religion is Islam, and 97% of the population is unreached by Christianity. I mean, it's a. It's just a dark place where there's not a lot of light breaking through. Like she said, I believe in Jesus, but I have to worship him in secret. And basically under Taliban rule, the Taliban just does not believe it's possible for any Afghan person to be a Christian. That's just what they believe. It doesn't exist. It's not going to happen. They'll do whatever they can to stop it. Women especially are oppressed, tortured. Rights are basically taken away. It's a life of just constant pressure and constant harassment. And it seems like there's not a lot of hope. But at grace, we have a young man who's training right now in Europe to go to the Middle East. I can't say exactly where he's going to go, but he's joining a team to go into this region. Dan Perez is his name. We can pray for him by name. So let's pray now. God, Afghanistan seems like a. It seems like a place. We hear in the news of just bad things happening. God. But you are doing incredible things there through your church that is. That's fragmented and hidden and meets in secret, but it is alive. So, God, would you grow your church? The church has always thrived under pressure. So would you be there with your people? Would you guard them? Even though it seems like it would be miraculous? We pray for the Taliban, for those whose hearts are against you, because you can change those hearts and God, we pray for Dan Perez and his team. As they prepare to be courageous and take the gospel into places where it is resisted and not welcome. God, would you change our hearts when we see and hear things on the news that we would see it through a filter of who you are and what you're doing? So, God, we lift this country up to you and thank you that you love your people so much. Would you just overwhelm them with your presence? We pray this in Jesus name, Amen. So now we're going to turn our hearts to the country of Mexico. [00:24:24] Speaker L: Foreign. Palabra. [00:26:28] Speaker B: Can I have them there? This is a new face to you. So I want to introduce her to you, maybe not to a lot of you. This is Madison. Say hi, Madison. Hi, Madison. So Madison's a world changer. And we planted this church two years ago and we were meeting in the back. It was a fellowship hall. It was dusty, real low ceilings. I loved it. And Madison was away at college and almost for like six months. Almost every single new family that I met, I would say, how did you end up here? Madison told us to come when she was in Arkansas at college. So that's who she is. She's one of our core volunteers for a Grace student ministry. I'm so glad she's here today. Thanks, Madison. Thank you. [00:27:16] Speaker M: Okay, so good morning. My name is Madison. A little bit more about Mexico. So as we see, it's ranks number 30among the most persecuted countries. Some troubles that they face include cartel violence. And so for like the church leaders in the church body, if they disregard like the demands of the cartel, they face threats, attacks, sometimes even death. Some more troubles include lack of protection. So like government efforts to protect the church body and the church leaders have been ineffective in that area. And lastly, church vandalism. And so grace even has two of their own missionaries in the area, the Haglers, Krista and Trace. And these two, the church that they called home in Mexico was vandalized in March of last year. And so we can definitely be praying for them. And their ministry is for women that were rescued from trafficking. Safety and boldness and a passion for God and their children. And so as some of us may know, the psalmists are very in tune with their emotions. And so I'm going to read a beautiful prayer by King David and it's Psalm 142. I cry out to the Lord. I plead for the Lord's mercy. I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles when I'm overwhelmed. You alone know the way I should turn. Wherever I go, my enemies have Set traps for me. I look for someone to come and help me, but no one gives me a passing thought. No one will help me. No one cares a bit about what happens to me. Then I pray to you, O Lord, I say you are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life. Hear my cry, for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. Bring me out of prison so I can thank you. The godly will crowd around me, for you are good to me. So David, even in his moments of desperation and persecution, he turned to God because he is our refuge and so our brothers and sisters in Mexico can do the same. So let's pray. Lord, I just thank you for being our refuge and our strength. A God who hears our cries and never forgets his people. Today we lift up our brothers and sisters in Mexico who are facing persecution for their faith. Protect them from violence, strengthen their faith and give them boldness to continue proclaiming your name even when the cross is great. We pray for those in the circle of silence who are restricted from even practicing their faith. Would you make a way for the gospel to reach them? And would you soften the hearts of those who oppose you? Father, we specifically lift up TRACE and Krista Hagler and their ministry in Mexico. Thank you for their willingness to serve you and minister to women rescued from human trafficking. We pray for healing and restoration for these women, for boldness as Traci and Krista share your word and protection over their family. May their children continue to to grow in their love for you and desire to honor you with their lives. Lord, help us never to take our freedom for granted, to worship you burden our hearts for the persecuted church and remind us that we are all one body in Christ. And may your gospel continue to spread throughout Mexico. May lives be transformed and may your name be glorified even in the midst of suffering. We trust that you are at work even when we cannot see it. And thank you for being faithful to your people. We pray all these things in your name. Amen. [00:31:25] Speaker N: There's peace that outlasts darkness, Hope that's in the blood. [00:31:35] Speaker F: There's future [00:31:37] Speaker N: grace that's mind today that Jesus Christ has risen so I can feel face tomorrow. For tomorrow's in your hands. [00:31:57] Speaker F: All I need, you will provide just like you [00:32:03] Speaker N: always have. [00:32:08] Speaker F: I'm fighting a battle you've already won. No matter what comes my way, [00:32:25] Speaker O: I will [00:32:26] Speaker F: overcome. I don't know what you're doing, but I know what you've done. I'm fighting a battle you've already won. [00:32:57] Speaker N: There's mercy in the waiting. Been up for today [00:33:07] Speaker P: and when it's [00:33:09] Speaker N: gone, I know you're not. [00:33:12] Speaker F: You are my [00:33:14] Speaker N: hope instead. And when the sea is raging. [00:33:23] Speaker F: Your spirit is my. [00:33:28] Speaker N: I fix my eyes on Jesus Christ and say that it is well. [00:33:38] Speaker F: Oh, I know that it [00:33:40] Speaker I: is well. Would you sing this with sister? Stand with us and let's sing it. [00:33:44] Speaker F: I'm fighting a battle. Battle you've already won. No matter what comes my way, [00:34:01] Speaker O: I will [00:34:02] Speaker F: overcome. I don't know what you doing. But I know what you done. I'm fighting a battle you've already won. [00:34:28] Speaker P: And I know how [00:34:30] Speaker N: the story ends. [00:34:37] Speaker F: We will be [00:34:39] Speaker N: with you again. You're my savior. You're my savior. [00:34:49] Speaker F: Mighty fin. No more [00:34:56] Speaker N: fear in life or death. [00:35:01] Speaker Q: Just lift it from your heart. [00:35:04] Speaker N: And I know how the story. [00:35:13] Speaker F: We will be with [00:35:15] Speaker N: you again. You're my savior, [00:35:25] Speaker F: my [00:35:25] Speaker N: defense. No more fearing life for death. [00:35:37] Speaker A: Raise your heart, let's sing together. [00:35:39] Speaker F: Oh, and I know how the story [00:35:44] Speaker D: ends. [00:35:50] Speaker F: We will be with you again. You're my savior, my defense. No more fear in life or death. [00:36:13] Speaker N: I know how the story [00:36:17] Speaker F: ends. I'm fighting a battle you've already won. Jesus, no matter what comes my way, [00:36:37] Speaker O: I will [00:36:38] Speaker F: overcome. I don't know what you're doing, but I know what you've done. I'm fighting a battle you've already won. Oh, I'm fighting a battle you already were. [00:37:30] Speaker A: Jesus, we thank you for the victory that is only for found in you. We raise our heart to you and know that you are our hope, our helper. [00:37:42] Speaker Q: Thank you, Jesus. [00:37:46] Speaker A: Amen. We invite you for a moment. You can be seated. And we're going to turn our hearts to Laos. [00:38:02] Speaker R: They prohibited us from gathering to worship together. And they didn't allow us to build a church. They made us sign a document saying that if we worshiped the Lord, they would confiscate our animals and our land and destroy our house. [00:38:32] Speaker S: Lid is a Christian convert and teacher from southern Laos. He faces opposition from his local community who accuse him of following a foreign religion. [00:38:48] Speaker R: There were many children in the village, but they were illiterate and didn't know the Lao language. So my brother and I bought some books so that the children could attend classes and start learning. I began teaching the children the basics of the Lao Alphabet. My brother, who had attended Bible classes, helped me to teach them about the Bible. How the Lord created the earth and humans. Not long afterwards, the villagers found out that we were teaching the children about the Bible, they said, you're spreading the story of God. This is not right. It's bad. This led to persecution. Later, they started throwing stones at our house where we held the classes. In June 2024, we were forced to move to a farm. It wasn't an official expulsion, but the stoning never stopped. They told us, if you can stand it, we'll keep stoning. If not, we know you'll choose to leave yourself. We feared for the children's safety as they often played around the community. Adults could get struck too. But it's out of fear for the children that we desire to move to the farm. Now that we live on the farm, I continue teaching the children because they are illiterate and don't know the Lao language. I feel compassion for them, so I keep teaching. [00:40:32] Speaker S: Through local partners, open doors provided the believers with school supplies and helped them to build a new house. LID now teaches about a dozen children the Lao language and maths, as well as stories from the Bible. [00:40:52] Speaker R: There were Christian brothers and sisters who supported us to be able to conduct the teaching. They provided the equipment so that we could continue doing the classes. They provided books, pencils, and a board. May the Lord bless everyone who has the heart to support us. [00:41:24] Speaker T: Hi, I'm Steve and we're going to pray for Laos, [00:41:28] Speaker M: which [00:41:30] Speaker T: is very unfamiliar to me. I haven't been to this part of the world, but [00:41:36] Speaker M: happy [00:41:36] Speaker T: to pray [00:41:38] Speaker M: and [00:41:38] Speaker T: read a little bit [00:41:39] Speaker M: about it. [00:41:41] Speaker T: It's a [00:41:41] Speaker M: nation of [00:41:42] Speaker T: about 8 million people. That's very significant, that 184 different [00:41:47] Speaker M: unique [00:41:48] Speaker T: people [00:41:48] Speaker M: groups. [00:41:49] Speaker T: Sometimes that's a language [00:41:51] Speaker M: difference. [00:41:52] Speaker T: It's a different kind of cultural isolation or separation. [00:41:55] Speaker M: But [00:41:56] Speaker T: 142 [00:41:57] Speaker M: unreached [00:41:58] Speaker T: people groups, [00:41:59] Speaker M: that [00:41:59] Speaker T: means they don't have the gospel [00:42:01] Speaker M: in [00:42:01] Speaker T: their language. They don't have [00:42:02] Speaker M: a near neighbor [00:42:04] Speaker T: witness [00:42:04] Speaker M: of [00:42:05] Speaker T: the [00:42:05] Speaker M: gospel. So [00:42:07] Speaker T: it's [00:42:07] Speaker M: a very unreached nation. [00:42:10] Speaker T: Their religion is Buddhism and they identify very [00:42:13] Speaker M: much to [00:42:14] Speaker T: be Laos, [00:42:15] Speaker M: to [00:42:15] Speaker T: be Latian, you have to have that religion. You have those cultures. And they're steeped in fear. [00:42:24] Speaker M: Fear of [00:42:25] Speaker T: the unknown [00:42:25] Speaker M: and [00:42:25] Speaker T: fear [00:42:26] Speaker M: of [00:42:26] Speaker T: anything new and deception [00:42:29] Speaker M: where they've believed a false, you [00:42:31] Speaker T: know, and a false [00:42:32] Speaker M: God and a [00:42:32] Speaker T: false [00:42:33] Speaker M: religion. [00:42:37] Speaker T: You know, I haven't been to that part of the world, but we have really good friends, Rob and Jen Dirksen, who have shared here in church many times, been here with us, and they, they're working in Thailand [00:42:52] Speaker M: in [00:42:53] Speaker T: that whole region. And they're also very involved in preaching the gospel through oral teaching, oral gospel. Many of these people groups around the world [00:43:04] Speaker M: don't have written [00:43:05] Speaker T: language. So even [00:43:07] Speaker M: there's [00:43:07] Speaker T: not even an option to translate [00:43:09] Speaker M: the [00:43:09] Speaker T: Bible [00:43:09] Speaker M: into [00:43:10] Speaker T: their language. So the gospel is [00:43:11] Speaker M: being [00:43:12] Speaker T: presented orally [00:43:13] Speaker M: through [00:43:13] Speaker T: a series of stories that are translated into their native tongue. [00:43:17] Speaker M: And it's [00:43:17] Speaker T: very exciting work [00:43:19] Speaker M: that [00:43:19] Speaker T: the Dirksens are doing in that region. So. So we want [00:43:26] Speaker M: to [00:43:27] Speaker T: spend [00:43:27] Speaker M: a little [00:43:27] Speaker T: time in [00:43:27] Speaker M: prayer for [00:43:28] Speaker T: this. [00:43:28] Speaker M: And I want to start just by giving you a moment to [00:43:31] Speaker T: pray on your own silently. Okay, let's pray. Father God, we lift up lid his brother and these children that are ministering that their children they're ministering to and these house churches that are in this region. Lord, we pray that you would help them to grow strong in the gospel, to learn the way of Christ, the way of love that is demonstrated by the cross. God, we don't find these people that persecute us opposition. Lord, we find them as people that you love. And we pray that you would give us compassion to minister to those that would persecute us. Lord, we pray for the people of Laos, especially in these smaller communities, where the enemy uses fear and deception to keep people living in darkness. God, we pray that they would open their hearts and let go of the sin that keeps them in bondage, expose the empty promises of these false religions and help the believers to be witnesses of the power and love that can't. They can't even love and forgive, that can even love and forgive their persecutors. And finally, Lord, we pray for open doors, mission agencies, business as mission endeavors, and your church and all the neighboring [00:45:19] Speaker M: nations, even [00:45:20] Speaker T: China, to reach into Laos and see flames of revival sweep the nation. Lord, God, that you are worthy of your children in Laos and that we pray that you would fight for your people, helping them to step out of darkness into your marvelous light. We pray these things in the mighty name of Jesus, King of kings, Lord of lords, creator of all the earth, and every kindred tribe and tongue. Amen. [00:48:48] Speaker U: So, good morning, everybody. My name is Mikayla. And our last, final nation that we have the honor and the privilege of praying for is Burkina Faso. [00:48:57] Speaker M: As shown on the slides. There is a lot [00:49:00] Speaker U: of people in Burkina Faso. There's 24 million [00:49:03] Speaker M: people, roughly, and [00:49:05] Speaker U: several different [00:49:07] Speaker M: unreached people [00:49:08] Speaker U: groups. The total [00:49:09] Speaker M: of [00:49:10] Speaker U: people groups [00:49:11] Speaker M: in total is [00:49:11] Speaker U: like [00:49:12] Speaker M: 77 different types of communities all over the nation. And about [00:49:16] Speaker U: 27 [00:49:17] Speaker M: of those people have no access to the gospel, meaning that nobody even around them has the ability to share with them what the gospel [00:49:26] Speaker U: is and the [00:49:27] Speaker M: truth of [00:49:28] Speaker U: Jesus. [00:49:28] Speaker M: And the main religion in Burkina Faso is Islamic and a [00:49:33] Speaker U: Lot of the [00:49:33] Speaker M: persecution that's coming in the nation [00:49:36] Speaker U: is from, [00:49:37] Speaker M: like, [00:49:37] Speaker U: radical Muslim [00:49:38] Speaker M: jihadists and towards the church. There's a lot of shutting down [00:49:44] Speaker U: of Christian [00:49:44] Speaker M: organizations and shutting down of churches, but a lot of the persecution that's happening is mainly [00:49:49] Speaker U: targeted actually towards Islam converts that have, like, professed their faith in Jesus and have walked away from Islam and are now following the Lord. And so, yeah, there's a lot happening there. It's currently ranked number four of most persecuted nations. [00:50:08] Speaker M: And so that [00:50:09] Speaker U: is quite crazy. We do have several actual missionary families in the region. We have the Christs and we also have the Wilsons. And so obviously we want to pray for them and trust that God is doing a lot in this region of the world, not just in this nation, specifically pray for their families, of course. And we're gonna actually close this time together, praying together, a responsive prayer. And [00:50:35] Speaker M: so [00:50:35] Speaker U: there will be parts on the screen where I will pray out, and then there [00:50:39] Speaker M: will be [00:50:39] Speaker U: parts where you will respond as a congregation. And so if you wouldn't mind standing with me, we're gonna pray this out just together in unity and just proclaim these truths of these words of Psalms 46, out together in prayer. But then let's also be mindful of the missionaries that are there as we're praying this out. And so I'm going to start us. And where it says congregation, you can respond. Thank you, God. God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear. When earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea, A river brings joy to the city of our God. And the sacred home of the Most High God dwells in that city. And it cannot be destroyed. From the very break of day, God will protect it. The nations are in chaos and their kingdoms crumble. But God's voice thunders and the earth melts. The God of Israel is our fortress. Come see the glorious works of the Lord. See how he brings destruction upon the world. He causes wars to end through the earth and breaks the bow and snaps the spear. He burns the shields with fire. And be still and know that I am God. I will be honored in every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. Lord of heaven's armies is here among us. The God of Israel is our fortress. So just pray with me. God, we thank you for your commitment to the nations. God, we thank you that you see. Every person on this world, God, that you see. Yeah, every believer, every person that doesn't yet know you, God. And we thank you that you are committed to redeeming all things to yourself. God we do lift up your church, God in place of where they are not seen, where they are seen and persecuted. But we thank you, God, for your strength and your hope that remains true over them. God, we thank you for your spirit that strengthens them, God that holds them, that carries them through. God. We just want to go through this day mindful God and trusting that you are working in the nations of the world. God. We just say that we are thankful, God, and can't wait to be one day with every nation and every tongue. Celebrate, celebrating you and singing to you. King Jesus, we love you. Amen. [00:53:06] Speaker B: Let's remain standing and let's respond to him this morning. [00:53:23] Speaker G: What gift of grace is Jesus? Jesus my Redeemer There is no more for heaven now to give. He is my joy, my righteousness and freedom, My steadfast love, my deep and boundless [00:53:49] Speaker R: peace. To this I hold My hope is only [00:53:56] Speaker G: Jesus for my life is wholly bound to his oh, how strange and divine I can sing all is mine yet not I But through Christ [00:54:18] Speaker D: in me. [00:54:31] Speaker G: The night is dark but I am not forsaken for by my side the Savior he will stay and I labor on in weakness and rejoicing for in my need his power is displayed to this I hope My shepherd will defend me [00:55:08] Speaker D: through the [00:55:09] Speaker G: deepest valley he will leave all the night has been won and I shall overcome yet not I But through Christ in me. No fate I dread I know I am forgiven the future sure the price it has been paid For Jesus bled and he suffered for my part and he was [00:56:03] Speaker V: raised to [00:56:05] Speaker G: overthrow to this I hold my sin has been defeated [00:56:17] Speaker V: Jesus [00:56:18] Speaker D: now [00:56:19] Speaker G: whenever is my place and all the chains are released I can sing [00:56:30] Speaker W: I am [00:56:31] Speaker G: free and not I But through Christ in me. With every breath I want to follow Jesus for he has said that he will bring me home and day by day I know he will renew Until I stand with [00:57:14] Speaker V: joy [00:57:15] Speaker G: before the throne to this I [00:57:20] Speaker D: hold [00:57:21] Speaker G: My hope [00:57:22] Speaker V: is holy Jesus [00:57:26] Speaker W: and all the glory [00:57:29] Speaker X: ever more to him [00:57:33] Speaker F: when the race [00:57:35] Speaker G: is complete still my [00:57:38] Speaker D: lips shall repeat [00:57:41] Speaker G: Not [00:57:41] Speaker V: I But through [00:57:43] Speaker G: Christ in me [00:57:48] Speaker D: this I hope [00:57:50] Speaker G: My hope is only Jesus [00:57:57] Speaker V: Glory [00:57:58] Speaker G: ever more to him and when the race is complete still my lips shall repeat Not I But through Christ [00:58:13] Speaker D: in me [00:58:17] Speaker G: when the race is complete still my lips shout [00:58:24] Speaker R: yet not I But through Christ [00:58:28] Speaker D: in me [00:58:31] Speaker G: yet not I But through Christ in me yet not I But through Christ in me. [00:58:52] Speaker B: Lord, in our weakness your power is displayed so may it be so among the nations all the church Said, amen. You can be seated for a moment. Are you. I hope you're as thankful as I am to be part of a church that wants to set aside a Sunday to say, let's focus beyond ourselves. Because I think that's what Jesus did, like in the gospels, when he was with someone, as you kids say, he was 10 toes on the ground. That's what you kids say, right? He was ten toes. Nope. Okay. Note to self. That is not what the kids say. He was fully present. He was there. And then he'd say, okay, let's keep going. Let's keep spreading this. So that's, that's why we do this, because Jesus said, pray for those who persecute you and spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. So thank you so much for being part of this today. A lot of the resources we show today were from an organization called Open Doors. So if you go to opendoorsus.org there's more information. You can pray. You can see updates on all of these countries. Two weeks from today, Grace is taking a mission trip to Florida to help aid in the from the recent hurricane. So it's two weeks from today. We have a representative out in the commons at a table if you'd like to go be part of that trip. It's November 15th that same day. This is not to talk you out of going on that, but that same day, we celebrate that. We can gather and we're going to have a Dover Thanksgiving potluck. Yes. So you can, you can, like, sharpen all your Thanksgiving recipes and bring them and let us test them and tell you how it is. So November 15th here, 5pm Dover potluck. And ladies, today is our fall Women's Social. At 4pm you can go on the app or the website to register and it'll give you the address. It's not here. It's down the road at a member's home. I could say a lot. I'm just going to tell you ladies, you need to go, and I'll leave it at that. So would you stand, please? You receive this blessing. May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you, be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace. Amen.