Church culture

Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name.

Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.

(Psalm 142:7 NIV)

It was the lost the Son of Man came to seek—and to save.

(Luke 19:9 NIV)

Recently I was introduced to a young woman who, invited by a friend, started coming to church. Although I do not know much about her story, she did tell me something that led me to believe that she was struggling deeply with a very serious sin. I won’t dishonor her by telling you her story, but I will say that I have been grateful at our church’s response to her. No one at the church would agree that her sin can be ignored. However, the overall culture of love and grace has created a space for the Holy Spirit to minister to her spirit. In that culture of love, God has convicted her that she cannot continue in the sin, and she was able to ask for prayer and deliverance from the things that were binding her to that sin. I shudder to think of how she would still be bound if she had wandered into a condemning church, if she had not been met with love and kindness, if she had not been introduced to Holy Spirit, or if she had never even been invited to experience God in a church setting. Today, let us pray for those who are still bound, and for the churches around them.

Seeking God,

Thank you for your Love and Grace you’ve poured out upon sinners like us. Thank you that when your Truth sets someone free from sin and death, they are completely and totally free. Help each of us fully die to sin, and nevermore want to exploit your Grace. Thank you for the ways in which Holy Spirit is moving in this hour to call the Lost to a place of repentance and grace.  We pray that your local churches would have atmospheres of love, truth, grace, mercy, and Holy Spirit’s deep and abiding presence, so that newcomers are warmly welcomed in, but lovingly encouraged to grow in faith. May your Spirit be upon your churches, anointing them to proclaim Good News to the poor, freedom for prisoners, sight for the blind, and freedom for the bound and oppressed. May the righteous gather around those who need Jesus, and may the Lost be found in you, we ask in Jesus’s name. AMEN. 

Now what is our response to be? Shall we sin to our heart’s content and see how far we can exploit the grace of God? What a ghastly thought! We, who have died to sin—how could we live in sin a moment longer?  (Romans 6:1-2 PHILLIPS)

Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32 NIV)

Jesus said, “I tell you most solemnly that anyone who chooses a life of sin is trapped in a dead-end life and is, in fact, a slave. A slave can’t come and go at will. The Son, though, has an established position, the run of the house. So if the Son sets you free, you are free through and through.” (John 8:36 MSG)

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
    to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:17-19 NIV)