 Hey, good morning. Welcome to Morning Prayer, 8 a.m. We are downtown Kalamazoo at the Radiant City Center, and this is part of our rhythm, our routine as a body of Christ, as we consecrate three times a day. Morning, noon, and night, where we lift up our intercession, our praise, and we pray. We're so glad that you're joining us online, and with some of the room. And this is a privilege we have as believers, as children, really, of God, to come into His presence, to know that He hears this. First John says that God not only hears this, but we know that if He hears this, we have the things that we're praying for. Like, God moves when we pray. Circumstances change when we pray. Our ability to know and love and comprehend the goodness of God increases and changes when we pray. So I just want to encourage you. We're going to spend some time in the presence of God worshiping, singing. Whether you're in the room or at home, your voice, it matters. Like, when you sing, it moves the heart of God. And you don't have to be a great singer, a good singer. Your praise, your lips, it's something that the church, believers have been doing for thousands of years, is just singing to the Lord. So I want to encourage you with that. And as we're praying and as we're interceding, just repeat a phrase back. Say something out loud, even if it's just amen or yes, Lord, but confirm that in your own heart and with your own voice. And you'll find that the engagement piece and how we come together in unity is so much more powerful. So we're actually going to pray out of Psalm 145. And we're going to pray for the next generation. We just had baby dedications this past weekend at both of our locations where we took young children and with parents as part of our family-oriented value. We gave them and their lives and their futures to the Lord. And we ask God to just lead them and guide them and bless them. And it's such an important part of who we are. And now, currently, right this moment, we have over 100 student and leaders from Radiant Church, high school children at the Bold Conference in Kansas City with David Perkins of Radiant Church. And they are just having an amazing time, but they're, again, encountering the love and the presence of God. And so I want to make sure we lift them up as well because God is doing something powerful. In this generation, in Gen Z and in young people, and we want to be a part of that as He does it. So I'm going to read through Psalm 145 and then we'll pray. And I just want these words. I love it. It says, a praise of David, a song of God's majesty and His love. And this is one of my favorite songs. I just want the words to... I want the heart that David had for who God was to him to become a reality for us. He says, I will extol you, my God, O King. And I will bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you. And I will praise your name forever and ever. For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts. I will meditate on the glorious splendor of your majesty and your wondrous works. Men shall speak of the might of your awesome acts and declare your greatness. They shall utter the memory of your great goodness and sing of your righteousness. And this is the heart of God towards us this morning. The Lord is gracious, full of compassion, slow to anger, great in mercy. The Lord is good to all. And His tender mercies are over all of His works. God, we just say that, confess that back to you, that you are a gracious God. You are full of compassion. Your word says that your mercies are new every morning. That we recall that to mind and it gives us hope. God, that you're not pointing the finger at us. You don't keep track of our sins. David said, if you, O Lord, should mark our iniquities, who could stand? But there is forgiveness in you. There is new mercies in you. There is strength according to your Holy Spirit. So we walk in that this morning. And just like David, we say we will extol you. O God, our King, and we will bless your name forever and ever. For great is our God, greatly to be praised. Among the gods, there is none that are like you, O God, nor are there any works that are like your works. All nations whom you have made shall come before you. Worship you for you alone, our God. Father, receive our praise, receive our worship. God, we stir it up in our hearts. Even now, just begin to say, God, you're good. And your mercy endures forever. Just tell the Lord a simple prayer. Begin to stir faith. Begin to stir an expectation for the love of God to encounter you. We say you are good, God. Your mercy endures. You're full of compassion. You're abounding instead, fast love, God. You're so faithful. Even when we're faithless, you remain faithful, God. You are an everlasting God. Your love never fails. It always endures. And God, we stand in that reality this morning. We stand in the truth of who we are. And we minister to you through the Holy Spirit in Jesus' name. Who is He that brings me? Turns the better. Who is He that makes me happy? Who is He that gives me peace? Who is He that brings me calm? He is Yahweh, the great I am. He is Yahweh, the Lord of all. He is Yahweh, righteous Son. He is Yahweh, three in one. He is Yahweh. Something so powerful in that statement, in that word when we sing of God's goodness. You know, and our vernacular good is not great, not the best, but in Scripture, goodness is seen differently. Bibles is taste and seed that the Lord is good. Moses asked God to show him His glory after He had talked about His presence. And God said, I'll make all my goodness pass before you. People of Israel, they would sing a simple song. The Lord is good and His mercy endures forever. And the enemy would turn on itself and God would miraculously move on their behalf. The goodness of God is the foundation, the love of God. And I just love how when we sing those words, like it's coming after me. Like God's love is not passive. It's not apathetic. His goodness is not there. And if you try hard enough and if you exert enough effort, you can somehow experience the goodness of God. No, it's literally running after you. Desire is to overtake you. It reminds me of Luke 15 with the prodigal son and the father who waited day after day and looked across the fields day after day to see as my son returning, as my son there. And we know the story that prodigal son had wasted his life and wasted his father's inheritance and he had practiced this entire speech of how he was going to come back and try to get in the good graces of his father and try to somehow make amends for what he had done and he has it all ready to say. And the Bible says that from a distance the father sees him and just begins to run. Pursue, chase after this prodigal son and when he finds him, the son's trying to even get out his little phrase, his little speech, his sentences and he can't, the father's love overtakes him. The father hugs him and braces him, kisses his neck but to ring on his finger in a robe on his shoulders declares that my son who was lost is now found. And I just, I know that not everything that happens in our lives is good. And that's not what the Bible says. The Bible says God has been able to make all things work together for good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose. When we say that phrase and when we sing and when we pray all my life you have been faithful. Like that is a true statement. That is who God is. He is always faithful. And St. Timothy says even when we're faithless he will not deny himself. He can't deny who he is. And so I want Natasha to even sing that again just that confession. Like all my life God, you've been faithful. I haven't always seen, I haven't always understood. It's not always how I would have blueprinted or planned my life but I declare this truth over myself, over my family, that you are good and that you are faithful and that your goodness is not a passive afterthought. It's chasing, it's running, it's coming after my life and I am a recipient of the goodness of God. And I taste and see that my God is good and that all of my life, God, you have been a faithful God. You have been good. You have been steadfast and immovable and we declare that. And so I want us to just sing that again but I want you to declare it even. It's just not words but like this is a life statement. Like God, I haven't always known or seen or understood but I will not be moved off the truth that you are good and your mercies endure forever. The Bible talks about meditating on God's word and God's truth that isn't like an eastern mystic thing in scripture. It means that as God is revealing truth of who he is or truth of what he says in his word, like there's a pondering, there's a meditating, there's a almost like this regurgitation of that truth that that happens. And I feel like the Lord's doing that even now concerning his goodness. There's so much in our world and our culture probably in our lives that we say this isn't good and this isn't easy and this isn't how I would have planned. I just feel like again even with Moses as he's asking God, hey show me your glory. I can't help but think Moses probably thought it'd be a different response. Like there'd be something other than God saying I'll make all my goodness pass before you but that is the glory of God is that he's always good. He's always faithful and then when we draw near to him he draws near to us. There's no distance, there's no separation. I feel like the Lord just wants to download his goodness. Into our lives, into our hearts, into our spirits. A reminder that we don't have to give thanks for everything but we can give thanks in everything because the promise is that I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. My goodness is not contingent on your goodness and my grace isn't sufficient for some things. No, it's sufficient for all of your needs, all of your weaknesses and so God we just confess that. We ask for a greater revelation of the goodness of God. It's such a simple phrase and God we don't want to minimize it or downplay it. God we're asking like Moses did. Let your goodness pass before us. Isaiah 55, God 10 says that my ways you said are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts. It just says the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. So God forgive us for when we thought that our ways should be acknowledged and our ways should be how things are happening. God we say well you are God and we're not. Your ways are higher but your ways are good. Every good and perfect gift comes from above from the Father of lights in whom there is no variation, no shadow of turning God. There is no nothing apart from your goodness ever comes out from you God ever. And so we meditate on that. We receive that and we ask for revelation of the goodness of God. We ask for the ability, the grace to see our circumstances through the lens of the goodness of God. Not see your goodness through the lens of what we're experiencing or what we're going through God. We declare you are good. Your mercy endures forever. You are faithful and true and you are worthy of our praise in every season of our lives and you are the giver of every good gift God. And so we ask you Father let your goodness fill our hearts. Let your goodness fill our minds. Let your goodness be on our tongues be in our speech God. Let it be a declaration of who you are and what you've done God. You are good. You are good. We taste right now God. We taste and we see that the Lord is good that the steadfast mercy of the Lord is unfailing. It's never ending. It's always who you are God. Goodness exudes from your presence in every season in every situation and we ask God for greater revelation greater spiritual revelation spiritual knowledge of your goodness not a definition not cerebral not what we think goodness is but God let your goodness the true goodness of God be revealed to us this morning. Because my praying team because my praise is not dependent upon any team because my praise obsesses not just our praise is not dependent singing we ask you for new perspective new eyes we want to see God as you see we want to see our circumstances the way you see them we want to see the world around us as you see the world God we want to see the broken and hurt lost the prodigals as you see them God moved with compassion God like their sheep without a shepherd God we want to we want to pray into the harvest want to pray into the need for laborers as you did God we don't want to be moved off of your goodness by our circumstances we ask for new perspective new eyes to see new clarity God a greater dimension of the reality of your goodness versus our circumstances God we pray like Paul who said I may be hard pressed on every side but I'm not crushed and I may be perplexed about some things but I'm not in despair and I may be persecuted but I know I've not been forsaken and I may be struck down but I will not be destroyed for greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world God we are overcomers by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony God and so we stand steadfast and immovable and what you've done the finished work of the cross the truth of your goodness the truth of your character God and we ask you to help us see that better help us see that better break our heart for what breaks yours God draw us closer to you God give us as proximity to you God grows as we get closer to you God we see like you see we feel what you feel we're moved by what moves you God we do not want to be at a distance we do not want to process things through our natural minds or through our flesh we want to be one with the spirit and God we pray as Jesus did make us one God unite our hearts unite our hearts to fear your name give us to God as we pray God is in the world forsaken I am pressed for not faith God not by what we see by what we know is true through your word through your promises God even now as we song of your goodness we ask God that you would feel that God to the students who are on the bold conference God not just even our church thousands of students gathering that they would encounter your love encounter your goodness God push past religion push past fear push past the the doubts that they may have the the things in culture that are vying for their attention and God let the gaze of their hearts be on King Jesus God move in that conference move in their lives God we pray for this generation we pray for those students God we know that when they encounter the love of God they'll never be the same and so we pray meet them there reveal your goodness your heart and your love for them God thank you for this hour thank you for this time to consecrate ourselves and set aside to pray and to seek your heart Jesus name amen amen thank you for joining us if you're online thank you for joining us as always we're here at noon and 6 30 Monday through Friday we hope to see you in person downtown Kalamazoo God bless have a great day