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Call

 Psalm 145:18 ESV The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. I think the caveat in the verse is important. Sometimes people call on the Lord out of desperation, despair, or as a last resort. God is gracious, but he knows if we treat him as a 'get out of hell free card' or as a lottery ticket. God doesn't want us to be disingenuous in how we call upon him. He doesn't want us to just call upon him because we got caught, or because we're suffering. He wants us to call upon him for his own sake. Pilate infamously asked Jesus what truth is, without stopping for the answer. He went on to condemn the Truth personified to death. God forbid that we would call upon the Lord without really being interested in how he may answer. If we call upon the Lord, we must be prepared for his answer. One of the main ways he speaks to us is in his word, the Bible. He promises salvation to the sincere. 'Dear God, please help us to sincerely call upon you. ...
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Salvation

 Acts 4:12 ESV And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” This verse is a reality check. Buddha, Mohammed and Joseph Smith for example can't save us. They're all dead, but Jesus is alive! The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Other religious leaders were charlatans and imposters. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can save us. The Bible's message is exclusive. We can't just believe whatever we like. If we want to be saved, Christ is the only way. God wants us to be saved. He insists that we must be saved. He doesn't shrug his shoulders if we reject him. 'Our Father in heaven, may we trust in your Son for our salvation, and so be saved. In his name we pray, amen'.
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Faith

 Romans 10:17 ESV  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. The neighbour told my mum she knew she had faith. So she asked her to pray that her son would pass his accountancy exams. Sure enough, he did, but as far as I'm aware, that neighbour still doesn't have faith in God. God isn't a divine slot machine. He is gracious. Yet if he's to give us faith, it's through us hearing the word of Christ. The word of Christ is the Bible. Jesus said it all ultimately points to him. If we read a passage and don't find our Lord, we're not looking hard enough. People need to hear Gods word. If we know it, we need to speak it. Most people wouldn't choose to read the Bible; but if we tell them it, they could hear and receive it. 'Lord God, please give us the faith we need, through hearing and receiving your word. For your glory we ask, amen'.
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Life

 John 5:24 ESV Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. This is a bold claim from a carpenter turned itinerant teacher. It's not all positive either. He strongly suggests here, as backed up by other Scriptures, that we're naturally dead. We need God to make us alive in Christ. He's not just a carpenter turned rabbi. He's the everlasting Son, sent to die by the Father for our salvation. Jesus's words include the call to come to him for spiritual life. He promises that if we do so, we will assuredly have eternal life. Because he has defeated death, we can too. We don't have to be judged as we deserve. We can be justified by God through faith in Christ crucified on our behalf. He was judged in our place so we don't have to be. 'Father God, thank you for sending your Son for our salvation. May we ever live for you. In his name we ask, am...
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Risen

 Matthew 28:6 ESV He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.  It seems so simple, so understated. Yet 'he has risen' is one of the most profound statements ever. Jesus hadn't just risen from sleep, but from death itself. As the old hymn goes, 'because he lives, I can face tomorrow'. The implications of Christ's resurrection are profound. Because he beat death, there is hope for humanity. Christianity isn't just an idea or philosophy. It's based on history. Because Jesus rose again historically, we can too. The resurrection didn't happen out of the blue. Christ had promised that it would take place. Sure enough, it did. 'Heavenly Father, we praise you for raising your Son from the dead, by your Spirit. May we ever live to praise you, in your resurrection power. In Christ's name we ask this, amen'.
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Go!

 Matthew 28:19 ESV  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  A lot of evangelism is 'come and see': attend this event we've put on. Jesus emphasises that we are to 'go and tell' people who might never otherwise darken the door of a church building. Many refuse to come and see, but if we go and tell, people can't help but to hear the good news. We're to tell people the gospel whether they want it or not. It is objectively good news that everyone needs to hear whether they want to or not. Jesus told a parable about compelling people to come to the heavenly celebration. I wouldn't go as far as they did in Augustine's day: literally forcibly baptising people, as though they could force them to be saved. Dunking people in water against their will isn't going to save anyone! Yet we don't need permission to tell of Christs salvation. We're not just to call pe...
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Love

 1 John 3:16 ESV By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.  What is love? If someone dies for you, you know they probably love you. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. If Jesus loves us to death, we should be prepared to die for our brethren. Moses told us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves. Jesus defined our neighbours as everyone we come across in life. Christ raises the bar even higher than Moses. He commands us to love one another as he has loved us. We're to love each other to death if need be. As John Bunyan said, we're spiritually lame. The law commands us to walk but provides no legs. Grace calls us to fly and gives us wings. 'Loving Lord, may we love you as you have loved us. For your glory, amen'.
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Healing

 Isaiah 53:5 ESV But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. If this verse meant we will never get sick or will always be healed physically, it wouldn't ring true. We all eventually face death. The Bible is a spiritual book, not a doctor's manual. By Jesus's wounds we are healed of our spiritual sin sickness. We might still have symptoms. Yet we're not going to die in our sins if we trust on Jesus. We deserve to be cursed for our sinfulness. Christ took that upon himself on the cross. He went through that for us. The Father didn't twist the Son's arm to save us. He willingly died for us. We are to thankfully live for him. 'O Lord, please heal us of our spiritual sin sickness, and bring us safe home to you in glory. For your honour we ask this, amen'.
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Peace

 John 16:33 ESV I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Jesus wants to give us peace. Nevertheless, he's realistic. He lets us know that troubles are inevitable in this life. We can be encouraged even in the midst of troubles. Suffering won't be the end of our stories. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us in his Father's house. The Bible doesn't pretend everything will be okay if we trust in Jesus. It's a realistic book. Thankfully it's hopeful too. Christ has overcome the world. He's beaten our great enemy of death. Nothing can hold us down ultimately. 'Father in heaven, we praise you that your Son has overcome the world. Please give us peace in him in the midst of troubles. In his name we ask this, amen'.
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Joy

 Hebrews 12:2 ESV looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Jesus isn't sadistic. He didn't enjoy the cross. Yet he knew that beyond the cross would come his glorification. Christ isn't just a good example to us. He is the founder and perfecter of our faith. In him we have the victory. Inevitably we will have to bear our crosses if we follow Jesus. Yet we can look forward to glory to come. Suffering isn't the end of the story. Just as Jesus is now glorified, so shall we be, through faith in him. We will join him in eternity to come if we trust in him. 'Almighty Father, please help us to endure suffering as we look to Jesus, our Saviour and Lord, in whose name we pray, amen'.
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