A Prayer for Our Church
From Gospel Translations
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Revision as of 19:07, 3 February 2012
By John Piper 
About Church Issues
 Part of the series Taste & See 
 O Lord, by the truth of your Word, and the power of your Spirit and the ministry of your body, build men and women at Bethlehem . . .
- Who don't love the world more than God,
 - who don't care if they make much money,
 - who don't care if they own a house,
 - who don't care if they have a new car or two cars,
 - who don't need recent styles,
 - who don't care if they get famous,
 - who don't miss steak or fancy fare,
 - who don't expect that life should be comfortable and easy,
 - who don't feed their minds on TV each night,
 - who don't measure truth with their finger in the wind,
 - who don't get paralyzed by others' disapproval,
 - who don't return evil for evil,
 - who don't hold grudges,
 - who don't gossip,
 - who don't twist the truth,
 - who don't brag or boast,
 - who don't whine or use body language to get pity,
 - who don't criticize more than praise,
 - who don't hang out in cliques,
 - who don't eat too much or exercise too little;
 
But
- who are ablaze for God,
 - who are utterly God-besotted,
 - who are filled with the Holy Spirit,
 - who strive to know the height and depth of Christ's love,
 - who are crucified to the world and dead to sin,
 - who are purified by the Word and addicted to righteousness,
 - who are mighty in memorizing and using the Scriptures,
 - who keep the Lord's Day holy and refreshing,
 - who are broken by the consciousness of sin,
 - who are thrilled by the wonder of free grace,
 - who are stunned into humble silence by the riches of God's glory,
 - who are persevering constantly in prayer,
 - who are ruthless in self-denial,
 - who are fearless in public witness to Christ's Lordship,
 - who are able to unmask error and blow away doctrinal haze,
 - who are tough in standing for the truth,
 - who are tender in touching hurting people,
 - who are passionate about reaching the peoples who have no church,
 - who are pro-life for the sake of babies and moms and dads and the glory of God,
 - who are keepers of all their promises, including marriage vows,
 - who are content with what they have and trusting the promises of God,
 - who are patient and kind and meek when life is hard.
 
Pressing for all there is in Christ,
Pastor John
