There are two dimensions to our text for this week.. The inward and the outward might be one way to describe them. A statement of faith or a creed can represent the inward dimension. What is it that we believe? What is it that defines us as followers of Jesus Christ, as disciples? But how do we represent the outward focus during worship? “Present yourself” is the call to live outwardly, to live out loud, as Steven Curtis Chapman said years ago.

Therefore, let our prayers look inward and outward at the same time. We pray for our own growth, our own healing, our own transformation. At the same time, we pray for a hurting and hungry world and for the will to reach beyond our walls in service and love. Let our songs sing of the Christ of faith, who sustains us with a powerful presence but also of the Jesus who ate with sinners and healed the sick, the one who went out approved by God.