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¹ How lovely is Your dwelling place, LORD Almighty!
² My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
~ Psalm 84

I wonder if the greatest thing missing in much of the church
and many of our lives is the hunger and thirst described in this psalm?
Jesus tells us that we are blessed if we hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Do we know that blessing? When we do, our strength is in Him;
even when we go through the desert, we make it ‘a place of springs’.
Would you rather spend one day in the courts of God, than a thousand elsewhere?

“Beloved, everything of a Christian is dear unto God;
his health is precious, his blood is precious;
especially precious to the Lord is the death of His saints (Psalm 116:15).”
~ Sibbes

Petition: Please join with us in praying for:

1. The World — The number of confirmed cases is 90,143,875 (up 5,075,175 from last week — the highest so far). The number of deaths of people with Covid-19 is 1,932,266 (up 90,171 — again the highest so far). The US, India, Brazil, Russia, the UK and Germany are seeing the most increases. Japan has declared a one-month national emergency with cases increasing from a handful to 10,000 per day.

2. Australia — There have been 28,595 cases in total (up 112 compared with 191 the week before, with 24 being community transmission – 77 last week)

There are 41 people in hospital (+15), with 0 in intensive care (0).
572,998 tests have been carried out in the past week, with 0.2% positive.
There are 314 active cases (+41). Brisbane went into lockdown over the weekend because of concerns about someone infected with the UK variant. That lockdown is being lifted tonight as there have been no new cases. Victoria has had no new community cases for five days. NSW continue to have around three cases per day — all of them connected to the two known clusters. We have much to be thankful for.

3. Vaccine and Cures — Israel and the UK are the countries with the highest percentage of their populations being vaccinated. Israel has already vaccinated 12% of their population; the UK almost 2%. 25 million vaccines have been administered worldwide.

4. Church — There have been a number of scandals involving evangelical church leaders, particularly in the US. This does a great deal of damage to the Church worldwide. Pray for repentance and renewal.

5. Personal and Family — Pray for those who live with family members who suffer from drug or alcohol addiction. May they be granted patience, strength and the filling of the Holy Spirit.

A Prayer of Repentance:
O God, the Father of Heaven,
have mercy upon us miserable sinners…
from all blindness of heart;
from pride, vain-glory, and hypocrisy;
from envy, hatred, and malice,
and all uncharitableness, Good Lord, deliver us.
From fornication, and all other deadly sin;
and from all the deceits of the world,
the flesh, and the devil, Good Lord, deliver us.
From lightning and tempest;
from plague, pestilence, and famine;
from battle and murder, and from sudden death. Good Lord, deliver us.

Song: This is a beautiful version of Psalm 84 from Melbourne’s finest! Sons of Korah.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving:
Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob.
Look on our shield, O God; look with favour on Your anointed one.
Lord, You are a sun and shield. You bestow favour and honour.
Blessed is the one who trusts in You… We praise Your Name… Amen.