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Fall Week of Prayer

Faith for Fifty More

Faith for Fifty More

September 27 – October 4, 2026

Covenant Life Church will soon turn 50 years old. Milestone moments like this are opportunities to recognize the grace of God. It is the grace of God alone that has enabled our church to see 50 years. And it is the grace of God alone that will empower us to see 50 more.

John Newton’s classic hymn Amazing Grace says it well: “through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come: ‘tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”

As we arrive at this milestone moment together, we want to pray that the same God who has brought us to this place would lead Covenant Life “further up and further in” for another half century.

WEEK OF PRAYER SCHEDULE:

  • Worship & Prayer Night: Sunday, September 27 at 7pm.
  • Monday:  Future Grace (reliance on God)
  • Tuesday:  Future Faith
  • Wednesday:  Future Faithfulness (making disciples)
  • Thursday:  Future Generations (handing down the gospel)
  • Friday:  Future Provision (a legacy of generosity)

FRIDAY

Future Provision

"We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part…For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8:1-2, 9)

In this passage, Paul exhorts the church in Corinth to give financially, using the example of the churches in Macedonia to motivate them. Although the members of the Macedonian churches were not wealthy, and some actually experienced extreme poverty, they had been so affected by the grace of Jesus Christ manifested in the Gospel that, out of abundant joy and gratitude, they overflowed in generosity. They gave even beyond their means, on their own accord, and earnestly begged to take part in the giving.

Their reasoning was straightforward: If the richest being in the whole universe—the Lord Jesus Christ—had graciously and willingly become poor for their sake, leaving His throne in heaven, becoming a man, and giving His life so that they might become pure, accepted, and rich, how could they not respond with abundant joy, offering their lives and, specifically, their finances as an act of grateful worship?

A similar exhortation is presented to us now. The founders of our church gave abundantly and sacrificially to build the church we enjoy today. They were deeply motivated to give in response to the rich and undeserved grace granted to them through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The same omnipotent grace that operated in them is available to us today. Therefore, we have the opportunity to generously give our lives and our finances for the sake of our Savior and to help preserve and strengthen our church for the next 50 years.

Prayer Prompts:

  • Give thanks for God’s grace and provision. Thank God for His abundant grace offered in Jesus Christ, and for the generations of faithful men and women whose generosity and sacrifice helped establish and build Covenant Life Church over the past 50 years.
  • Pray that the gospel would produce joyful generosity in us. Ask God to work through the same grace that moved the Macedonian churches to give generously despite their circumstances. Pray that our gratitude for Christ’s sacrifice would lead us to offer our lives, our resources, and our finances to Him freely and joyfully.
  • Pray for a legacy of generosity for the next 50 years. Ask God to provide abundantly for Covenant Life and to raise up generations of faithful stewards who will sacrificially give, serve, and invest in the church so that the gospel may continue to flourish for those who come after us.

THURSDAY

Future Generations

"Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children—how on the day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’" Deuteronomy 4:9-10

On the verge of entering the promised land, God’s people are exhorted to make sure that future generations know God’s words and actions that have been experienced by the previous generations. 

Fear God. Keep your soul. Remember God’s power. Remember God’s care. Remember God’s Word. Teach your kids. Teach your grandkids. Remind them of the truth. Live it out. Show them how. Pass it on. 

Earlier in Deuteronomy 4, God commands His people to demonstrate wisdom (v.6) by obeying His sufficient (v.2) and righteous (v.8) Word, aware of His nearness (v.7). This is the way to “keep your soul diligently” (v.9).

So it is the same with us. We hand down the gospel to the next generation by living a life of authentic devotion to Christ. We remind ourselves of the gospel and then pass down that remembrance. Following the example of Timothy’s mother and grandmother, we make sure our children and grandchildren are acquainted with the God-breathed Scriptures, “which are able to make (them) wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim.3:15).

Prayer Prompts:

  • Pray that we would keep our souls diligently, each remembering our own spiritual “origin story”, reminding ourselves of what Christ has done for us.
  • Pray that we will fear God in our words and actions, so our children and grandchildren see compelling examples of those marked by the wisdom of obedience.
  • Pray that God will give us many opportunities to share the goodness of God with the next generation, in our homes and in our church.

WEDNESDAY

Future Faithfulness

"To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me." Colossians 1:27-29

Discipling others, or “doing deliberate spiritual good to help them follow Christ,” requires love, sacrifice, patience, and wisdom. It is the hard work of proclaiming Christ, warning about sin, teaching with wisdom, modeling godliness, and laboring in prayer to see everyone mature in Christ. But it isn’t work that we do on our own. This passage starts and ends with God’s initiative and power. God initiates to make the glory of the gospel known. God powerfully works in us so that we might be faithful in this task. 

From the beginning, this church has never been content to be a gathering of individuals that play no part in each other's lives. Rather, members of this community have been marked by a desire to be used by God to spur each other on to know Jesus and to follow him with increasing devotion. Our prayer is that fifty years from now, relying on God’s initiative and God’s power, Covenant Life will still be faithfully making disciples.

Prayer Prompts:

  • Pray that our church would grow in our confidence in and reliance on God’s power; that even when we toil in discipleship, we rest in God’s strength.
  • Pray that Covenant Life will never stray from proclaiming Christ as the center of Christian discipleship. 
  • Pray that God would grant us both courage and kindness as we speak the truth in love to one another.

TUESDAY

Future Faith

"But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed." Romans 6.17

In this text, Paul thanks God and commends the believers in Rome. His reasons? They have turned away from sin and wholeheartedly embraced obedience to God by committing themselves to a standard of teaching. And that standard is nothing less than the truth of the gospel. (Romans 1.15-17)

Our church began with a firm commitment to the gracious gospel of truth: that though we are sinners, God in his great mercy sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to receive the punishment we deserved so that we might be justified and adopted into his family as forgiven sons and daughters.

For the last fifty years, this commitment has remained in place and has not wavered. It is this bedrock foundation of the gospel that has enabled us to bear witness to God’s truth in all its dimensions. Our prayer is that we would remain faithful to this gospel for the next fifty years and until the Lord returns. 

Prayer Prompts:

  • Pray that each member of our church would develop a life-long habit of Bible reading in order to gain an understanding of this standard of teaching. 
  • Pray that the simple gospel of grace and truth would continue to be preached, understood and embraced by all, since this is where new life begins.  
  • Pray that the leaders of our church would remain true to this gospel and all its entailments no matter what opposition may occur.

MONDAY

Future Grace

"I have set the Lord always before me; 
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; 
my flesh also dwells secure. 
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, 
or let your holy one see corruption." (Ps. 16:8-10)

How do we face the future with confidence?

Our faith for future grace is largely based on our past experience of God’s grace and our present disposition to receive his grace.  At the beginning of his prayer recorded in Psalm 16, David recognizes that all the good that he has experienced in life is from the Lord (Ps. 16:2). He is well positioned to experience God’s grace for the future because his present and safe refuge is in the Lord. He sets the Lord always before him. The New International Version of the English Bible translates Psalm 16:8 like this: “I keep my eyes always on the LORD.”  Keeping our eyes on the Lord is keeping our eyes on his rules – his Word (Ps.119:30). Doing so has real effects on our lives. We’re not shaken. We are not tossed to and fro by the circumstances of this life. Our lives remain steady even in the face of tribulations. 

We have known some tribulations at Covenant Life Church in the past 50 years. As we approach the next season of our life together as a local church, we can be sure that more tribulations will come. However, because the Lord is at our right hand we will not be shaken. We will not be moved. Our confidence is in his might. Therefore, we can rest in the Lord. We can enjoy the precious moments. We can rejoice and lament when appropriate. Through it all, we will remain secured in the presence of our mighty and faithful King. He will not abandon us. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead guarantees it. 

Prayer Prompts:

  • Pray that the Lord graciously preserves this local church for decades to come (50 More).
  • Pray that the Lord raises up leaders for Covenant Life Church who will continue to set his rules and his gospel always before us.
  • Pray that God’s Word continues to shape our lives so that we will not be shaken by circumstances.

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