Please find below the notes from the Elder's Prayer this past Sunday.

Sometimes the bad things in life take our eyes off of the good things. We can get so inward focused on the bad things that happen to us and to those we love that we forget all of the good things that God has done for us. And forget the good things that God has promised to us.
The apostle Paul is the biblical example I most often think of when I think of being thankful. He frequently opened his letters with thanksgiving

• I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you
• I give thanks to my God always for you
• I do not cease to give thanks for you
• I thank my God in all my remembrance of you

In spite of the difficulties that he faced in life, he still had a thankful attitude toward God who had shown so much goodness toward Paul.
Paul says this in Colossians 3:17 - and whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
As we worship this morning, let's do so with thankful hearts for the kindness and grace that God has shown to us so far, trusting that he will continue to do so in the future.

Pray

(Start prayer with Psalm 103)
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all our sin, who heals our diseases, who redeems our lives from the pit, who crowns us with steadfast love and mercy, and who satisfies us with good.
Lord, thank you for the righteousness that you have shown to us and provided for us. We would have no righteousness to call our own if you had not provided for us through Christ.
Thank you for making you and your ways known to us. If you don't make yourself known, we are, at best, groping in the dark. Thank you for the clarity of your word, that we can clearly see that you are God and that you are loving and kind and good.
Thank you for your Spirit, who helps us to understand your word, who opens our eyes to see and our ears to hear, who brings new life to our dead bodies. Thank you for renewing our hearts every day.
Thank you for the mercy and grace you show toward us, who by nature are your enemies. Thank you that you are slow to anger, that you patiently endure our sin and forgive it completely in Christ.
Thank you for the steadfast love you show us. Thank you that you never change, that your word doesn't change, that your promises never change, that your love for us will never change.
Thank you for the lives you give us. Thank you for the gift of family. Thank you for the gift of new life that we see through our children. Help us to love them and be faithful to them.
Thank you for the lives that we've lost, for the love that we shared with those that are gone, for the impact that you made in us through them.
Thank you for the gift of the church, where you provide encouragement for us when we're down, correction for us when we sin, and where you provide for us a glimpse of the unity we will share in eternity.
Thank you for preserving us through tests and trials. Thank you that you hold on to us when circumstances threaten our faith. Thank you that your word serves to keep us from sin and gives us hope for the future.
Thank you for the assurance that you give to us through your word and through the works that you've created for us to do. Thank you for producing spiritual fruit in our lives that help to maintain the hope that we found in you.
Thank you for Jesus, who sets the example for how to live, and who fulfills the righteous requirements of your law that we cannot. Thank you that you receive his sacrifice as sufficient payment for our sin.
Thank you for putting songs in our hearts, for giving us the joy of salvation, and for the opportunity to regularly come before you in song and prayer.
Amen