Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Today begins a week of prayer for Christian unity (January 18-15). It is a worthwhile endeavor and I encourage any who care about Christ and his Church to make this a priority in your prayers this week.

O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
our only Savior, the Prince of Peace:
give us grace seriously to lay to heart
the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions.

Take away all hatred and prejudice,
and whatever else may hinder us
from godly union and concord;
that, as there is but one body and one Spirit,
one hope of our calling,
one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of us all,
so we may henceforth be all of one heart and of one soul,
united in one holy bond of peace, of faith and charity,
and may with one mind and one mouth glorify you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

–From Common Worship Daily Prayer, 315

David Neff: Why Last Saturday’s Political Conclave of Evangelical Leaders Was Dangerous

From Christianity Today online.

Like it or not, we are in a presidential election year and we Christians have a responsibility to be Christ’s light and salt to the world. That means we can’t sit on our duffs and withdraw from the vital issues of our day. Therefore articles like this are quite timely.

The 150 evangelical leaders who met behind closed doors on January 14 to anoint a Republican candidate for President were wise not to have invited me.

I believe that Christians have an urgent duty to engage the social, economic, and moral threats to a healthy society. That requires a wide variety of political action. However, one thing it doesn’t call for is playing kingmaker and powerbroker.

Read it all.