Pray with Lebanon Sunday, November 10, 2019
Dear friends,
Since this prayer and worship moment were written, Lebanon has experienced protest demonstrations and the resignation of the Prime Minister and his cabinet. The churches in Lebanon issued this joint statement during the protests in October. Please keep Lebanon in your prayers during this time of social and political change.
Lectionary Selection: Luke 20:27-38
Prayers for Lebanon:
Almighty God, today as we pray for Lebanon, we trust in your wisdom, patience, and authority. We open your Word and we read this message again and again.
While teaching in the temple, you were questioned and tested numerous times by those trying to trap you, not to trust you. But you took the time to show them that your message was about life and living.
When we come to you, help us to trust you and not to doubt your wisdom or your plan. You know each of us, you know our questions and our needs. Grant us peace in this place where there is so much unrest and turmoil. As the country faces economic uncertainty and hardship, encourage us and give us hope. Help us to be confident in the certainty of your sovereignty and authority over all. Guide us to stand firm and focus on the living Word.
Hear us O lord. Listen to our cry. Turn your ear to us and hear our prayer, for our hope is in you. Amen.
Mission Stewardship Moment from Lebanon:
The sanctuary was filled with over 300 students from kindergarten to high school, along with their parents, teachers, staff and school administration, and the congregation of one of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in Beirut. Each October the church dedicates its new school year to God, no matter what the uncertainty and turmoil all around.
A day later at Haigazian University, where I serve as the Alumni and Development Officer, was the Founders’ Day Convocation. Similarly, the focus was on thanking God for the opportunity to share the vision of the founders (in Lebanon and the U.S.), who in 1955 created Haigazian College in order to make a positive impact and prepare a new generation to serve Lebanon, following the example of the University’s namesake, Dr. Armenag Haigazian, an educator martyred in Turkey.
The University continues to exist in a region of unrest and uncertainty, yet it gives over a million dollars a year in financial aid, thanks to local and international support, including that of Global Ministries. The University’s motto clearly states what it aims to make its graduates agents of: “Truth, Freedom, and Service.” And that they do throughout the world, from Australia to Thailand to Canada to Armenia and so many other places.
Haigazian has endured the Cold War, the unrest of the 1960s in the Middle East, the Lebanese Civil War from 1975 to 1990, with gun-carrying youths everywhere. Trusting in “the God of the living, not the dead,” it made the students put their weapons aside and focus on learning. Today the University and the church in Lebanon, despite everything, continue to trust in that same Living Christ.
Prayer and Mission Moment by Maria Bakalian
Mission Partners in Lebanon:
More information on Lebanon: https://www.globalministries.org/lebanon
Global Ministries Mission Co-worker in Lebanon:
Maria Bakalian serves with the Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches in Lebanon. Her appointment is made possible by your gifts to Disciples Mission Fund, Our Church’s Wider Mission, and your special gifts.