Day 243: Country Focus Sweden

 DAY 243

Faith in the Midst of a Pandemic

A series of daily reflections for people of faith

by Rev. Robert Bayley, Interim Pastor

Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, Maryland

pastorrobert@paxpres.org

Week Thirty-five    Thursday 12 November 2020

Country Focus: Sweden

Sweden is one of four Scandinavian countries where Lutheranism became the state church during the Reformation and remained so until 2000. However, it still retains a central though diminishing presence and influence in Swedish culture. Against this decline in the state church is the growth in evangelical and Pentecostal/charismatic churches, all of whom as minority ‘free churches’ have forged a remarkable intentional network for working and at times worshipping together.    

Prayer Focus

+ Pray for the small number of pastors and congregations in the Lutheran church who are committed to the Gospel as evangelical believers. Pray for their witness in the Lutheran Church.

+ Pray for Swedes as an unreached people group, only 25% of whom say they believe in God.

+ Pray for protection for the unity amongst evangelical free churches as they cooperate in new church planting efforts where the gospel is preached, and people come to Christ.

+ Pray for the youth who, in particular, have embraced a post-Christian secular worldview.

+ Pray for efforts by both evangelicals within the Lutheran church and many free churches, evangelical, Pentecostal and charismatic, as they seek to work together to reach the many immigrants to whom Sweden has granted asylum, especially the dominant Muslim groups.

+ Pray for the commitment to missions of both some Lutheran and all free churches that the Holy Spirit will guard and grow their efforts.

Jesus’ Prayer Request each Week:

“’The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

Ask the Lord of the harvest,

therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Jesus - Matthew 9:37-38.

For additional information on praying for Sweden go to: operationworld.org.

Reflective question: Will you pray the requests above for the next seven days?

Reflective Scripture: Zechariah 14:9 – Ranked first in Sweden in an international survey of the favorite verse of Christians in each country: “The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.”

Reflective hymn:

“How Great Thou Art” (Swedish trans. into English) Carl Boberg (1859-1940)

O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder

consider all the worlds Thy hands have made;

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,

how great Thou art, how great Thou art;

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,

how great Thou art, how great Thou art.