“Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”  Philippians 4:6

Almighty God, thank you for being my father and for wanting me to be your child. Thank you for loving me and for wanting me to love you and enjoy your friendship forever.

Thank you for Christmas, for sending your son Jesus to show me who you really are, and thank you for proving your unspeakable love as he suffered and died in my place so that I could be reconciled with you despite my proud and rebellious heart.

Thank you for the power of his resurrection that is alive in me through your Holy Spirit. Thank you for surrounding me with so many wonderful people who are also your children and for allowing us to share and live together in your forgiveness and your love.

Thank you for the privilege of serving together in the kingdom of Jesus Christ, and seeing your kingdom come and your will be done in us and in our world, as it already is in heaven. Thank you for those who work, those who pray those and give their money.

Thank you for the particular privilege of being part of the beautifully diverse community of your servants that you have called together as Fresno Pacific University to do the particular work of your kingdom that you have graciously assigned to us. Thank you for each one of your faithful servants of our King Jesus who has understood and accepted your call and has committed to love and serve each other here as we advance the vision of this unique kind of truly Christ-centered higher education.

Thank you for making our mission at Fresno Pacific a difficult challenge, so that you can use it to make us more like Jesus Christ as we follow him and seek to know and do his will as his faithful and wise servants in this needy time and place in your needy world.

Thank you for forgiving all our sins, our commission of evil and omission of the good we could have done, and thank you for redeeming all of it into beauty and light for our good and your glory. Thank you that if we pray about it, we do not need to worry about it.

And thank you especially for the countless thousands of lives that you change through the work you let us do as Fresno Pacific University; a flawed but beautiful instrument of your grace; a community of learners; a living example of your love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Thank you for all you have done!

Amen