Aug 26, 2013 | Prayer
This Sunday we’re starting a something very important. Will you please pray about this?
In preparation for October 13th (when we’ll begin Teaching Services every Sunday), we are going to pray like crazy. This is a spiritual endeavor and prayer is the most important preparation we can make for it. This Sunday, as we begin a new series of messages called Everyday Church we’ll also start 40 Days of Prayer. We’re asking every participant of our church to pray fervently, every day, for 40 days. We’re also inviting everyone to fast. I’ll explain the details this Sunday.
In the meantime, please pray that our church fully engages. I know it might seem weird to pray that we would pray, but it isn’t! Prayer is a gift from the Lord– a grace– and He is able to reveal our own brokenness and powerlessness to us in such a way that inspires us to depend upon him through prayer. Please pray God uses these 40 Days of Prayer to make this church devoted to prayer (Acts 2:42; Colossians 4:2).
And please also pray for:
* This exciting development Oct 13th (Teaching Services every Sunday).
* Our school supply packing party this Sunday and the 180 classrooms who will receives the $1,000s of school supplies we’re donating (we’ll send any teachers who come that Sunday home with a bag of supplies– invite your teacher friends!)
* Our Labor Day Picnic and the opportunity to meet our neighbors there.
Don’t delay– pray right now!
Aug 12, 2013 | Prayer
Descanso – Rest. Have you rested this summer? Jesus said:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you REST. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find REST for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
»Vengan a mí todos ustedes que están cansados y agobiados, y yo les daré DESCANSO. Carguen con mi yugo y aprendan de mí, pues yo soy apacible y humilde de corazón, y encontrarán DESCANSO para su alma. Porque mi yugo es suave y mi carga es liviana.» Mateo 11:28-30
Jesus asks us to rest, descanso, in him. What is a burden, carga, on your soul? Take a moment right now and give it to Jesus. Let him take it. Then listen to what he has for you – his carga is light.
I encourage you to start every day this week by taking a moment to give your burdens to Jesus. Then live in freedom the rest of the day, knowing that he is with you.
(You can hear a teaching about rest from earlier this year here)
Jul 29, 2013 | Everyday Groups, Prayer
I visited two of our Everyday Groups yesterday, and it made me so hopeful for our future. God is on the move through these faith-families! The Creativity Group is brand new and full of potential. The Inwood Group is really reaching out– serving our neighbors through the Everyday Garden, and soon will be serving elderly residents at a nearby retirement home.
Please pray for our Everyday Groups:
The Family Group, led by Larry Bennett
The Youth Group, led my Matt Mueller
The Inwood Group, led by Kate Hunte
The Creativity Group, led by Nathan Winstead
Pray for the hosts, leadership teams, and participants of these groups. And please pray God continues to raise up leaders from among us. The way things are going, we’ll need to launch new groups soon!
Jul 24, 2013 | Everyday Youth, Prayer
The Youth Group is less than a week away from leaving for Christ in Youth’s summer “MOVE” conference in Maryland. This week is “designed to amplify the call of Christ on students lives to become Kingdom workers.” Please pray with us this week leading up to the MOVE conference, and also the week of the conference (July 29th-Aug 2nd). Please pray daily for our students and ask the Lord to “MOVE” in their hearts and to change their lives forever.
The students who are going are: Valentin, Joan, Demi, Emma, Viana, Dianis, Stacey
Please also pray for our adult leaders and the speakers at the conference. Pray the teaching and worship is powerful. Pray we are fully surrendered to the Lord and are able to lead our students into greater intimacy with him.
The adults who are going are: Kala, Mike, Whitney, and me.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: That if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. (1 John 5:14)
Jul 16, 2013 | Prayer
I was recently praying with some friends about Everyday Church, when a vivid scene developed in my mind. They were praying about kids in our neighborhood and I envisioned the following:
It was a small town crowded with people. A battle was obviously waging– bullets, bombs, some sort of vicious attack. It made me think of a small town during World War II, like a scene from a movie. Adults were engaged in the battle, scattered all around in various degrees of harm. Some were fine. Some were mortally wounded.
And there were kids. Little kids and big kids. Walking around, playing, crying, hiding. Kids being wounded by this terrible battle raging around them.
In the midst of it all was a small group of Jesus followers racing around gathering up kids. They were obviously intent on caring for these kids, even in the midst of war with bullets flying by and bombs exploding around them. I don’t know if they realized how much danger they were in, but it didn’t matter… they were out to rescue those kids.
That was the scene. There wasn’t a grand victory or award ceremony or even an end to the battle. Just kids being crushed by war, and rescued by caring adults.
I’m not sure if you’ve thought of our city that way, but that scene is more true than we like to accept. There is a battle raging around us. There is damage being done, and it’s not just adults that are suffering. But there is a group of Jesus followers trying to do something about it, taking risks to care for the kids in our community.
Please pray:
– for the kids all around us, both those in our church and those in our community
– for the volunteers at Everyday Church who are committed to loving those kids and caring for them
– for Wendy as she leads our efforts to serve kids and families
– that Everyday Church would be known as a church that deeply cares for kids
– that through our love these kids would experience the deep, faithful love of God our Father
Jul 10, 2013 | Prayer
Today I want you to pray for your friends and family.
Summer is definitely here, and it’s a season when our circles of relationships get mixed up. God uses it to work in powerful ways! For example: on a trip to the beach, your family meets your work friends. At a picnic, your Everyday Church friends meet your roommates. While on vacation, you share with your family about Everyday Church. God often works in powerful ways when these relationships get all mixed up, especially when people see the body of Christ not in a worship service, but as everyday people.
So how can we be intentional this summer? We often use the following 3 steps in thinking about how to share our faith with others:
1st, Prayer – pray for your family/friends who aren’t connected with everyday church
2nd, Care – invite them to join you when you hang out with everyday church people
3rd, Share – share with them about what God has done in your life
Start with prayer! Take a moment right now and pray for at least 3 friends/family. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. – James 5:16
