An Emphasis on Prayer
/Greetings in the Name of Christ,
For the next six weeks we are going to look at the practice of prayer. We will use the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 as a guide. In conjunction with this sermon series, there are six groups studying Adam Hamilton’s Book, The Lord’s Prayer. I will be teaching on Tuesdays at 7:00 pm, beginning this coming Tuesday, September 10th. Sign up here. I would love to have you join me on Tuesday evenings.
The prayers of Jesus were not “hit and run” prayers when things got tough. Jesus prayed at all times in all places. There was power in the prayers of Jesus. Luke 11:1 records the disciples asking Jesus, “Lord teach us to pray.”
Prayer is a major emphasis in the New Testament. There are over 370 references to some form of the word pray or prayer. Not only do we see Jesus praying with power, but prayer is a major emphasis for the early church writings. Paul states in 1 Thessalonians 5:7, “pray without ceasing.” In Colossians 4:2 he says, “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.” While in prison, Paul writes in Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Listening Tour – Making Stonebridge UNSTOPPABLE – Update
The top priorities that came out of the listening tour were clear.
Continue to build the children and youth ministries by enhanced facilities and increasing staff.
Increase our emphasis on small groups for adults.
Improve the worship by reinvesting in the band, increasing the choir, improving the sound system, and adding an online streaming option for Celebration Hall.
Improve our communication on what we expect from volunteers and increase involvement in every ministry area.
Improve our financial standing.
In last week’s Pastor Email, I addressed the coming emphasis on children, youth, and adult ministries in the next two months. Next week, watch your email for more information on how we will address the next priorities. Our immediate need is to raise $8,000 for upgrades in our children and youth staff (above our budget giving) for the rest of the year. We already have $1,500. Who will champion these growing ministries that are changing the lives of our children and teens? 20 gifts of $325 would make it happen. We raised over $20,000 in 10 days this summer for landscaping. We can do this.
Landscaping update
The landscaping project has been a miracle in the making. The heat has pushed back the completion to protect the new plants, but the progress so far is awesome. Over 100 hours of labor were donated on the two Saturday workdays. Trees were removed, and the other trees were trimmed to improve the sight lines to the church as well as increase the sunlight. The new expanded flower beds have been worked and prepared for planting. Most of the soil to replace the erosion has been completed. Jim Zodrow, Mike Ludtka, and Dave Neeley have done extra work removing 27 tree stumps that had previously died or were recently removed. Jim Zodrow has replaced and added over 50 sprinkler heads to make sure the new plants are irrigated. It would be impossible to calculate the extra volunteer hours spent to remove the stumps and refurbish the irrigation.
In closing, as the fall season begins, I am so excited to be the pastor of Stonebridge UMC. The Spirit of God is moving through our building like a mighty wind. The growing army of servant volunteers are making a difference as we strive to Live and Love like Jesus.
Invite someone to worship… See you Sunday.
Pastor John Allen