27 November 2006

To: Prayer Partners

From: Pastor Lucenay

Sometimes the unexpected turns of life stop us in our tracks. An accident can awaken us to the fragile nature of life. The loss of a friend can take us off auto-pilot. A sudden downturn in the market can remind us we are not in control of life. Paul wrote the Christians at Rome and encouraged them with the words: who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword…no in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, no anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35, 37-39).

Take time to consider what the love of Christ means in your life. Consider the scope of His love as you have experienced it in your salvation. Think about the many ways His love has expressed forgiveness in your life. Name some of the ways His love has conveyed encouragement to you. Contemplate the Scriptures by which He gives you His peace. Thank Him for His loving presence in your lonely moments. Praise Him for His healing work when you have given Him your broken heart. Listen to Him as He lovingly guides you through your questions, doubts, and dilemmas.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1-3) As we read all of Psalm 136 the psalmist reminds us of the way God’s love is revealed in history, and he repeatedly praises God with the words His love endures for ever. Take time to name different ways God has expressed His love in your life. Each time you think of a specific expression of love, say His love endures forever. The Psalmist used 26 verses to express himself. If you write five expressions of God’s love each day this week you will have 35 verses. Just write something like, “Give thanks to the author of peace in my heart. His love endures for ever.” Now, you just have 34 to write. Get started with four more for today.

Reread Romans 8:35, 37-39. Is there any trouble in your life you are worried about today? Peter writes cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). Name the problem that troubles you. Put it in Jesus’ backpack. Discipline yourself to refuse to let this trouble get between you and Jesus. Work on your thought world so you can take every thought to make it captive for Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Sunday night our children led us in the “Hanging of the Green” service. Many people worked hard to prepare for the service both with the children and with the decorations. As we celebrated many families previously unknown to our church shared the service with us. The warmth of the evening and the joy of the celebration was a wonderful witness for the Spirit of Christ in our fellowship. Pray for God to use the seeds sown to bring these people to faith in Christ Jesus. As you pray remember both the pre-believing parents of our Sunday School children and the pre-believing parents of our Kindergarten children.

This weekend is DiscipleNow for our youth. They will participate in a youth retreat Friday through Sunday. Many of the university students will be helping with the exciting program. Sunday night the youth will be in charge of the service and will share their experiences. Pray for the final preparations for the retreat. Pray the kids will get their school work done so they can attend the retreat. Pray for the young people to encounter Christ and to respond to the message God places on their hearts.

The choir is going through the final preparations of the Christmas cantata. Pray for our people as we look for ways to invite people to share in these services. Pray that pre-believing family members and friends will come to Christ this Christmas season. Pray for the pre-believing attendees in our church services to open their hearts to Jesus.

We continue in our pursuit of giving to the World Mission Offering. Ask God to inspire our people to help us support the cause of sharing the gospel in our world. Pray for God to awaken our people to opportunities for us to be involved in direct missions in our world.

*people who don’t know Jesus.

*the people who came to Christ this week:

*the people who are ill.

*families in crisis: couples in marriage seeking to handle difficulties; parents/children working through the challenges of family life; search for jobs; employer/employee difficulties;

*our office: the search for a publications/computer person (secretary) for the office.

*our kindergarten: some teachers and many children have been ill with respiratory problems this week; the search for two additional teachers

*KIBC: pray for help with our space issues; God’s guiding presence in our worship experiences; God’s provision in our church offerings

Thank you for your wonderful prayer support and encouragement.