“Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many” (2 Corinthians 1:9-11 NIV).
Paul admonishes the church in Corinth that the sentence of death helped them to not rely on themselves but on God. Let us learn from Paul. Our hardships, individually and as a church, are opportunities to rely on the Lord.
Paul affirms that the Lord’s deliverance will continue “as you help us by your prayers.” Let us not minimize the power of our prayers as a church. Our prayers access the living God who supplies all we need. Paul also affirms that thanksgiving will be multiplied as a result of the prayers of many.
We have great cause for hope as we pray for GC11, then gather and watch our Lord work new things among us. This week make sure you invite a few friends to join you. What rejoicing there will be as a result of the earnest prayers of many!
May 16-22
This week we continue to pray for the fourth ministry group. The mission of this group is Every Place: Engaging Community and World (Impacting “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth”). Ministry Group #4 (like the other three) has three teams that will prayerfully consider three affirmations and come back with action proposals. As you approach these times of prayer ask the Holy Spirit to:
- Help us to make the right choices so that we spend time in the Word.
- Help open our spiritual “ears” to listen for and hear His instructions.
- Help us not fear what the Lord asks of His church.
- Work His boldness in us (Acts 4:29-31).
Monday – May 16th Prayer Task: “Ministry Group #4’s Focus”
This Group’s Focus: Every Place: Engaging Community and World (Impacting “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth).
Pray: Ask the Spirit to guide you in thinking about how the Lord might call us to engage community and world. What might He ask that would stretch us? Pray that everyone in the church will be open to “impacting Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.”
Tuesday – May 17th Prayer Task: “No Boundaries”
The Bishops Declare:
“The gospel recognizes no boundaries. The gospel solves the puzzles as well as the tragedies of life everywhere. We assert that the followers of Jesus, and the church corporately, are sent beyond their boundaries. Christ-followers abandon a life focused on self and comfort for a life identifying with those to whom they are sent.
“These realities push the church from its own place to every place, sometimes following the natural networks of contacts, sometimes hurdling the difficult barriers of culture, language, ethnicity, and geography. The church is sent not only to those just like us, but also to the communities of immigrants that are coming to the U.S., to the ignored and despised, to the strangers and exiles among us, as well as to other countries.”
Pray: Ask the Spirit to guide you in thinking about how we will need the Lord’s help to abandon ourselves and our comforts in order to identify with others. Ask the Lord to provide us with what we need to be sent “beyond our boundaries.”
Wednesday – May 18th Prayer Task: “Affirmation One: Engage With Those Unlike Us”
Ministry Group #4a Members: Pray for these team members as they are planning to come and serve. Pray that they will take time in prayer and the Word to prepare themselves to hear the Lord’s direction for the church.
Read: 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13
Our Responsibilities and Opportunities to Those Most Different from Us: “Christ loved the whole world and came for the whole world. Free Methodist history provides ample precedence of that love compelling us to a global reach. In addition to these theological and historical motives, we note that the church is expanding today, but not primarily in the West. The church overseas rapidly expands with hardly anything we have come to regard as essential for church life and ministry, yet with essentials that we tend to undervalue. These truths push us to engage with those most unlike us, both to give and to receive.”
Pray: “Lord, show us what ‘essentials’ we may undervalue in other cultures. Increase our appreciation of and commitment to Your essentials and not our own. Amen.”
Thursday – May 19th Prayer Task: “Affirmation Two: Engaging the Urban Culture”
Ministry Group #4b Members: Pray for these team members as they are planning to come and serve. Pray that they will take in prayer and the Word to prepare themselves to hear the Lord’s direction for the church.
Read: Acts 2:42-47
Our Responsibilities and Opportunities to Those in the Urban United States: Most of the urban areas of the U.S. present significant challenges to the Free Methodist Church. We are hampered by many factors: the lack of indigenous relationships, our building-centric model, and perhaps the rural tone of our traditions and systems.
Pray: “Lord, help us think about what hinders us as a individuals and as a church from engaging with those living in an urban culture. Help us to be so filled with Your love that we become willing to do whatever is needed to engage with those in the cities. Amen.”
Friday – May 20th Prayer Task: “Affirmation Three: Engage Those in Our Own Place”
Ministry Group #4c Members: Pray for these team members as they are planning to come and serve. Pray that they will take time in prayer and the Word to prepare themselves to hear the Lord’s direction for the church.
Read: Matthew 25:34-40
Our Responsibilities and Opportunities to Those in Our Own Place: We have identified the U.S. as a “mission field.” We must respond to the peoples of the world who have come to our place as well as to those from the U.S. who are different enough from us that they have thus far been unreached.
Pray: “Lord, help us see the unreached peoples in our own place. How can those people be reached with Your love through the church? Prepare us to do whatever is necessary to reach those people. Amen.”
Saturday – May 21st Prayer Task: “Ministry Group #4 Leadership”
Group leader: Matt Whitehead
Keynote speaker: Richard Stearns
Exemplar: Dale Woods
Pray: Ask the Spirit to guide you in thinking about what these leaders will need in order to lead. Pray for their families and for their churches. Pray that they will take time in prayer and the Word to prepare themselves for the role they play in guiding the church to discover the Lord’s direction.
* Action Prayer: Go to www.gc11.org. Select “Contact.” Then select “General” from the drop-down menu. Write these leaders a note to tell them that you are praying for them and their ministry group.
Sunday – May 22nd Prayer Task: “Ministry Group Assignment”
Ministry Group Assignment: To develop proposals, including action plans, for presentation to the plenary regarding the three affirmations described above.
Read: Isaiah 55:6-13
Pray: Ask the Spirit to guide you in thinking about what kind of preparation and engagement will be needed by those involved in this ministry group. Pray that those things will occur before and during their meetings.
Giving the Lord More of Your Sabbath: Take time today and go to Ministry Group #4’s page: http://www.gc11.org/group-four. Pray for the team members as they consider these questions.
* PLEASE NOTE: “Action Prayer”
On occasion there will be an action cue. This is intended to help us incorporate prayer in different ways throughout our day.
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