Corporate Prayer
“Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God.” (Neh. 9:1-3)
At various times in the life of God’s people, corporate prayer would become the driving force that would help the nation to overcome different difficulties and problems. In this case this was the issue of mixed marriages and the discrepancies of the lives of those Jews who returned from captivity with the laws given in Scripture. God’s people both in the Old Testament and New Testament eras have encountered various difficulties and problems such as personal sin, attacks from enemies, a loss of reverence, a need for evangelism, persecution, a lack of unity, etc. If we trace through how the children of God would overcome such situations, we’ll notice a pattern—an open Bible and prayer!
This weekend we’ll be focusing more on prayer than usual. On Sunday we are inviting you all to a prayer retreat! Our desire is for all staff and volunteers of the church to be there, but we also extend the invitation to everyone willing to come and pray for the various ministries of the church. It is corporate prayer itself that is the way that we will be able to continue serving and developing the various aspects of life and ministry in the church. On Sunday we will be looking at the role of prayer in the ministry of small groups. This is a core pillar both of small groups and even more so of the whole church.
The fact that we all need to continually grow in prayer is irrefutable, and to somehow get a move on this let us start with corporate prayer. Begin this by planning to be at the prayer retreat this Saturday morning. Consider your participation in small groups as an opportunity to grow in corporate prayer. Pray together with your family, kids, husband/wife, your ministry team where you’re involved, and with people on the streets (prayer for those to whom you evangelize especially predisposes them to the gospel).
Announcements
Scripture To Memorize
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,
10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,
12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.
13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—
23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Upcoming Services and Meetings
- Thursday (7:00 PM) Bible Study (Proverbs) and prayer in the cafeteria
- Saturday (9:00 AM) – Prayer Retreat (Coffee at 8:30 AM)
- Sunday services:
- Worship Service in Russian at 9:00 AM
- Worship Service in English at 11:15 AM
- Evening Service at 6:00 PM (Signing up for small groups)