Letter from the Pastor September 2021
Letter from the Pastor
September 2021
God's House
The four gospels reveal Jesus's passion for prayer in His church. At the beginning and end of His earthly ministry, Jesus dramatically cleansed the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and proclaimed, "My Father's house shall be called a house of prayer."
On the first day of my vacation, I began reading The Prayer Saturated Church by Cheryl Sacks Halfway through the first chapter, my mind was taken back to my years as a businessperson at my home church of First UMC in Columbia, MS. I was the chair of the evangelism team, and I knew prayer needed to be first and foremost. I wish I had this book at the time. While I implemented many things discussed in the book, I didn't have a systematic plan or process of awakening prayer in the congregation. This book does all that and much more.
However, The Prayer Saturated Church is NOT the book I am recommending for our congregation to read. Instead, this book is the road map for our Prayer Action Team to lead our congregation to becoming a prayer-saturated church. The first key strategy begins by igniting everyone's personal prayer life.
Therefore, we will start by reading Beginning a Praying Life by Paul E. Miller as a congregation. It is a hand-sized booklet (4" x 6") designed to refresh everyone's personal prayer life. Everyone will be given a copy of this booklet. You can pick one up any Sunday after church or drop by the church office between 10am and 2pm, Monday - Friday.
Once you have read Beginning a Praying Life, you will know if you desire to purchase and read Mr. Miller's book, A Praying Life. This book is designed to make us want to pray. It exposes our core doubts and desperation for God. Paul Miller beautifully captures the promise of prayer as a gift that connects us to the heart of the Father. Paul shares his life and biblical wisdom to instill in us a "heart that becomes a factory of prayer" by stirring a passion for speaking to God honestly and completely, which will change our lives and the lives of others for whom we pray.
The following summarizes our church's next couple of steps in obeying Jesus's yearning and call to become a house of prayer:
This is an exciting time to enter a lifestyle of prayer with our Divine Partner and His church! There's no better time to grow in our relationship with God and with each other than now. By God's amazing grace, may we take the next step to incorporate our prayer lives together in God's House.
Pastor Greg
September 2021
God's House
The four gospels reveal Jesus's passion for prayer in His church. At the beginning and end of His earthly ministry, Jesus dramatically cleansed the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and proclaimed, "My Father's house shall be called a house of prayer."
On the first day of my vacation, I began reading The Prayer Saturated Church by Cheryl Sacks Halfway through the first chapter, my mind was taken back to my years as a businessperson at my home church of First UMC in Columbia, MS. I was the chair of the evangelism team, and I knew prayer needed to be first and foremost. I wish I had this book at the time. While I implemented many things discussed in the book, I didn't have a systematic plan or process of awakening prayer in the congregation. This book does all that and much more.
However, The Prayer Saturated Church is NOT the book I am recommending for our congregation to read. Instead, this book is the road map for our Prayer Action Team to lead our congregation to becoming a prayer-saturated church. The first key strategy begins by igniting everyone's personal prayer life.
Therefore, we will start by reading Beginning a Praying Life by Paul E. Miller as a congregation. It is a hand-sized booklet (4" x 6") designed to refresh everyone's personal prayer life. Everyone will be given a copy of this booklet. You can pick one up any Sunday after church or drop by the church office between 10am and 2pm, Monday - Friday.
Once you have read Beginning a Praying Life, you will know if you desire to purchase and read Mr. Miller's book, A Praying Life. This book is designed to make us want to pray. It exposes our core doubts and desperation for God. Paul Miller beautifully captures the promise of prayer as a gift that connects us to the heart of the Father. Paul shares his life and biblical wisdom to instill in us a "heart that becomes a factory of prayer" by stirring a passion for speaking to God honestly and completely, which will change our lives and the lives of others for whom we pray.
The following summarizes our church's next couple of steps in obeying Jesus's yearning and call to become a house of prayer:
- Pick up Beginning a Praying Life after church or from the church office for free and read it.
- After reading the booklet, consider purchasing the follow-up book, A Praying Life. Order it yourself through the link provided, or call the church office to order it for you. Scholarships are available.
- Think about becoming a part of our Wednesday night Bible study beginning on September 15th at 7:00pm by purchasing the discussion guide for A Praying Life. Again, you can order it through the link provided, or call the church office to order it for you. Scholarships are available.
- If you are a good administrator and communicator orally and with technology, you might be interested in becoming pat of the Prayer Action Team. If so, contact me to discuss the comprehensive prayer strategy of The Prayer Saturated Church.
This is an exciting time to enter a lifestyle of prayer with our Divine Partner and His church! There's no better time to grow in our relationship with God and with each other than now. By God's amazing grace, may we take the next step to incorporate our prayer lives together in God's House.
Pastor Greg
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