Sunday, January 27, 2008

A Prayer for Evangelization

LOVING GOD

You called us each by name
and gave your only Son to redeem us.
In your faithfulness, you sent the Holy Spirit
to complete the mission of Jesus among us.

Open our hearts to Jesus.
Give us the courage to speak His name
to those who are close to us
and the generosity to share His love
with those who are far away.

We pray that every person throughout the world
be invited to know and love Jesus
as Savior and Redeemer.
May they come to know His all surpassing love.
May that love transform every element of our society.

We make this prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and forever,
AMEN

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Change, A Necessary Thing

In Today's Gospel we learn that change is something that is necessary, something which brings forth new doors and opportunities in our lives. Without change we would not be able to respond to where God continues to call us and lead us throughout our lives. Change is something we all need to participate in. It is God who calls us to change when our vocation continues to shape as our relationship with our Lord develops and matures. Change is also necessary for us because we are sinners who need to repent and rid of our old sinful ways. We all have things that hinder our relationship with God whether it be the use of fowl language, over indulging, our sexual appetites, or some other iniquity, we have to change our ways to follow the Lord more closely. It is evident that we can become caught up in our sinful ways and become used to living in this sin. We may even become comfortable with it, therefore we don't feel that it is such a "big" deal, when reality is that we cannot grow in the life and love of the Lord if we do not make the effort to reform our ways. It is by the grace of God and His loving Holy Spirit that we are able to be set free from the bondage of our sins, thanks to Christ who died on the Cross for us. God calls all of us not only to reform our lives, but to be accepting to the new relationships, opportunities, and conditions that come about even when we least expect it. We see in this weeks Gospel that Peter, Simon, James, and John accepted the change which God called them to. Christ came to them as they were fishing and said, "Come follow me." Jesus told them that he would make them "fishers of men" and that they would be his disciples to spread the Gospel to all nations, through baptism and proclamation of the Word. These men took on Christ and changed, maybe something that was not necessarily all too comforting at first, yet they realized that God had plans for them that would allow them to become their authentic selves. Therefore, we urge you to not resist change when things develop in your life, but to embrace it as the disciples did and trust that God will lead you on your way in this life and forever in the life to come. Change is a gradual process and we all will face the temptation to go back to our old sinful ways, but behold as the scriptures say those who accept the Lord have become new creatures in Him. Live in the Spirit and in the Lord and allow God to work in your life for change and repentance is the way we can grow in love and relationship with our Lord and our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Listen to the Lord

A true and personal relationship with God is what Christians stride for. We know that God is our everything making us who we are, the Lord making our lives complete, for without Him we are nothing. There are many ways to walk with the Lord each day as our lives can be a constant prayer with Christ by our side. When we are with others, when we are alone, when we are going about what we view as meaningless daily routines, God is there with us. It is certainly important to take time out of our busy schedules to devote some quiet time to our Lord and Creator. When we do spend time with God, whether in formal prayer and through the constant prayer of our daily lives we must do our best to listen. Listening is the most imperative thing in order to know what God is calling us to do, what He is asking of us, and what He has in store for our future. We can hear God through other people. We can hear God through His Word, the Bible. We can hear God speaking to our hearts when we spend quiet time with him. We just have to take the time to listen. The important aspect of listening is something that will take us beyond, something that will make our relationship with God the best it can possibly be. To be a friend of Christ is to listen to not only our Savior, but to accept what He has to say and make changes when the Spirit speaks to us. Most of the time it is us doing the talking and although we do have to share with God our concerns, frustrations, and joys, He knows what is best for us, what we need, and everything else because He knows us better than we know ourselves. So we urge our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to first listen to God for He will reveal all to those remain faithful and has much to tell you in a multitude of ways. By listening to the Lord our lives will be different because Christ is at the wheel, in the driver seat, and we are passengers along for the ride. Be God’s right hand man by listening to the Holy Spirit, praying, serving, and loving on all as Jesus the Son did. Remember God blessed us with the ability to hear and to listen. Put his Word into action in this world, listen to what He has to say and become the man or woman the Lord made you to be.

Monday, January 21, 2008

WOW This Pastor Has Guts

This Pastor Has Guts

When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas
Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what
they heard;

"Heavenly Father,

We come before you today to ask your forgiveness and
to seek your direction and guidance.

We know Your Word says,
"Woe to those who call evil good"
But that is exactly what we have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building
self esteem.

We have abused power and called it politics.

We have coveted our neighbor's Possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography
and called it Freedom of speech and expression.

We have ridiculed the time Honored values of our Forefathers
and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh, God,
Cleanse us from every sin
And set us free.
Amen!"


The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out
during the prayer in protest.

In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor,
logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding
negatively.
The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this
prayer from India, Africa and Korea.

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio Program, "The
Rest of the Story," and received alarger response to this program
than any other he has ever aired.

With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our Nation and
wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called
"One Nation Under God."

If possible, please pass this prayer on to your friends "if you
don't stand for something, you will fall for anything."

Live in the Present for the Present

Summary of Sermon from Sunday 1/20/08

This Sunday the message was clear and simple, to live in the Present for the Present. We all have done things we are not particularly fond of, things we regret, and things that have separated ourselves from god, these being sins. However, we must not dwell on the past, but focus on the present. The past is valuable that we may learn from our mistakes and build upon our successes. Yet, many times we get so caught up in what we did rather than focusing on what we are going to do NOW. We cannot change the past, however we can determine the present and how we will live our lives with our ever present God who gives us life and forgives us of our sins. Not only do we become troubled by the past, but sometimes look too far ahead to the future. Our future will be shaped by the way we live life now, in the present and this is what Christians need to focus on to live and walk with the ever present Christ in our daily lives. Taking one day at a time by living and striding to do our best while relying and believing in God this day is the way toward a better relationship with our creator. By doing things for God and with God in the present the Holy Spirit, God's Spirit is promised to be poured out to His people to help us do all things. Although we are sinners, we can no longer live life in the past or in the future but in the now, the present with our present Lord who both loves and cares for us that He gave His own Son to wash us clean from our transgressions and grant us the gift of a present life here on this earth, and an eternal life in the world to come.