Worship Wednesdays
Join us for a time of dedication unto the Lord
DEAR MARS HILL FELLOWSHIP FAMILY!
Praise God from whom all blessings flow! As we ushered in 2014, we centered our hearts around the theme of “revival.” What does revival look like? I shared in a message in January that when revival breaks out, it is multi-dimensional.
- We are personally transformed through a renewed mind, revived emotions, regenerated spirit, and rededicated body,
- We are corporately renewed through the power of the Holy Spirit,
- Unbelievers are converted, and
- Our culture is transformed
I believe that God has poised us to see His harvest established in Greater Boston and beyond! The Bible declares that “Without faith, it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). The opposite is also true: Where faith is present, God is pleased, and His kingdom is advanced! What would be possible if the earth was full of believers who love God and walk by faith and not by sight? It would be a personal and corporate revival in which God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. Revival is not just something to wish for, but it is what we pray for God to do within us, our city, our workplaces, and in our lives. Revival positions us to thrive and bear fruit in every way: spiritually, relationally, economically, physically, emotionally, intellectually, and socially. Revival ignites the corporate church body with passion to see God’s work accomplished throughout the earth. As co-laborers in the gospel, we believe that the harvest of revival is here!
During this year, the Lord spoke to us on several occasions through prophetic words that it was time to move. This move symbolized more than just a physical shift, but an opportunity to see Revival in action! We recently confirmed the details of our transition to the Amos A. Lawrence School in Brookline, MA. We are excited to see what God will do through our faithfulness, obedience and sacrifice. The transition not only provides us opportunity to expand our ministry outreach, but also tangible opportunities to serve the Lawrence School and Brookline Public School community.
Jesus extoled the virtue of counting the cost in every endeavor. In Luke 14, Jesus instructed those following him: "Don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?" (Luke 14:28 NLT) Transitioning to the Lawrence School will be a change. We have had an absolutely wonderful relationship with the Holiday Inn for the last 5 years and plan to continue to host events there. Meeting at the school will require more workers, more resources, and more logistics - but the opportunities are great! Just ONE soul would be worth walking in obedience to the Lord. The leadership team and I have began setting aside time to count the cost through a time of corporate consecration and I invite you to join in with us as we prepare for a new transition.
Please also mark on your calendars Sunday, October 26, 2014 at 1:30 PM. I would like to meet with the entire congregation to share the vision for the transition and to answer any questions. You will be receiving a Google Calendar Invite shortly.
A NEW CHAPTER BEGINS...
 1st Preview Service (Fall 2009)
 1st Annual Founder's Weekend (August 2010)
 Easter Service at Lawrence School (April 2014)
Starting Wednesday, October 22, 2014, we will set aside 4 Wednesdays as Worship Wednesdays
As we prepare our hearts and minds for the upcoming journey, we will gather together for prayer and fasting - Consecration.
>>PRAYER TIME
Join us for one of the following prayer times
Wednesday 6:00 AM - 6:30 AM
Wednesday 7:00 AM - 7:15 AM
>>CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION
Morning Prayer Dial-in number: (712) 775-7000
Participant Access Code: 623651#
CONSECRATION INFORMATION
>>WHAT IS A BIBLICAL FAST?
Biblical fasting is the voluntary abstaining from food for a spiritual purpose. In scriptures, there are three basic types of fasts, Total (no eating or drinking), Normal (water only) and Partial (abstaining from specific items).
>>WHY FAST?
Fasting is a spiritual discipline that is an integral part of a believer’s walk with God. Fasting changes us - as much as it changes the circumstances before us. While abstaining from food is not limited to the Christian faith, it is important in the life of Christian believers. What differentiates fasting for Christian believers is that it is done with the purpose of drawing closer to God. In Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, author Donald Whitney states, “Without a purpose, fasting can be a miserable, self-centered experience.” In fact, Jesus condemned those who fasted in order to be seen by others. [Matthew 6:16-18]
- Fasting is expected from God “And when you fast … but when you fast…” [Matt 6:16-17]
- Fasting changes our spiritual appetites back to our first love. [Matt 6:17-18]
- Fasting enables us to gain confidence over the desires of the flesh. [Matt 17:21]
- Fasting allows the Holy Spirit to reveal our spiritual condition and what to do about it. [Isaiah 58:9-12]
- Fasting humbles us and exalts God. [Ezra 8:21]
- Fasting re-prioritizes the desires of our hearts. [Psalms 35:13]
- Fasting brings God’s intervention in the midst of life’s circumstances (Wisdom, Deliverance, Healing, Protection) [Matt 15:32, Jonah 3:5-9, Esther 4:15-16]
>>WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIVES OF THE FAST?
- To pray corporately for the upcoming transition to the Lawrence School
- To yield ourselves completely as vessels for the masters use. That we may be conduits for Revival in our spheres of influence.
- To ask for the Lord’s guidance and wisdom
- To corporately devote ourselves to the Lord in this new season for Mars Hill Fellowship Church
>>HOW DO WE FAST
Biblical fasting is more than a restricted diet, it includes a number of elements:
- Voluntary Abstinence from food
- There are four fasts that you may choose each Wednesday
- FAST A - 1 Meat/Seafood serving per day (Baked/Broiled). Liquid, vegetables, soup, salad, fruit
Liquid, vegetables, soup, salad, fruit. (No meat/seafood)
- FAST B - Liquid fast consisting of water, 100% fruit juices, broth, and herbal tea. Drink plenty of
water!
- FAST C - Daniel Fast: Eating at various times throughout the day but restricted to fruits, whole grains,
vegetables, nuts and legumes.
- FAST D - Abstain from meals from 6 AM – 6 PM. This partial fast is broken every evening at 6 PM to
eat a meal. When choosing this type of fast, please avoid binge eating for the 1 meal that you have in the evening.
- Corporate and Personal Prayer
- We have scheduled corporate worship + prayer time for the next 4 Wednesdays. We recommend that you utilize your lunch and dinnertime to engage in personal prayer + reflection. Some may choose to eliminate activities that will distract them from personal prayer + reflection such as: email, Facebook, television, movies, entertainment, etc.
- Worship
- Take time to engage in worship. You can purchase songs from iTunes or sing melodies from your heart.
- Reading the Scriptures
- There are a variety of tools available to read + hear the bible. You can find free audio bibles at biblegateway.com + bible.is. You can also find a mobile bible reader at youversion.com.
- Confession of Sin + Humbling before God
- During fasting, we bring our sins of commission + omission before the Lord and ask for forgiveness.
- Journaling
- We encourage you to keep a personal journal through your time of fasting + prayer.
- Pray that in this 5th year of ministry, the Lord would continue to use Mars Hill Fellowship Church as a beacon of light in proclaiming the reality of the gospel.
- Pray for the families of Pastors Joseph + Ophelia Ardayfio (Nehemiah + Xavier), Pastors Michael + Jamilah Allwood (Michael Jr. + Baby Allwood)
- Pray for the Leadership Council
- Pray for the opportunity to share the gospel in the regions of Allston, Brighton, Brookline and beyond.
- Pray for personal and corporate revival, unbelievers being converted and our culture being transformed for the glory of God.
- Pray for the vision of Mars Hill Fellowship Church to be established in the hearts of its members: Through the work of Mars Hill Fellowship Church, we desire to see people transformed spiritually, emotionally, physically, socially, economically, culturally, and intellectually as we experience the power of the gospel together and are enabled to connect to God, our families + community, our vocation and our world in a manner that brings glory to God.
- Pray for the financial, people and technical resources to accomplish a successful transition to the Lawrence School.
- Pray for the faculty, staff and students of the Lawrence School (Principal Rick Rodgers, Vice-Principal Laura Horst and Maintenance Support: Pat Clark + Jurgen Brandl).
- Pray for the continued great relationship with the Holiday Inn Brookline (GM - Glen Vuilleumier and Catering Sales Manager Will Krupp)
- Pray for the Brookline Public Schools Department (Jay Pagliarulo)
>>DEVOTIONAL INSIGHT
Earlier in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus presents his followers with some hard news: “Whoever wants to be [His] disciple must deny themselves and take up their crosses daily and follow [him].” (Luke 9:23) There was no fine print to the blessing of being a disciple of Christ. Rather, there was an outright reminder that being a disciple was more than a status symbol, it would cost their very life. In turn, however, the disciples gained the riches of being a part of the family of faith.
True fasting that honors God comes at a cost. While we often focus on the physical things that we must sacrifice, ultimately, the true point of fasting is really the spiritual things that we must give to God. Yes, by fasting, we may have to give up pizza, fast-food, sweets, and other foods, but fasting is a journey to making Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives. This requires us to be willing to give God control or Lordship of everything. Do we trust God even to the point of Him sustaining our natural needs for food and nourishment?
We are all wired with a desire to be safe but for some of us that desire has morphed into a desire to be comfortable. While we are always safe in the Master’s hands, we will not always be comfortable at work for His kingdom. Ultimately, our ability to give up control is rooted in how much we trust the person to which we surrender. Obviously, everyone in our lives is not at the same level of trust. When it comes to entrusting the outcome of our daily lives, the Apostle Paul makes a bold declaration: [God] is able to guard what [we] have entrusted to Him for that day (2 Timothy 1:12b).
Surrender costs, but surrender is necessary! The process of renewing Christ’s Lordship in our lives allows us to experience the great freedom that Christ brings, while exposing the counterfeits that we have allowed to take Christ’s rightful place. The good news about the process of surrender is that God understands our challenge to surrender combined with our desire to remain safe. In 1 Peter 5:7, we are instructed to “Cast all of our anxiety on him because he cares for [us].” God invites us to be honest about our anxieties as we go through the process of surrender. As we draw closer to Him, He faithfully demonstrates that he is worthy to be considered the Lord of our lives.
There is no fine print in fasting but there is a responsibility that we must accept. We must be willing to allow Christ to mold us into His disciples. If we are reluctant to surrender to God's transformation process, then our fasting will be in vain. However, if we are willing to surrender everything to God, we will see the fruit of what God develops within us and gain trust in God’s ability to see us through until the end.
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