HCPC: Week of Prayer 4

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HCPC Week of Prayer

Day 4 – Pray for your church

The fourth day of this prayer guide is for the church (our parish and also the wider church through which God is at work in the world).

Our parish has been following Jesus since we opened our doors more than 70 years ago, and in all this time our people have seen God work miracles in local and international communities. In a meaningful way, lives have been touched by the gospel that our parish has been called to live out in faith. Today we give thanks for all that the Lord has done. We also bring to God our current ministry context and the challenges we need to navigate.

Covid-19 in all its variants has changed the landscape, and in this landscape we follow the Holy Spirit as we step out in faith. Many community groups have ground to halt or called it quits, likewise our community mission has significantly slowed down, and our own worship services have been adapted to be cautious - generally speaking our building is less of a buzz. Pray with our leadership for wisdom, and boldness in pursuit of the Glory of God.

Pray with us that every member will intentionally follow Jesus, actively embrace our Hibiscus Coast Community and seek opportunities to welcome trangers as friends.

Pray with us for our parish finances. The Lord has sustained us and we trust and believe that He will keep in doing so.

Pray that we might see and embrace new opportunities for Christian mission in Orewa and the Hibiscus Coast.

Pray with your pastor(s) and all those who attend church with you in mind! Praise God that you are a part of Christ’s body – the Church! Recognize the gift of being a part of a community of believers. Ask forgiveness for when you have forgotten to pray for your church. Present your requests to God. Ask Him to help you love your church and support your fellow believers.

Questions to think about:

How can you work with your church to make an impact in your community?
What are some areas of need for your church that you could help with?

Scripture for Today

'For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.'

Ephesians 3:14-21

Thank you for joining us in praying together this week. Yesterday's email had the wrong subject line and you might have missed it if you had not been waiting for an email from me.

Consider using the P.R.A.Y model in your prayer time today. I put it into yesterdays email but include it below in case you missed it.

The P.R.A.Y. Model

If you are looking for a different structure for your prayers, try the P.R.A.Y. model, which is based on the Lord’s Prayer.

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”

Luke 11:1-4 (ESV)

The acronym P.R.A.Y can guide and structure your prayers.

P - Praise God
R - Recognise His Gifts
A - Ask for Forgiveness
Y - Your requests

We will celebrate communion this weekend. To avoid sharing the trays and the plates that we usually use with our communion celebration, we kindly request that you bring with you your own communion cup, juice/wine, a small plate and some bread/crackers.

Ps. Due to a technical failure on Sunday we do not have a recording of that service. Our minister will record the message again and send it out in a later email. We offer our humblest apologies to those of you who have been waiting for the recording to be uploaded.

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