Ponder this: If you could ask Jesus to TEACH you ONE thing today, what would it be? Would it surprise you that the ONE and only thing that the Bible reports Jesus’ followers specifically asking him to teach them was to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1)? It’s as if they realize that if they can commune and communicate with God, everything else will be good. They seem to have realized that much “like eating and drinking, prayer is not something foreign to our human nature. It is the deepest impulse of the human soul.” LORD, teach us this one thing!
This Sunday, Pastors Steve and Kurt will begin a new sermon series called Praying with Jesus. It is our hope that we will grow and deepen in our understanding of and commitment to prayer as we explore the ways Jesus learned to pray as a Jewish boy and adult and how he actually prayed in the Bible. Join us this Sunday in person or online at 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. as we start where Jesus started by BLESSING GOD!
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Click the button above to download wallpaper. Press and hold the image and add to your photos.
We encourage you to make this photo your phone wallpaper during this sermon series.
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WHAT IS PRAYER? A reflection by Henri Nouwen
Each week during this sermon series, we will share a brief reflection to wet our appetite for the message.
The discipline of prayer is the intentional, concentrated, and regular effort to create space for God. Everything and everyone around us wants to fill up every bit of space in our lives and so make us not only occupied people, but preoccupied people as well. When we permit the world to pack our minds and hearts with countless things to look at, listen to, and read about, and countless people to visit, write to, talk to, and worry about, how do we focus? When there are countless happenings to be excited or depressed about, how can we ever manage to keep a space for the One who says: “Do not set your heart on all these things. Set your hearts on God’s Kingdom first . . . and all these other things will be given you as well.” (Matthew 6:33-34)
A life without a quiet center easily becomes delusional. When we cling to the results of our actions as our only way of self-identification, we become possessive, defensive, and dependent on false identities. In the solitude of prayer we slowly unmask the illusion of our dependencies and possessiveness, and discover in the center of our own self that we are not what we can control or conquer but what is given to us from above to channel to others. In solitary prayer we become aware that our identity does not depend on what we have accomplished or possess, that our productivity does not define us, and that our worth is not the same as our usefulness.
The world says, “If you are not making good use of your time, you are useless.” Jesus says: “Come spend some useless time with me.” If we think about prayer in terms of its usefulness to us—what prayer will do for us, what spiritual benefits we will gain, what insights we will gain, what divine presence we may feel—God cannot easily speak to us. But if we can detach ourselves from the idea of the usefulness of prayer and the results of prayer, we become free to “waste” a precious hour with God in prayer. Gradually, we may find, our “useless” time will transform us, and everything around us will be different. Prayer is being unbusy with God instead of being busy with other things. Prayer is primarily to do nothing useful or productive in the presence of God. To not be useful is to remind myself that if anything important or fruitful happens through prayer, it is God who achieves the result. So when I go into the day, I go with the conviction that God is the one who brings forth fruit in my work, and I do not have to act as though I am in control of things. I have to work hard; I have to do my task; I have to offer my best. But I can let go of the illusion of control and be detached from the result. At the end of each day I can prayerfully say that if something good has happened, God be praised.
from Spritual Formation by Henri Nouwen
Books on Prayer
We encourage you to read one book on prayer during this series. Here are some recommendations. We will give new ones each week.
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Below are the worship times available to all:
- 9:00 a.m. Worship Service in the Sanctuary or online
- 11:00 a.m. Traditional Worship Service in the Sanctuary or online
- 11:00 a.m. Modern Worship Service in the Worship Center or online
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If you have any questions, please contact Mara Dolan.
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ARK Nursery
The ARK Nursery is open! Childcare will be available during all three worship services for infants-kindergarten. In order to follow CDC guidelines, and to provide a safe environment for your children, please RSVP each week.
If you have any questions, please contact Mara Dolan or Ollie Kimbro.
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Join pastors Steve Brooks and Kurt Borden this Tuesday, May 4th , at 6:30 a.m. in the Atrium as they continue a weekly Bible study on the life of David. If you have questions, contact pastor Steve Brooks or pastor Kurt Borden. |
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If you have any questions, contact Wade Cobb.
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We are now offering text to give as another option to give your tithes and offerings to support the ministry of our church. You can still give through traditional methods, or you can now make one-time or recurring gifts online with a credit/debit card or electronic check using text to give.
Below you will see a graphic with instructions of how to text to give.
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