Genesis
12:1-3 –
The
Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your
father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into
a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a
blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat
you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
Matthew
28:18-20 –
Jesus
came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on
earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new
disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am
with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Romans
5:5-6 –
And
this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us,
because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
When
we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us
sinners.
1
Thessalonians 5:17 –
Never
stop praying.
Philippians
1:6 –
And
I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his
work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
We had
the opportunity to witness some of our grandchildren show some of what they
learned in Vacation Bible School this past week. It was a joy to see so many of
the children loudly singing what they learned while using the appropriate hand
and body signs. I know I will be hearing some of these songs when I visit.
It was
a joy to worship with some familiar faces where we are always made to feel
welcome. Their great coffee doesn’t hurt either.
The
pastor started by asking the church to see how long they could hold their
breath, holding their hand up until they had to breathe. I can’t really breathe
well, and with what I’ve done to my rotator cuffs, I can’t hold my arms up well
either. The exercise was a lead-in to today’s message about breathing in God’s
blessings and remembering to breathe those blessings out on others. This I can
readily relate to; God has blessed me overwhelmingly, and as great as that has
been, it wouldn’t be worth near as much without praying that blessing on
others.
I’m
learning to seek out those who look to be in pain or distress…many times tears
flow when I ask to pray over/for them. I feel guilty to feel so blessed for
praying for others.
I
look at four different newspapers along with other news sources, and none of
them covered the citizen who caught the two escaped murderers. All said an armed
citizen stopped them, but none related his story of not using his guns, but
prayer. He said when they came, they laid down in his driveway and gave up,
including when one who got up, got a drink of water, and went back to his
position of surrender. Prayer works!
I loved
the addition of the flute for the last song; it added a lot to an already terrific
worship team.
It’s
always a joy to visit this church, but today was special. Seven of our
grandchildren attended Kids XP (Vacation Bible School) here last week and today
they participated in the worship service via an extremely enthusiastic music
presentation.
The
service was well attended, even requiring the set-up of additional seating, and
we would have stayed for the picnic lunch afterward but the heat was just too
much for either of us.
The
Father’s Day video was a powerful testimony to the importance of a male role
model in a young man’s life.
The
message series was called “5 Simple Ways to Bless” with today’s first part entitled
“Breathe and Pray.” He stated that we are created to breathe in God’s blessings
and then to bless others where we live, work, and play.
He
spoke of praying toward pain instead of turning from it, of praying for others
as I walk around during the day, and praying for God to create spiritual
curiosity in those for whom I pray.
Just
this morning I was asking God what I should pray for, so I’m grateful for this
answer to my prayer.
Lord, we have seen how You have blessed this church. Direct them as they continue to breathe out those blessings. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment