Good day dear friends.
Today in your prayer time, please lift up our sister Diana Wiley as she prepares to leave today for Rwanda. Diana is planning to take two teams there as well as a team to Mozambique and she needs our prayers. May the Lord seal her with His Holy Spirit and protect her goings and comings. May the Lord call to those who should be going to mission in Africa. Once your prayers are in that region, please pray for Kenya and the ethnic genocide that is going on there. The death toll is already 800 people and the pictures that the media has been showing on those deaths have been alarming. Pray for the families of five soliders killed by a roadside bomb yesterday. Rev. Bill Henderson's son, Billy, is preparing to go to Iraq, please pray for his safekeeping.
Here is a favorite passage of many from Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; 7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
Our church was visited by death. We had three funerals in one week. Each touched many, and this load is heavy on the pastors as we've participated in all three. Saturday's funeral was especially tiring as we celebrated the worship service here in San Marcos, with burial north of Georgetown. I rode in the hearse and the driver and I had to wait until all the family left the graveside before we could leave. I was at the church at 9 a.m. and returned back to the church at 3:15 p.m. Not complaining, just informing.
Two world religious leaders died within the last couple of days. The Mormons lost their president and the Greek Orthodox Church lost their archbishop. Archbishop Christodoulos died at age 69, and Gordon B. Hinckley, head of the Mormons died at the age of 97. May God comfort those families and church families during this time.
Their deaths coupled with a discussion in our Sunday school class about the declining number of individuals responding to God's call into ministry makes this a day for praying for the ordained ministry. All in our class wanted to know why is the number of young men declining and the number of young women entering the ministry increasing? (We're talking percentage, given the overall decline of total people into ministry.) There are several reasons, though each person might have their own opinion or reason. General church worship attendance here in our country is down to 40%. Four out of ten people still feel the need to be in corporate worship. Six don't feel anything obviously, maybe they feel sleepy and sleep in. Yesterday a colleague said he lost some families because their church changed worship times and the patriarch of this family said Sunday at 8:15 was the only time he and his sons could play golf. We see where their priority is. "Sorry God, first things first." Then there's the perception of ministers from church families. If a family thinks little of the minister or worse, holds him in low esteem, how can the Lord move among the children of that family when all the child hears are negative things about ministers? Interestingly enough, God will sometimes call forth ministers from those very families, as if to say, "How will you feel once your son/daughter becomes the target of criticism from people just like you?" Hmm.
May our prayer today be one for God to continue to bless His church. I believe God is moving. Some say, "God's up to something!" He always is. Our God is a God of adventure and excitement. Never a dull moment in His service. Many have been the colleagues who have shared with me wonderful, unexpected, unexplainable things God did during the last month of 2007. May 2008 be the year when we see more young men and women saying yes to God as God continues to call servants into His ministry. May our prayers reflect our attiudes towards God's servants in our midst. May our words be word of life, hope, and love as we pray for one another.
PRAYER: Loving God of the church, bring Your comfort and peace to those who mourn. As we pray today for the ordained ministry, may You continue to call those whom can best serve You. May we be visited by Your Spirit to truly be the church in all ways. Forgive us when we put ourselves first and You last. May You always be first in my life and in Your church. I pray in the Name of He who put You first, Jesus my Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.
Today in your prayer time, please lift up our sister Diana Wiley as she prepares to leave today for Rwanda. Diana is planning to take two teams there as well as a team to Mozambique and she needs our prayers. May the Lord seal her with His Holy Spirit and protect her goings and comings. May the Lord call to those who should be going to mission in Africa. Once your prayers are in that region, please pray for Kenya and the ethnic genocide that is going on there. The death toll is already 800 people and the pictures that the media has been showing on those deaths have been alarming. Pray for the families of five soliders killed by a roadside bomb yesterday. Rev. Bill Henderson's son, Billy, is preparing to go to Iraq, please pray for his safekeeping.
Here is a favorite passage of many from Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; 7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
Our church was visited by death. We had three funerals in one week. Each touched many, and this load is heavy on the pastors as we've participated in all three. Saturday's funeral was especially tiring as we celebrated the worship service here in San Marcos, with burial north of Georgetown. I rode in the hearse and the driver and I had to wait until all the family left the graveside before we could leave. I was at the church at 9 a.m. and returned back to the church at 3:15 p.m. Not complaining, just informing.
Two world religious leaders died within the last couple of days. The Mormons lost their president and the Greek Orthodox Church lost their archbishop. Archbishop Christodoulos died at age 69, and Gordon B. Hinckley, head of the Mormons died at the age of 97. May God comfort those families and church families during this time.
Their deaths coupled with a discussion in our Sunday school class about the declining number of individuals responding to God's call into ministry makes this a day for praying for the ordained ministry. All in our class wanted to know why is the number of young men declining and the number of young women entering the ministry increasing? (We're talking percentage, given the overall decline of total people into ministry.) There are several reasons, though each person might have their own opinion or reason. General church worship attendance here in our country is down to 40%. Four out of ten people still feel the need to be in corporate worship. Six don't feel anything obviously, maybe they feel sleepy and sleep in. Yesterday a colleague said he lost some families because their church changed worship times and the patriarch of this family said Sunday at 8:15 was the only time he and his sons could play golf. We see where their priority is. "Sorry God, first things first." Then there's the perception of ministers from church families. If a family thinks little of the minister or worse, holds him in low esteem, how can the Lord move among the children of that family when all the child hears are negative things about ministers? Interestingly enough, God will sometimes call forth ministers from those very families, as if to say, "How will you feel once your son/daughter becomes the target of criticism from people just like you?" Hmm.
May our prayer today be one for God to continue to bless His church. I believe God is moving. Some say, "God's up to something!" He always is. Our God is a God of adventure and excitement. Never a dull moment in His service. Many have been the colleagues who have shared with me wonderful, unexpected, unexplainable things God did during the last month of 2007. May 2008 be the year when we see more young men and women saying yes to God as God continues to call servants into His ministry. May our prayers reflect our attiudes towards God's servants in our midst. May our words be word of life, hope, and love as we pray for one another.
PRAYER: Loving God of the church, bring Your comfort and peace to those who mourn. As we pray today for the ordained ministry, may You continue to call those whom can best serve You. May we be visited by Your Spirit to truly be the church in all ways. Forgive us when we put ourselves first and You last. May You always be first in my life and in Your church. I pray in the Name of He who put You first, Jesus my Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.
