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A message from the series “With Christ in the School of Prayer.” Opportunities come and go. I wish I could recapture more than a few. I wish I would have learned speed reading (I buy or pick up more books than I actually get around to reading). I also wish I had taken a course or two in a few different languages, like Spanish. That would have been so helpful as I pray with our brothers from El Calvario on Saturday mornings. Then there were opportunities to help more people to understand and use their spiritual gifts and plug into very practical ministries. If I were in my 30’s again I would like to think I would teach other dads to lead classes on being the dad God intended them to be, rather than just teach the class myself.
Yes, opportunities come and go. Why didn’t I do more? Jesus was kind and very clear when his fully devoted followers had a similar question on their minds after a clearly blown opportunity.

A message from the series “With Christ in the School of Prayer.” I’m looking forward to no longer being afraid of the “terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day” (Psalm 91:5), nor my neighbor, or the person walking toward me not wearing a mask as we take our early morning walks. Fear is a frightening phenomenon. But it is much more. God wants us to fear Him for our own good (Psalms 34:9). It is a matter of perspective. It is foundational to an intimate relationship with God, managing and sizing up all other fears. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10). It is the marching orders for all God’s people (Deut. 10:12; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Let us refresh a bit of our Mother’s Day experience today for all those who lost me last week when our internet access pulled a fast one on us.

A message from the series “With Christ in the School of Prayer.” We are celebrating excellent moms today who fear the Lord. Our family has been blessed with moms who hit that mark of excellence. Our ministry has also been blessed with moms who nurtured, protected, and instructed their families in the fear of the Lord. So, today we will focus on God’s plan for our families. What exactly is a God-fearing mom and why are her children to rise up and call her blessed?

A message from the series “With Christ in the School of Prayer.” Okay, I must admit, I enjoy the tag-line or slogan from an anti-motivational poster company, Despair.com – “Increasing your chance of success by lowering your expectations.” How do your expectations shape the way things turn out for you? When it comes to prayer, what do you expect? Are you likely to experience a true transaction of your soul with the God who bends down to listen to you (Psalm 116:1-2, NLB)? What does He want you to know as you present your prayer concerns to Him? Jesus offers wonderful assurance to those who seek His face in prayer.

A message from the series “With Christ in the School of Prayer.” Jesus was so intentional in everything he said and did. As he was walking through the beautiful city of Jericho, disciples in tow, on his way to Jerusalem, blind Bartimaeus recognized him. He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” Let’s pick up our next lesson there With Christ in the School of Prayer.

A message from the series “With Christ in the School of Prayer.” What do you think Jesus is seeing in the eyes of the people who are in your inner circle? How does he see people in your community: the people behind the masks and other personal protective barriers? How does he want us to act toward them in the here and now? How are you praying for them? Why did Jesus lay out a strategy for our prayers regarding those he sees as ready for the gospel?

A message from the series “With Christ in the School of Prayer.”

A message from the series “With Christ in the School of Prayer.”

A message from the series “With Christ in the School of Prayer.” I hope and pray that you and your loved ones are well in every sense of the word. We come to this Palm Sunday without the children walking the center isle and waving palm branches while proclaiming…

“Hosanna!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the King of Israel.”

While we are so thankful for the countless people who are working tirelessly to do battle with this disease, we are reminded that Jesus is the promised, present, and victorious King. Welcome to our time of worship, apart but together, as the body of Christ. We are also reminded that His Church is meeting in a similar way, all over the world today. To God be the Glory in Christ and in His Church.

A message from the series “With Christ in the School of Prayer.” It all started with a sincere question, “One day, Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’” Over the past few weeks, we have enrolled ourselves in his school of prayer. Luke 11:1-13 is filled with his amazing response to their request; he gave them prayer principles in a model prayer (vs. 2-4); he urged them to ask, seek and knock, reminding them that their Father in heaven will give them the ultimate answer to prayer, the Holy Spirit, who will lead them in prayer. We continue to circle around his immediate response to their quest as today he tells us to intercede shamelessly