...And if by prayer
Incessant I could hope to change the will
Of Him who all things can, I would not cease
To weary him with my assiduous cries.

John Milton
I found this in Phillip Yancy's book Prayer

Survey says...

Answer yes, maybe/sometimes, or no to the following statements.

I pray occassionaly.
I want my prayer life to be more meaningful.
I could use a little more peace in my life.
I would like to have more prayer answered yes by God.
I would like to tap into God's power.
I would like to worry less and hear from God more.
When I do pray it seems I am a little scattered brained.

If you answered yes or maybe to any of the above the sentences the post on this blog for the next month will be a huge benefit to you.

For SCC - 1.28.07 What is prayer?

This past Sunday we moved forward into a new series with and interesting title, "Proseucomai". This is one of the New Testament Greek words for prayer. The music rocked, Anita Fritzsinger and GLARE stirred our souls with the song "When I Call on Jesus", and "Du" AKA Marcus Dulin shared a strong, passionate and very "everyday day" message about prayer. What is prayer?

Prayer is...

conversation with God.

confession of sin (missing the mark).

being in the presence of God.

praise and worship of God.

claiming our dependence on God.

lifting up our souls to God.

the exercise of faith and hope.

the study and understanding of God's will.

a sign of spiritual life.

life changing.

Prayer is the most perfect and the most divine action that which a rational soul is capable of.

Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God for things agreeable to His will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins and thankful acknowledgment of His mercies.

The Model Prayer

9This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us today our daily bread. 12Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil; for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Matthew 6:19-13 found in the Bible

Proseuchomai

proseuchomai "to pray," is always used of "prayer" to God, and is the most frequent word in this respect, especially in the Synoptists and Acts.

Forward

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

Ephesians 6:10 found in the Bible

This is SAD

In reality, hope is the worst of all evils, because it prolongs man's torments. ~Friedrich Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human, 1878

This is GLAD

22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

Lamentations 3:22-26 found in the Bible

ONLY 77 DAYS

momentum

How 'bout those games yesterday. The key word is momentum. I am not sure what it means, but I sure want it on my side. Forward momentum. Is that tantamount to an anti-oxymoron?

For SCC - 1.21.07 Forward: The Sequel to the Sequel

I do not know about you but I am looking forward to the upcoming weekend series called "proseuchomai". I am not sure on the pronunciation but I am looking forward to learning more and praying in a way that draws me closer to God and His Kingdom. I am also looking forward to having more prayers answered yes, because I am drawing closer to the heart of God.

I am also looking forward to the Super Bowl's commercials. I am looking forward to an afternoon meeting with a friend over a Latte. I am looking forward to seeing my family this evening. I attended a gathering of church planters (people who start local churches from scratch) this morn that I've been looking forward to for some time. This looking forward stuff is almost exciting.

This past Sunday we came to an end in our FORWARD series, but I sure hope we do not stop looking forward. Three steps forward, two steps back, one step forward. What is something you want to see happen in your life, family and SCC? Think about this and move forward. Step out of the boat and sink or maybe walk on water. Move forward. Yeeeeehaaaaw!

when you start moving forward in a very intentional and deliberate way you will face mountains. Mount Despair. Mount Discouragement. Mount Distraction. Mount Doom and Gloom. Mount _______________. The fact is mountains are a part of life. The fact is many people avoid mountains because they are in neutral which really is not neutral. So as you move forward and seek to overcome mountains keep in heart the following. Overcoming mountains is easier accomplished when you have mountain climbing and mountain moving people in your life. Overcoming mountains is easier when you live with purpose and live by faith.

Go forward. Set some God goals and go forward. When the mountains move into your path, quit. Stop. Turn around. Give up. Throw in the towel. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Go forward. Call a friend and receive a boost. Recall your purpose. Fan the Flame. Stoke the fire. Go to God. Muster "seed" through it and over it.

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt
"Citizenship in a Republic," Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

Now this is the life!!! This is one of my sister's cats. You can tell he has a hard life. His name is Jughead. Looks like a smart Jughead.

Mission Possible

Last week I sent out a mass e-mail requesting that we at Sunrise make a change for the better and everyone plan on moving into the auditorium a few minutes before the sevice begins and you responded to the mission in a wild and crazy way THANKS. MISSION POSSIBLE.

For SCC - 1-14-07 Forward: The Sequel

12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Philippians 3:12-16

"Hello, my name is Gary." We all have a little or alot of Gary in us. May we not let this keep us from setting a few goals in our personal lives, family lives and in the life of Sunrise. What is something you want to see happen in your life, your family, this church? Give some thought and then action to that question. Can I make a very honest confession here. I mean can I be straight up honest. Okay, here goes. I like neutral. I Like comfortable. I like the remote control. I like the lounge chair. Whew, I hope you feel better because I sure do. BUT, and this BUT is important. I am not to remain in neutral. I was not created to live in neutral. neutral is neutral. Neutral isn't really even neutral. It is closer to reverse. Forward. I was created to move forward. I was created to live. Move forward and into love, joy, peace, patience.... Move forward in your Christian walk. Move forward in the Kingdom of God. Move forward in your relationships with your family. Move forward into new and godly ways of relating. Move forward in "treating others the way you want to be treated." Move forward. Move forward in your giving, inviting, and serving in SCC. Move forward.

Remember the boy who told the story of his Aunt Sara. Take a drink and move forward.

Billy Graham TV Special

Friday, January 19, 2007 at 8:00 PM on Channel 13 in the Hampton Roads area. Go to www.billygraham.org/tv for more information. The theme of the TV Special is HOPE. Mark you calendar for this one.

From today's reading

"Will all your worries add a single moment to your life?"
Jesus Christ word's found in Matthew 6:27 in the Bible

NO, is the answer to the rhetorical question. But you may end up looking like this.

For SCC - Forward 1.7.07

I'm looking forward to...
..the weekend.
..the game.
..the party.
..summer.
..the party
.._______________.

This past Sunday we began a new series entitled "Forward". The polls were 100%. We all look forward to positive events such as listed above. We also agreed that it is easier to hope someone else will change somethiing in their life, rather than us making changes in our lives. Yet we recognize in order to move forward we must experience some change and so we took a gander at looking forward and moving forward from Philippians Chapter Three. Out of the text, and real and raw life of Paul, we glanced at the following in regards to moving forward.
Progress, not perfection
The past is over, forget it
Move forward, press on.

Let's move forward.

What is something you want to see happen in your life in '07?
What is something you want to see happen in your family in '07?
What is something you want to see happen in SCC in '07?

Get on the bike!!!

3 days

2007 has been short and sweet. Made some mad cash on Monday, 1-1-07. Discovered a new resource for ministry on Tuesday, 1-2-07 and was honored to help with the food delivery today. Some sweet conversations in person and via the phone and net. These are just the tip of the iceberg. Good stuff even though my prayer life is just kinda there. At least it is kinda there. God's grace.

Food Bank

I went to the Food Bank today and made the food drop with a fellow SCC'er. SCC's goal was 500 lbs. We collected and gave 503 lbs. Nice. Way to Go.

Speaking of Beginnings

1I, Paul, am a devoted slave of Jesus Christ on assignment, authorized as an apostle to proclaim God's words and acts. I write this letter to all the believers in Rome, God's friends. 2-7The sacred writings contain preliminary reports by the prophets on God's Son. His descent from David roots him in history; his unique identity as Son of God was shown by the Spirit when Jesus was raised from the dead, setting him apart as the Messiah, our Master. Through him we received both the generous gift of his life and the urgent task of passing it on to others who receive it by entering into obedient trust in Jesus. You are who you are through this gift and call of Jesus Christ! And I greet you now with all the generosity of God our Father and our Master Jesus, the Messiah.

Romans 1:1-7 (found in the Bible)

This is a sweet beginning.