Prayer - Praying Together Is Vital For the Local Church

Prayer - Together

Ever major breakthrough for the church in the book of Acts came about as a direct result of prayer. God performed mighty works for the propagation of the gospel and the declaration of His glory in direct proportion to the prayers of His people.    Radical Together

Prayer - A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

7 Practices of Effective Ministries

1. Clarify the Win. Define what is important. What is the organization’s purpose. Leaders and people working/serving in the organization need to know what a “win” is.
2.Think Steps, Not Programs. Before you start anything, make sure it takes you where you want and need to go in order to “win”. Think process. Processes within programs.
3. Narrow the Focus. Do fewer things in order to make a greater impact. Less is more. Focus, focus, focus.
4. Teach Less for More. Say only what you need to say to the people who need to hear it. Not everyone has to be in the know. Not everyone has to give permission.
5. Listen to Outsiders. Focus on who you are trying to reach, not who you’re trying to keep. Information from those not yet in organization is needed and can be used to help make improvements.
6. Replace Yourself. Learn to hand of what you do. Develop people. Develop leaders. Train others. Give permission within perimeters of “win”.
7. Work On It. Take time to evaluate your work, and to celebrate your wins. Analyze and improve. Personal improvement and organizational improvement is a must. Allow Teams to evaluate and improve.

The above are taken from 7 Practices of Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner, and Lane Jones.

The Symbol For Christianity



Prayer - Oneness With God

"Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him" (Matthew 6:8). Then why should we ask? The point of prayer is not to get answers from God, but to have perfect and complete oneness with Him. If we pray only because we want answers, we will become irritated and angry with God. We receive an answer every time we pray, but it does always come out in the way we expect... We are not here to prove that God answers prayer, but to be living trophies of God's grace. - Oswald Chambers

Say so

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.² Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary
³ And gathered from the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.

⁴ They wandered in the wilderness in a desert region;
They did not find a way to an inhabited city.
⁵ They were hungry and thirsty;
Their soul fainted within them.
⁶ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
He delivered them out of their distresses.
⁷ He led them also by a straight way,
To go to an inhabited city.
⁸ Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonders to the sons of men!
⁹ For He has satisfied the thirsty soul,
And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.

                                  Psalm 107:1-9

Christianity's Symbol

More Than Nets - Pray, Give, Go

Sharing 101

1. Everything you have comes from God.
2. Everything that is given to you is given in trust to you.
3. The blessings you have are not just for your own personal benefit.
4. What is given to you is given to you that you may share with others.
5. Sharing with others blesses them and you.

Speaking Carefully

When I want to speak let me first think:
- Is it true?
- Is it kind?
- Is it helpful?
- Is it ncessary?
If not, let it go unspoken.

Calendar Thought

The best form of spiritual exercise is to touch the floor regularly with your knees.

Missional Living

Missional living is the adoption of the posture, thinking, behaviors, and practices of a missionary in order to engage others with the gospel message.

Listen and Be Reminded

This is my Father's world.
And to my listening ears,
All nature sings and round me rings,
The music of the spheres.
M.D. Babcock

The Pic of Christianity

Shine - Oldie But A Goodie

God's Power In Us

"We must have His life in us by the Spirit if we are to do His work and practice His teaching."
"After all, the power is in the Spirit of Christ. It is not who we are, but Who He is that makes the difference."
Robert Coleman, The Master Plan of Evangelism

Serve

"Great occasions for serving God come seldom, but little ones surround us daily." - From Our Daily Bread, 7-18-13.

Opportunities for being a servant of Jesus Christ "surround us daily". So true. May we understand and practice this thought in our homes, occupation, friendships, neighborhood, church, civic clubs, and in other places we frequent such as the local stores we visit daily or weekly.

Just yesterday I heard two beautiful stories that lived out the above quote and it spurred me on in God's Kingdom. You will never hear of these people and their stories and how their servant hearts and actions boosted the Kingdom of God. Today, others may never hear of or see the servant action you practice towards others, yet it is vital that we live as servants of the powerful God we worship. You never know what God will do with the "little ones that surround us daily."

Tommy Speight - Leadership

Created Words

Over the past several years myself and others in Horizon Community Church have placed together words that express our ethos and beliefs. Below are the words with a brief definition.

Anticipraytion: [an-tis-uh-prey-shuhn]
1. the act of praying with anticipation.

2. realization in advance; foretaste.

3. praying in and with expectation or hope.

4. praying and anticipating the answer.

Creavolution: [cre-a-voe-loo-shuhn]
1. believing in creation(macro) and evolution(micro).
2. God created it all.
3. life changes and morphs.
4. In the beginning... God.

Godcidence: [koh-in-si-duhns] 

1. a striking occurrence of two or more events at one time apparently by mere chance, but believing and understanding that God is in control.

2. when seeking after God things fall together in a crazy sort of way.

3. a God instance of this.

 

Faithilistic: /ˌriəˈlɪstɪk/ Show Spelled[faith-uh-lis-tik] 

1. interested in, concerned with, or based on a life of faith and how it is fleshed out in the physical and spiritual world. 

2. pertaining to living by fiath. 

3. resembling or simulating life lived in faith.

 

Feartastic: [feer-tas-tik]

1. experiencng a little fear as you move into something great and fantastic. 

2. in spite of being apprehensive one is fanciful or capricious, as persons or their ideas or actions.

3. imaginary and beautiful; not being based on reality; moving forward in life and with God in spite of fear.
4. overcoming fear to live in the faithilistic realm.