Sign-Up for Fall Festival
Wesley Chapel Fall Festival Sign-Up
The Wesley Chapel Fall Festival is Oct 31 and Nov 1. Faith will be hosting a table to greet people and handout goodies. Sign up for your slot, today.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
21 Days of Prayer – Day 17
21 DAYS OF PRAYER - DAY 17
Heavenly Father,
We praise you with our lips, and with our lives and hearts. Our very existence is a gift from you; to you, we offer all that we have and are.
I confess that I have not loved You with my whole heart and I have not loved my neighbor as myself. I have often not shared the good news of Your salvation with those who desperately need to hear it.
(take a moment to reflect on the past day and confess your sins.)
I am sorry for my sins and pray for Your great mercy. For the sake of Jesus Christ, please forgive me of all my sins.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.
Amen
Prayer of the Day:
Dear Jesus,
You send Your church out into the world to make disciples of all nations. Create in us an irresistible urge to tell others about You. Help us to have an eternal perspective that sees the desperate need of those who do not have faith to receive Your salvation.
Create opportunities for us to share Your story. Make us bold to speak openly about You in those opportunities. When we do, give us the words to say and help us to trust You with the results.
Lord, we pray for those who do not know You. Prepare their hearts to hear Your Word. Bless their hearing of Your Word that they would receive faith and receive eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Be with Faith Lutheran Church. Keep us from becoming content to simply gather together without feeling the urgency to then go into the world with the Good News. As we go into the world in community and outreach events, bless those activities that we would have meaningful conversations with people and be able to speak with the about You.
Be with me, personally. Help me to recognize the relationships I have where the other person needs to hear about You. Take away my fear and open my mouth to speak about You. I especially lift up the following people:
(Pray for people by name whom you know and who don’t believe in Jesus.)
Amen.
The Psalms:
The Psalms have long been considered the prayer book of the Bible and have been used as prayers by countless Christians over the centuries. So, we join them in this practice and pray a Psalm.
Psalm 34
1 I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to blot out their name from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord will rescue his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
(Take a few minutes to add your personal prayers, now.)
Conclude your time of prayer with either Luther’s morning or evening prayer, depending on what time of day it is.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank you, my Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
Luther’s Evening Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray You to forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the wicked foe may have no power over me. Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
We Are the Light of the World
We Are the light of the world
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16
This is a passage you have probably heard before. It’s pretty common in the church to encourage us to get out and evangelize. One aspect of this passage that I don’t hear spoken of as often, however, is that the sureness of the stated fact.
You are the light of the world!
Simple, but definite. Jesus doesn’t say, go become the light of the world, He says you are the light of the world. The fact that you, as one who has received faith in Jesus, are the light of the world is not in question. The question is whether you will let that light shine.
Living in a Culture of Self-Imposed Censorship
As the husband of a teacher, I am well aware of the limits of what teachers can say about Jesus in the classroom. However, in many places and situations we don’t actually have forced limitations on what we can and can’t say. What we do have is a lot of pressure to not say anything.
Our current culture does much to try to intimidate us into silence. Sure, you’ll hear of the occasional incident where a Christian is shouted down or even physically assaulted, but the real goal of the enemy is to keep us from ever speaking up in the first place…and he’s been pretty successful.
Shining in the Darkness
In His sermon on the mount, Jesus is encouraging us to not be silent and not hold back on doing good to others, even if the world tells us to be quiet and stop. The implication, here, is that you don’t have to be a theologian or a gifted evangelist. Just don’t hide the light Jesus has put in you.
Every Christian has the light of Christ within them. What if we lived as followers of Christ openly? What if we spoke freely of the spiritual aspects of our lives as easily as we do sports or work? You don’t have to be pushy at all. You are just sharing your life and that life has Christ at the center of it.
So, let’s shine! Let’s stop censoring ourselves and speak openly. Let’s love others in a self-sacrificial, Christ-like way and give God the glory. We may be surprised as the lives it lights up.
Heavenly Father,
You have redeemed us and given us new life as You shined the light of Christ into our lives. Help us to shine. Embolden us that we would not hide Your light.
Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt