Join us this month as we raise our voices in THANKSGIVING and in PRAYER to our heavenly Father because:
• A young couple who have moved into our area have attended worship at our church regularly since last September; they will soon celebrate their second wedding anniversary. Give THANKS for their married life and PRAY that they will decide to be received as members of our church plant
• Regular pastoral visitation is so essential for believers. I have kept a schedule of visits so that every family is visited twice a year since we planted five years ago. I have watched, discussed, and prayed with each household. Being alongside parents as their children grow up, one can observe the pressure of school and activity scheduling take-over resulting in the atrophy or even total loss of family worship just at the time when it most needed as still spiritually vulnerable teenagers step out into an increasingly secular world. ASK God to help their parents make wise and discerning decisions in their care for them so that they will mature into the full stature of Jesus Christ. PRAY that family prayer together will grow so that children can see and hear their parent’s love of Christ as well as being taught it.
• My 4 August sermon will bring us to the end of the Gospel of Luke, Luke 24.36-53. On 11 August I'm planning to start a series on chapters 1-11 of Genesis. Truths such as "Male and female he created them" (Genesis 1.27) are under fierce attack, and it's vital for us to know what we believe and why we believe it. Give THANKS to God for lessons learned during our series on Luke’s Gospel. ASK God to open our eyes to see wonderful things in our Savior’s resurrection, on the road to Emmaus and among the disciples; that we may rejoice with them as they returned having witnessed his ascension. PRAY that God would help me avoid potential pitfalls in preaching the opening verses of Genesis 1 and that the new sermon series would greatly benefit the congregation.
