Dear
Good Shepherd,
Good Morning. Hope all is well. It has been an especially
busy week and, in fact, I am supposed to be celebrating
my birthday today. So, as a special birthday present to
myself I decided not to write a new weekly article but republish
one that many people have requested.
That
is my birthday present to myself. However if you have yet
to decide upon your birthday present for me, please know
that I accept cash, checks and money orders...
(I'm
joking...I don't really accept money orders)
WEEKLY
ARTICLE:
“Why
Pray When God Already Knows What I Need?”
Article
from the Spring 2004 Shepherd's Pen
The
Rev. Matt Kennedy
The
Church of the Good Shepherd
“Please
pray for me.” How many times have you made this request?
When believers are discouraged, in need, anxious about the
future, or insecure about the present a prayer request comes
naturally, almost thoughtlessly, to our lips.
But
what do we believe about prayer?
“I
think prayer changes us more than it changes God's mind,”
said a friend of mine recently. She was right. Nothing we
say can change God's mind. God's mind is not limited like
ours. God is omniscient and omnipotent. He knows all that
there is to know about all things past present and future
and he has ordained all that has and all that will come
to pass. There is nothing you know that God doesn't know
already and better. He knows exactly what you are going
to say before you say it and he has known it from before
the creation of the Universe. As King David says, “Before
a word is on my tongue, you know it completely, O Lord.”
(Psalm 139:4)
So
why pray? I mean if God already knows what he is going to
do in a particular situation and he has known from the very
beginning why even make the effort to express our needs
and desires?
Well
there are three reasons:
First
and foremost prayer strengthens your relationship with God.
Just like any relationship, communication is key in your
relationship with Jesus Christ. If you never share your
experiences, your hopes, fears, anxieties or expectations
with your wife or husband, then your relationship will never
mature. You might live in the same house, watch the same
television, parent the same children and call yourselves
by the same last name but if you never communicate, if you
never share yourself with your spouse, then you're just
sharing an address. Jesus doesn't just want to frequent
the same building with you every Sunday, he wants to know
you intimately and he wants you to know him. A daily personal
prayer-time during which you pour out all that is on your
heart and mind is the first step to building an intimate
and personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Second,
my friend was right, prayer does change you. When you go
to God in prayer, you open the deepest part of your being
to the Holy Spirit
“The
Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the
man's spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the
thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received
the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God,
that we may understand what God has freely given us.” (1
Corinthians 2:10-12)
When
you pray, you allow the Spirit of God to work in you in
ways so deep and so fundamental that most times you cannot
even perceive or imagine what he has done or what he is
doing until you wake up one day and realize that you are
a completely different person. A consistent disciplined
daily life of prayer is a life opened and receptive to hearing
God's voice and experiencing God's power.
Prayer
transforms you. Little by little, through prayer God's perspective,
God's desires, God's loves and God's plans are imparted
and implanted in your mind, body, and spirit. Your will
is slowly transformed to be more and more like God's will.
The things you want become more and more like the things
God wants for you. And when you want what God wants for
you, your prayers of supplication will always be answered
positively, “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and
you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.”
(Matthew 7:7)
Third,
Prayer is very often the vehicle through which God's plan
for you is brought to fruition. This happens in two ways.
One:
God has determined that the prayers of his people will be
one catalyst for his power on earth. When Peter was thrown
into jail for preaching in Jesus' name, the remaining believers
prayed that the Lord would come to his aid. In the middle
of the night an angel of the Lord unlocked Peter's cell
and led him to the very house where his friends were praying
for his release (Acts 12:1-17).
Prayer
is as powerful today as it was back then because when you
pray you appeal to the very same God. He can and does intervene
in the lives of his people. God restores marriages, provides
work, heals physical illnesses, resolves interpersonal conflicts,
breaks addictions, and overcomes seemingly immovable obstacles
all through the prayers of his people. If you invite him,
God will daily intervene in the nitty-gritty details of
your life and sometimes in one day, sometimes over many
years, will completely transform the material and spiritual
landscape in which you live. God does this for all believers
because he has determined to use our prayers to accomplish
his eternal purposes.
What
does this mean practically? When you feel the need or desire
for something (so long as it is something that is not contrary
to God's revealed will in the bible) pray to God and ask
him for it. It may be that God has given you the desires
you are experiencing in order to drive you to pray so that
he could use your prayers to accomplish his purpose. God's
plans and purposes, though determined from before time,
include your sanctified desires and your prayers.
Two:
Sometimes God uses your prayer-time time to speak to your
heart about something. He may have a mission for you. He
may want you to confess and repent of something you've done
or are doing. He may want to comfort you after the loss
or a loved one. Or, he may just want you to know how much
he loves you. He can and will communicate these things to
you through prayer. How do you know when God is speaking
to you? Well, that's a subject worthy of many more pages.
It will have to wait for another article. But if you'd like
some guidance on hearing God's voice you might want to get
online and check out the sermon series entitled “Knowing
God's Will” on the website. Here's the address:
http://www.binghamtongoodshepherd.com/sermons.shtml
.
You
will find the series listed under sermons delivered in July
2004. If you are not online you can always request copies
from the church office.
Your
prayers are valuable and powerful in God's sight. They deepen
your relationship with Jesus Christ; they open your heart
and soul to the transformational work of the Holy Spirit;
and they serve as vehicles for God to work powerfully in
your life and the world. So pray for yourself, pray for
the world and the nation, pray for your friends and family,
pray for the Church of the Good Shepherd, and, please, pray
for me.
here's
the news
UPDATE
CONTENT
"NEW" NEWS
ANGLICAN TV
SHARING
BIBLES
NEW
BEGINNERS NEWS
BIBLE
STUDY GOALS
CHICKEN
BBQ AND RUMMAGE SALE THANKS
THE WORLD THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL
NOT QUITE “NEW” NEWS
THE
NEXT ACOLYTE PRACTICE
EUCHARISTIC
MINISTERS ( EMs )
EUCHARISTIC
MINISTERS TO THE ILL AND INFIRM (EMII)
READERS
USHERS/GREETERS/YOUTH
GREETERS
IF YOU SIGNED UP
STEWARDSHIP
"NEW"
NEWS:
ANGLICAN
TV: It's
been confirmed. Good Shepherd's worship service will be
video taped (digitally) and broadcast to thousands of people
this coming Sunday. Anglican TV is an Anglican video network
broadcasting on the internet. The founder, Kevin Kallsen,
will be here to interview me, video the sermon, and probably
other parts of the service. A lot of Anglicans from
all over the world watch Anglican TV pretty regularly since
it is the only broadcasting outfit going.
The
problem is that this weekend is Columbus Day weekend which
means that many of you will be out of town. sigh. It might
be a little embarrassing for us when the camera pans the
congregation only to see a lot of empty space. :) So, if
you'll be in town, please invite friends. If you were planning
on heading out and have a chance to go another weekend,
please consider staying around. If the video turns out well
enough, we can use it to promote Good Shepherd from our
own website and in the community.
IMPORTANT
SUNDAY: This Sunday is important for other reasons
as well.
First,
Anne wanted me to pass on the news that one of the more
important and fun Catechesis presentations of the year is
scheduled for Sunday and
Second,
one of our new acolytes (we have several) is going to serve
for the first time. Gabrielle Dean served for the first
time last week and did especially well. Please help support
our new acolytes.
SHARING
BIBLES: I noticed a couple of weeks ago that some
of our guests were unable to follow along in a bible during
the sermon because all the bibles were taken. Unfortunately,
we only have so many in the pews. It would be a great show
of hospitality if members could bring their own bibles to
church so that guests and new believers can use the ones
in the pews.
NEW
BEGINNERS NEWS:
As I mentioned last week, the Fall class of New Beginners
will start on Thursday, November 2 nd . If you have wanted
to join a bible study but have worried that you are not
knowledgeable enough, this bible study is for you. We start
at the ground level assuming that you have never opened
your bible before and then build you up to the point where
you can take almost any passage and apply it to your life.
God speaks to you directly through the bible. This class
will teach you how to hear his voice. All new members and
all those who have never been in a bible study are encouraged
to join.
Discussions
will be held every Thursday from 6:30pm to 8:00pm
BIBLE
STUDY GOALS: One of the long-term goals the vestry
set at the beginning of last year was to have every active
member of Good Shepherd (active: coming on Sundays) involved
in bible study. Currently
we have close to 60%. That is actually below
our average, which is around 75%. Part of the reason for
this dip is due to the fact that we are running on 4 bible
studies rather than 5. When the New Beginners Study starts
the new session in November, I hope to get back up to normal.
I hope, that is.
I
cannot adequately express how important it is not only for
you as an individual believer, but for the health and vitality
of the entire parish, to to be involved in this practice.
One
primary reason there is life and growth at Good Shepherd
is because you have committed to being grounded and rooted
in the Word of God. Out of that commitment God has done
amazing things. If you have never made that commitment yourself,
I invite you to do so this morning. Pick a bible study and
make it a habit. It will change you life. If you've fallen
away from one, we'd love to have you back.
RUMMAGE
SALE AND CHICKEN BBQ THANKS: Thank you to everyone
who helped out both cooking and staffing the Rummage sale.
I do not have the results, so I am not sure how well we
did, but no doubt we did fine. Thank you again for giving
your time. The Rummage sale is an important way to help
the poor people living nearby as we offer clothes and other
necessary items at very cut rates.
ADULT EDUCATION SERIES: THE WORLD, THE FLESH, AND THE DEVIL:
Facing Temptation in a Fallen World
will continue this Sunday:
Last Sunday we started our transition from the World to
the Flesh. We discussed the war that rages between the old
fallen self and the new self, the new you, created at the
moment you gave your life to Jesus Christ. Though the battle
is won, Christ is victorious, and sin defeated, sinful desire
still plagues the believer throughout his or her earthly
pilgrimage. This section of the class will help you identify
your own trouble spots and help you find ways, through the
power of the Holy Spirit, to overcome them. You are no longer
a slave to sin, you are free in Christ.
Be
sure to bring your bibles!
NOT QUITE "NEW"
NEWS
THE
NEXT ACOLYTE PRACTICE: Will be Saturday October
14th. I'm telling you ahead of time so that you can put
it on your calendars. Thank you to Jesse Vail and Jake Dean
who helped lead the last practice and thank you to all of
our acolytes, new and experienced.
EUCHARISTIC
MINISTERS (EMs): If you are an EM at the 10:30am
service or have signed up to be one, please come to the
acolyte practice on October 14 th . There seems to be some
confusion in the liturgy between the EMs and the acolytes
and we'd like to get this sorted out.
EUCHARISTIC
MINISTERS TO THE ILL AND INFIRM: I
will be contacting you individually for a training session
this coming month.
READERS:
IF you are a reader or have signed up to be a reader,
there will be a training session on Saturday October 28
th at 11:00am
USHER'S/GREETERS/YOUTH
GREETERS: There will be a training meeting after
the 10:30am service on Sunday October 29 th .
IF YOU SIGNED UP: To take part in a ministry
of some sort at the Missions Fair but have forgotten what
you signed up for, don't worry. We know who you are J .
We'll call to remind you.
STEWARDSHIP
: It's getting to be that time of the year again.
If you are a member of the parish we'll be sending our pledge
cards. At Good Shepherd, those in leadership do their best
to use your pledges and gifts in a godly, faithful and generous
way to support the poor, further the Gospel, and maintain
the gifts God has given us. This is the work of the Body
of Christ all believers are called to pitch in. I encourage
everyone to commit to the ten percent tithe in your pledge
this year. But don't take my word for it. Here's what the
prophet Malachi says:
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may
be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD
Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates
of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not
have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring
your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their
fruit," says the LORD Almighty. "Then all the
nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful
land," says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 3:10-12)
HAVE YOU…. shared your faith with a friend? The vestry has
challenged all of us to share our faith in Jesus Christ
with at least one non-believer each month.
Good News for
the Week
let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance
of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from
a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure
water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,
for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how
we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let
us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit
of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more
as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:22-25)
Don't forget to....BRING A FRIEND TO CHURCH!
Daily Schedule for the week of Sunday October 8th,
2006
Monday:
Pastor's day off
Tuesday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
9:00 a.m. Tuesday Morning Bible Study
6:30 p.m. First Light Bible Study
8:00 p.m. Choir Practice
Wednesday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
Thursday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
5:30 p.m. Shepherd's Bowl
6:30 p.m. New Beginners Bible Study STARTING
NOVEMBER 2nd
Friday
6:30 a.m. Men's Breakfast/Bible Study
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
Pastor's sermon prep day
Saturday:
10:00 a.m. Women's Bible Study
Sunday October
15th, 2006: Praise and Worship the Lord!
8:00am Holy Communion II and Sermon
9:15-10:15 a.m. Christian Education for all Ages
10:30 am Holy Communion II, Music and Sermon
God bless you all
In
Christ,
