We Can Learn from the Prophet Amos in Times Like These

There is much we can learn from studying the prophets of the Old Testament.  One that we need to focus on in times such as ours is  Amos. The Prophet Amos belongs to a period about a century after the Prophet Elijah and nearly a century before the Prophet Isaiah, and about two centuries before the Prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. Amos declared himself to have been of humble birth.  He was the non-prophet prophet.


His parents were not illustrious; and he was not educated among the sons of the prophets. Like David he was a sheep tender, a farmer, upon whom the Lord poured His Spirit with mighty power, sending him to proclaim the disasters sure to come upon Israel unless a change of course should turn aside the deserved punishment for transgressions against God's commands.


The brunt of the Prophet's message fell against what is called the Northern Kingdom after the split following Solomon, what we know as the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel. The Divine method of presenting the matter is noteworthy. The Prophet's message began with the adjoining nations: (1) Damascus, the capital of Syria, on the north, is mentioned as being in line with the Divine retributions; (2) the Philistines, on the west; (3) Tyre, to the northwest; (4) the Edomites, to the south; (5) the Ammonites, nearly on the east; (6) the Moabites, also to the south; (7) Judah, to the south; and lastly, the center of the Prophet's message, Israel--the ten-tribe kingdom.
 
This denunciation of Israel occurs chiefly in chapters 3-6 and in chapter 7:9-17. When the Prophet had gone so far as to tell openly of the fall of the reigning dynasty, Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, interfered, bidding Amos to return to his own country. But under the special power of the Holy Spirit, using him to deliver a particular message, the Prophet Amos refused to return home until he had accomplished what God had given him to do.


Amos pleads with the Israelites that they return to harmony with God and thus avert the calamities which must otherwise be expected. The history of that time shows that it was a very prosperous period, not only for Judah, but also for the ten-tribe kingdom. The prosperity was of the earthly kind. Riches were accumulated. But these were in the hands of the great few; and the Prophet proceeds to warn the rich that the poor were being unjustly dealt with.
 
Amos speaks of a \pronounced need for social justice.  Justice was not rendered in the Israel courts. Instead of the sweets of Justice, those who appealed to their courts, if they were poor, got wormwood--that is, bitterness, disappointment. The Prophet declares that righteousness was cast down to the earth; that equity was not a matter of primary consideration. He proceeds to point out that bribery was rife; that wealth, power and influence could accomplish almost anything. He proclaims boldly that there must be a turning from this condition; and relief could come only from turning back to the Lord and doing good and right deeds to honor God.
 
What did Amos find when he came north? He found pride (6:13-14), plenty and splendor in the land, elegance in the cities and might in the palaces. The wealthy adorned their summer and winter residences with costly ivory (3:15) and their couches with damask pillows (3:12) on which they lolled to enjoy sumptuous feasts. They planted pleasant vineyards and anointed themselves with precious, fragrant oils (6:4-6; 5:11). Their women, whom Amos called "fat cows of Bashan," drank wine from bowls (4:1).
 
Due to the sharp contrast between poor and rich and the fact that the wealthy seemed unconcerned for their less fortunate contemporaries, Amos was sent by God to decry the injustice of it all; "you do not even know how to do right" (3-10), he accused. Because of this, he said, the poor are afflicted, exploited and even sold into slavery (2:6-8; 5:11), and corrupt judges (5:12) do nothing to correct the situation.
 
When Amos saw the cruel gaps between "the haves" and the "have nots" , the way the poor were treated, the idolatry and the shallowness of their worship services, he became very angry. He said:


"I hate and despise your feasts,
I take no pleasure in your solemn festivals.
I reject your sacrifices
Let me hear no more of your chanting
But rather let justice flow like water
And integrity like an unfailing stream." 5:24

The Prophet Amos was especially commissioned of the Lord to give this message of repentance and of the need for fairness. Hence he could not keep silence because of prudence or for any other consideration, but must speak his message with boldness.   And that he did!
 
 In our day we are still called upon to help the poor and stand up for the powerless, to speak for those without a voice.  We can help the poor by active participation in charitable organizations, through our financial support of charitable organizations like food pantries and the Salvation Army.  But we also need  to be working to change unjust structures and laws that help to keep the poor poor.
 
Certainly we must work to help with the immediate needs of the poor for food, medicine, clothing and shelter. I am very grateful for the support of my local churches for the area food pantries and care teams.. Through Christian stewardship of time and talent, hundreds of people are helped.   Charitable organizations and those who financially support them live the message of Matthew 25:30-46, I was hungry and you gave me to eat . ..
 .
 Works of Justice Are Also Needed




  Works of justice seek to bring about systemic change institutions. Advocates in this area seek to change laws and business practices that create great injustice and inequity in society.  In our country over 50 million people do not have health insurance and many folks are living below poverty levels.


In recent times the great prophets of social justice, followers of Amos and others, have been Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Archbishop Romero, Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Tutu and Nelson Mandela and Susan B. Anthony (who fought for voting rights for women in our country). Many other men and women have been killed or jailed for speaking out against injustices. But, as a result of their advocacy millions of men, women and children have better lives today. In real ways social justice is more demanding than works of charity in that advocates often meet a lot of strong resistance and even violence as they seek to bring about systemic change.
 
But both are needed. Without the work of charitable organizations the poor would die as social advocates lobbied to remove the causes of poverty and injustice. Without the work of social justice advocates women would still not have received their right to vote and black people would still be treated like second class citizens.


We need to follow in the footsteps of Amos and Jesus and speak God's truth to power.  We need to be prophets of God in our own day.

Reclaiming the Prophetic Voice --Putting God First -- We Need to be God-Pleasers, Not Human Pleasers!

Where are the prophets of our day, speaking to power for the powerless?  Where is the modern day Amos or James, or Moses or, yes, Jesus?  Where are the Christian leaders who will serve God first, not men and women, but God? 


The sadness is that so many pastors are afraid to speak up for fear they might lose their "jobs."  If they speak truth to power they might get in trouble with the session, the board, the earthly powers that be.  Our contemporary system of finding and hiring and paying pastors seems to often work against the power of the prophetic sermon or powerful social action.  Many contemporary pastors are neutered by the system humans have created.


We must always remember that being a pastor is not simply a "job."  It is a calling that initiates with God.  And we are ordained and commissioned to be God's ambassadors, to speak forth God's Word and principles with power and clarity.


In our world, just as in the time of Amos and Jeremiah and Micah, there is a burning need to speak God's truth, not matter how negative the earthly consequences may seem.  Serving God has to come first.  Indeed, if you serve God rightly, that is how the people are really and justly served.


We must return to a reverence for the Hebrew prophetic tradition of speaking truth to earthly power, of standing up for God and God's allegiance to the poor and disenfranchised, of giving voice to the powerless in a broken and often evil world.  We need more preachers like Amos and Moses and Isaiah, like Stephen and Paul and Peter, and yes, Jesus, speaking God's truth to earthly power.  In the richest nation on earth we have shocking income inequality,with 25 million people unemployed or underemployed and 50 million people without access to proper health care. 


Yet we often seem to major in the minors, clamoring for things that pale in comparison to hunger and sickness and injustice.  Sadly, for many Christians thier pro-life stance seems to end at the birth of a human being, not in the rigors of that ongoing life.   Sadly, many people seem far more concerned with fear of gays and illegal immigrants, than in feeding the hungry and healing the sick.


Priorities are misplaced and the great truths of the Bible are turned on their end to please men, not God, because there is so much more in the Bible about the evils of greed and political corruption, and the need for social justice and helping the poor, than there is about sex.  But too many pastors major on sex, the easy target, rather than greed and avarice, because that might get someone in power, in their church or community, upset with them.  They allow lies to go unchallenged, and injustice to fester and grow.


The whole idea of speaking forth God's prophetic Word in prophetic ways has been lost to many.  Too many people in today's churches see pastors only as helpers; that ours is a helping profession, counted alongside doctors and nurses and emergency responders and teachers and social workers.


But being a minister of God is more than being a helper.  It is to also be a shepherd, which is a guide and a protector, one who leads beside still waters for a refreshing drink and rest, and, as David did, one who fights the lion and the bear when they threaten God's flock.


Pastors need to first serve God and proclaim God's Word and encourage people to pray and wash in that precious, life-giving Word.  They need to be prophetic, being God-pleasers first, not human-pleasers.


“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10

Our aim must be higher than comparing ourselves to others.  When we take stock in our own lives, we need to do so in light of Who we are trying to please.  As servants of Christ, our only desire should be that of doing His will, of serving Him and doing what He guides us to do.  As we evaluate our ministry, our work, our activity, our speech, our thoughts need rest only in our Lord’s pleasure. 

Are we living lives that honor God, living in humility, in love, and in peace? Are we faithful to His call? Are we serving to gain notoriety, success, or popularity in a human or worldly sense? Or are we doing what we do as a willing and cheerful sacrifice of praise for the righteousness we have in Christ, our risen Lord?  Are we fully living for Jesus?

God loved us while we were yet sinners.  He gave His life that we might have His life within us.  In Christ we have all we need to bring glory to Him.  May we lay aside our need to please humans, and live only to magnify Him and point others to Him.


In my own life, as a minister called by God, I must seek to please God first in my life and ministry.  I must strive to preach the unadulterated Word of the Living God, for it is the Word in its pure form that is supernatural, cutting like a two-edged sword.


My own calling as a pastor is to God first and foremost.  When the time comes for me to leave the churches where God has now placed me to preach His Word faithfully, I am assured that God will use me where God chooses -- but God will continue to use me, because pastors have a lifetime call, and we will serve God in some ministry capacity until we leave this earth.


Every pastor lives with the sometimes harsh reality that a call to a particular church or churches is temporary.  Either you will move to another church one day, after the purposes God has given you in that particular church have been fulfilled, or you will go to heaven.  Sometimes the brokenness of the world and the evils of the devil seem to short circuit this process, and the time in a particular church is shorter than anyone would have planned, but even in the best of circumstances, a pastorate is a temporary call within a greater call.


But, as a minister called by God, i am  convinced that God will use me even when my days in these two blessed churches that I serve are over.  God may take me to a storefront or a street corner, but there will be things to do until that day God calls me home.  And there is no doubt in my mind that God will take care of me and provide for my family, whether I go back to driving a truck or a bus, or work again on a farm, or teach in a university or callege. 


Never forget that Paul was a tent maker and Amos was a farmer, which may have aided them in being boldly prophetic.  The simple truth is this -- Where God guides, God will provide.  That is a holy guarantee.


The important thing for pastors is to always put God first, and not get in a ditch trying to please men and women before God, or trying to build one's own "earthly kingdom", instead of working for Christ's kingdom.  We must be God pleasers first, not human pleasers.

 

A Day to Remember That Love is a Holy Command

St. Valentine, The Real Story

by David Kithcart
CBN.COM

Flowers, candy, red hearts and romance. That's what Valentine's day is all about, right? Well, maybe not.

The origin of this holiday for the expression of love really isn't romantic at all -- at least not in the traditional sense. Father Frank O'Gara of Whitefriars Street Church in Dublin, Ireland, tells the real story of the man behind the holiday -- St. Valentine.

"He was a Roman Priest at a time when there was an emperor called Claudias who persecuted the church at that particular time," Father O'Gara explains. " He also had an edict that prohibited the marriage of young people. This was based on the hypothesis that unmarried soldiers fought better than married soldiers becau
se married soldiers might be afraid of what might happen to them or their wives or families if they died."

"I think we must bear in mind that it was a very permissive society in which Valentine lived," says Father O'Gara. "Polygamy would have been much more popular than just one woman and one man living together. And yet some of them seemed to be attracted to Christian faith. But obviously the church thought that marriage was very sacred between one man and one woman for their life and that it was to be encouraged. And so it immediately presented the problem to the Christian church of what to do about this."

"The idea of encouraging them to marry within the Christian church was what Valentine was about. And he secretly married them because of the edict."

Valentine was eventually caught, imprisoned and tortured for performing marriage ceremonies against command of Emperor Claudius the second. There are legends surrounding Valentine's actions while in prison.

"One of the men who was to judge him in line with the Roman law at the time was a man called Asterius, who's daughter was blind. He was supposed to have prayed with and healed the young girl with such astonishing effect that Asterius himself became Christian as a result."

In the year 269 AD, Valentine was sentenced to a three part execution of a beating, stoning, and finally decapitation all because of his stand for Christian marriage. The story goes that the last words he wrote were in a note to Asterius' daughter. He inspired today's romantic missives by signing it, "from your Valentine."
"What Valentine means to me as a priest," explains Father O'Gara, "is that there comes a time where you have to lay your life upon the line for what you believe. And with the power of the Holy Spirit we can do that -- even to the point of death."

Valentine's martyrdom has not gone unnoticed by the general public. In fact, Whitefriars Street Church is one of three churches that claim to house the remains of Valentine. Today, many people make the pilgrimage to the church to honor the courage and memory of this Christian saint.

"Valentine has come to be known as the patron saint of lovers. Before you enter into a Christian marriage you want some sense of God in your life -- some great need of God in your life. And we know, particularly in the modern world, many people are meeting God through his Son, Jesus Christ."

"If Valentine were here today, he would say to married couples that there comes a time where you're going to have to suffer. It's not going to be easy to maintain your commitment and your vows in marriage. Don't be surprised if the 'gushing' love that you have for someone changes to something less "gushing" but maybe much more mature. And the question is, is that young person ready for that?"

"So on the day of the marriage they have to take that into context," Father O'Gara says. "Love -- human love and sexuality is wonderful, and blessed by God -- but also the shadow of the cross. That's what Valentine means to me."

Pray Without Ceasing -- Pray for the Unity of the Church

THE POWER of
PERSEVERING PRAYER

Andrew Murray 1828-1917

THE PARABLE OF THE PERSISTENT WIDOW
A Devotion by Dr. Andrew Murray


And the Lord said, "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint...
There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?"

 (Luke 18:1-8)

 Of all the mysteries of the prayer world the need of persevering prayer is one of the greatest. That the Lord, who is so loving and longing to bless, should have to be asked, time after time, sometimes year after year, before the answer comes, we cannot easily understand. It is also one of the greatest practical difficulties in the exercise of believing prayer. When, after persevering pleading, our prayer remains unanswered, it is often easiest for our lazy flesh, and it has all the appearance of pious submission, to think that we must now cease praying, because God may have His secret reason for withholding His answer to our request.It is by faith alone that the difficulty is overcome. When once faith has taken its stand on God's word and the Name of Jesus, and has yielded itself to the leading of the Spirit to seek God's will and honor alone in its prayer, it need not be discouraged by delay.

It knows from Scripture that the power of believing prayer is simply irresistible; real faith can never be disappointed. It knows that just as water, to exercise the irresistible power it can have, must be gathered up and accumulated until the stream can come down in full force, so there must often be a heaping up of prayer until God sees that the measure is full, when the answer comes. It knows that just as the peasant farmer has to take his ten thousand steps to sow his tens of thousands seeds, each one a part of the preparation for the final harvest, so there is a need for often repeated persevering prayer, all working out some desired blessing. It knows for certain that not a single believing prayer can fail of its effect in heaven, but has its influence, and is treasured up to work out an answer in due time to him who perseveres to the end. It knows that it has to do, not with human thoughts or possibilities, but with the word of the living God.
And so, even as Abraham through so many years "who against hope believed in hope" (Romans 4:18), and then "followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises." (Hebrews 6:12)

To enable us, when the answer to our prayer does not come at once, to combine quiet patience and joyful confidence in our persevering prayer, we must especially try to understand the words in which our Lord sets forth the character and conduct, not of the unjust judge, but of our God and Father, toward those whom He allows to cry day and night to Him: "I tell you that He will avenge them speedily." (Luke 18:8)

He will avenge them quickly, the Master says. The blessing is all prepared; He is not only willing, but most anxious, to give them what they ask; everlasting love burns with the longing desire to reveal itself fully to its beloved and to satisfy their needs. God will not delay one moment longer than is absolutely necessary; He will do all in His power to expedite and rush the answer.

But why, if this is true and His power is infinite, does it often take so long for the answer to prayer to come? And why must God's own elect so often, in the middle of suffering and conflict, cry day and night? He is waiting patiently while He listens to them. "Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain." (James 5:7) The farmer does, indeed, long for his harvest, but knows that it must have its full amount of sunshine and rain, and he has long patience. A child so often wants to pick the half-ripe fruit; the farmer knows how to wait until the proper time. Man, in his spiritual nature too, is under the law of gradual growth that reigns in all created life. It is only in the path of development that he can reach his divine destiny. And it is the Father, in whose hand are the times and seasons, who knows the moment when the soul or the Church is ripened to that fullness of faith in which it can really take and keep the blessing. Like a father who longs to have his only child home from school, and yet waits patiently until the time of training is completed, so it is with God and His children: He is the patient One, and answers quickly.

The insight into this truth leads the believer to cultivate the corresponding dispositions: patience and faith, waiting and anticipating, are the secret of his perseverance. By faith in the promise of God, we know that we have the petitions we have asked of Him. Faith takes and holds the answer in the promise as an unseen spiritual possession, rejoices in it, and praises for it. But there is a difference between the faith that thus holds the word and knows that it has the answer and the clearer, fuller, riper faith that obtains the promise as a present experience. It is in persevering, not unbelieving, but confident and praising prayer, that the soul grows up into that full union with its Lord in which it can enter upon the possession of the blessing in Him. There may be in these around us, there may be in that great system of being of which we are part, there may be in God's government, things that have to be put right through our prayer before the answer can fully come: the faith that has, according to the command, believed that it has received, can allow God to take His time; it knows it has prevailed and must prevail. In quiet, persistent, and determined perseverance it continues in prayer and thanksgiving until the blessing comes. And so we see combined what at first sight appears contradictory--the faith that rejoices in the answer of the unseen God as a present possession and the patience that cries day and night until it be revealed. The quickness of God's patience is met by the triumphant but patient faith of His waiting child.

Our great danger, in this school of the answer delayed, is the temptation to think that, after all, it may not be God's will to give us what we ask. If our prayer be according to God's word, and under the leading of the Spirit, let us not give way to these fears. Let us learn to give God time. God needs time with us. If only we give Him time, that is, time in the daily fellowship with Himself, for Him to exercise the full influence of His presence on us, and time, day by day, in the course of our being kept waiting, for faith to prove its reality and to fill our whole being, He Himself will lead us from faith to vision; we shall see the glory of God. Let no delay shake our faith. Of faith it holds good: first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. Each believing prayer brings a step nearer the final victory. Each believing prayer helps to ripen the fruit and bring us nearer to it; it fills up the measure of prayer and faith known to God alone; it conquers the hindrances in the unseen world; it hastens the end. Child of God, give the Father time. He is patiently listening to you. He wants the blessing to be rich, and full, and sure; give Him time, while you cry day and night. Only remember the word: "I tell you that He will avenge them speedily." (Luke 18:8)

The blessing of such persevering prayer is unspeakable. There is nothing so heart-searching as the prayer of faith. It teaches you to discover and confess, and to give up everything that hinders the coming of the blessing, everything there may not be in accordance with the Father's will. It leads to closer fellowship with Him who alone can teach us to pray, to a more entire surrender to draw near under no covering but that of the blood and the Spirit. It calls for a closer and more simple abiding in Christ alone. Christian, give God time. He will perfect that which concerns you.

Let it be thus whether you pray for yourself or for others. All labor, bodily or mental, needs time and effort: we must give up ourselves up to it. Nature discovers her secrets and yields her treasures only to diligent and thoughtful labor. However little we can understand it, in the spiritual farming it is the same: the seed we sow in the soil of heaven, the efforts we put forth, and the influence we seek to exert in the world above, need our whole being: we must give ourselves to prayer. But let us hold firm the great confidence that in due season we will reap if we don't give up.

And let us especially learn the lesson as we pray for the Christ's Church. She is, indeed, like the poor widow, in the absence of her Lord, apparently at the mercy of her adversary, helpless to obtain restitution. Let us, when we pray for His Church or any portion of it, under the power of the world, asking Him to visit her with the mighty workings of His Spirit and to prepare her for His coming-- let us pray in the assured faith: prayer does help, praying always and not stopping will bring the answer. Only give God time. And then keep crying out day and night. "And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them?" (Luke 18:6-7)

Praying for God's Power and Renewal in Our Churches, Towns and Cities

WE CAN PRAY WITH BOLDNESS. PRAYER MOVES MOUNTAINS. We obtain the power of God when we ask for it, and we deny ourselves when we do not pray for God's power. Every single revival has started with earnest prevailing prayer.

There is a tombstone in upstate New York which reads "Daniel Nash, labourer with Finney, mighty in prayer." Daniel Nash prayed in every town Charles Finney had a revival in. Over 100,000 people were brought to Christ in Rochester, New York. It's hard to minister without power. There's a whole other level of power here that we need.

 "Father Nash," as some called him, would quietly slip into a town three or four weeks before Finney's arrival, rent a room, find two or three other like-minded Christians to join him, and start pleading with God. In one town the best he could find was a dark, damp cellar; it became his center for intercession.

In another place, Finney relates, When I got to town to start a revival a lady contacted me who ran a boarding house. She said, "Brother Finney, do you know a Father Nash? He and two other men have been at my boarding house for the last three days, but they haven't eaten a bite of food. I opened the door and peeped in at them because I could hear them groaning, and I saw them down on their faces. They have been this way for three days, lying prostrate on the floor groaning. I thought something awful must have happened to them, I was afraid to go in and I didn't know what to do. Would you please see about them?"

"No, it isn't necessary," I replied. "They just have a spirit of travail in prayer."

Do you want to see the affect of Daniel Nash's intercessory prayer in just one city? 

 "A convert in Rochester, New York, left a description of Finney's revival ministry in that city in which more than a hundred thousand came to saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus within one year. He wrote: "The whole community was stirred. Religion was the topic of conversation, in the house, in the shop, in the office, and on the street…The only theater in the city was converted into a livery stable; the only circus into a soap and candle factory. Grog [beer] shops were closed; the Sabbath was honored; the sanctuaries were thronged with happy worshippers; a new impulse was given to every philanthropic enterprise; the fountains of benevolence were opened and men lived to do good."

The report continues: "It is worthy of special notice that a large number of leading men of the place were among the converts--the lawyers, the judges, physicians, merchants, bankers and master mechanics. These classes were more moved from the very first than any other. Tall oaks were bowed as by the blast of a hurricane. Skeptics and scoffers were brought in, and a large number of the most promising young men. It is said that no less than forty of them entered the ministry…

"It is not too much to say that the whole character of the city was changed by that revival," wrote this eyewitness. "Most of the leaders of society being converted, and exerting a controlling influence in social life, in business, and in civil affairs, religion was enthroned as it had been in few places….Even the courts and the prisons bore witness to its blessed effects. There was a wonderful falling off of crime. The courts had little to do, and the jail was nearly empty for years afterward." That's power--the power of prevailing prayer.

Pray for Your Church and Your Services Together -- Be a People of Prayer!

WILL YOU PRAY FOR YOUR CHURCH? WILL YOU PRAY FOR YOUR CHURCH'S WORSHIP SERVICE?

Prayer Changes Things -- So Make it a Goal to Pray for Things!

What would happen if everyone would pray  before each worship service? Will you bathe your church's worship services in prayer using this Scripture based list?

1. Pray that worshipers will feel God's presence and be so in awe of his power, authority, love, wisdom, and grace that they will truly worship God and hold on to him. ("For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes . . . Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name." Deuteronomy 10:17,20).

2. Pray that everyone present will know Jesus Christ as Savior and will grow to know him better and better. ("For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." 1 Corinthians 2:2).

3. Pray that the Word of God will be declared with clarity, boldness, love, and power. ("Pray, also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I'll fearlessly make known the mysteries of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." Ephesians 6:19-20).

4. Pray that no distractions will keep God's people from focusing on him and being fully open to the blessings he wants to bring into their lives. ("And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains." Colossians 4:3).

5. Pray that all worship leaders - preacher, instrumentalists, choir, vocalists, sound technicians, and greeters - will rely on and be used of the Lord. ("I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone -- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." 1 Timothy 2:1-2).

6. Pray that worshipers will apply the biblical truths and principles they hear and be encouraged, uplifted, challenged, and rebuked. ("Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." James 1:22).

May each of you be blessed as you join together in prayer and have a part in helping introduce people to Jesus, helping them become to follow Christ, and teaching them to care for, nurture and love each other. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

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