Sunday, March 7, 2010

Senior's Ministry (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

• God would continue to raise up leaders
• Seniors will use their gifts, talents, and creativity to make this ministry all that God wants it to be
• Mentoring Program Leader

The following events seemed to flow so naturally, I didn’t even realize I had a special story that could challenge others. Faith in God and His control of my daily life was a habit and taken for granted. I didn’t realize just how unusual these events were until my pastor, Bob Moore, asked me if he could use my story. I blinked and said, “of course,” and then mentally reviewed what had happened.

It was 1978. My husband, the first pastor of Greenridge, had died four years earlier. Greenridge was growing, and we were eager to build the second unit of our church. As we entered the phase of planning the finances, I became quite depressed. I didn’t see any way I could contribute to this building. Al and I had borrowed from the bank to buy bonds which were used to finance our first building. My two dress shops weren’t doing well. I eventually had to go to work at IBM to pay these bills. I finally closed the business.

If Al were alive, he would have found a way. I felt it was important to his memory for us to have a share in this project. I finally accepted the fact that humanly speaking, there was no way I could give. One Tuesday evening, a realtor friend called me at my store. “Norrie,” she said. “Have you ever thought about selling your house?” Of course not, I thought. I still had two young girls to raise. She continued, “I have a young couple here who are looking for a home and they are describing your house! Let me show it to them.” I told her “NO.” I was not at all interested. In fact, I was preparing to move my Damascus store to the Damascus Shopping Center. All of my time and energy was involved with that. No way would I even consider it. She said, “Let ME show it to them tonight. If they aren’t interested, I’ll drop it.” I told her, “Absolutely not. There are dirty dishes in the sink, Heidi’s room is a disaster, and I am alone in the store and can’t leave. Forget it!” She finally persuaded me that there was nothing lost if they looked. After all, she knew my house, and she would take care of everything. Finally I gave in.

Later that night, she showed up at my store with a contract and a deposit. She had sold it “as is” so I didn’t have to do anything, and sold it for more money than I would have dared to ask. I couldn’t believe it! I still wasn’t interested because when would I ever find time to look for another house? She told me she would take care of that . . . and she did. The final result was I moved into a house two miles closer to my store. I put in new carpeting, storm windows, shutters, and papered and painted the entire house. One condition was that I would only consider a house with place for a senior friend from Greenridge who lived with me. I was able to finish half of the double garage into a room and bath with a private entrance for her. Also, I now had central air conditioning. Best of all, I NOW WAS ABLE TO GIVE A SIGNIFICANT SUM TO THE BUILDING FUND.

Pastor Moore said all of this happened because I wanted to have a part in building this church. I got everything I needed and more. Should you sell your house to be involved in our current campaign? Probably not. But if you want to do something that will bring others into the Kingdom of God……..brace yourself. He will honor your desire. IMAGINE WHAT THE SPIRIT WILL DO THROUGH YOU!!!

~Norrie Gill

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Day 6: Women's Ministry (J.E.W.E.L.)

• Romans 12:10-13
• Upcoming mentoring program
• For women to connect with God and other women through ministry programs

An important aspect of prayer is establishing the daily practice of time alone with Jesus - a time each day when we connect with Him, clear out our mental daily task list, and enter into quiet fellowship with Him through prayer.

Jesus Himself diligently maintained the practice of prayer to His Father. Mark 1:35 tells us: Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Many find the morning the best time to be alone with the Lord. A missionary to China once said of his morning time with Jesus: “The time to tune the instruments is before the concert begins.”

Whatever works best in your schedule, the point is to spend a few minutes in quiet conversation with your Savior each day!

Basically there are five essential aspects of prayer:

Confession - Agreeing with God about my sin

1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Petition - Asking God for my needs

Philippians 4:6-7 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Intercession - Praying for others

Ephesians 6:18 - And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Thanksgiving - Thanking God for what He has done for me

Ephesians 5:20 - Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And finally, this aspect of prayer (praise) should permeate all of the bullets above...

Praise - Voicing my wonder about who God is

Psalm 146:1-2 - Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul. I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

~Laura Acuna

Friday, March 5, 2010

Day 5: Men's Ministry (Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11-13)

• Men will grow in their service to the gospel
• Faithful to their families
• Programs will be fruitful as outreach to the community

Truth in Prayer


“We must lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us.” C.S. Lewis

1. We cannot move forward in our prayer life until we accept God’s diagnosis of our present condition. If we need healing from an offense or hidden secret, we must deal with it. God already knows. He is waiting for us to come to the true knowledge of ourselves. God’s truth [Jesus] will set us free.

“So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
(John 8:32-32 NASB)

2. We need the Lord’s help to bring the truth about ourselves to the surface; to root out our hidden secrets and offenses. We must trust God with what God already knows about us.

“O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar…Behold, O Lord, You know it all. (Psalm 139:1, 2 & 4b NASB)

3. If we give voice to our secrets, the power our offenses have over us will melt away. We can unleash the power of the Holy Spirit through true contrition of the heart and humility before a gracious and merciful heavenly Father, and He will hear us.

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all of your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7 NASB)

~Gwyndolyn Ensley

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Life Group Ministry (Philippians 2:1-5)

• Life Group leaders - strength and perseverance
• Groups will be warm and welcoming to visitors
• Need new leader(s) for single adult ministry

MOUNTAINS OF BLESSINGS

Romans 8:28 (NIV) - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

Suffering emotional pain, loss of a loved one filled my life with deep sorrow. This verse is my anchor in the storm. I know God didn't cause it to happen but allowed it for my good. Many, many blessings were restored.

Matthew 7:7-9 (NIV) - Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who ask receives, he who seeks finds and to him who knocks the door will be opened.

I remember when my mother passed on after dealing with Alzheimer's disease for ten years. The Lord let her live for ten years instead of taking her quickly, and I was blessed with her presence. I was able to visit with her, sing and even dance with her when she was up to it. The Lord blessed me to be with her on her last day of her life. My extended family in New Jersey supported me with the grace of God and showed me God's love through them.

2 Corinthians 8:6 (NIV) - Remember this; Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

So many times when my heart has opened the desire to give beyond my limit, I was blessed! God's goodness is so amazing. The C.A.R.E. Ministry, which I am a part of, rescued me with house repair and yard work. I remember coming home on my lunch hour and seeing a full team of people raking up my whole yard (one acre). With tears of joy I expressed my gratitude, as I didn't even sign up for help. Going on a mission trip to New Orleans I was equally blessed - learning new skills to help those in need and blessed by my teammates, as well.

Philippians 4:10 (NIV) - And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

When our largest snow storm arrived with about thirty inches, I wondered how I would ever be able to get out. Me shoveling was out of the question. My neighbor arrived with his snow blower, and I was free to get out of the driveway. The next snow storm came, and wasn't as much, but still a good bit. I went out just to shovel some and thought, “Dear God, if you want me to do this, please send help.” No sooner did those words leave me, two neighbors came to my rescue. God surely met my needs and more!

~Trish Higgins

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Campaign Leadership Teams (Eph. 3:20-21)

• Leaders will seek God's guidance and wisdom
• Each team's effort will be fruitful, honoring, and pleasing to God

In our close to 24 years of married life, we have moved several times due to jobs. Like many of you, we have always asked God for guidance in our moves. I can honestly say He has always made it very clear He was in control of our moves. Things like house contracts coming in for the exact amount we had prayed about, opening doors for job opportunities, etc. Our move to this area was no different, although I did have to wonder why we were moving far away from our support system of family and friends. We were moving for my job, and Kirk was going to start working a business from the home.

Now, I have to go back about 5 years to Emily’s birth. When she was born in New Mexico, my sister was there for the delivery. When the nurses gave her to me, I did as any new mother would do, I checked her all over to see that she had five toes on each foot and five fingers on each hand. Then I was looking at her ears, and noticed that she did not have a left ear. I think I made the comment, “Oh look at her ear.” Of course, the nurses immediately whisked her away to do some tests. When they finally returned with her, we were told she was ok except her ear. All of her other organs were fine and functioning as they should. Being young parents we did not think anything of this, but my sister, who works with the hearing impaired, was deeply affected. She immediately began talking to us about resources and things we needed to do for Emily, to ensure her speech developed on schedule. We followed through on all of these things, and Emily went to a speech therapist around the age of 3 for a year. Her speech was developing normally, and no one could tell she could only hear out of one ear.

Fast forward to our move here; other than a good job, we were unaware of the reason for our move out East. This became abundantly clear when we started looking into plastic surgery for Emily. The top expert in this field of ear reconstructive surgery was right here in DC, at Children’s Hospital. He is a brilliant plastic surgeon, with a dry wit and a down to earth bedside manner. Over two hospital stays and a few other in-office procedures, he created an outer ear for Emily so she could look like other girls when she put her hair up. Of course, these procedures required an abundant amount of prayer, which God answered. He has truly been a part of Emily’s life from the beginning, and our prayer is He will continue to be a large part of her life as she continues to grow into an adult.

God does listen to our prayers all the time. We have to listen to Him, and we just may have to wait for the answer.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT) says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

~Nancy Mize

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Day 2: Pastors and Staff

• For a close relationship and fellowship with Jesus (John 15:5)
• For a committed prayer life (Col. 4:2)
• God's vision for our church (Prov. 29:18)

“Imagine What The Spirit Can Do” as we pray

Abba Father, asking You to open the floodgates of our hearts and minds to overflowing to imagine what the Spirit can do in and through us as we love You with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength. Then that we love one another, as You have loved us. For it is written:

5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. [Deuteronomy 6:5 NKJV]

30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. [Mark 12:30 NKJV]

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. [John 13:34 NKJV]

18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. [1 John 3:18]

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. [Galatians 5:22-23]

Abba Father, help us to imagine what the Spirit can do as our faith perseveres through various trials that we will count it all joy, for through this testing of our faith You will bless us with patience and remind us of the peace we have with You. For it is written:

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. [James 1:2-3 NKJV Profiting from Trials]

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. [Romans 5:1-5 NKJV – Faith Triumphs in Trouble]

Abba Father, bring spiritual awakening and revival to our lives to enable us to imagine what the Spirit can do as we share our hope in Jesus Christ with others. Lord Jesus, you tell us in Your Word that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, you don’t say “maybe we are” you say, “we are.” Prepare our hearts and minds to be ready to explain the reason for our hope and let our light shine for You, that others may know You as their Lord & Savior as we share what You have done for us and as we serve others in Your name.

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. [John 3:16-17 NKJV]

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. [Matthew 5:13-14 NKJV – Believers are Salt and light]

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; [1 Peter 3:15 NKJV]

5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. [Romans 5:5 NKJV]

13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. [Romans 15:13]

Abba Father, encourage us to imagine what the Spirit can do as we trust and obey His promptings. Father, in that process of recognizing the Holy Spirit’s promptings and acting on them, may we grow and mature in the giving of our time, our talents, our spiritual gifts, and our resources to advance Your Kingdom work and may all we give of ourselves individually and collectively bring You all the praise, all the honor and all the glory.

6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. [2 Corinthians 9:6-8 NKJV – The Cheerful Giver]

4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. (1 Corinthians 12:4, 11 NKJV]

3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. [Romans 12:3-8 NKJV – Serve God with Spiritual Gifts]

Abba Father, give us a thirst for Your Word that will challenge us to imagine what the Spirit can do as He reveals to us just what You want us to know. Then as we listen and talk with You, may our faith increase as we apply these truths to our lives. Yes Lord, let us imagine what the Spirit can do in and through us as You give us the grace to yield or surrender our will to Your will, so we can fulfill Your plan and purpose for our lives.

3 ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ [Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV]

28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” [Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV]

26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. [John 14:26 NKJV]

13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. [John 16:13 NKJV]

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. [Jeremiah 29:11-12]

Praying in the Mighty and Compassionate Name of Jesus, Name above all names, and in the power of the Holy Spirit and to the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Prayerfully – Just “Imagine What The Spirit Can Do!"

~Pat Matthews

Monday, March 1, 2010

Day 1:  Praise Our Heavenly Father

• Psalm 145 - A Song of God's Majesty and Love
• Talk with Him as David did

YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT?

2 Corinthians 9:10-11 — “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”

I love to listen to WGTS 91.9. It’s the only radio station I listen to. Twice a year they hold a fundraiser and I usually give a little something. I like to give on-line because it’s fast and convenient.

Several years ago, I was driving to work listening to the fall fundraiser. I had already given on-line, so I was set. Or so I thought. At one point, the announcer made a suggestion of giving on behalf of a family member. I thought, that’s a cool idea. Suddenly, I had a very strong sense that I needed to give more – I needed to give $20 on behalf of my mother, brother, sister, and two daughters - $100. I tried to ignore the feeling, but it wouldn’t go away. Realizing it was God’s prompting, I tried to reason with Him. “But I already gave – wasn’t that enough?” “I don’t have that kind of money, I’m a single mom, what are you thinking?” But God kept telling me, “you need to give $100.” My heart began pounding as I realized I had to make a choice – be obedient or disobedient; step out in faith, or not trust Him. I was stuck in traffic at a red light – the perfect opportunity to make the call. So I did. Afterwards, I said, “Okay God, I did it. Now where’s the money going to come from?”

I went about my day at work and didn’t think about it again. When I got home from work, I stopped and got the mail. I hadn’t picked it up in a few days. As I was sorting through all the junk mail, I saw an envelope from my mortgage company. For a moment I was alarmed, frantically trying to remember if I had paid the mortgage. I thought, “oh no, what now!” I opened the envelope and there inside was a check for – can you guess? - $100 (and few cents), an overpayment of my escrow account.

God knew that check was in my mailbox. He knew I had the money. He had already provided before He even asked. He just wanted me to be obedient and have faith.

At the end of this 21-day spiritual journey, you will be asked to make a financial commitment to the Campaign. I pray that you will seek God’s will through daily, regular prayer. You may be asked to step out in faith – and I can’t wait to see what blessings the Lord has in store for you!

~Laura Wiggington