All Night Prayer - Friday Night from 10pm-6am

Well we are back from vacation and I can't think of a better way to get going on our ministry in Woodstown than with a whole night of prayer! It is open to everybody, even if you can only stay for part of the night it is better than not at all. I have been thinking about how the night will be organized. There will be different prayer activities mixed with some singing and teaching time. Please bring your Bible. Yes we will have breaks and plenty of coffee and snacks. I know this doesn't sound like the most entertaining night. This may not break any attendance records but then again who is trying. It may be only a few of us but it is a start. One thing is for sure - if do come you won't be the same afterward and for some people, including myself, that is a good thing. So why not give it a go?
Why pray all night? Because Jesus did. Luke 6:12 "12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God."
If it is good enough for Jesus, it is good enough for me.
Also, all great movements of God's spirit start with prayer. We need to pray as a church. We need to pray more.
I am looking forward to tomorrow night. We are going to end with breakfast at 6 am.

Do you have anything that you want us to pray about? Send me an email or text or leave a comment here.

Maybe you can't physically be there but want to express your support. Leave a comment and let us know that you will be praying for us!

Blessings! It is good to be home! See you, God willing, tomorrow night.

Solitude - Like a Rolling Stone

This week we are practicing solitude. Here is a definition of the discipline of solitude:

The creation of an open, empty space in our lives by purposefully abstaining from interaction with other human beings, so that, freed from competing loyalties, we can be found by God. From the Life With God Bible.

Solitude is purposeful. You can be alone for long periods of time and never practice solitude. Because it's purpose is to focus on God and then to be found by God. Many great moments in ministry were preceded by someone practicing solitude. For example, Moses, Elijah, Jesus, Paul. All of them practiced solitude. What great moment in ministry awaits you?

Wednesday morning we are going to practice corporate solitude in the sanctuary at 6:45-7:15 am. In the words of the great theologian Bob Dylan - "How does it feel? To be on your own." Why not find out? Who knows what will happen. Give it a go. Decide today that you are going to create that open space in order to be found by God.

And now "The Boss" and his thoughts on Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone."

Simplicity Sale

Today I am practicing simplicity. We are having a yard sale or better yet a "Simplicity Sale." Already sold some wheels, a bike, a rocker, and a painting. Stop by and buy some stuff. Or, if you really need to, take it!

So what did you do this week to practice the discipline of simplicity?

Sunday's topic - Solitude. I will be attempting a version of Bob Dylan's song - "Like a Rolling Stone." See you in worship or at our simplicity sale.

Simplicity

The Discipline of Simplicity may be new to you. It could be you have been practicing simplicity for a long time and have never given it a name. Here is a definition, one that I found in the Life With God Bible.

The inward reality of a single-hearted focus upon God and his kingdom, which results in a outward liftestyle of modesty, openness and unpretentiousness and which disciplines our hunger for status glamour and luxury.

In his book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster offers 10 Controlling Principles of Simplicity that condition the inward reality of a single hearted focus. Here they are:

1. Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status. “Stop trying to impress people with your clothes and impress them with your life.”

2. Reject anything that is producing an addiction in you. In our media saturated culture it can be hard, but “any of the media that you find you cannot do without, get rid of.” And, “if money has a grip on your heart, give some away.” “Refuse to be a slave to anything but God”.

3. Develop a habit of giving things away. De-accumulate!
4. Refuse to be lured into the need for gadgets and “new” everything.
5. Learn to enjoy things without owning them.
6. Develop a deeper appreciation for the creation. “Simplicity means to discover once again that ‘the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof’.”
7. Look with healthy skepticism at all “buy now, pay later” schemes. Be extremely cautious of incurring debt.
8. Obey Jesus’ instructions about plain, honest speech (Matthew 5:37).
9. Reject anything that breeds the oppression of others. “In a world of limited resources, does our lust for wealth mean the poverty of others?” Consider buying food and other items that are “fair trade”.
10. Lastly, shun anything that distracts you from seeking first the Kingdom of God. This is ultimately where the heart of true simplicity lives. “always hold the Kingdom of God as the number one priority of our lives. To do so is to live in simplicity.”

These are not rules. Resist the temptation to make them laws. It is about the heart.

Yesterday, a few people asked me if I was serious about having a yard sale this week and getting rid of my "stuff." The answer is Yes! so come and buy my stuff from me. The proceeds are going to missions. Now here are the Supremes for your enjoyment.

Fasting for Lunch

Yesterday I fasted giving up lunch. My original plan was to use the time in prayer but God had other plans for me. There were some urgent needs of others that needed tending to. So, honestly, it wasn't a big deal. I was consumed by the immediacy of these pastoral moments that I wasn't thinking about the fact that I wasn't eating until I had time to sit down and rest. Then I was consumed by the desire to consume - a twinkie! Part of fasting is taking the feeling of hunger, the "I need desperately to eat" kind of feeling and comparing it to a spiritual hunger for God. Did you know that when people fast from food for long periods of time that they eventually lose their hunger pangs? Maybe it is the same way in our spiritual lives. When we go for long periods of time without feeding on God's word we lose our appetite for God. It is time to get that feeling back! I am going to try fasting again this week. I will report back. Check out the blog entries of Donna and Jenn on Unifyer. Feel free to leave a comment here. How is your practice of the spiritual disciplines going?

Satisfaction - Fasting?

On Sunday, Eryn Mera preached on fasting. It is the third spiritual discipline we've explored this summer. Spiritual disciplines are door ways to freedom and a deeper relationship with God. Hopefully, you have taken the opportunity to practice the disciplines of prayer and meditation. Tomorrow morning there will be another morning prayer and meditation at 6:45-7:15 am. Give it a try. No one is going to make you pray out loud! Faith without prayer and meditation is like watching TV without a picture. Something is missing.
Believe it or not, the same can be said of fasting. Give fasting a try this week. Today, I am going to start small and skip lunch. Ask anyone at the church office and they will tell you that this is a sacrifice. During the time I would normally eat I am going to spend reading scripture and praying. Will you join me today? Tomorrow we will try something different.
Now here is Mick Jagger who can't get no satisfaction. Maybe he should try to go deeper. Deep Man!

Fasting today for lunch

Morning Meditations

How is your meditation on scripture going? Here is a morning meditation that I found on YouTube. Try it out. Tomorrow morning (Wed.) there will be a morning prayer and meditation time at 6:45-7:15 in the church sanctuary. Give it a go and see if it makes a difference for you day. Blessings!

Prayer and Meditation

Last night we had an evening of prayer and meditation. We held it in a dark candlelit sanctuary to help block out distractions and focus on God. It was very moving for me as we moved in and out of song and prayer. The hour went by quickly. It was a time to simply enjoy God's presence and to let God's spirit do his thing. Just enjoying God's presence and resting. Hopefully it was meaningful to others. We will do it again soon. There was even discussion of having an all night prayer time!

This Wednesday we will have morning prayer and meditation time at 6:45 am in the sanctuary. We will spend 30 minutes trying different ways of praying and spending some time just enjoying God's presence. Hope you can make it. Now here is one of the songs we sang last night.

Evening of Prayer @ 9:00 pm tonight

Join us for an evening of prayer and meditation tonight in the sanctuary. It will be about 45 minutes long. Great time to practice the discipline of prayer and meditation with others. You won't regret coming! Get deep!

DEEP MAN!

I am getting ready to go to Chicago. Melissa and I are heading out on an 11 am flight to go to the Alpha Conference. You can check it out at www.alphausa.org. Five others from church are heading out as well. Please pray for us.
That's an easy thing to say - "Please pray for us." What would be the benefit of praying for us? Good question. Why not pray about it. "Jonathan, you are so frustrating!" I know. Please pray for me.
This week we focused on the spiritual discipline of prayer. I will be blogging some of my experiences here. Feel free to comment and share your own stories. Focus on 4 A's of prayer. Then take on the challenge of finding time to pray by yourself, with others, with your kids and with your spouse. Give it a go! I'll be praying for you!

Now here are the Mamas and the Papas for your California Dreamin' pleasure. I've been humming this song all week! I must admit, they are not as good as our praise and worship team!