Bucket Full of Grace

Sermon: We Value Prayer -August 2, 2015 Series: Kingdom Values Key Passages: Colossians 4:2-4 and Nehemiah 1:1-11 Andrew Huntress "Prayer itself is an art which only the Holy Ghost can teach us. He is the giver of all prayer. Pray for prayer - pray till you can pray." -CH Spurgeon. We Value Prayer From the Church Values Statement We Value Prayer: We believe that a truly believing people will always be a praying people.   That it is each believer’s privilege and responsibility to pursue a healthy consistent prayer life with their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Colossians 4:2-4 Devote yourselves to pray er, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;   pray ing at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. Introduction Sometimes we struggle with bibli...

Devote Yourselves to Prayer! Practical: When, Where, and How? Taking Steps for Prayer: When and Where? When are you going to pray? You may say, "I don't want a compartmentalized life with prayer in one devotional compartment and the rest of my life in other compartments. I want an integrated life with prayer saturating all I do." Well, amen to that. But it's a false dichotomy, and it won't work to choose between a season of prayer in solitude and prayer soaking the rest of your life, as though those were alternatives. If you want to walk in prayer all day long, you will need to linger in prayer in times of quiet communion with God. Why? Because you can't get deep with God on the run, fitting him into the cracks of your day. But you can enjoy continual fellowship with God on the run if you have gone deep with God in the stillness of the season of prayer. So yes, by all means make it your aim to have your whole day a walking conversation with God—...

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares Matthew 13:24-30 and 36-43 Intro: I am here today to encourage bible study!   The Word of God is where the POWER IS!   There is so much counterfeit Christianity out there.   I was talking to a freind this week about Lent.   They told me that they had given up sweets for lent and that their brother gave up alcohol for lent and how stupid they thought that was.   I said, well why do you give up things for Lent? And, they said it's just something we've always done... wow...   I have nothing against Lent if it is done out of Love for Jesus, who GAVE HIS ENTIRE LIFE UP FOR US BECAUSE HE LOVED US.   HE DIED ON THE CROSS! HE FASTED AND PRAYED IN THE DESERT FOR 40 DAYS!   Real lent is wonderful! Counterfeit Lent is poisonous, parasitic, and from the Devil. Nice Intro right? I need to calm down a bit here.   The Kingdom of God is like:   I have said it before and I'll say it again, I am ...

Ecclesiastes 1 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Reflections of a Royal Philosopher 1 The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher,     vanity of vanities! All is vanity. 3 What do people gain from all the toil     at which they toil under the sun? 4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,     but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises and the sun goes down,     and hurries to the place where it rises. 6 The wind blows to the south,     and goes around to the north; round and round goes the wind,     and on its circuits the wind returns. 7 All streams run to the sea,     but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow,     there they continue to flow. 8 All things[c] are wearisome;     more than one can express; the eye is not satisfied with seeing,     or the ea...