Approaching God Boldly and Respectfully Part 1

Approaching God through prayer can be a very intimidating thing.  After all, He is the creator of the universe.  More powerful than any government or military leader, yet He came to earth as a common man with an uncommon mission. 

As Jesus gave a pattern to pray, He began with how to address God.  Anytime we have a conversation, how we start it is very important.  Many times we will open with small talk or cut right to the chase.  Jesus cuts right to the chase when praying.  He gets right to the proper way we are to address God, boldly and respectfully.

Matthew 6:9 begins, "This then is how you should pray, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name."  As the disciples heard this I can imagine that their response would have been directly opposite from ours.  For almost a generation the emphasis in church has been on the personal relationship with God.  The message can become so personal, like He is our buddy that we hang out with regularly that we lose not only the "Hallowed be your name" part, but also the importance of the "Our Father" part.  The disciples probably would have practiced the reverence toward God in such a way that the personal family address would have seemed very shocking.  There is something essential to be taken from both as we explore what Jesus meant through His opener in prayer.  He is not simply our "buddy" nor is He so distant that we cannot approach Him at all.  Take time befor we continue to examine what your view of God is.  How do you approach the God of the universe?  Is it formal?  Is it casual?  Is it personal?  And how does He want to be addressed?

...to be continued.

Following Jesus Example in Prayer

Can you hear me now?  Good.  We all remember the catch phrase from a popular cell campaign a few years back.  Over mountains, in a swamp, and through the city it is important to be able to communicate with others, but how about God?  Can you hear me now is probably the most common question that both we and God ask of each other. 

Prayer is the cell service of the divine, and its coverage beats any digital network on earth.  We want God to hear us; we also want to know that God can hear us.  He also wants us to listen to Him as He communicates His will for our lives.  With these questions on our mind, where do we start?

Let's begin where the disciples began.  There is only one thing recorded in the Bible that the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to do, pray.  Luke 11:1 says, "One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.'”

Out of all of the things to ask for, why would the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray?  Why not healing?  Why not turning water into wine?  Why not _____ (you fill in the blank)? 

The reason, I believe, is because many of these other things happened as a result of Jesus getting alone and PRAYING.  So let's begin learning to pray the way the disciples did, by looking at some of the time Jesus prayed.

One of the first times we see that Jesus went to a solitary place to pray is Mark 1:35-39.  When he returned to His disciples they urgently called to Jesus saying, "Everyone is looking for you."  Fresh in from prayer Jesus instructed His followers that it was time to go somewhere else to minister.  What?  You may wonder, as I do, what happened during prayer time that made it more important to go somewhere else even though there seemed to be many people desiring His presence?

Another time Jesus went to pray alone, as a result, He chose who would be His disciples.  Luke 6:12-16 says Jesus spent the night in prayer and then chose the twelve.  What happened during His overnight prayer vigil that inspired Jesus to choose those guys?

Two chapters prior to the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray was perhaps the most magnificent display during prayer.  As Jesus was praying Luke 9:29 recounts that Jesus was transfigured into bright light.  What in the world was Jesus praying when His face changed and His clothes started glowing?

We are left with the questions, but I believe these are the clues as to why the disicples wanted to know how to pray.  It seems that prayer is the key to unlock some of the most mysterious things that happened to Jesus.  I would want to know how to pray too...wait...that is exactly where we are in Luke 11.  So join me in this journey through Jesus' teachings on prayer.  Let's discover together how to approach the God of the universe and listen to what His will is for our lives.  Let's see if we can understand what we can ask Him and if there is any time that He doesn't listen. 

I will be preaching this series on prayer entitled, "Can You Hear Me Now?" every Sunday September 18-October 30, 9:30am at Conifer Community Church.  If you miss a week of worship you can always listen online at http://www.conifercommunitychurch.org/. 

CCC to Hire a Driector of Youth Ministries

Conifer Community Church in Conifer, CO is seeking an entrepreneurial, energetic leader to start a ministry reaching and discipling  the youth and families of the Conifer area.  We are located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains southwest of Denver off HWY 285.  The right candidate for this position will be a self starter willing to work closely with our pastor to establish a family-based youth ministry.  We are hiring a part-time Director of Youth Ministries with the possibility to grow into a full-time Director of Family Ministries based on the growth and success of the ministry.  After you check out (http://www.conifercommunitychurch.org/AboutCCC.html) the job description and our statement of faith, if you are the right person for this position, email your resume, three references, and a one page personal statement of faith to CCCjobs@live.com

Sermon Series on Prayer

Can you hear me now?

Ever felt your prayers are not being answered?  Does God hear us—does prayer really work?

 In his upcoming series on biblical prayer “Can you hear me now?” Pastor Lance will address these questions and more.

When we pray we often want God to listen to us, but powerful, effective prayer, according to God’s Word, begins with a focus on Him in a two-way communication.

Scriptural context for this series will be centered on The Lord’s Prayer and Jesus’ teachings.

The series will begin Sept. 18, coinciding with Back to Church Sunday. This national event encouraging a return to church is also a call to invite friends and neighbors to attend services. Other mountain community churches will also be participating in Back to Church Sunday.

To encourage a deeper study on the topic of prayer, Pastor Lance suggests purchasing the devotional With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray. A copy may be reserved by filling out a communication card in the bulletin.

Natural Church Development

Leveraging our strengths in order to build up the growth areas at CCC is the main objective of participating in the Natural Church Development (NCD) program.

NCD is a research organization which conducts church studies. The group, which has implemented survey questionnaires of churches in 32 countries, promotes a principle-oriented program for church growth.

What NCD discovered as a result of the surveys are eight principles which characterize growing churches. These principles form possible areas of growth to be identified in survey results and include:

1. empowering leadership
2. gift-oriented ministry
3. passionate spirituality
4. functional structures
5. inspiring worship
6. holistic small groups
7. need-oriented evangelism
8. loving relationships

The group discovered that all eight principles must be present in order for a church to have healthy growth. The scriptural principle of Matthew 7:17 that good trees bear good fruit supports this point.

A recent survey of a cross section of CCC individuals who have attended the church for more than three months was given to identify growth areas.  The results are being tallied by ChurchSmart Resources.

Once growth areas are identified a one-year health team will be formed to set and achieve goals to improve these areas, according to Pastor Lance Swearengin.

The pastor hopes the survey results will be “used to identify quality characteristics we can improve in order to become a more healthy church.”

The survey will be given three consecutive years to review progress in the growth areas.

Wild Game Dinner at Conifer Community Church

A wild game dinner will be held at Conifer Community Church August 20th from 6-8 p.m. 

Admission to this community outreach is free.

The event is also sponsored by Christian Outdoor Fellowship Association (COFA) and Elk Creek Community Church.

Wild game including elk steaks, elk chili, trout and wild turkey will be some of the food served and there will also be vendor booths that will offer outdoor products for sale.  There will be prizes will be given away during the event. 

Bring your wild game recipes to be included in a mountain area recipe book.

Please RSVP if you plan to attend by calling Conifer Community Church at 303-838-4161.