Those who are growing in the Lord are the ones who are making the time for prayer and the study of God's Word. I can almost guarantee it; in fact, I'm sure that I can.
I'm not writing to chastise anyone; I'm writing to encourage you. I would love to see each and every person growing in their faith; experiencing a deeper more meaningful prayer life; encountering the Living God through God's Living Word. God has more for us than we can even imagine. But are we experiencing it?
I am sure you are aware that we have been encouraging prayer and bible study a lot in the past year. I am convinced that this is why we are seeing such wonderful blessings poured out into lives. It is not a coincidence.
If you haven't already been doing so; I encourage you, I even plead with you (if Paul could do it in Philippians 4:2, I'm sure I can too), get involved in a prayer group. Get involved in a Bible Study group. And of course, make prayer and Bible study a part of your personal life at home too. We are all busy. We have so much on our plates. Believe me, I thoroughly understand the challenges of fulfilling our various responsibilities and taking time for God's Word and Prayer - but it must be done; otherwise we become like stagnant water; going nowhere.
There are many ways we can do this. Below are just some ways that we, as the Body of Christ, can come together and encourage one another in prayer and Bible Study.
- Tuesday night prayer; weekly at 8:45 pm.
- Sunday night prayer; third Sunday each month at 7:00 pm.
- Sunday Adult Bible Study; weekly at 9:45 am.
- Wednesday Bible Study; weekly at 1:15 pm and again at 7:15 pm.
For those who might be interested, I have updated our web site with tons of information regarding our latest study we just begun (we had our introduction day yesterday) called Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People. What a great opportunity to dive deep into God's Word and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us. At this web site, you will find chapters from a highly recommended book (you can read it online) as well as my review/notes for each chapter. You can also listen to a previously given sermon based on the same weekly theme. It is a hard-hitting but greatly helpful study.
We also have our Sunday morning Adult Bible Study - a steady stream of God's Word. The materials used for this study include weekly lessons and commentary. The adults that participate learn together.
Proverbs 27:17 says "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." That's what happens when we study and pray together.
Will you join us? I encourage you to put it on your calendar.