men praying together
LORD, you always amaze me with your love and grace. thank you for the meeting of men who desire to grow with you. 
13 had expressed interest, and an even dozen were able to attend. we talked about commitment and making this a high-expectation group. the more i know of your people and your work in our lives, the more i am convinced that you hold us up to higher and higher levels of excellence in order to accomplish your goals for us and in us. bcc has become a strong church because we have held those higher expectations for each other. will YOU bless us in these areas, and especially, will YOU LORD help us to fulfill these requirements for each other and for YOU.
ScrewTape men live by Rules! We want to be able to discover the answer to these two questions: "What one area of my life is most 'attackable' by Satan and his demons? What am i doing to protect myself in this area?" LORD, will you help us to discover this and LORD, will you protectus in that area?
1. We have a name which reminds us that we meet because we were chosen, and continue to meet because we are men of rules. We are called "B.I.O.S." These letters are a play on the Greek word for "life", and reminds us that we are "By Invitation Only Students."
2. We live by confidentiality... our meetings will by necessity include privileged information. So, on a daily basis, we must choose to keep ourselves from gossip and frivolous talk.
3. Lord, we will make one prayer blog entry each week and maintain daily prayer partners for the duration of our time to meet. Will you protect as we share our needs and desires for each other?
4. Weekly meet and greet will give us a chance to know each other better as we meet on a regular basis and keep our promise to show respect to each other.
5. Father, we have made a choice to have become weekly mission prayer partner , and have one sheet per day to pray for one of the missions which our church supports. I was struck by a sad thought as i read Genesis 18:32, where Abraham bargained with you LORD for Sodom. He got you to agree to spare the city, "for the sake of the ten", and when you failed to find ten, the city was destroyed. Let us continue to grow in righteousness to be some of the ten or more who live righteous lives for you.
6. LORD, will you help us to learn these verses, one per week, not just to know a verse, but to use these as resources to become more loving and confident as we walk with YOU.
a. Mark 1:35 "The next morning Jesus awoke long before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness to pray. Later Simon and the others went out to find him." Mark 1:23-36, NLT.
b. Psalms 56: 3 & 4 “But when I am afraid, I put my trust in you. O God, I praise your word. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?”
c. 1John 4:4 “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won your fight with these false prophets, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.”
d. 1 Peter 3:15 “Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But you must do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear.”
e. Genesis 4: 6 “ ‘Why are you so angry?’ the LORD asked him. ‘Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you respond in the right way. But if you refuse to respond correctly, then watch out! Sin is waiting to attack and destroy you, and you must subdue it.’ ”
f. Romans 12:1-2 “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.”
g. 1 John 2:10-12 “Anyone who loves other Christians is living in the light and does not cause anyone to stumble. Anyone who hates a Christian brother or sister is living and walking in darkness. Such a person is lost, having been blinded by the darkness. I am writing to you, my dear children, because your sins have been forgiven because of Jesus.”
h. 1 John 4: 18 “Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of judgment, and this shows that his love has not been perfected in us.”
7. Our weekly reading assignment comes from "The Screwtape Letters," by C. S. Lewis. We began with the first three letters and wish to read these to prepare for spiritual warfare together for YOU LORD. Will you speak to us through this wonderful book, and prepare our hearts and lives for the warfare that we believe we are involved in because of our choice to serve YOU, LORD?
Finally, Father, we are yours. Do with us as you will. In two short months, we will know each other better, will be equipped to love you better and walk with you more intimately, and will be better prepared to enter into this warfare called "The Christian Life." We do this because we want you to use us to spare our city and our county, "for the sake of the ten". Thank you for the trust you have invested in us. Help us to be worthy of your trust.
13 had expressed interest, and an even dozen were able to attend. we talked about commitment and making this a high-expectation group. the more i know of your people and your work in our lives, the more i am convinced that you hold us up to higher and higher levels of excellence in order to accomplish your goals for us and in us. bcc has become a strong church because we have held those higher expectations for each other. will YOU bless us in these areas, and especially, will YOU LORD help us to fulfill these requirements for each other and for YOU. ScrewTape men live by Rules! We want to be able to discover the answer to these two questions: "What one area of my life is most 'attackable' by Satan and his demons? What am i doing to protect myself in this area?" LORD, will you help us to discover this and LORD, will you protectus in that area?
1. We have a name which reminds us that we meet because we were chosen, and continue to meet because we are men of rules. We are called "B.I.O.S." These letters are a play on the Greek word for "life", and reminds us that we are "By Invitation Only Students."
2. We live by confidentiality... our meetings will by necessity include privileged information. So, on a daily basis, we must choose to keep ourselves from gossip and frivolous talk.
3. Lord, we will make one prayer blog entry each week and maintain daily prayer partners for the duration of our time to meet. Will you protect as we share our needs and desires for each other?
4. Weekly meet and greet will give us a chance to know each other better as we meet on a regular basis and keep our promise to show respect to each other.
5. Father, we have made a choice to have become weekly mission prayer partner , and have one sheet per day to pray for one of the missions which our church supports. I was struck by a sad thought as i read Genesis 18:32, where Abraham bargained with you LORD for Sodom. He got you to agree to spare the city, "for the sake of the ten", and when you failed to find ten, the city was destroyed. Let us continue to grow in righteousness to be some of the ten or more who live righteous lives for you.
6. LORD, will you help us to learn these verses, one per week, not just to know a verse, but to use these as resources to become more loving and confident as we walk with YOU.
a. Mark 1:35 "The next morning Jesus awoke long before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness to pray. Later Simon and the others went out to find him." Mark 1:23-36, NLT.
b. Psalms 56: 3 & 4 “But when I am afraid, I put my trust in you. O God, I praise your word. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?”
c. 1John 4:4 “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won your fight with these false prophets, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.”
d. 1 Peter 3:15 “Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But you must do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear.”
e. Genesis 4: 6 “ ‘Why are you so angry?’ the LORD asked him. ‘Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you respond in the right way. But if you refuse to respond correctly, then watch out! Sin is waiting to attack and destroy you, and you must subdue it.’ ”
f. Romans 12:1-2 “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.”
g. 1 John 2:10-12 “Anyone who loves other Christians is living in the light and does not cause anyone to stumble. Anyone who hates a Christian brother or sister is living and walking in darkness. Such a person is lost, having been blinded by the darkness. I am writing to you, my dear children, because your sins have been forgiven because of Jesus.”
h. 1 John 4: 18 “Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of judgment, and this shows that his love has not been perfected in us.”
7. Our weekly reading assignment comes from "The Screwtape Letters," by C. S. Lewis. We began with the first three letters and wish to read these to prepare for spiritual warfare together for YOU LORD. Will you speak to us through this wonderful book, and prepare our hearts and lives for the warfare that we believe we are involved in because of our choice to serve YOU, LORD?
Finally, Father, we are yours. Do with us as you will. In two short months, we will know each other better, will be equipped to love you better and walk with you more intimately, and will be better prepared to enter into this warfare called "The Christian Life." We do this because we want you to use us to spare our city and our county, "for the sake of the ten". Thank you for the trust you have invested in us. Help us to be worthy of your trust.
posted by Unknown @ 8:00 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home