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 There are some really hard things you'll call out to God over, but you'll not say anything harder than this... God I want what you want more than what I want....
When Jesus taught on prayer, one of the things he mentioned was for us to pray that just as in heaven God's desires happen without hesitation, may the same be true here on earth. And may God's kingdom be advancing in every heart and life, and may it start in yours and mine. Easier said than done eh??? Why is that? One reason that comes to mind is can be a struggle to believe that God will really come through for me if I were to advance His causes over what i want. After all, who knows what's better than you & I correct? To say NO to what i want to happen in the way I think it must happen. Hmmm Here's one positive reason to consider living a God kingdom first mindset. Living for King Jesus is really the only thing that will make sense of life. To live for the Kingdom of God gives your life purpose and meaning in the span of history. Jesus came announcing a NEW KINGDOM. There's a NEW KING in CONTROL. Jesus says when you pray, say Father. We must trust that He loves us and really wants what is best for us... and for those we love. For He loves them just as much as He loves us. May His Kingdom agenda advance. May His desires happen and may you and i be the means in which others know of our King, the Lord Jesus! The Hardest Prayer you'll ever pray is to say as one pastor prayed, "Lord may what's happening up there come down here." May you & I be apart of making it happen! See You Sunday Friend Pastor Mike PS- Eleven of us had a great time last Thursday on our Be Still Listening Retreat in Cottleville. Thank you for praying!  What would you do if you only had a little bit more faith? It's a question many have wondered and some have dared ask for. One time with Jesus, his 12 followers were told that they needed to be willing to forgive those who hurt them. Their immediate response was to ask Jesus to "Increase our Faith" (Luke 17:5) .
What do you think you need just a little more faith in order to do? How often do we tell ourselves, "If I only had a little more faith, I could... Forgive that person who hurt me? Do something really important? I'd never doubt again... I wouldn't be afraid to take a chance? I'd finally realize how right I am? I'd step out and serve God? Jesus answer to their prayer is an interesting one. He basically says, you already have all the faith you need. You don't need any more faith friends. It's not the size of our faith that matters. Jesus doesn't give us faith in cups like StarBucks, you know... short faith, tall faith, grande faith and then the really big venti faith. No, In essence Jesus is telling his friends then and you and I today, you already have all the faith you need to do in order to live life to the fullest. You don't need a SUPERSIZE faith. We just need to take what little confidence we have and instead trusting ourselves, trust Jesus. Sunday- the 3rd Dangerous Prayer, the Risky, Bold prayer that we can pray, is to say to the Lord, I do Believe, would you help my unbelief. Trusting Jesus doesn't necessarily mean the circumstances change. What it does mean is that my focus in one the One who controls circumstances rather than on the Chaos. See You Sunday Friend Pastor Mike PS- If you haven't signed up for our Be Still - A Listening Retreat taking place this Thursday Aug 17 from 10am- 1pm do so now. We'll be on the 14 acre site of Piazza Messina in Cottleville. Cost is $15.00 and space is limited so register today! Register here! Sunday Service - 8/13/23 - Dangerous Praying (Week 2 - "Lord, Use Me") - Pastor Mike Warman8/15/2023  Possibly the most spoken prayer request we ask of the Lord goes something like this... "Lord Help Me". Seems fairly simple and straight forward. You're probably wondering just how this could be such a Dangerous Prayer?
Let's pause for a second and ask, what is it we need help with? Is it financial stress? Is is a people problem? We're not getting along with someone? Maybe our health? What's the situation that we find ourselves in that we're asking Him to Help us? In Luke 6 Jesus was giving wisdom for dealing with difficult people. Problem people. I noted He didn't them to come to Him for help. In fact, I don't really care for His advice all that much if I'm honest. Instead He said stuff like, figure out how to love the annoying pain in my backside person. Not ask Him for help. Jesus said to speak well of the person I can't stand. He went on to say I should overlook the insults. Pretty radical stuff in a world that wants to get even, pay get back and laugh at the Karma coming their way. In fact, the only thing I see here about prayer is that Jesus told me to pray for God's blessing on the trouble maker, spouse or difficult boss. Uuuugggghhhhh Lord Help Me when dealing with difficult people isn't so cut and dried. We may not really like what Jesus has to say when we pray "Lord Help Me". That's why it's so dangerous, Do you want His help? Are you ready to listen for His reply? See You Sunday Friend, Pastor Mike PS- Really excited for our Be Still - A Listening Retreat taking place on Thursday Aug 17 from 10am- 1pm. Pleased to announce this will take place on the beautiful grounds of Piazza Messina, a 14 acre facility in Cottleville. We'll have the opportunity to spend time meeting with our Savior. To relax in His presence. Cost is $15.00 and space is limited so register today! Register here!  What's the thing you use most often? Something daily?
Hair dryer? Towel? Toothbrush? Favorite Pen? Cell Phone for sure... As you think over your list, what do they all have in common? They were all created by someone on purpose for a purpose. These are useful to you to complete something you want to see happen. The top categories we often pray for include things like "Praying for family & friends", or "asking God to to help me deal with problems" or "being grateful for the good things happening in my life." Fewer of us pray to "ask forgiveness for our something we did or because we hurt someone else" (only about 40% of us) or "asking God to guide our leaders" (about 12% of us). And fewer still pray what I'd call Dangerous Prayers... We're gonna spend the next few weeks looking at 4 Dangerous Prayers I would encourage all of us to consider adding these to our prayer times with the Lord... This week, Lord Use Me. See everything in your world was created on purpose for a purpose. You and I included. Paul says in Ephesians 2:10 that you and I are God's masterpieces, His work of art! Created to do good things. So let us be found doing them. But Lord Use Me. It's wrought with problems and challenges right? Let someone else do it. I don't have the time. I'm not that good. Now is not a good time because of my family. I don't have enough to give. I don't know enough? What if someone asks me a question and I blow it? There's one guy in the Bible that looked at what God wanted done and offered Him a "blank check". We're gonna hear his story and see how God used his life and will use ours if we'll only pray, Lord Use Me. See You Sunday Friend! Pastor Mike PS- If you're interested in knowing more about the church stick around for our Brunch with Bunch, we'll have pizza & bread sticks. There will be someone to watch kiddo's. We'll be done by a bit after 12. Register here for brunch. Also Sunday afternoon I'd invite you to join me for our membership class from 4-6pm. This is a two week class that explores what it means to be a member, answers your questions about church life and how the Lord can use you here at SB. click here to register. |
AuthorStonebridge Community Church is a Bible-based non-denominational church located in Dardenne Prairie, Missouri. Archives
September 2024
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