Pickup Truck Prayers

I hope you are being refreshed by the rain we are getting this week. We definitely needed it. This past Sunday in worship we continued our series on prayer, “Cruisin’ with Christ.” We talked about “Pickup Truck Prayers” and learned how to cast our burdens on God. If you are feeling worn down or burned out, I’d encourage you to listen to the sermon or read it below.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ft6balwd3zy8oy1/Pickup%20Truck%20Prayers.mp3

“Pickup Truck Prayers”
Brimfield Faith UMC / September 26, 2010
Matthew 11:28-30

BEING THE PICKUP TRUCK
We are continuing this week in a series on prayer called, “Cruisin’ with Christ.” The thrust of the series is based in the idea that prayer is the vehicle that transports us closer to God. We often have strange and ill-conceived ideas about what prayer is and is not. Some of us are intimidated by prayer and others think prayer doesn’t work and is a waste of time. We have often been mistakenly taught that prayer must be done in a certain way, in certain places and at certain times. As we liken prayer to different types of vehicles, my hope is that we come to better understand prayer. Prayer is about relationship with God. It should influence our lives as much as the automobile. To benefit from prayer we need to approach it as the vehicle that brings us closer to God.
With that in mind, this morning I want to talk about pickup trucks. By show of hands: How many of you currently own a pickup truck? Ever owned a truck? Lived with someone who owned a truck? Know someone with a truck? How many of you have ever used a pickup truck to haul stuff?
Pickup trucks are versatile and useful for hauling loads. The pickup truck is a vehicle that has been synonymous with rugged Americanism and the idea that real men drive pickup trucks. And if you are a die hard, you only drive a Ford or a Chevy. I’ve never owned a pickup truck but this is what I’m told. Today, of course, there are plenty of different types of pickup trucks. We have the standard light pickup like the Ford Ranger. We have the heavy duty pickup truck like the F350 Diesel. Then there is the extended cab and the short bed. The variations on the pickup these days are seemingly endless.
Now the traditional pickup has never been a passenger-minded car. The ride isn’t smooth. The seats aren’t comfortable. There is limited space for people to sit. In short, it is a vehicle that has been designed for its practicality and usefulness. It is designed to haul heavy loads and pull items. If you’ve ever tried to move a bed, chair, or table, you know that the pickup truck has the capability to carry loads that passenger cars cannot.
When you need to move something, pickup trucks are great, but because of their limitations many people don’t own them. Instead, having a friend with a pickup truck is invaluable. That is, of course, unless you are the friend with the pickup truck. When you become ‘the pickup truck’ friend, you can easily find yourself moving other people’s stuff every weekend. The pickup truck friend can quickly find themselves being taken advantage of.
You don’t have to own a pickup truck, to know what it feels like to be taken advantage of. If you have a knack for being kind, compassionate, or caring, people will try to dump their problems on you in hopes that you will help fix them. So often, we treat each other like pickup trucks and ask someone else to deal with our junk. We use people for their utility and function. When this becomes a regular pattern, it weighs us down and burdens us. Do you ever feel like ‘the pickup truck’ friend and feel like you are carrying everyone else’s worries, burdens and junk?
Carrying your own burdens without even considering the burdens of other people can be a tiring job. It can wear us down and beat us up. And yet, God promises us hope, life and a sustaining presence if we learn to turn those burdens over to him.

GOD’S TRUCK
Instead of allowing the world to treat us like a pickup truck, God invites us to use his pickup truck. God’s pickup truck is designed to carry our burdens and the burdens of the world. Listen to the invitation in Matthew 11 again in the Message. “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Our district superintendent, Valerie Stultz, read this passage at a clergy gathering this week. I loved the way Peterson articulates Jesus’ invitation to each of us. In the context of this invitation, Jesus is talking about the extra rules and regulations that the religious Pharisees of the day laid out. It was virtually impossible to walk with God and to commune with God. Jesus is inviting his followers to do just that follow him. He is inviting you and me to walk with him and work with him. To watch him and learn from him. We don’t have to work really hard to catch a glimpse of God. We don’t have to live up to unrealistic expectations.
Instead, we can live our lives in sync with Jesus. When we learn to live with our hearts and minds focused on God, we learn how to live an unburdened life. God understands that we are going to encounter difficulties and struggles and wants to help with them. When life treats us like a pickup truck, God offers his pickup truck to carry our burdens. The invitation of Jesus, then, is to load up God’s pickup truck and allow him to carry them. Instead of you carrying all of your burdens and everyone else’s God invites us to dump our junk in his trunk.
While Jesus’ invitation sounds romantic and wonderful, the reality of living it out can be difficult. I want to suggest two ways that can help us take advantage of God’s pickup truck.

UNLOADING AND RIDING
#1. Dump it ALL in: (v.28 “Come to me…”)
The first invitation of the pickup truck is to dump it all in God’s truck. That begins by simply crying out to God in our time of need and exhaustion. Like a good friend, God is always ready to respond to our needs. He is simply waiting for the call. He is the friend who says, call me anytime you need something. Depending on our views of prayer, we might not think that God cares about the little stupid problems of our lives. The reality is that does. God wants us to give him everything. He truly and genuinely wants us to dump our burdens in his truck. He wants to free us from the burdens of the world and fill us with the joy of the Lord.
He encourages us to cry out to him. To moan, gripe and complain directly to him. If he didn’t want us to do this, he would have left certain Psalms out of the Bible. Instead there numerous examples of Psalms that dump it all on God. Listen to Psalm 13 as it expresses anguish and despair of the world.
1 O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? / How long will you look the other way?
2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, / with sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy have the upper hand?
3 Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! / Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
4 Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”
Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love. / I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
6 I will sing to the Lord / because he is good to me.

The Psalmist understood something important about suffering, struggles and difficulty. As Christians, we sometimes think we aren’t supposed struggles and burdens and so we try to cover them up and ignore them. God wants us to do the exact opposite. We need to acknowledge them and share them with God. We don’t need to gloss them over but we can linger on them in prayer with God. This Psalm teaches us how to dump our burdens on the Lord. We can and should be brutally honest with God. This act of dumping our junk in God’s truck gives us freedom and restoration. We can find new strength when we trust God with our stuff.
As you engage in holy groaning, I think a good way to make sure you are actually giving it up to God is to visualize it. So, as you are listing your problems to God, envision yourself literally placing your baggage in the back of God’s pickup truck. God wants you to put your junk in his trunk. That is what God’s pickup truck is designed for. God is a big God and wants us to cast our cares upon him. Jesus says, “Come to me, all who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens.” We don’t need to carry the burdens any longer. God wants to carry them for us. God wants us to experience his easy yoke and light burden which brings us to our next point. Once you have unloaded your truck and loaded up God’s, you are invited to get in the passenger seat.

#2. Ride in the passenger seat: (v. 28 “I will give you rest.”)
The second invitation of the pickup truck is to ride in the passenger seat. Jesus wants to give us rest. He knows how stressful and difficult life can be. He wants to teach us a way of life that energizes and rejuvenates. The Message phrases it as: “Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.” We are invited to walk with God and to have our lives restored. To live free of worry, fear, anxiety, and despair. This doesn’t happen overnight but it is a life-time process of learning.
The invitation is to ride in God’s truck and to relax with him. When we carry our own burdens, we tend to drive with one eye on the road and one eye looking back at our issues. We can never enjoy the scenery and the journey. Instead, we are burdened by that which we carry. Riding with God means those concerns are no longer there. You do not have to continually look back to make sure your junk is still in God’s car. We prayed about the stuff as we placed it in the truck and now we can trust God for it.
Prayer in the passenger seat focuses on restoration and relationship God. We know God is in control and so we sit back and enjoy the ride. We learn to ride like a child. In the previous verses of Matthew 11, Jesus talks about having a childlike faith. When Caleb rides in his car seat, he is content. He isn’t watching through his mirror, telling me to watch out for dangers. He plays with his feet, sucks on his pacifier, and takes naps. He trusts that I will get him to our destination safely.
In the same way, we need to trust God to get us to our destination. We’ve presented our problems to God and he will help us. The ride in the truck enables us to focus on our relationship with God and not simply problem-solving. We look around at the scenery. We learn the ways of the road. We learn the ways of God. We learn to find rest for our weary souls.

CONCLUSION
The invitation for God’s pickup truck is twofold: dump it and ride. When you dump it…
Dump it daily. Dump it often. Dump it early. Encourage others to dump on God.
When you are on the ride… enjoy it, rest in it, trust God for it.
God doesn’t want you to carry your burdens alone. If you find others dumping their junk on you, don’t panic and give it to God. Also encourage them to give it to God. Pray with them so they can do it. Encourage them and you to will be encouraged. Dumping and riding with God are better done with others. So find others to help you dump it on God and grow with the Lord together. Finding rest and finding life.

Cruisin with Christ

This week we kicked off the fall with a Cruise-In Car Show. We had a great time playing games, eating food, and looking at cool cars. We also started a new sermon series on prayer called "Cruisin with Christ: Vehicles of Payer." This week we compared the effects of the automobile to the effects of prayer on people's lives. To listen to the audio follow the link or read the text below.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/kuzwexxyz9pixsr/Cruisin%20with%20Christ.mp3

“Cruisin’ with Christ”
Brimfield Faith UMC / September 12, 2010
Matthew 7:7-11

THE AUTOMOBILE

Today is our Fall Kickoff and we are celebrating with a “Cruise-In for Christ.” Since we are going to be looking at a variety of vehicles in a few minutes, I thought we’d spend a few minutes talking about them. With the influence of the automobile on American society, it is hard to believe the automobile has only been around for about one hundred years. In those one hundred years we have seen significant changes in society as a result of the automobile. To appreciate the influence, I thought I’d share a short history.
The word automobile literally means “self – movable.” An automobile is generally defined as a wheeled vehicle that carries its own motor and transports passengers. The first version of the automobile was made by a Frenchman who converted a military tractor in 1769. The automobile made significant strides forward with the creation of the internal combustion engine. Then in the 1880’s, Karl Benz and Henry Ford created the first true automobiles.
The automobile’s influence took hold in the 1920’s when Henry Ford began to mass produce an affordable car in the Model T. When cars became accessible to the general public, there were substantial changes to the American way of life. Prior to the invention of the car, the primary mode of transportation was the horse. Horses were slow, required daily care, and created sanitation problems. This kept people close to their places of employment and limited mobility. With the popularization of the automobile, it gave people a new sense of personal freedom. They were able to travel longer distances in a shorter amount of time. This enabled them to move out of the industrial cities that they were working in and it led to the creation of the suburb. Cars increased efficiency, made labor easier, and created countless numbers of jobs. Emergency services like the police and fire began using cars which reduced response times and helped save countless lives.
Today, we have access to numerous types of vehicles that are used for a variety of tasks and jobs. Without motorized vehicles, the American way of life would look extremely different. Our lives are structured in such a way that we are entirely dependent on the automobile. Unless you are Amish, it is hard to imagine a world without cars in it. I am talking about cars this morning because I think they can help us to understand prayer. As people of faith, prayer is the vehicle that transports closer to God. Two of the defining characteristics of cars are they are geared for the individual and they are powerful. I want to explore these two aspects of prayer this morning as well.

PERSONAL PRAYER

#1. Like modes of transportation, prayer hasn’t always been personal.
The automobile revolutionized society in a number of ways. The automobile gives the individual more personal freedom than ever before. Previous to the car, personal transportation was limited to horses and walking. Even today, the automobile allows people to set their own schedules. We aren’t reliant upon trains and bus schedules. Before the car, travel was extremely restricted, and difficult.
The conception of prayer and our personal access to God has change throughout the course of history as well. If we look in Scripture, God wasn’t accessible to everyone on an everyday basis. In the Old Testament, God’s holy presence resided in the tabernacle and was only accessible to the priests. It was then the priest’s responsibility to offer a sacrifice on behalf of the people. The people feared God and didn’t want to communicate directly with God. In the Catholic tradition, this practice is continued to an extent today through the sacrament of confession. It wasn’t until the New Testament and Jesus’ teachings that the understanding of prayer shifted.
Jesus transformed prayer into a vehicle to relationship with God. Many of us have funny thoughts and ideas about prayer. We get caught up in unanswered prayers or praying out loud or something else. At the end of the day, Jesus teaches that prayer is a conversation with God. And like a conversation with a close friend there isn’t a right or wrong way to do it. Instead, Jesus taught we didn’t need to pray in certain ways or at certain places. In fact he criticized the Pharisees for their ‘religious’ prayers on the street corner. Prayer for Jesus is about a personal relationship with a loving God. Jesus broke down the barriers that kept us from being in God’s present. He paved the way for us to “approach the throne of grace with boldness…” Prayer, then, is the primary way by which believers encountered the presence of God.
In Matthew 7:7, we hear Jesus teaching about prayer. “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Notice the progression within the exhortation. We are called closer and closer into the presence of God. First we ask for God. Then we go searching for God. Finally, we find God and we knock at the door. Each time God responds to our pursuit and beckons us to come closer. Prayer is less about asking and receiving and more about drawing closer to God. God wants to know us and us to know him.

#1A. Like the automobile, prayer can transform lives.
As we move closer to God in prayer it leads to our lives being transformed. Consider the impact of the automobile on people’s lives. Before cars, workers lived in the city close to the dirty factories that they worked in. Their neighborhoods were cramped, dirty and often crime ridden. Cars enabled city workers to move away from the pollution and filth of the manufacturing environment. Communities were formed just outside the cities that were cleaner, safer, and had a higher standard of living. Suburbs came into being as a result of cars increasing mobility. Now a worker could earn a good wage but their standard of living in the suburbs was increased. In short, cars helped to transform the lives thousands of workers.
Prayer works in a similar way. We gain access to the one who created us and is the source of life. Prayer gives the believer 24-7 access to God in a way that improves the quality of a person’s life. It enables us to live in the world but not be of the world. Through prayer, we are changed into the likeness of God. Through that transformation, we discover the freedom that we crave. Personal prayer with God frees us to live as God’s has called us to live. We are free to discover the abundant life. We are free to discover the fruits of the Spirit. In God, we are free from sin and death. In God we are free to serve him, love him and to be co-laborers for the kingdom of God. This brings us to our second aspect of prayer: prayer is powerful.



POWERFUL PRAYER
Like emergency vehicles, prayer has to power to save lives.
We all know that automobiles are fast and powerful. They encourages efficiency. Even the slowest car is faster than a horse or person. Because of this police and fire departments have been using them since virtually their invention. The automobile reduces emergency response time, which has helped save millions of lives. The power and efficiency of the automobile continues to save lives every day.
Prayer holds a certain power and efficiency that brings us closer to God. That closeness enables us to cry out to the Lord for salvation. In Romans 10:13 we are told, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Prayer is the vehicle that brings us into a saving relationship with God. Prayer enables us to harness God’s power to bring help into difficult situations. Prayer is powerful because we simply have to ask. We don’t have to worry about what exactly we pray.
We can simply cry out in times of need and the Lord will answer. Consider Psalm 118:5, “In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free.” Romans 8:26 teaches, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” Prayer is powerful because God hears our prayers and does not delay in responding to our need. We can always cry out to the Lord and know that his saving power is close at hand. God’s power saves us so that we might partner with him in the world. This brings us to our final idea about powerful prayer.

Prayer empowers us to partner with God in the world.
The speed of the automobile has enabled society to be more efficient. We can do things that people once only dreamed of. The emergence of cars greatly increased the possibilities of human beings. What was once a day’s journey by horseback can now be made in an afternoon. Cars enable us to travel further and faster than we once were able to imagine. That speed and efficiency enable us to transport produce and products that were once impossible.
Prayer also empowers us to do things otherwise impossible. Prayer brings us into partnership with God. God, then, empowers us to do incredible things in his name. The Scriptures teach us that nothing is impossible with God. Prayer empowers us to push back the gates of hell. It empowers us to heal the sick, cast out demons, and perform miracles. In our own power, none of these things are possible, but when we connect with God in prayer, all things are possible. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be discovering the different things that God can empower us to do.

DRIVER’S EDUCATION
As we wrap up this morning, it is important to remember that prayer starts and ends as conversation with God. It is through those personal conversations that he empowers us to partner with him in the world. While there is no right or wrong way to prayer, we can improve the effectiveness of our prayer lives. We can learn to utilize certain types of prayer for our’s and other’s benefit. Like learning to drive, prayer requires practice and training. We don’t become experts in prayer overnight. Once we get comfortable driving one kind of car, it may take time learning to drive another kind. Nonetheless, we need learn to drive the vehicles of prayer because they bring us closer to God. People are often afraid to pray out loud or about certain things. The reality is that we won’t become more comfortable with prayer until we do it. We just need to get behind the wheel and try out the vehicle. God’s grace will guide us towards him regardless. It’s like the Cedar Point ride where you simply follow the track. You might hit the guide rail once in awhile but God will keep you on the right path. Eventually, you’ll be ready to hit the race track and to harness the full power of prayer.
We need to energize our spiritual lives by tapping into the personal, power of prayer. Prayer is a gift and an opportunity to discover the abundance God has for each of us. Over the next several weeks we’ll look at several different types of prayer through the lens of different types of vehicles. We’ll look at the pickup trucks, vans, motorcycles and ambulances as we learn how prayer transports us and others in various ways. God has given us the keys to the kingdom of God. It is our job to learn how to drive them.
Practice prayer this week. Personal prayer. Powerful prayer.

Powerful Faith

We have officially finished our "Journey with James." I hope James' pastoral writing has helped you make faith matter in your life. I know it has helped me. This week, James leaves us to ponder the importance of prayer and spiritual community. We need God and we need each other. The text is below and the audio at the link.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/wgqnxrku6in4151/Powerful%20Faith%20edited.mp3

“Powerful Faith”
Brimfield Faith UMC / September 5, 2010
James 5:12-20

INTRO
This week we finish our summer journey through the letter of James. James’ writing style has been interesting… at times it reads like stream of consciousness filled with nuggets of godly wisdom. James wrote this letter with a true pastor’s heart. It addresses real life issues for the original recipients of the letter. James’ goal is to empower people to live out their faith in meaningful ways. James has tried to correct wrong thinking and bad practice. This final section reflects James’ heart for his people one last time. In it he touches on a couple of important themes. The two main themes that he wants us to ponder on are prayer and spiritual community.
These two themes are just as relevant today as they have ever been. In fact, they are two things that many churches in America lack. As products of the Enlightenment, we struggle with the reality of the supernatural and the effectiveness of prayer. For many of us, prayer is the last resort back up plan that we turn to when all else fails. Prayer is for the weak not the strong. Prayer means we have to admit weakness and seek the support and reliance of someone else. Prayer doesn’t fit in with the rugged individualism many of us were raised on. A lack of prayer is a significant reason we find our churches empty and our faith out of touch.

PRAYER
With all that said, James believes in the power of prayer. James began his letter talking about prayer. In James 1:6 he writes, “But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” James’ letter expressed the desire for Christians to live out their faith with action and trust in the Lord. After all, faith cannot be put into action without a full reliance in the Almighty God. Faith translates into action through a deep, abiding relationship with God rooted in prayer. While James encourages the believer to rely upon God through prayer, he hasn’t actually used the word prayer until this final section. Then, in verses 13-18 he mentions prayer in every single verse for a total of seven times. Where he has once hinted at prayer, he now boldly advocates for it.
We hear a litany of reasons why we should turn to God in prayer. When we are in trouble, turn to God in prayer. When we are happy, turn to God in songs of praise which is another form of prayer. Sick, prayer. Sinful, prayer. Prayer is the answer to the problems of the world, because it demonstrates a total reliance upon the Lord Almighty. Prayer is a proactive way to tap into the power of God. The power of faith originates in the place of prayer.
James illustrates the power of prayer in 5:17-18. The prophet Elijah was a man known for his speaking powerful in times of national crisis, wages battles against false religion, and resisting pagan pressures. James doesn’t mention these things, instead he talks about Elijah’s prayer life. Elijah is a prime example of the power we can harness when we pray. He was able to pray for it not to rain and God caused a three and a half year drought. Then he prayed for rain and it came. Prayers for weather are some powerful prayers, because we know humans cannot control the weather. As a reminder, pray for good weather for the “Cruise-In” next Sunday. Elijah then provides the proof that powerful prayers are possible.
As James looks at Christians around him, he is tired of people living powerless Christianity. He understands hardship and suffering that they are experiencing, but he wants them to discover the abundant faith that God desires for each of his children. I believe that James would be equally as frustrated with the way many Christians live out their faith today. For many people, Christianity is an irrelevant and dead religion. James and God want each of us to discover a deeper, more powerful faith in Christ. Prayer is the key that opens up the door to that reality.

SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY
Prayer is not only about discover power but it is about opening up relationships. Loving, right relationships are the way of the kingdom of God. Prayer then becomes the vehicle to establishing rich relationships rooted in God. This brings us to the second theme of this final section of the letter: spiritual community.
James passionately illustrates the importance of the local church in this passage. Powerful, life transforming prayer does not exist independent of spiritual community. The instances of prayer that James gives are in the context of community. For example, in verse 14, James tells the sick to go to the elders of the church for healing. In verse 16, we are encouraged to confess our sings to one another. Finally, in verse 19, we are exhorted to help each other stay on the path of truth. James promotes spiritual community because life-transforming faith cannot be discovered in isolation.
There seems to be a natural human inclination to turn faith inward. The early church struggled with this, especially as followers meet persecution and discrimination. In Hebrews 10:25 they are reminded: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another.” While we aren’t typically persecuted because of our faith, many Christians have given up the habit of meeting together. Recent studies indication that average worship attendance these days is twice a month. We list a number of excuses for such sporadic attendance. While going to church isn’t mandated by Scripture, and it doesn’t make you a good person, a Christian, or even get you into heaven, there are many benefits to regular attendance. Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians are true “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are beneficial.” Skipping church is allowed, but it isn’t beneficial.
Now some of you are sitting there thinking one of two things. One, I tried coming regularly for awhile and didn’t get the results I wanted. Two, Curt’s just trying to get more people to come to church: true. To the first thought, you might not have committed long enough. To the second thought, yes I do want you to come to church regularly because I think there is something invaluable to be gained from regular attendance. We are going to spend our last few minutes in James, talking about how to get the most out of church and of Christianity.
In order to discover meaningful, rich Christianity, the Church needs to be a spiritual community rooted in prayer. The church needs to be a spiritual community with relationships rooted in faith. James understands that we are going to have moments in life that will be made easier and better if we have others to share them with. In times of trouble, there is nothing more comforting than having people to pray for you. When I’m happy, I always want to share that joy with others. When I’m sick, there is nothing greater than having someone to care for you.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is why what the DEEPEN component of our vision is all about. We are seeking to create relationships that DEEPEN our faith in God. Christianity holds its transformative power when we share life with others along the journey of faith. The DIG Small Groups are designed to put into practice the very things James talks about in this passage. It becomes hard to share all of our joys and concerns, to talk through life struggles during Sunday worship. Yet, if we gather in smaller more intimate groups on a regular basis, we can readily do the things James talks about. Your small group leaders have been trained to guide you in the pursuit of God. In the television series Lost, the characters are stranded on this strange island. One of the themes of the series was “Live together, die alone.” This is the reality of spiritual community – live together, die alone.
When true spiritual community is formed, it is life giving and transformative. Christianity gets is teeth when practiced in genuine spiritual community. Yet, the reality of spiritual community is that it only works when you invest into it. Leeches do not exist in spiritual community. You cannot grow in your faith if you are looking only to receive. Many people choose their church based on what it can provide for them. They want children’s programs, adults Sunday school, mission trips, etc… The Church as spiritual community is not consumer driven; it is service based. You will only get out of church, what you put into it. Sometimes you will be the person receiving pray, anointing, healing and correction. Many times you will be the one providing the support. To receive the benefits of spiritual community you have to full invest in it.

CONCLUSION

One of the first ways we need to invest in spiritual community is in a life of prayer. Prayer is more powerful in spiritual community. As we have already talked about the power of prayer, it is important to know that spiritual community helps us tap into the power of prayer. Jesus teaches this truth in Matthew. “Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” When we join together and pray for one another’s needs, there is greater power than when we pray on our own. Together we discover the reality that “all things are possible with God.” We discover a rich, full faith in ways we never dreamed possible. Churches that learn to regain the efficacy of prayer are churches that transform people’s lives.
This spring we had several Sundays when we broke up into small groups and prayed for one another. I heard more reports of answered prayer as a result of that few minutes than I heard in the previous year. There truly is power when a true spiritual community bonds together to pay for a uniformed cause.
Starting next week, we are starting a five week series on prayer and in three weeks we are starting the fall quarter of DIG small groups. Prayer and spiritual community are the vehicles for us as a church and you as individuals to go deeper in our walk with God. We are just scratching the surface of what God has for us. There is more love, more joy, peace and patience available. There is more healing, hope and salvation waiting for us. There are many people far from God that are waiting to meet God in this place. We have places to go in God, but we need to draw together as a spiritual community of prayer if we are going to get there. God has provided the vehicles by which to be transported. We must decide to drive them deeper with God.
Let’s pray.