Would You be pleased to rest Your Holy Spirit upon any church or churches in our community who are "all in" to usher in Your kingdom on earth?
We offer up ourselves for this endeavor. We commit our resources as we tithe, because we know we are invited, in fact, commanded, to test You in this in Malachi 3:
Bring your full tithe...test me in this and see if I don't open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams.A full storehouse and shared resources with other churches would so magnify our outreach in our local, national and international communities as You direct.
We ask Your courage for our pastor-teachers, that they are not impeded by worldly culture or the culture of stuck churches. Your presence and Your power enable our leaders to be strong and of good courage, able to discern fellow churches with healthy root systems with whom to partner.
We sell our commitment to the world and rather point our time and love and relationship to doing life together, integrating our work and family and play with our pursuit of Jesus, and caring deeply for the lives and families of those with whom we worship. We learn that when our church family has our backs, we are blessed indeed. A solidarity of shared mission can flourish under Your direction.
Our daily discipline will be worship, individually, with family and with church family. For in our freely given worship of You lies access to Your promise spoken through David:
I've pitched my tent in the land of hope. I know you'll never dump me in Hades; I'll never even smell the stench of death. You've got my feet on the life-path, with your face shining sun-joy all around.Help us face our detractors with courage, Lord, for they will be many. The enemy of God will try to break our backs as we pursue Your agenda. Help us understand our detractors' wounds, doubts, and misunderstanding of who You are, for they, like us, are in need of Your grace and love.
Holy Spirit, when we are ready, unite and ignite. Jesus, in Acts 1, states our mission:
"...when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world."There is no higher honor than to extend the love of Christ that has changed each of us to someone lost and hurting. Help us live this change and extend Your heart.
In Your Name we pray,
Amen
