Immediate Prayer Request

Update:

“Beryl is out of surgery. Doctor was able to get a liter of accumulated blood and fluid out. She will stay on respirator in ICU until tomorrow and then will see how she is.”

Please continue to pray for Beryl and her family.

Please pray for Beryl Richards (Bro. Bill’s assistant) – she is going back into surgery as I send this to remove fluid from her lungs. She is very weak and her daughter is very concerned. I will send updates as we hear. She may have to be put back into ICU after surgery. 

Debra

Lesson 2

Developing A Heart Of Faith

The Fulfillment of the Law  (Matthew 5:17-20)

    ¹⁷"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

This week we will discuss Righteousness and the standard for entering Heaven. Please think about these questions.
1.  How would you feel about God if he set an unreachable prerequisite for entering Heaven>
2.  What did Jesus mean in the scripture when he said the "Law or the Prophets?"  How did he fulfill them?
3.  Is it possible for us to have righteousness greater than the religious superstars of Jesus day?
4.  Do we ever get focused on religious teachings and doctrines rather than following Jesus and loving others?
5.  When God looks at our church and at us, does he see hearts that are hard or hearts that are tender toward God and others?

Try to read Matthew chapters 5-7 (Sermon on the Mount) again this week.

Have a great week.
Mike

July 25 - Prayer Requests

1.  Most of the class will be traveling this weekend.  Pray for safe travel.

2.  Erika - Pray for her cousin that is having her 4th child this Thursday.

3.  Debra - Pray for her sister Dinah.  She had a biopsy on Thursday and is waiting to hear the results.  Pray for the cancer to be benign.

4.  Pray for Sam who is leaving for training and will then go on to his mission destination.

5.  Mike - Pray for Mr. Crawford who is very ill and is not expected to live for very much longer.  Pray for the family as they deal with this loss.

Hang on for Heaven

The scripture passage for the July 25 lesson is Mathew 5:10-12.  It reads as follows in the New International Version (NIV).

10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice  and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Here are a few questions to think about for the lesson this week.

     1.  Blessed means "truly happy."  How can the persecuted be truly happy?

     2.  How does the hope of Heaven impact the way you live your life today?

     3.  Jesus told that we will pay a price for following him. How are followers of Christ persecuted today?

     4.  When the persecution does come, how do we stand firm and not cave in?

     5.  How do you think you would respond to a life-threatening, full scale persecution of Christians?

     6.  How can we help each other to grow in our commitment to live for Jesus no matter what we may face?

I look forward to our discussion of this topic Sunday.  As always, pray for each other.  I hope to see you Saturday night and Sunday.

Mike

July 18 - Prayer Requests

1.  Praise - Mike and Jim are back from the mission trip safely

2.  Pray for the Weldon family - on their way to China to adopt

3.  Ms. Richards - heart surgery this week

4.  Youth pastor - Pat and his wife are expecting their baby this week

5.  Kip & Rachel - getting settled into their new place

6.  Job opportunities and interviews for several in class

New Series

In the next series of lessons we will be talking about being truly committed to Christ.  We will study and discuss how to develop a deeper devotion to Christ.

The lessons will be based on selected passages from the Sermon on the Mount.  Please try each week to read and think about the lessons Jesus taught in Matthew chapters 5-7.

This Sunday's lesson will help prepare us to launch into the series described above.  This Sunday we will talk about the Sermon on the Mount and certain other teachings of Jesus.  In addition to reading Matthew chapters 5-7 also read John 14:2-5.

I hope you are having a great week. Let's remember each day to pray for those in our class.

Mike

Prayer Requests - July 10

1.  Jessica - pray for her friend Lauren, she is waiting to hear results from the doctors about her lymph nodes.  Also, be praying for Tyler who is ill with strep throat.  Remember Jessica as she works with the guard at camp over the next week or so.  Pray that the heat will be bearable and that everyone will stay hydrated.

2.  Ericka - praise: her friend gave birth to a healthy baby.  Request: for business to pick up and start bringing in more money.

3.  Bill - His friend, Stan, a pastor, found out that he has cancer.  It seems that there are no treatments, and he is only in his late 40s.  Pray for the family and the doctors to know how to deal with this new discovery.

4.  Debra - her sister, Dinah, has a re-occurrence of breast cancer.

5.  Kip - he has found some new job openings to apply for in the area they will be living.  Pray that something will work out and be a great opportunity.  Also, pray for their upcoming move on July 19th.

6.  Marie - has a job interview on Friday.  Pray that it will go well, and that all of her hard work will come to fruition.