Transformation is vastly different than behavior modification. Behaviour is a natural outgrowth of transformation. So much of religion insisists on observable change and rejects people until they are sufficiently spiritually encultured. At CLC we walk with the wounded as we all are made whole.
This is the sermon from November 19, 2023.
Join us every Sunday morning in person or absentia. You’ll find the sermon notes and a few announcements. If you don’t have the YouVersion Bible app. … you’ll need to install it and create an account (free). This is a wonderful app that will increase your engagement with the scriptures..
Click Here for “The Power of Relationships”, Sunday February 25th.
For some time I have had an inclination that God would like us to start a focused prayer-ministry team. We have prayer time at the church on Wednesday afternoons at 1:00pm and Friday mornings at 10:00am. These are wonderful times and we share prayer requests and pray for people’s needs as we are made aware of them.
This is something I envision differently.
Once a month the prayer team will gather at the church for about one hour. I think it will be a Sunday evening. We will make our own church family and the broader community aware that we are gathering to pray for people who feel a need to be prayed over. Tom, this means that the person in need of prayer would come that evening, for whatever the need might be an we would pray with/for them after the pattern of James 3:16.
“Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5:13–16, NIV84)
There most certainly will be nights when no one comes. There will most certainly be prayers offered, seemingly unanswered. But we will most certainly not fail for having not asked.
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James 4:1–3, NIV84)
This verse reminds me of ho important it is to be aware of the impediments of answered prayer but the bolded phrase is my primary concern as it comes to this prayer ministry team. In unconscious ways we may have forsaken something vital that people of faith need to be engaged in. Every day without fail, I see the brokenness in lives around us. We live in a beautiful place, beset with the kinds of destructive attitudes and behaviours that shipwreck families and set a course for future hopelessness and despair. I have no idea how to adequately respond to this as a spiritual family (church). If we are truly the people of God, we know that change can only come when God intervenes in people’s lives. The more we try to force and coerce change, the greater the gap becomes between us and our community.
Prayer ought not to be the thing that we do when we can do nothing else. It ought to be the thing we do before we do anything else … a first response rather than a last resort.
If you read this and are interested in more info, whether you attend Community Life Church or elsewhere, contact me by email, karl.ingersoll@gmail.com or call the church 662-8454. We’ll talk about the picture in a more detailed manner.
Personally I am desperate to see God do His thing in a brand new way, on Grand Manan Island in 2018.
Blessings to you and yours …
I greatly appreciate the Roundtables.
We met last evening with an open agenda and relaxed conversation. The potluck was a great primer. Don’t ever feel guilty for not coming. Most of us could stand to slow down and thin our schedules a bit. Every once in a while, when the time seems right, join us.
Three great ideas emerged from the evening. I won’t outline those in this post just now. The point is to reaffirm that this meeting is an effort to listen to God through what each of us are experiencing, discerning, etc. One idea in particular was a compilation of thoughts that a couple of us have been mulling over separately.
We talk a lot about following God but it seems that default mode is to lead Him. Our good intentions produce good ideas … we get excited and we are off to the races. Many times we exhaust ourselves and our resources trying to “do something” for God rather than seeking to participate in what He is already doing.
To follow is where the adventure lies and where we are invigorated rather than depleted. We each decide whether Christ is the Head of His Church or the figurehead. If He is the latter then we are the ones who are usurping His place and perpetuating an impotent organization.
I beg you my brothers and sisters. Let’s find the inestimable value of true follower-ship.
Karl
If you have some free time tomorrow, Sarah Dawn is packing her moving van from 11:00a-2:30p. She needs lots of hands to do this as quickly as possible. Maybe you just have a minute or two to stop by and wish her well. We are so grateful for her participation at Community Life Church and we wish her well in the upcoming adventure that begins tomorrow.
— Karl
Join us tomorrow at Community Life and get hugged and mugged.
I am just thinking this may not actually bring people out …
Actually we want to pass out our Toonie mugs to all those who are willing to help us raise funds for a family in need. Our target return date will be Easter Sunday but will be totally pleased if you need a bit more time to fill those mugs to the brim.
Lent is a wonderful season which lends itself to an “others mindset”. There are so many on our island community who need a Presence in their lives that offers Hope.
Special thanks to Bonnie Morse for her help in getting our mugs selected and on site.
Hope to see you all tomorrow.
Karl
