In the midst of this Global Pandemic I commended to you Rachel Jones new book “5 Things to Pray in a Global Crisis.” Rachel is the author of the series of books “5 Things to Pray ….” In this most recent book she addresses How we can best pray in the midst of our current crisis. These days of crisis Jones encourages us to pray in 5 categories: 

3 Weeks ago -  Pray for our Heart

2 weeks Ago -  Pray for our Family

Last Week – Pray for the Response

This Week – Praying for my Church 

 

When you pray for your church pray for UNITY – John 17:20-26

 

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

 

How can our church be unified when we are all separate? Ask the Lord to help CBC … 

 

1. Know His Protection – 17:20 (and be confident in Him) 
2. Grow in Unity – 17:21 – “The unity of the Father and Son is not merely a matter of them sharing the same space once a week—it’s a deep, constant, unbreakable spiritual reality. The same is true of your church’s bonds.” Rachel Jones
3. Witness to the World – 17:21 – “Pray that your church’s unity would be a powerful witness to unbelievers, as they see that Jesus is not a hobby that we put on hold.” Rachel Jones
4. Look Forward, Together – 17:24 – One eternal hope together! 
5. Love One another – 17:26 – Love someone in the church today with a phone call! 

 

 

When you pray for your church pray for GROWTH – Colossians 1:9-14

Pray that CBC would “live a life worthy of the Lord” as we grow in … 

 

“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

 

1. Good Works – 1:10 - Pray that as a church you would be living out your faith as you serve your families, work hard in your jobs, care for your neighbours, and pray for and encourage one another. 
2. Knowledge – 1:10 – Pray that you will grow in your knowledge of Him … develop or strengthen good habits of personal study and bible reading.
3. Endurance – 1:11 – Pray that you grow in endurance and steadfastness.
4. Joy – 1:12 –As so many of the other things we enjoy are stripped away, pray that you and your church would have a deepening sense of joy in and gratitude for your guaranteed, unlosable heavenly inheritance. 
5. Number – 1:13-14 – Ask God to use you to see people rescued by the Gospel. 

 

We will finish this section next week 

 

“See” you Sunday,

 

Pastor Byron