The End Result of Praying

After church Sunday I left to take a study retreat. Internet access is limited and I am currently sitting outside something called the "Activity Outpost" since it is not yet open and is the only place around here (Flint, Texas) that has wireless service. My fingers are feeling a little stiff and I have to keep retyping my letters! I will be studying the whole concept surrounding the Second Coming of Jesus (resurrection of the dead, judgment, Heaven, Hell, etc.). Next year I would like for us to focus our attention on Jesus' return and what that means for how we are to live in the present. I think I will preach a series with a title slightly modified from one of Stephen Covey's principles: "Living with the End in Mind."

I thought Saturday's prayer retreat and Sunday's service were just outstanding. The retreat was truly the culmination of having a year where we were devoted to prayer. We all experienced a taste of the unity I talked about in the sermon. When we unite our hearts in prayer, opening ourselves to one another and to God, we share in the unity of Father, Son, and Spirit. We were made to enjoy these kind of relationships.

Ending the sermon time focusing on the addition of our new administration deacons and the partnership we have with Hilltop, hopefully emphasized that God answers our prayers by giving us opportunity to join Him in his work. I am so thankful that He has given us the eyes to see what he's doing and allowed us to take part. I never would have thought I would see a church reorganization in such a positive light, but it has become obvious to me that what we are currently involved in will truly allow us to focus on the truly important matters instead of being continually focused on the urgent.

Well the sun is now bright, my fingers have thawed and it's time to go back to my studying!

Powerful Praying

Two comments about my sermon that were pointed out to me more than once:
1. "Did you know that you said, 'Eat more and exercise less' at the end of your sermon?"

I knew that I said something wrong but was not sure what it was. When in doubt, my preferred option is to just keep moving forward. But thank you to the people who came and told me what I had said. Otherwise I might have never known why the conclusion to my sermon was so funny.

2. "Talking about overeating is not appropriate on the Sunday of the monthly pot luck."

There is no Sunday in America when it is appropriate to talk about overeating. I was going to save today's sermon for the U.S. national day of fasting - but realized that we have no such day on our calender.

In spite of the above, I thought it was a wonderful day. There was an encouraging prayer time at 8:15. The chorus included some of our teenagers for the first time, and sounded wonderful! We had a great visitor/new member lunch after church. And now I think I'll take an afternoon siesta before a busy evening.

Persistence in Prayer

We humans are so impatient. We don't like to wait at traffic lights, drive through windows, restaurants, the DMV, the post office, or any place else! We live in a fast paced society and expect things to move along quickly. It's difficult enough to make time to pray, but when we do we expect God to respond with the same rapid speed which we expect from everything else. God, however, moves at his own pace.

Patience is one of the essential elements in learning to pray effectively. However, Jesus does not expect us to wait passively but passionately! We are to be persistent in prayer believing that God will do his will on earth as it is done in heaven. And as we pray and plead with God to accomplish his will, we are to look for ways he is seeking to work through us. How often does God use our prayers to develop us so that we might become the very answer to our prayers.

Such is the case in the wonderful story of William Willberforce's life. The one weakness of the recent movie portrayal of his life is that it does not spend enough time showing this remarkable man's dependence upon God through prayer. However, knowing that as a historical fact, makes this movie a tremendous portrayal of how God works in answer to persistent prayer.

Wrestling in Prayer

Throughout the reel prayer series I have used clips from roughly three dozen movies. Of these movies there are few that I would highly recommend for all ages. Evan Almighty, however, is a movie that you can watch with your whole family. It is lighthearted and fun, but it also raises some wonderful questions that would be good for a family to discuss together.

I get less excited talking about the patriarch Jacob. I grew up hearing the stories about his red stew and how he pulled the wool (almost literally) over his old man's eyes. However, I was an adult before it hit me how incredibly selfish Jacob was. Jacob lived for himself and didn't give much thought to how his actions affected others. God had big plans for Jacob and his descendants but first he needed to get Jacob's attention and his allegiance.

I can think of several times in my own life where God made it painfully obvious that I was trusting in myself rather than in Him. Mercifully God has never physically afflicted me but I've had my pride bruised, my ego shattered, and my self reliance exposed. I proudly (is that the right word?) walk with a limp today realizing that without God all my labors are truly futile. Perhaps that is what Paul means when he wrote, "When I am weak, then I am strong."

Honest Prayer

Someone asked about the name of the last movie clip I showed today during the sermon. It is called the Apostle. After seeing the movie some told me they felt the preacher, named Sonny, was a fraud. I had a different opinion. To me he was an honest man who had a terrible time dealing with the deeper sin issues in his life. While it is never attractive to see a person give in to sinful temptations, I found the movie to give encouragement to a person who's heart wants to serve God, but continues to fail. My hope is that such a one would not stay stuck in the same cycle of temptation and failure, but find the true freedom that God has made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Walking the path of freedom is often difficult. The most difficult parts of the journey require the most honest of communication with God.


The Following Videos use Real Player, If you do not have real player or if your current video player will not play a real media file then you can download Real Player for free Here!

Bruce Almighty - Chapter 5 - Send Me A Sign
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The Apostle - Shouting At God
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View Movie Clips!

Here are the clips from the last two sermons in the Reel Prayer series. If you would like to see all the clips I have shown so far you will have to scroll back a page or two and read the posts from Jan 13 - March 2 of this year. Enjoy!

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Bruce Almighty - Prayer of Surrender
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Flywheel - A new Beginning
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Hoosiers - He'll Come When He's Ready
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Be Faithful in Prayer

Was it just me or did the assembly seem especially alive this morning? Perhaps it was the combined praise team and choir up front which made the sanctuary fill with the sound of voices praising God. Or, maybe it is just the climate that is being created in our church as we plan our next steps of movement into the future. Whatever it was, it was certainly a joyful assembly!

Several commented on the idea I mentioned during the sermon about "Praying First." Several years ago I wrote that down on a post-it note and stuck it on my computer monitor. Seeing the note reminding me to "Pray First" every morning was a good reminder to take everything to God in prayer before acting or deciding. Someone once said that 90% of preaching is just reminding ourselves to do what we already know to do. Having preached for over 25 years now I would say that is probably true. How often I need to be reminded of the basic truths of the Gospel and the implications of that truth for my life. Praying first is one of those implications.

The Prayer of Surrender

I have been excieted about preaching this sermon on surrender all week. It was not as much about what I planned to say as it was what I sensed God wanted to do in people's hearts. What would a revival of our church look like? Perhaps we caught a small glimpse this morning as a small group knelt around the cross praying individual prayers of surrender. Of course this group represented all those standing around the sanctuary praying the same prayer.

I'm convinced God wants to do much more to draw us closer to him. During my prayer week I will be asking him to continue this new beginning he is giving our church. I will be asking for his guidance in fulfilling my role among us and urge you to pray for me as well.

Don't forget to sign up for the congregational prayer retreat, Sat., Sept. 13! What will God do among us when we open our hearts to be filled with his Spirit?

Prayer and Thanksgiving

I have long loved this picture. The old man's weathered face, in my mind, indicate a hard life. However, his bowed head and folded hands indicate a thankful heart. The question the picture asks of my life is, "How much stuff do you really need?" A Bible, eye glasses, a simple meal, a warm shirt, a table, and a room provide plenty for the man to give thanks. I want to grow to be more focused on the blessings I've received than the burdens I have to bear. May all of my requests be made to God enveloped in thanksgiving for all He has already provided.

The Following Videos use Real Player, If you do not have real player or if your current video player will not play a real media file then you can download Real Player for free Here!

Sister Act
Prayer Before Meal
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Prayer and Humility

For those who would like more information concerning Ruby Bridges I have three recommendations. The movie, "Ruby Bridges" is an accurate portrayal of the events that I described in the sermon. It appears to be largely based on the information found in the children's book, The Story of Ruby Bridges, by child psychiatrist, Robert Coles. The book is wonderfully illustrated and would be acceptable to read even to young elementary children. Ruby tells the story in her own words in the book, Through My Eyes. Although still found in the children's section, the book contains pictures of the events it describes and would be better for older elementary school children. All of these can be obtained from the Freeman Public Library.


Finally, here is the picture that I showed this morning that caused such deep reflection in my own soul. Look carefully and see if you can see yourself in this crowd. God have mercy on me, a sinner.
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Ruby Bridges
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Scene 10
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God Answers Prayer

Finding illustrations of answered prayer from the Bible is a relatively easy thing to do. For one thing, the Bible stories come with a narrator who tells us information from "behind the scenes." For example, the narrator is the one who tells us that God relented (or repented) in the Jonah and Moses stories we talked about in the sermon this morning. In everyday life answered prayers are more difficult to observe. I have prayed for financial help more than once in my life and have been amazed at the unusual ways God has answered (such as someone giving me a car or my child being awarded a full tuition scholarship). I have also been amazed at the common ways the prayers have been answered (such as getting a raise or something costing less than I thought I would). Through both the unusual and the common answers to prayer there is often the question in the back of my mind, "How do you KNOW this was God answering the prayer?" The answer, of course, is that I know only by faith. If I ask God for something I need, when the need is supplied I am going to credit God with answering my prayer and offer a prayer of thanksgiving. I don't believe in God because he answers prayer; I believe in God and therefore pray, trusting him to supplies what I need.

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It's a Wonderful Life
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Partnering with God

This sermon was a real struggle for me to preach. How do I preach a sermon that motivates people to "always pray and not give up" while, at the same time, teach that prayer doesn't work? (If you missed the sermon my point is that prayer does not work, God works. Prayer is a partnership with Him to accomplish His will in this world. Thus, our faith is in God not in prayer.) The answer came to me as Liz and I watched the movie Bucket List yesterday. Even though the sermon was written my mind was still mulling it over trying to make sense of it so that I could communicate it on Sunday. In the Bucket List there is a wonderful scene when Carter, a Christian, is talking to Edward, an unashamed atheist, about faith. Carter asks Edward how he can live without faith. Edward offers some forgettable line when Carter simply says, "I just have faith." I leaned over to Liz and said, "That's it! That's the point I want to make tomorrow." Watching how the two men lived and died in the movie made the point that living with faith is far preferable to living without faith. Thank you Rob Reiner for preaching an excellent sermon to me!

Here's today's clips! The Following Videos use Real Player, If you do not have real player or if your current video player will not play a real media file then you can download Real Player for free
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Shenandoah
We Done it all Ourselves
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Through the Shadows
Praying for Results
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Praying for Direction

When did it happen that church became primarily a religious organization to which one belongs instead of a people who live lives of reckless devotion following a God who loves adventure? I have long wrestled with the question of what it means to be a Christ follower in this culture. In what ways have I become a cultural Christian instead of a sold out follower of Jesus? How can I keep from being a go-through-the-motions Christian and instead be a Holy Spirit filled, people serving, God loving, Jesus follower? I know that a large part of the answer lies in praying for God's leading and direction in my life; followed by repentance and obedience.

My favorite meetings each week are the prayer groups I attend. There I meet with small (always small regrettably) gatherings of similarly desperate people seeking for God to lead, guide, heal, strengthen, encourage, and in others ways---ACT in this world for His own glory. How else can we expect God to lead us unless we first humble ourselves and become devoted to prayer? Is that not the first step of obedience?

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Cool Hand Luke
Needing Direction
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Facing The Giants
Call Upon The Lord
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Ritual Prayer

I listen carefully to comments made to me after a sermon. After preaching I wonder what people heard while I was preaching, what resolutions they made in their own mind, what questions were raised, etc... I received several interesting comments today. One person expressed disappointment that I did not use the King James version when we said the Lord's Prayer in unison at the conclusion of the sermon (I used the New King James version). They were not so much averse to the version used as longing for the nostalgic familiarity of the King James. Another person mentioned a prayer clip from the movie Patton that they thought might have fit well with that sermon (I'll check into it for future sermons in this series). Yet another asked when I'm going to show the meal time prayer from Sister Act. The answer: probably in a few weeks; I'd like to space out the meal time prayer as much as possible since that is the most frequent prayers to be found in the movies. However there was one comment that especially caught my attention. One person expressed appreciation for the sermon since it answered the question he has been asking for the past few weeks: Is it really o.k. to pray the words of others? This person has been involved in our Wednesday evening prayer sessions, praying daily through the Face to Face book, and spent an hour praying for our teenagers during our recent prayer chain. Thank you Lord, for working through me to answer a real heart question from one of your intercessors! This is what makes preaching worthwhile.

Here's the clips shown from this week's sermon:
Christmas Vacation
Aunt Bethany's Prayer
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Fiddler on the Roof
Sabbath Prayer
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Pray Continually

While working on this sermon this past week, I was reminded of how many things distract us from praying. I wrote a section in an early draft of my sermon to address this subject of distractions. We seem to be in a constant flurry of mind numbing activity: Ipods, blue tooth, email, texting, television, and video games come to mind. When are our minds ever simply at rest? The psalmist writes, "the heavens declare the glory of God, . . . day after day they pour forth speech;..." But, who is listening?

As I got in my truck to drive home from the office, I mindlessly turned on the radio. As the voice coming through my speakers rattled on about things that will have no relevance tomorrow, not to mention next year or ten years from now; it occurred to me -- what a perfect time to practice what I preach! I turned the radio off and had a few minutes of simple conversation with God.
Thanks Tevia, for reminding me that prayer can be continual when we allow ourselves to simply remember God.

Here's the clips from this week:

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Fiddler on the Roof
Lame Horse
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Fiddler on the Roof
Rich Man
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Fiddler on the Roof
Chosen People
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Fiddler on the Roof
Troubles, Troubles
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Teach Us to Pray

I have spent the past 31 years seeking to learn how to pray. I have read more books on prayer than any other subject. I have done more Bible study on this topic than any other. I have participated in a plethora of prayer methods and disciplines seeking to develop my prayer life. Why then do I still feel like the disciples in Luke 11:1 asking Jesus for help in learning how to pray? In one sense prayer is as natural as breathing; yet in another it feels like speaking a foreign language. How can this be?

Jim Woodroof once advised young preachers not to preach on anything which God had not yet taught them. Good advise. I have long felt that God teaches me just enough so that I have something to share with the congregation while, at the same time, continually reminding me that I'm not that far down the road myself.

As we enter into the "Reel Prayer" series, I am excited to teach what God has taught me, while fully realizing that I too am part of the flock of God at Clear Lake. I join the rest of the body of Christ looking to the great Shepherd of the sheep for guidance and direction. May he truly, "guard, guide, and direct" all of us as we seek to follow him.

On another note, I am hopeful that my techkie friends will enable me to post the movie clips I'll be showing each week. Check back later in the week and see if we've been able to get them up.