October 8, 2017
Stetson Memorial UMC
Sermon
Series “P.A.T.T.E.N.”
(P
is for “Pray Every Day”)
Matthew
18:18-20 MSG
Isaiah
56:6-8 MSG
Hebrews
10:19-25 MSG
Revelation
5:8-10 NLT
Acts
1:12-14 MSG
Acts 2 (Various Verses from both MNLT and MSG
Bible)
“P Is For Prayer…”
The
Lord be with you…let us pray… (prayer for the Spirit’s indwelling as bring
God’s words of hope this morning…)
Please
stand for the reading of the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 18, verses 18
through 20. Listen to the Word of God …His Love Letter…to His people…
I was sitting in the sanctuary the other day
looking at the banners that we have on display. One says a Hope Giving Church
and the other has Patten spelled out. For each letter in Patten it tells about
how we live out that letter in community and in the world. Well this got me
thinking and reflecting about what each statement says and if we, you, and I,
truly live what we say. It is easy to put statements on a banner but a whole
different thing to live it out.
Last week I sent us out into the world to make a
change. We had talked about all those things that give us hope and the fact we
needed to share that same hope. But I think…now tell me if I am wrong, we need
to look at the statements we make and if we enact them out I the world. As I
looked at the statements we have on the wall one thing became very clear to me.
To be who, we say we are we actually have to act upon the statements we make.
They look good and all but actions speak volumes about who and whose we are.
So…the first letter in the P.A.T.T.E.N. Banner
is “P”. P is for “Pray Every Day”. Pray
every day. Do we really do that? Do we pray every day or should I say without
ceasing? So, we pray every day…what does that look like? There are many ways to pray and we have
talked about several through the past 4 years I have been here but the
scripture that I read from Matthew has really got me thinking. It states:
“When
two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my
Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together
because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.”
Where two or more are gathered. Do we gather
together for prayer? Well, every Sunday we have prayer time together. There is
usually two or more of us so that fits the criteria. But is that enough, just
Sunday mornings when we gather to Worship and Praise God for Who He is? Let’s
look at what a couple of pieces of scripture say about praying together…
But first let’s understand one thing…we are
called to be a house of prayer. Listen to Isaiah 56 verses 6 through 8 say
about this fact:
Isaiah 56:6-8The Message (MSG)
6-8 “And as for the
outsiders who now follow me,
working for me, loving my name,
and wanting to be my servants—
All who keep Sabbath and don’t defile it,
holding fast to my covenant—
I’ll bring them to my holy mountain
and give them joy in my house of prayer.
They’ll be welcome to worship the same as the ‘insiders,’
to bring burnt offerings and sacrifices to my altar.
Oh yes, my house of worship
will be known as a house of prayer for all people.”
The Decree of the Master, God himself,
who gathers in the exiles of Israel:
“I will gather others also,
gather them in with those already gathered.”
working for me, loving my name,
and wanting to be my servants—
All who keep Sabbath and don’t defile it,
holding fast to my covenant—
I’ll bring them to my holy mountain
and give them joy in my house of prayer.
They’ll be welcome to worship the same as the ‘insiders,’
to bring burnt offerings and sacrifices to my altar.
Oh yes, my house of worship
will be known as a house of prayer for all people.”
The Decree of the Master, God himself,
who gathers in the exiles of Israel:
“I will gather others also,
gather them in with those already gathered.”
A House of Prayer for all people. So, what does
that look like? Well in doing my research on the subject I found an interesting
article that states:
“First
of all, Christ himself was a house of prayer and he was teaching his disciples
to become one by modeling this for them when He continually withdrew and was
talking with His Father and drawing strength from that intimate relationship He
had in heaven. This same intimate relationship is one we can have because Jesus
Christ came and hung on a cross to pay the price for us with his life, a
perfect sacrifice shedding His blood for the forgiveness of all of our sins”
So, we become houses of prayer in and through
Jesus as we follow His example for us. I
like the analogy it used when it stated:
Think
about it this way. As a child you have an intimate relationship with your
earthly father or mother and you want to be around them and you depend upon
them for certain things like food, clothing, a home to live in, and all the
good things you like and need. Well, even though Jesus had those earthly
parents, He came from heaven and longed for the intimate relationship with His
Father in heaven. Prayer was that connection of intimacy that He left behind
when He came to earth. He was modeling this for His disciples, and for us to
follow, as He restored the relationship for us with the Father by His death,
burial and resurrection.
OK…so this is all about what prayer is. What is meant by “house of prayer”?
Defining
the House of Prayer
I
will attempt to give some definition and expression to the House of Prayer. As
I understand, there are two expressions of it, so here they are.
1.
You are personally a House of Prayer. After you receive
Jesus Christ as Savior, you become the temple of the Holy Spirit.
2. The Church is a House of Prayer. As we assemble together we are the corporate expression of prayer.
2. The Church is a House of Prayer. As we assemble together we are the corporate expression of prayer.
Hebrews 10:19-25 tells us:
A Call to Persevere
19 And so, dear brothers
and sisters,[a] we
can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By
his death,[b] Jesus
opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.21 And
since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house,22 let
us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him.
For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us
clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold tightly
without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his
promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one
another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let
us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one
another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Persevere in prayer and come together in prayer.
Persevere – We all love the PUSH Pray Until
Something Happens way of thinking. We all say we believe it but do we do it.
Are we there until the birthing has happened. Think of it this way. When a
woman gives birth to a child she needs to push…harder at time but still push.
She continues push until what she wants is birthed…that new born child. She
doesn’t give up in the middle. She continues until the end. Pray…P.U.S.H….is
very much the same exact thing. We PUSH and PUSH until what we are praying for
is birthed. We persevere…
Come together – Where two or more are gather
together… We need to come together in prayer…and not just during our praise and
worship times. We need to deliberately come together and pray. Things happen,
lives are changed and we see people coming to Christ as we deliberately come
together. Listen to some of my favorite scriptures about coming together and
praying and what happens as Christ’s Followers come together in prayer… Found I
Acts 2 and Acts 2…the BIRTH of the church.
Acts 1:12-14The Message (MSG)
Returning
to Jerusalem
12-13 So they left the
mountain called Olives and returned to Jerusalem. It was a little over half a
mile. They went to the upper room they had been using as a meeting place:
Peter,
John,
James,
Andrew,
Philip,
Thomas,
Bartholomew,
Matthew,
James,
son of Alphaeus,
Simon
the Zealot,
Judas,
son of James.
14 They agreed they were in
this for good, completely together in prayer, the women included. Also Jesus’
mother, Mary, and his brothers.
Acts 2:1-4, 41-42, 46-47New Living
Translation (NLT)
The
Holy Spirit Comes
2 On the day of Pentecost[a] all
the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly,
there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it
filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then,
what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of
them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the
Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages,[b] as
the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
41 Those who believed what
Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.
The
Believers Form a Community
42 All the believers
devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing
in meals (including the Lord’s Supper[i]),
and to prayer.
46 They worshiped together
at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their
meals with great joy and generosity[j]—47 all
the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each
day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
Holy Spirit came, lives were saved…were changed,
and the church was birthed as Christ followers got together and “PUSH”ed. We
too can see things birthed as we pray together. WE have seen miracles in this
church as we pray together on Sunday’s. How much more would we see happen as we
gather more as a house of prayer?
We have several times to get together here
during the week but have we become like those who have forgotten about
gathering together? How much more would the world be blessed…this community be
blessed if we would get back into the practice of praying with one another? The
world needs change. How much more would our prayers have an effect on our
community, our state, our country, and our world if we gathered together as the
Holy Spirit brings us a new zephyr, a new indwelling, of its power in our lives
and the lives of others?
P is for Pray Every Day. How are you and I doing
with that? Do you think that there needs to be a renewed indwelling of the
Spirit in our lives and the life of our church? Do you want to be part of the
new thing God is doing in our church and in Patten? Pastor Jim Cimbala, who is
the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church that began with only 14 members, states that
prayer is the “engine of the church.” Prayer is the large engine that knows it
can…not a little engine that thinks it can… Are you willing to give an hour to
bring God’s “kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven”? Are your ready to
join the heavenly choir in heaven and become the Kingdom of priest interceding
for the world as described in Revelation 5:8-10:
Revelation 5:8-10New Living Translation (NLT)
8 And when he took the
scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the
Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which
are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a
new song with these words:
“You
are worthy to take the scroll
and break its seals and open it.
For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 And you have caused them to become
a Kingdom of priests for our God.
and break its seals and open it.
For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 And you have caused them to become
a Kingdom of priests for our God.
I know what my choice is…I hope to see you here
as we bring down heavens grace and mercy upon our church, upon our
community…upon Patten, and upon the world. Let us become that House of Prayer
we are called to be…praying every day, in every way…
Amen
------
------
October 14,
2017
we must be
honest, authentic – v2
October 14,
2017
we need to be
deliberate
edited October
14, 2017
are we honest,
authentic – v3
(changing the
order of the stanzas)
merged October
14, 2017
are we honest,
authentic – v2
edited/ new
title October 14, 2017
we must be
honest, authentic
October 14,
2017
are we honest,
authentic
edited October
14, 2017
do we pray
without ceasing – v3
(editing
original)
edited October
13, 2017
pray for each
other – v2
October
13, 2017
pray
for each other
edited
October 13, 2017
advocating,
petitioning God – v2
October
13, 2017
advocating,
petitioning God
October
13, 2017
praying
for them - 3
October
13, 2017
by
faith and grace
Psalm
106:19-23
Psalm
106:1-6, 19-23
Exodus
32:1-6
Exodus
32:1-14
The
Golden Calf
The
Upper Room Disciplines for 2017
“Supplicate,
Sing, See”
October
9, 2017 to October 15, 2017
by
Wen-Ling Lai
devotion
for October 13, 2017
read
October 13, 2017
&
edited
October 12, 2017
yet
I still receive grace – v2
October
12, 2017
yet
I still receive grace
October
12, 2017
confessing
our sins
Psalm
106:1-6
Psalm
106:1-6, 19-23
Philippians
4:7-9
Philippians
4:1-9
The
Upper Room Disciplines for 2017
“Supplicate,
Sing, See”
October
9, 2017 to October 15, 2017
by
Wen-Ling Lai
devotion
for October 12, 2017
read
October 12, 2017
&
edited October
11, 2017
God remembered
His promise – v2
edited October
11, 2017
Moses saved
the Israeli people
edited
October 11, 2017
he
saved his people – v2
October
11, 2017
he
saved his people
October
11, 2017
His
prayer was effective – v2
edited/merged
October 11, 2017
He
prayed for his people – v2
October
11, 2017
His
prayer was effective
October
11,2017
He
prayed for his people
October
11, 2017
God
remembered His promise
Exodus
32:11-14
Exodus
32:1-14
The
Golden Calf
Philippians
4:6
Philippians
4:1-9
The
Upper Room Disciplines for 2017
“Supplicate,
Sing, See”
October
9, 2017 to October 15, 2017
by
Wen-Ling Lai
devotion
for October 11, 2017
read
October 11, 2017
&
October 13,
2017
as we pray
together
October 13,
2017
come together
in prayer
October 13,
2017
we manifest
prayer
October 13,
2017
as we gather
together
October 13,
2017
Christ
withdrew
October 12,
2017
All about
prayer
October 12,
2017
Do we gather
in prayer
edited October
12, 2017
make of me a
house of prayer – v2
edited/ new
name October 12, 2017
make of me a
house of prayer
October 12,
2017
make me a
house of prayer
edited October
12, 2017
we promise to
pray – v2
October 12,
2017
I lift up my
prayers
edited October
12, 2017
do we pray
without ceasing – v2
October 11,
2017
do we pray
without ceasing
October 10,
2017
we promise to
pray
October
10, 2017
called
to be a house
October
10, 2017
I’ll
be there
October 9,
2017
praying every
day
October 9,
2017
praying
without ceasing
edited October
9, 2017
Christ sat
down beside me
(my testimony
10/8/17)
October 9,
2017
He sat down
beside me
(my testimony
10/8/17)
October 9,
2017
you answered
my prayer
(my testimony
10/8/17)
October 9,
2017
you forgave me
(my testimony
10/8/17)
October 9,
2017
I was active
in church
(my testimony
10/8/17)
edited October
8, 2017
our temple a
house – v2
October 8,
2017
our temple a
house
October 8,
2017
Giving God Our
Hopes
October 8,
2017
standing on
prayer
October 8,
2017
walking in
prayer
October 8, 2017
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Sermon Series: “P.A.T.T.E.N.”
(“P is for “Pray Every Day”)
(P.A.T.T.E.N. banner in the church)
Psalm 25:1-9
Matthew 18:18-20
Isaiah 56:6-8
Hebrews 10:19-25
Revelations 5:8-10
Acts 1:12-14
Acts 2
and
sermon, “P Is for Prayer”
text:
video:
(including testimony of Raymond A. Foss)
by Pastor Ruth
Foss
sermon blog
meditation
blog
“God’s
Whisper” blog
Children’s
Message
by Pastor Ruth
Foss
Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church
October 8,
2017
All of my
poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001,
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014,
2015, 2016, and 2017. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See
all 45,190 of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com
Poetry Where You Live.
Christ,
Spirit, God, Faith, love, grace, hope, prayer, Pastor Ruth Foss, Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church, poem, PATTEN, ME, Psalm 25, Matthew 18, house
of prayer,
#Christ #God #Spirit #Faith #love #grace #poem #Patten #Psalm25
#Matthew18 #pray #praying #prayer #hope
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