Thomas Sharp and David Collingsworth were celebrating birthdays as we gathered to worship Sunday morning at Mill Creek Baptist Church. We were greeted by Doug Cory and special prayers were requested for Mr. Tomlinson, Marsha Scott, Sharon Williams, Diane Penn Cope, Don Chaney, Eugene Garvin, Wayne Johnson and the Cantwell family. Jeanette Easter shared a praise.
"Stand Up Straight" was the devotional that Linda Abercrombie shared with us as she read Luke 12:27-28, 32. The story talked about living in an elf-sized house, too small to stand up straight and with very little furnishings. In comparison, that is like living a life without believing and living in a too small spiritual house. The Kingdom of God should be our first concern. God will provide for us.
Mitchell Lett asked God's blessing upon the offering and he and Tyrel Lett served as ushers. With Susan Cory at the piano, Karen Stroud led the congregational hymns including, "He Lives" and "The Family of God."
Brother Mark Hall began God's message for us by asking, "If you had the opportunity to sit down with Jesus to visit, what would you ask Him to do for you?" Brother Mark said that he would ask Jesus to show him how to pray and be a better prayer warrior just like the disciples asked for in Luke 11. Brother Mark read Matthew 6:5-8, where Jesus tells us how to pray and then we recited the Lord's Prayer in unison. The title of Sunday's message was "The Purpose of Prayer."
Brother Mark began by telling us that prayer is a personal thing. "Go in your room, shut the door and meet your Father in a secret place. Prayers in church aren't enough. Public prayer isn't enough. Really effective prayer is when you get alone with God. There are personal talks with God, and then there is public prayer. The Lord's Payer is a pattern of prayer. It is a prayer outline for us from Jesus." Brother Mark talked about six points for our purpose of prayer.
First, Brother Mark talked about the person of prayer and asked "Who is the person of prayer? Our Father in Heaven is because our prayers are directed to Him. Prayer is to the Father, about the son and through the Spirit. God the Father is the person of prayer. There is only one God."
The second purpose of prayer is the petition of prayers. Brother Mark asked, "What should our number one goal as a Christian be? Matthew 5:10 gives us the answer. We are to pray for God's will to be done. We live in a fallen world. God's will is done in Heaven, but not always on earth. Pray for God's will to be done 'on earth as it is in heaven.'"
Third, Brother Mark talked about the provision of prayer. Matthew 5:11 in the Lord's Prayer says, 'Give us this day our daily bread.' Brother Mark told us that our provisions from heaven are a daily thing and we need to pray daily about it.
The pardon of prayer was the fourth purpose of prayer that Brother Mark talked about as he read Matthew 5:12 of the Lord's Prayer, 'And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.' Brother Mark told us, "Don't ask for forgiveness for yourself, if you don't forgive others." In Matthew 5:14-15 Jesus says, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Fifth, Brother Mark talked about the protection of prayer. "If we would pray for more protection, we might have to pray for less pardon. There is temptation all around us. Pray for protection from it. We pray to get out of trouble, but we need to pray for God to help keep us out of trouble. If you only pray when you are in trouble, you're in trouble already. Really effective prayer doesn't change God's mind, but it changes ours." In Matthew 5:13, Jesus says, 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'
The sixth purpose of prayer is the power of prayer. Brother Mark said, "God doesn't need us, we need him. Maybe being thankful is the most important part of a prayer." The last part of the Lord's Prayer is 'For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.'
In closing, Brother Mark said, "We need Jesus for everything. He doesn't need our prayers, but we need our prayers to be heard. No one knows how far away they are from meeting Jesus. It is one heart beat to the next. If you don't meet meet Jesus the first time and ask the Lord to come into your life and be saved, you won't want to meet Him the second time. Ask the Lord to forgive you of your sins, confess your sins and let Jesus come into your life for the first time, then with God's salvation you won't have to worry about meeting Him the second time."
Our hymn of invitation was "Wherever He Leads, I'll Go" and Dwayne Hazelton gave the benediction.
Everyone is always welcome at Mill Creek Baptist Church. Sunday school begins at 10 a.m. and worship service at 11 a.m. Mill Creek is located 3½ miles east of Noel, just off Highway 90.
Religion on 02/07/2019