(June 8, 2009)

Prayer House News!

We had a wonderful weekend of ministry. Pastor Nick preached his heart out as he challenged us to believe God to do big things through us like he did through Gideon. On Sunday we handed out lots of awards to our kids as they graduated from one level to the next.

This is Family Week for us which means we will not be having our regular mid week classes. We will not be having RPM either. Please make note of that.

On Tuesday evening there will be a memorial service for Geri Sorensen's father, Jerry Covelli. Visitation is from 5:00 to 7:00pm with the memorial starting at 7:00pm.

Please note: I have posted on the side bar the info for the Missions Trip we are planning for next November. Look it over!

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Moral Responsibility

There are certain things that are true of any move of God, whether it’s the church on foreign land, whether it’s in the book of Acts, or even right here in Kenosha at Prayer House. That’s this; when God moves He is always moving towards reaching people who are lost, broken, and hurting.

That is the mission that has been given to the church – that is our moral responsibility. However, we cannot do it by ourselves, so God gives us his spirit to dwell within us, to gift us and to empower us and that is why we exist.

Since this is the beginning of family week I am going to take a break from the book of Hebrews and go back to the book of Acts. We spent more than a year going through that great book and there are some things I want us to recall about it.

I want us to consider some of the things that characterized the early church because those are the very things that we would want our church to look like also. We see in Acts that people were called to faith and then to be baptized. We do that here. We have witnessed a number of salvations this year. Next month we are going to have a baptismal service. We also see that the believers were baptized in the Holy Spirit and so we emphasize that also.

The book of Acts embodies a Christian community which is quite different from just having pot luck dinners once in a while. For too many, the essence of Christian community is fellowships.

The kindergarten teacher asked the students in her class to bring something related to their families' religions to class the next day. She asked for volunteers to show what they had brought to the rest of the class. One boy came forward and said, "I am Muslim, and this is my prayer rug." Another child came forward and said, "I am Jewish, and this is my Star of David." Another came forward and said, "I am Catholic, and this is my Rosary." The last little boy came forward and said, "I am Southern Baptist, and this is my Covered Dish."

In the book of Acts we see a more radical kind of community which called them to pray, and fast regularly. But as we went deeper into the life of the church we see that it was marked by giving to the work of God.

Acts 2:44-45 And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; (45) and they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.

So I want to look at the issue of giving this morning. And I can see the excitement on your faces as we touch on this subject. Some of you are shouting (within) and saying, "Yes, yes, finally a teaching on giving."

But this was a major part of the new testament church. There is just so much teaching on the subject that we cannot ignore it. I would not be offering you a well balanced perspective of the gospel if it didn’t include the issue of giving.

But in the book of Acts – it was not just giving – it was radical giving – it was striking to see how willing they were to empty themselves of themselves and give everything to God. Some of us want to give God our hearts without giving him our finances also. I don’t think that is possible because the heart is primarily represented by money.

continued tomorrow

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Medication: A Merry Heart

Looking for a Parking Space

I was driving around and around a parking garage in search of an available space. Nothing.

Then I noticed a couple walking ahead of me."Going out?" I called to them.

"No," said the man. "Just friends."

(June 5, 2009)

Prayer House News!

RPM was sweet last night. If you haven't been able to be a part of it yet you don't know what you are missing. Something happens in the spirit realm whenever we start praying for the lost and those who have just gotten saved.

Tomorrow night is SNS at 5:30pm. Come and worship with us.

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Endurance!

continued from yesterday

As we have already determined, the development of patience or endurance in our lives is God shaping us into the kind of person He wants us to be.

The reason our prayers often go unanswered is because God is still working in the life of the pray-er. God could just as easily say to us, the answer is on its way, wait for it, continue to pray for it, it will come and it will not be late just don’t stop praying.

Once we understand that God is endeavoring to make us into the person He wants us to be then we begin to understand that our prayers will be answered when we strive to become all that God wants us to be. We should set our lives on a course of following God's will.

If we were trying to get as close to God as we can, what would be the result of that? Don’t you believe it would involve the will of God? Those who are close to God are in His will. When we look at someone who is away from their commitment to God – don’t we usually refer to them as being out of God’s will?

The writer of Hebrews assumes we understand this. That is why in Chapter 10 verse 36, right after he says, "You have need of endurance," he says, "So that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised."

He is assuming that we understand that once there is stability in our lives, when we are no longer tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, that we will bring our lives in line with God’s will – subsequently, when we have done the will of God, indicating that we have endurance in our lives – we receive what was promised, the prayer gets answered! Isn’t that great!

The prayer is an­swered through the changes that spiritual stability brings into our lives! All prayers are answered by faith, but faith requires stability in our relationship with God. Have you ever heard of a teaching by Jesus that does not encourage faith? Stability or endurance is a great indicator of faith, and a great answer-er of prayers.

END

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Medication: A Merry Heart

Doctor On Call

A well-respected surgeon was relaxing on his sofa one evening just after arriving home from work. As he was tuning into the evening news, the phone rang.

The doctor calmly answered it and heard the familiar voice of a colleague on the other end of the line."We need a fourth for poker," said the friend."I'll be right over," whispered the doctor.

As he was putting on his coat, his wife asked, "Is it serious?"

"You tell me!" said the doctor gravely.

"There are already three doctors there!"

(June 4, 2009)

Prayer House News!

Come and pray with us tonight at 7:00pm. It's a powerful prayer time which focuses on healing of all types. I will spend some time reading some material dealing with healing then we wait on God to see what happens. If you want to be prayed for, our pastors and elders will be there to minister to you personally.

Then we take the last half of our hour to pray for those who are making decisions to follow Christ through the GodRev.com website. It's very powerful to watch people make decisions for Christ.

Prayer Request:

Elsie Cardinahl had a slight heart-attack on Tuesday. She is doing fine now and will be coming home soon.
Joshua Snyder had an appendectomy and is also home now.
Polly Allieo is still in the hospital after surgery also. Pray for her continued recovery.


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Endurance!

James 1:2-6 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, (3) knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. (4) And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (5) But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (6) But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

James began his letter by telling his readers that trials are good because they produce endurance (patience), and we need patience. Then he went on to describe what patience or endurance is. He explained that it is exhibited when one asks of God in faith, without doubting. James describes one who lacks endurance as someone who is like a wave of the sea. That man is tossed about to and fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine, wavering back and forth between Christianity and Judaism. God doesn't want us to be like that. He wants to develop stability in us, the ability to endure and to hang on to our faith.

Lets compare this to Hebrews 10:35-36

Hebrews 10:35-36; Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. (36) For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

Verse 35 admonishes us not to throw away our faith and to expect a great reward for continuing to believe God. The reason it tells us not to throw away our faith is because we need it the most when things don’t seem to be happening in the way we thought they should. If our prayer request is not yet about to be granted; that’s when our faith in God is tested.

Our faith in God will enable us to continue to pray even though we don't see the answer we would like to at that particular moment. If God tells us to continue to pray, the faith it takes to continue to pray will ultimately bring us to the place where we have faith for the answer.

I have witnessed this time and time again. At one point, I had been praying about a certain matter for many weeks. One night as I was praying about it, I sensed the Lord saying, "Ron, you no longer need to pray about this situation. Consider it resolved even though you do not see the answer right now." Because I had prayed so long about it, the next day I thought I would just remind Him of the answer He promised me. As soon as I began praying about it, I sensed the Holy Spirit saying, "Ron, I dealt with you about that already. To continue to pray about it now would be a lack of faith."

God can bring us to the place where we can practice Romans 4:17, where we can call things that are not as though they were. I fully believe that God expects us to pray things into existence. However, it does require faith. It takes stability of faith to start praying about something that does not exist, because every wind of doctrine will come against you attempting to toss you to and fro.

Fellow believers will tell you that you are crazy and that it can’t be done – but it can when God is behind it. It takes faith to pray about something that has not yet happened, and it takes faith to stop praying when God tells you to.

Our faith pays us great dividends. There is great recom­pense of reward with our faith, but it isn't just a matter of trying to muster great faith on our own. Our ability to continue to pray is a sign of faith. While we are in prayer, God continues to make us into that person He wants us to be. Keep in mind that in verse 36 it says, "For you have need of endurance [patience."

Right after telling us not to give up our faith, he puts the focus on us by saying, "You need endurance." This begins to tell us that in many cases the only reason we have not yet seen the answer we are waiting for is because the answer to our prayer is going to come through the development of godliness within us.

Let me ask you this; if you are praying for a better marriage – how is God going to answer that? Think about it for a moment. You are the one praying, meaning God has your attention, you recognize a problem so you begin to pray about it. If you are having a relational problem – how will that most likely be resolved? It’s by God changing the prayer. The verse does not say, They need endurance, it says you need endurance.

continued tomorrow

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Medication: A Merry Heart

More Strange Tongue Twisters

Clean clams crammed in clean cans.

Six sick hicks nick six slick bricks with picks and sticks.

I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish, but if you wish the wish the witch wishes, I won't wish the wish you wish to wish.

Stupid superstition!

There was a fisherman named Fisher who fished for some fish in a fissure. Till a fish with a grin, pulled the fisherman in. Now they're fishing the fissure for Fisher.

Picky people pick Peter Pan Peanut-Butter, 'tis the peanut-butter picky people pick. from a commercial

If Stu chews shoes, should Stu choose the shoes he chews?

Luke's duck likes lakes. Luke Luck licks lakes. Luke's duck licks lakes. Duck takes licks in lakes Luke Luck likes. Luke Luck takes licks in lakes duck likes. from Dr. Seuss' Fox in Socks

Seventy seven benevolent elephants

There those thousand thinkers were thinking how did the other three thieves go through.

Santa's Short Suit Shrunk name of a children's book

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

Wayne went to Wales to watch walruses.

In 'ertford, 'ereford and 'ampshire, 'urricanes 'ardly Hever 'appen.

One-one was a race horse. Two-two was one too. One-one won one race. Two-two won one too.

Eleven benevolent elephants

Celibate celebrant, celibate celebrant, celibate celebrant, ...

Willy's real rear wheel

If Pickford's packers packed a packet of crisps would the packet of crisps that Pickford's packers packed survive for two and a half years?

(June 3, 2009)

Prayer House News!

Tonight is our midweek classes. We have something for each age group. It all starts at 6:30pm.

Tomorrow night is RPM at 7:00pm. Come and seek God with us for a time of praying for healing and intercession.

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Endurance!

continued from yesterday

Hebrews 10:37-38 For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. (38) But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.

What the prophet tells his servant is very similar to what the writer of Hebrews is trying to tell the Hebrew people. In fact the writer of Hebrews is quoting Habakkuk here. He is basically saying that even though times are tough right now, God will eventually answer their prayers. But in the mean time don’t go back to Judaism. Don’t shrink back to what you had before Jesus because there is no sacrifice for sin in any other religion.

In verse 38 it says, "But My righteous one shall live by faith...."

Right after telling us to continue to pray, it talks about faith. God is bringing us to a point where He can work through us. That is why there are times when a prayer is simply not going to be answered until God has the oppor­tunity to shape us.

That's why no matter how much faith we try to exercise, there are times when God will not answer a certain prayer until He has shaped us into what He wants us to be. God is more con­cerned with who the pray-er is than the answer to the prayer. That is why some situations take much prayer, others don't.

Some people are quick to point to John 15:7 which says, "If you abide inMe, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you."

Using this verse as a basis, they suggest that one can and should receive rewards for faith unconditionally. There is a condition though: we must abide in Him.

In 1 John 2:6, we find the conditions for abiding: "The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked."

That’s the only way we can claim John 15:7. We must walk in the same manner, or you could say we must walk in the will of God. Time in prayer is meant to help us develop such a relationship with God that even after He answers our prayers, we will keep praying because now we are praying for the purpose of being with God. Then our prayer time will begin to direct our whole life, and God begins to do great things through what He has developed in us.

continued tomorrow

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Medication: A Merry Heart

Strange Tongue Twisters

1 Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

2 A quick witted cricket critic.

3 IF IF = THEN THEN THEN = ELSE ELSE ELSE = IF

4 I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop. Where she sits she shines, and where she shines she sits.

5 How many boards Could the Mongols hoard If the Mongol hordes got bored? from the comic Calvin & Hobbes, by Bill Waterson

6 How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?

7 Send toast to ten tense stout saints' ten tall tents.

8 Denise sees the fleece, Denise sees the fleas. At least Denise could sneeze and feed and freeze the fleas.

9 Coy knows pseudo noise codes.

10 Sheena leads, Sheila needs.

11 The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.

12 Something in a thirty-acre thermal thicket of thorns and thistles thumped and thundered threatening the three-D thoughts of Matthew the thug - although, theatrically, it was only the thirteen-thousand thistles and thorns through the underneath of his thigh that the thirty year old thug thought of that morning.

13 Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?

14 Seth at Sainsbury's sells thick socks.

(June 2, 2009)

Prayer House News

Dear Pastors, Elders, Staff, & Fellow Saints,

First I want to say how blessed I see Prayer House.

Thank you for putting on such an awesome Celebration on Saturday at Bose. Watching the footage of your history, I'm sure God is saying; "Well done"! With so little, but seeing your Big faith really shows how we all should live. Yep, "Pray Believing".

The food was awesome, the fellowship was awesome! And oh my! Pastor Nick, & Dave Palmer were too funny! Then my exciting day of being baptized!

Oh how much I love Jesus! I was glad I didn't stiffen up unable for Pastor Joshua to bend me in the water. Oh, I don't like going under water. But, that split second was the best under water experience I've had.

Oh how refreshing! My second time at Sanctuary was another wonderful experience. Thank you again Praise Band for another great time of Praise and Worship.

Well, looking forward to many years of great fellowship and service with Prayer House. God Bless you Church.

Debbie Rutchik

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Endurance!

continued from yesterday

Hebrews 10:28 Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. (29) How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God.

He is basically appealing to their sense of Judaism here when he says, “You guys know that anyone who sets aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy, therefore, now that you have been elightened about Jesus, how much more do you think someone will suffer if they trample under foot the Son of God or if they change back to Judaism.” So the issue is one of endurance.

Now I want to shift gears here and look into the issue of why things do not always go the way we would like them to go or why things don’t get done in the time frame that we think they should. We are going to look at the prophet Habakkuk first, and then James and continue comparing them to our verses in Hebrews.
The Prophet

Habakkuk 1:2 How long, O LORD, will I call for help, And Thou wilt not hear? I cry out to Thee, "Violence!" Yet Thou dost not save.

The prophet was praying about the devastation that was taking place in his country. God had given him a vision of the good he was going to do for His people, yet all Habakkuk could see was destruction and devastation. It seemed to him as if God was ignoring his cries. Yet Habakkuk resolved that he would do the only thing he could do: he would continue to pray, or endure as we see in the next chapter of his book.

Habakkuk 2:1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. (KJV)

I shared with my Wednesday night bible study group that some people believe that Habakkuk was the shortest man in the bible because he was able to stand on his watch. Personally, I just think he had a really big watch.

The prophet kept praying. He continued to watch and pray to see what God was going to say. Finally, God did indeed answer Habakkuk.

Habakkuk 2:2-3 Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run. (3) "For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal, and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.

God's answer to him was not what Habakkuk had anticipated. Although God did answer him, He did not pro­vide the explanation the prophet had hoped to hear, nor did He put an immediate end to the suffering of His people. He just told Habakkuk to continue praying. It wasn't the ap­pointed time. The answer was on its way, but it wasn't there yet. Habakkuk just had to remain faithful in prayer and wait. Right after that Habakkuk tells His servant that the just will live by faith.

Habakkuk 2:4 "Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith. God presented Habakkuk with a clear depiction of a person who lives by faith; he is a person who is completely dependent upon God. There is no pride in him. He realizes that God is all that he has and that without God he is nothing. The just live by this kind of faith and continue to pray.

continued tomorrow

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Medication: A Merry Heart

A 1st grade school teacher had twenty-six students in her class. She presented each child in her classroom the 1st half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading, keep in mind that these are first-graders, 6-year-olds, because the last one is a classic!

Don't change horses until they stop running.

Strike while the bug is close

It's always darkest before Daylight Saving Time

Never underestimate the power of termites

You can lead a horse to water but How?

Don't bite the hand that looks dirty

No news is impossible

A miss is as good as a Mr

You can't teach an old dog new Math

If you lie down with dogs, you'll stink in the morning

Love all, trust Me

The pen is mightier than the pigs

An idle mind is the best way to relax

Where there's smoke there's pollution

Happy the bride who gets all the presents

A penny saved is not much

Two's company, three's the Musketeers

Don't put off till tomorrow what you put on to go to bed

Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and You have to blow your nose
There are none so blind as Stevie Wonder

Children should be seen and not spanked or grounded

If at first you don't succeed get new batteries

You get out of something only what you see in the picture on the box

When the blind lead the blind get out of the way

A bird in the hand is going to poop on you