Becoming God's Masterpiece: Part 3

Dr. Eric Geiger, pastor, author, vice-president of LifeWay’s Church Resource Division, said, “The Christian life is not about trying more, it is about dying more.” In our series on Transformation through the month of January, we have been examining how we can cooperate with God in His work of transforming us into His masterpiece. Our efforts are not to be simply trying harder to “do” spiritual things so that God will bless us. It is exactly as Dr. Geiger said; our efforts to cooperate with God’s work in us are all about surrender. We surrender ourselves more and more to Him as we carve out time in our lives for Him. As we invest time in His Word, in prayer, in worship and meditation, God works in us to shape us into the image of His Son Jesus. It’s not about doing, it’s about dying.

On January 15 & 22 we explored how God uses worship and prayer to transform us, and we offered some suggestions on how to incorporate both into our daily routines. Do you remember them?

Worship

• Prepare for Worship – Deliberately set aside everything else, plans for the day, worries and cares, and focus on giving God His due praise and adoration. Confess any known sin and make right any known wrongs.
• Participate in Worship – Sing! Pray! Give! Respond as the Spirit leads! Don’t just be a spectator as others worship God. Worship Him as if no one is present except Him and you.
• Add Worship to Your Week – Make worship a daily exercise. Spend time before God in simple praise and thanksgiving. Add some praise music to your day whenever possible. Sing along. Begin a worship lifestyle.

Prayer

• Set a Time for Prayer – Set aside time to pray. Guard that time as you do every other important appointment.
• Use Prayer Lists – Create lists to aid in focused, deliberate intercession for others. Pray through your lists regularly. Make notes of any answered prayers or situational changes. Keep praying.
• Pray the Scriptures – We can always steer our prayers toward God’s purposes when we pray His Word back to Him. Saturate your prayers with Scripture. (Scripture memorization that was discussed in a previous week helps greatly here!). Allow God’s Word and will to guide and shape your prayers.
• Pray as Communication – Converse throughout the day with God. Shoot “arrow prayers” to Him as you face every new challenge of the day.

As you read and study the Word, pray, and worship daily, God will work the process of transformation in you bit by bit. Go back and watch the “God’s Chisel” video again. Review how the process works. Don’t be discouraged; it’s a marathon not a sprint.

In the closing message of the series we will examine how God uses partnerships in the process of transformation. God works in us so that He can work through us; and as He works through us He is also working in us. It’s an exciting journey. Will you join us?

National Day of Prayer 2010

"I urge then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." 1 Timothy 2:1-2

Our country is today contending with issues that are causing its very foundation to crumble. Our moral and spiritual roots are eroding. Families are disintegrating. there seem to be very few leaders who will take a stand for God and His Word.

Will you join with others this Thursday May 6, 2010, for the National Day of Prayer, and lift up our nation before God? Will you cry out in repentance and intercession on behalf of our country and its leaders? Will you beseech the God of heaven to have mercy on our hurting and aimless people? Will you implore the Savior to redeem the lost? Will you beg the Holy Spirit to draw people of all ages back to God?

Ararat Baptist Church, 3608 Brownsville Highway, Jackson, TN, will be open from 7 AM to 7 PM so people can come in and pray. We will provide free prayer resources to guide you as you pray for our nation and its leaders. Even if you can only pause a moment, stop and pray for America.

http://www.facebook.com/TheNationalDayofPrayerTaskForce?ref=ts

http://twitter.com/nationalprayer

Until the Whole World Hears

Join us on Sunday November 29 at 6:00 PM for an International Missions Virtual Prayerwalk. We will be prayerwalking 8 world regions by taking a virtual tour through our church. Come and pray with us as the season for international missions approaches! View our promotional video below, featuring new music by Casting Crowns called "Until the Whole World Hears".

BSFL Sunday School Commentary for the week of October 4, 2009

The Warrior Hero      Mark 11

The shoes you pack say alot about the trip you're taking. How you ever thought about how many of the metaphors for discipleship involve your feet? We "follow" Christ. We describe our Christian "walk". The new unit of study for October is entitled "Discipleship: The Epic Adventure". What shoes did you pack for the journey? When it comes to discipleship there are mountains to climb, battles to fight, and enemies to face. When it comes to following Jesus you will need more than flip-flops and bunny slippers!

This week's lesson from Mark 11 is called "The Warrior Hero". Believers need to understand that an active life of faith leads to victorious Christian living that pleases God, is pleasing to us, and is useful to Christ's Kingdom. We battle daily with temptation, doubt, crises, relational differences, and a host of other things that can turn our focus away from Kingdom living. In Mark 11:12-14, 20-21 Jesus enacted a parable to drive home the importance of a fruitful Christian life. The parable is interrupted as Mark records the account of Jesus cleansing the Temple. Mark often wraps one story around another. The outer story helps the reader to understand the importance of the central story. Just as the fig tree in 11:12-14 was bearing no fruit, so the worship of the Jews also bore no fruit (11:15-19).

What would it take to produce more fruit in your life? Fruit is symbolic of evidence. Apples on an apple tree are evidence that the tree you are observing is an apple tree. "A good tree doesn’t produce bad fruit; on the other hand, a bad tree doesn’t produce good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs aren’t gathered from thorn bushes, or grapes picked from a bramble bush. A good man produces good out of the good storeroom of his heart. An evil man produces evil out of the evil storeroom, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart." Luke 6:43-45 (HCSB)

So how is the level of evidence in your walk with Jesus? As we walk with Him and He transforms us into His likeness, we will exhibit evidence (fruit) of His character. Galatians 5:22-23 lists what is called the 'Fruit of the Spirit'; evidence of the Holy Spirit's transformational work in our lives. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23 (HCSB) Are you fighting fruitlessness and striving to bear fruit? How can we do that?

• Pruning - giving up something that stands in your way of a real, personal relationship with Christ.
• Watering - spending time in the Word to receive Living Water.
• Transplanting - moving out of a bad situation or relationship that is hindering you from placing your faith in God.
• Fertilizing - growing through personal disciplines such as stewardship, service, study, fellowship, prayer, and worship.

In the middle story of Mark 11:15-19, inattention to the worship of God drew Jesus' righteous wrath. From Mark's description of the Temple complex, it must have looked more like a flea market than a sacred place of prayer and worship! No wonder the Jews' worship and sacrifices to God were unacceptable. They allowed other things to crowd in and distract them from the true purpose of knowing and worshipping God. Temple worship had become big business. If you wanted to get to the Temple to worship, you had to fight your way through all the merchants that were set up in the courtyard out front, as well as everyone who was using the courtyard as a shortcut to get where they were going. To many, the hassle may not have been worth the effort.

What's distracting you from your walk with Christ? Escape from the day's busy routine? The pursuit of pleasure? Climbing the corporate ladder? A troublesome relationship? Too busy at church? Busyness is not fruitfulness. We must ruthlessly combat anything that pulls our focus from Jesus and His mission. In Mark 11:22-25 Jesus taught His disciples about the power of prayer to combat distractions and accomplish fruitfulness. A settled trust in God and His ability to solve our troubles and aid us in our struggle is essential to achieving spiritual victories. Many try to analyze away the power of Jesus' promise here. Although He used hyperbole in His statement concerning mountains to represent life's problems, we should never spiritualize away the power of God to answer our prayers and the effect of praying in faith.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) said, "A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer." I would venture to add that spiritual heroes stay at the task day after day after day. Through faith and by the power of God that is available to us we battle against unfruitfulness and worldly distractions to grow in our relationship with Christ and our usefulness to His Kingdom. Do you consider His best for you something worth fighting for?

Praying Toward a Harvest Through VBS

The following is excerpted from Church Health Matters, a regular publication included in the Baptist & Reflector, the Tennessee Baptist State Newspaper. To see the entire publication, which concerns VBS, go here.



During Pre-VBS Preparations:

• Pray for people who will come to know Christ during VBS. Pray that God will prepare their hearts to hear about Jesus. Pray for those who will share the gospel that the Lord would provide divine appointments.


• Pray for parents of children that will be attending VBS that God will send laborers into their lives and that the Lord would use the children as laborers in lost parent’s lives.


• Pray for those who teach that they may have the gift of discernment as they minister to VBS participants.


• Pray for open doors of “utterances” as those in the community are invited.


• Pray for each leader and volunteer to be unafraid and unashamed to share the gospel. Pray for boldness.


• Pray for the enemy to be defeated in the lives of workers, parents and children.


• Pray for all the leaders who are preparing rooms, making final lesson preparations and getting organized at home. Pray for them to be inspired in ways that prepares hearts for the gospel.

During VBS:

• Pray that compassion would fill the heart of every laborer.


• Pray for the laborer to share and serve as though he/she was doing it for the Lord.


• Pray that the gospel would be proclaimed boldly, compassionately and clearly.


• Pray those who attend that are hungry for love and affirmation would find it not just from the VBS workers but in Jesus.


• Pray that when the ABC’s of becoming a Christian are presented that it would be done so clearly and powered by the Holy Spirit and covered by prayer.


• Pray for those who have not responded to the Holy Spirit’s call. Pray for others who will be touched by the Holy Spirit.


• Pray that Christians will have a desire and confidence to share the good news.


• Pray that VBS participants would become connected to the church for long term discipleship.


• Pray for Family Night and that unchurched families that will come. Pray for them to feel welcomed, loved and most of all come to know the Lord as their Lord and Savior.

After VBS:

• Pray that people who have accepted Christ as Savior can be brought into the fellowship of your church (or another church) and begin growing in Christ likeness.


• Pray that VBS prospects and their families will come to Sunday School and worship.


• Pray that the church will begin to help meet needs discovered during VBS.


• Pray that what was learned during VBS will make a difference in the lives of those who participated. Pray that those who worked in VBS will sense God’s pleasure and satisfaction with their efforts.


• Pray that those who conduct follow-up on those who participated may have open doors into the lives of the whole family.