Years ago, the pastors here each had a group of men that prayed with them one morning a week. We also had a group of men and women who gathered before the Sunday morning service and prayed for the service, particularly for the souls of those attending to be healed, or grown, or saved, and for people who had been invited that week to attend, etc. The following clipping from an old “Our Daily Bread” served, in part, as the impetus.
Five young college students were spending a Sunday in London, so they went to hear the famed C.H. Spurgeon preach. While waiting for the doors to open, the students were greeted by a man who asked, “Gentlemen, let me show you around. Would you like to see the heating plant of this church?” They were not particularly interested, for it was a hot day in July. But they didn’t want to offend the stranger, so they consented. The young men were taken down a stairway, a door was quietly opened, and their guide whispered, “This is our heating plant.” Surprised, the students saw 700 people bowed in prayer, seeking a blessing on the service that was soon to begin in the auditorium above. Softly closing the door, the gentleman then introduced himself. It was none other than Charles Spurgeon.
As so often happens, schedules change and one thing gets pushed aside for another. However, we are in a new place and we need to make new traditions, even if some of them are really very old (Acts 12:12; 1 Timothy 2:1-8). I plan to start a “Heating Plant” ministry beginning in late October. It will likely run from 8:30-9:00am on Sunday mornings, and will be open for all comers, even if you only have 5 minutes to drop in (location TBA).
There are two things I’d like to challenge each of us to do in the intervening weeks: (1) Pray about whether or not you have the margin in your Sunday morning to be part of the Core Prayer Team. (2) Strongly consider attending the Sunday Night Prayer meeting or helping us grow that ministry by multiplying it – start one in your own home!!
“My House shall be called a House of Prayer” – Jesus
Blessings,
Pastor Scott
A trip to the zoo with 1 & 3 year old grand-daughters re-enlightened me to the benefits and dangers of generalizing or labeling. It’s phenomenal that a 20 month old can recognize that a 600 lb African lion is a kitty. It’d be horrifying if she was able to try to pet him. Labeling, generalizing, help us to understand things like; cats are cats, and a Yugo and a Lamborghini are both cars. The problem, is that generalizations and labeling also can cause us to treat people as part of a group instead of as individuals for whom Jesus died.
Grace Notes 