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"Exalting Christ, Equipping Christians"Stallings Memorial Baptist ChurchText Box: Volume 40 Text Box: Number 30 Text Box: July 27, 2010 The VOICE of the People's ChurchText Box: Television interviewer and journalist Larry King describes three farmers who gather daily in a field during a horrible drought. The men are down on their knees, looking upward, and praying the skies will open and pour forth a much-needed rain. Unfortunately, the heavens are silent, and the petitioners become discouraged, but they continue to meet every morning to lift up their request to God. One morning an uninvited stranger approaches and asks the men what they are doing. They respond, "We’re praying for rain." The newcomer looks at each of them and shakes his head, "No, I don’t think so." The first farmer says, "Of course we’re praying. We are down on our knees pleading for rain. Look around; see the drought. We haven’t had rain in more than a year!" The outsider continues to nod his head and advises them their efforts will never work. The second farmer jumps in and says, "We need the rain; we aren’t asking only for ourselves, but for our families and livestock." The man listens, nods, and says he still isn’t impressed. "You’re wasting your time," he says. The third farmer can’t take any more, and in anger he says, "Okay, what would you do if you were in our shoes?" The visitor asks, "You really want to know?" The three landowners answer, "We really want to know! The future of our farmlands is at stake." The guest announces, "I would have brought an umbrella!"

    On Sunday morning, we will be looking at the passage of scripture in Luke 11 where Jesus is asked by His disciples to teach them to pray.  We receive the Model Prayer (or as we refer to it, the Lord’s Prayer), and are told to ask, seek, and knock.  There is a progression in this persistence: asking, seeking and knocking.  Asking means making a simple request.  Seeking implies a stronger desire and a more definite kind of request.  It is something that takes time.  It implies a greater sense of urgency.  Knocking shows determination to get an answer.”

    When you pray, are you simply asking and hoping, are you seeking with an urgency, or are you knocking with a determination to come to an understanding of God’s plan and will for your life?  My desire in preaching this sermon on Sunday is to help each of us to grow in our prayer lives so that we can become more aligned with God’s plan for each of us and for our church.

    Finally, I want to encourage you to pray in faith for someone who needs Jesus Christ to become their Savior, to pray for someone who has wandered away from their close walk with Christ as their Lord, and to pray for our church and each person who has a place of leadership in the church.  And when you pray, have your umbrella in your hand.  Believe God will answer our prayers.  See you Sunday as we worship our great and mighty God.

From Your Pastor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  

Sunday, August 1

10:30 AM

6:00 PM

“Importance of Prayer”

Luke 11:1-13

“Results from Ministry”

2 Corinthians 9:12-15