OLD POWHATAN BAPTIST CHURCH
Week of Prayer DECEMBER 30-JANUARY 6
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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30 In today’s sermon, consider the Kingdom mindset of Abraham. His faith in God led him to give up short term assets for the greater inheritance of land in the promise of God. Hebrews 11 says of Abraham, Sarah, and those of faith… These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews11:13-16) What would it look like in 2019 for us to… 1. Live like strangers and exiles in this world with our time? 2. Live like strangers and exiles in this world with money? 3. Live like strangers and exiles in this world with our kids? TODAY… Pray for God to do a NEW work in you in 2019… · To expose and root out idols or security · To help you trust Him more fully and uniquely · To make an eternal impact in 2019.
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MONDAY, DECEMBER 31 In teaching us on how to ask from our Father, Paul Miller writes in his book, A Praying Life: “The following chart summarizes the two attitudes that keep us from entering into the story that God is weaving in the lives of our children (or any person). Often we begin by being demanding, and then as we encounter human self-will, we drift into despair.
“If you are on the road of Good Asking, you have also given up—but in a good way. You’ve given up on your ability to change other people. Instead you cling to God and watch him weave his story. (pp.169-170) Think about your asking compared to the chart above. What would better asking look like? Using this as a template, practice some good asking right now and let this color your prayers throughout this week and into 2019.
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. (Romans 12:1-5) PRAY FOR OPBC TO BE A SACRIFICAL CHURCH Thank God for His great mercy… and in light of that mercy, pray for His strength to take up your cross daily to follow Him… laying aside comfort, status and power for the greater glory of knowing Christ PRAY FOR OPBC TO BE A HOLY, TRANSFORMED CHURCH Pray for a countercultural, distinctive pattern of life for you and for all of OPBC… that it would be obvious that we belong to Jesus. Pray for our time, money, and pleasures to be spent in Kingdom pursuits, rooting out sin and leading us to please God alone. PRAY FOR OPBC TO BE A COMMITTED CHURCH Pray for humility to rule in our hearts as we take our place in the body of Christ, committed to Him and to one another so that much is made of Jesus.
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. (Colossians1:3-8) PRAY FOR GRATEFUL HEARTS FOR FAITHFUL WITNESSES Praise the Lord for those who shared the Gospel with you… and consider your faithfulness to share the Gospel with those who are close to you but far from God. Make a list of 3 people who fit that description and commit to pray for them daily in 2019. ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ PRAY FOR OPBC TO FIND GRACIOUS WAYS TO SERVE Pray for open doors in the community of Powhatan and for OPBC members to serve graciously and in fruitful ways. What is one way you can serve your community in 2019? _____________________________________________________ PRAY FOR GOSPEL WITNESSES TO SEND OUT Would you pray for OPBC to be a SENDING church? That the Lord would call out from among us a family, an individual… maybe even YOU to go to the world that needs Christ?
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 3 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:13-22) PRAY FOR OPBC TO BE A THANKFUL CHURCH That we have all been brought near by the blood of Christ, each of us having the same need of salvation, each of us needing peace with God through Jesus Christ. PRAY FOR BIBLE-BELIEVING CHURCHES IN POWHATAN TO BE DIVERSE, UNITED AND COOPERATIVE‌ And pray that we would start with US. Pray for generations within OPBC to serve together and to serve one another. Pray for OTHERS to be more important than SELF. PRAY FOR OPBC TO BE A GROWING CHURCH Growing in UNITY, LOVE, PURPOSE and in CHRIST as we grow in numbers by His grace and power.
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 4 Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you." So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish." When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. (Jonah 3:1-10) PRAY FOR OBEDIENCE TO GO God sends us into our community and into the cities of the world as a witness‌ what is your witness to your community? What is your witness to the world? PRAY FOR BOLDNESS TO PROCLAIM Pray for the Gospel message to flow from our lips as we go into the world around us‌ we have a message of HOPE. REPENTANCE AND FAITH Pray for MANY in Powhatan and beyond to come to faith in Jesus as the Spirit works through our Gospel witness.
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SATURDAY, JANUARY 5 Hear, O sons, a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight, for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching. When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother, he taught me and said to me, "Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live. Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you. (Proverbs 4:1-6) PRAY FOR THE UNBORN IN OUR CHURCH AND COMMUNITY Praise the Lord for families and the gift that they are! Praise the Lord for knitting together every person and pray for a culture of LIFE to take over OPBC and our community. PRAY FOR BABIES AND TODDLERS AND PARENTS Pray for parents to faithfully instill the Word of God and the fear and love of the Lord into their children that they may live PRAY FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS It is more and more difficult to be a child of righteousness in our world. Pray for Christian parents to raise their children in faith and in the faith… not in fear. Pray for the wisdom of the Word given to them by their parents and by OPBCKids and OPBCStudents to take root and to lead them to life and life more abundant. PRAY FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS Pray for a Gospel witness to remain strong in our schools. Pray for wisdom for students and teachers as they navigate the waters of truth and deception and seek to live in a manner worthy of the Gospel. WHAT STUDENT/ CHILD/ FAMILY WILL YOU PRAY FOR IN 2019? OPBC CHILD I WILL PRAY FOR ________________________ OPBC STUDENT I WILL PRAY FOR _________________________ OPBC FAMILY I WILL PRAY FOR ___________________________
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SUNDAY, JANUARY 6 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." (Revelation 21:1-5) PRAISE THE LORD FOR THE PROMISE OF THE HEAVENLY CITY… PRAY FOR YOU AND OPBC TO LIVE FOR THAT CITY Pray for that hope to remove our cynicism and negativity so that we can live godly lives looking forward to our home. PRAY FOR YOU AND OPBC TO WORK TOWARD IT Because of the hope of the heavenly city, none of your labors are in vain… when they are investing in that heavenly home. Pray for vain efforts to cease and for hope to endure. PRAY FOR YOU AND OPBC TO LONG FOR IT Expectation should be a major part of HOPE… for we know that what is to come is FAR MORE GLORIOUS than anything we can achieve or experience here. LONG FOR THE HEAVENLY CITY… and pray that that longing will color your every day activities with… COMFORT AND HOPE IN JOY For a day with no more tears and suffering. Pray for someone who is suffering right now.. And pass on the hope of heaven.
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Pray for OPBC Through Your Week: DAY OF WEEK:
SPIRITUAL REQUEST:
SUNDAY:
Give thanks to God for the blessings of this Lord’s Day. Praise Him for those who served you and ask for application from yesterday.
MONDAY:
Pray for our Mission Partners in Sherbrooke, Canada; Flatwoods, WV; and in Barcelona, Spain
TUESDAY:
Pray for our OPBC Students and OPBCKids ministries and their leaders. Pray for this generation to make an eternal impact in Powhatan and to the ends of the earth..
WEDNESDAY:
Pray for the lost people that we encounter day in and day out. Ask God to provide opportunities for us to share the Gospel with them.
THURSDAY:
Pray for the health of marriages and relationships within our congregation. Ask God to deepen families in unity.
FRIDAY:
Ask God for ways to minister to others this weekend‌ to redeem the time with family and with those in need.
SATURDAY:
Pray for those who minister the Word. Pray for effectiveness on their part and receptive hearts on the part of the hearers.
MUCH OF THE MATERIAL HERE HAS BEEN ADAPTED FROM 5 THINGS TO PRAY FOR YOUR CITY BY PETE NICHOLAS AND HELEN THORNE FOR MORE GREAT RESOURCES ON PRAYER, CHECK OUT THE ENTIRE SERIES OF 5 THINGS TO PRAY BOOKS FROM THE GOOD BOOK COMP.
OLD POWHATAN BAPTIST CHURCH
2202 OLD CHURCH ROAD POWHATAN, VA 23139 PHONE: 804.598.4241 EMAIL: OFFICE@POWHATANBAPTIST.ORG