Today we played a special Christmas Song Poetry with a chance to win a $5 gift certificate to Troyer’s of Apple Valley. The lyrics were:
Can You feel the weight of Your glory?
Do You understand the price?
Or does the Father guard Your heart for now
So You can sleep tonight?
Congratulations to Brittney of Howard who correctly guessed “Joseph’s Lullaby” from Mercy Me.
Our Christmas Gift Exchange winners were, Scott from Mount Vernon and Jane from Howard.
Thanks for listening!
-Joe and Hannah
“Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.” (Philemon 7)
Perhaps some of the most commonly spoken words from one Christian to another are “I’ll be praying for you. “And perhaps the most commonly unspoken words are the prayers that would have been said if those promises were truly kept.
This week in our series inspired by The Battle Plan for Prayer, Alex and Stephen Kendrick remind us of the importance of praying for other believers.
We need each other‘s prayers. It’s one of the most loving things we can do for each other. Your brothers and sisters in Christ, at any challenging point in their lives, need to be able to take a deep breath and realize they’re not alone; that their Christian family has their back. They need the assurance that you and others are praying. Especially if you said you’d be praying.
Paul described this as being “on the alert. “Something we do “at all times.” We pray “with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:18) Notice how all- encompassing this command and expectation is.
The early church in Acts was so involved with one another they were constantly “taking their meals together,” enjoying what the Bible describes as “gladness and sincerity of heart”. As a result, despite a rash of persecution and life-threatening challenges in the days that followed, we see God’s spirit working miracles among them. We read about bold witnesses for Christ. We read about people coming to faith by the dozens. We see sin exposed and repented of. We see teamwork. We see abundant generosity and unselfishness. We see regular demonstrations of God‘s power. We see everything we wish happened in our day, in our churches…
…And one of the ways we can contribute most effectively to a revival of church unity today is through the active practice of praying for each other as believers. It heals us. It unites us as one.
Almost all of Paul’s letters in the New Testament were written to different churches. But no matter how close his personal relationship with them, he wrote assuring them that he was genuinely, consistently, perfectly, praying for them. Romans 1: 9-12, Philippians 1:3-4; the book of Colossians, they all show examples of this.
Our routine should follow the faithful footprints of this example. Encouraging other believers. Thanking God for them. Worshiping with them. Bringing their concerns before the Lord, both physical and spiritual.
You can use The Lord’s Prayer as an example of how to pray for others…
“Father in heaven, I pray for my brother (my sister), praising your name for them, asking you to fill their hearts with worship for you today. May their primary desire always be to advance your kingdom, wherever they happen to be, whatever they happen to be doing.
May they align themselves on the earth with your will, just as surely as you’re will is followed and accomplished in heaven.
Provide them, I pray, with their daily bread – with everything you know is required for them to thrive and be cared for. And grant them repentance, forgiving them of their sins even as you forgive me of mine.
Keep their relationships free from bitterness and difficulty as we forgive those who sin against them. Please, Lord, protect them from temptation, from allowing them to be overloaded with adversity.
I deliver them from all evil, from every scheme and attack of the enemy, from every weapon intended to defeat and discourage them. For yours, Lord, is the kingdom, The power, the glory, forever. You have already given them victory through the finished work of Christ. So I pray for them today, and I pray in his name, amen.”
Now that’s strategically targeting a prayer.
Too often, prayer request times between believers become: “Pray for my aunt’s kidney condition. Pray for my cousin’s colon cancer. Pray for my brother’s big toe.” And while we all need and appreciate prayer towards physical health, we must be careful not to prioritize temporary physical needs over eternal spiritual ones.
The apostle Paul prayed for God to reveal his will and love, to strengthen and equip people toward spiritual fruitfulness and for them to increase in their knowledge of God and faithfulness to God. We can learn so much about how to pray for one another.
Think of how a commitment to prayer for our fellow believers could energize our relationships and our shared sense of mission.
CLOSING PRAYER: “Lord, thank you for the church you’ve given me, and for the friends and families you’ve enabled me to know shared faith in Christ. I pray you would cement our relationships even further by helping us commit to pray for one another. Lord, be pleased by how we love and care for each other. May your name be glorified as you work in our midst. We will be watching you, and we will be praising you. Bless us, I pray, that the world would see your power and the difference you make in our lives. Amen!”
Thanks for listening!
-Joe, Hannah and Lilly
20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
2 Corinthians 5:20 is a great reminder that as believers, we should place a high priority on praying for the lost – those who haven’t put faith in Jesus Christ and haven’t established a relationship with him.
This week, as we continue our series inspired by the Kendrick brothers’ book. The Battle Plan for Prayer, we’re focusing on how to do this: pray for the lost.
If we’re honest, we pray for ourselves more than we pray for anyone else. After all, who among our friends and family knows our hopes, struggles, and concerns more completely than we do? Our next prayer targets, after ourselves, are most likely the people closest to us, followed by other friends and relatives.
In Romans 10, Paul shared his heart’s desire and prayer for the salvation of the people. Then in I Timothy 2:4, we learned that God wants “all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Even John 3:16 proclaims that God‘s love motivated him to send his son for the salvation of people all over the world.
So there’s no question God is pleased and glorified when people turn to him and receive him by faith, through Jesus Christ. It should challenge us to pray for the lost.
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So we know we should pray for the lost. We know from 2nd Corinthians that God “reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation”, so here’s a question: why aren’t we praying fervently and faithfully to that end?
One reason? The enemy stands against us and our prayers. His plan is to prevent as many people as possible from hearing and receiving the good news. 2 Corinthians 4: 3-4 says, “our gospel…is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is in the image of God.” Satan knows he’s lost the war. His desire now is simply to cause much damage as he can… While he can.
BUT…we can stand against him in prayer, asking God to open the eyes of the lost and reveal to them their need for a savior. We can ask him to send us and others to tell them about his love and forgiveness. When we embody the fruit of the spirit, and live gentle, patient lives with a clear testimony and lifestyle, Paul said “perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2: 25-26)
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Our prayers against the enemy’s tactics, along with our obedience to Christ, can create opportunities for more people to hear and understand the truth of the Gospel. That’s why Paul asks the church: “devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of Thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may proclaim it clearly.” (Colossians 4:2-4)
God can be trusted to grant us these openings to share our testimony of how Christ has changed our life. Our story can open the hearts of others. We can pray for these opportunities! When we pray and look for them, we won’t have any trouble spotting them. But we must be ready and willing to take advantage of them when they appear. This leads us to the next part of our prayer strategy: readiness.
When the time comes to open our mouth and speak, we need the boldness to say what ought to be said. Paul prayed in Ephesians 6:19, “Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth will make known with boldness the mystery of The Gospel.” We need the same kind of readiness and confidence that Paul had. The challenge is to not allow embarrassment or the fear of rejection to stop us from sharing the most important message in the universe. Otherwise, we’re communicating, “my comfort level is more important to me than your salvation. “
That’s why we should pray for boldness like Paul…not to overwhelm people by our intensity…but so that we won’t back down from saying what God leads us to say with the right heart and demeanor. The Holy Spirit does what only he can do: bring repentance.
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Jesus himself said the reason he came to earth was to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10.) As part of his body on the earth today, we can view this as a critical part of our purpose. In everything we do, and every situation, we need to be ready to share the love of Christ with a lost, dying world.
But, our prayer shouldn’t be limited only to those within our area of influence. Let’s pray for people we will never meet. Pray for missionaries to be given the boldness to share. Pray for leaders to hear the gospel. Pray for those in the spotlight and who influence. Pray for the unreached people groups who desperately need someone to come share the good news with them.
So how do we pray for the lost? We pray for God to begin working in their hearts to prepare them to receive the truth. We pray against the enemy that he would be prevented from blinding their eyes and hearts. We pray for opportunities and boldness, both for ourselves and others, to share the gospel with them.
We pray for conviction of sin to agitate their hearts, bringing about true repentance and a desire for Christ’s cleansing. And we pray for God‘s blessing, guidance, protection, and the presences to be on all of those who obey him and who keep him.
The awareness that we were also once lost should raise our urgency to pray. Time is limited. Opportunities may be limited as well. So let’s obey what God has called us to do:
The word boldly and freely declares in Romans 10:13, “for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” And we get to be a part of it. Through prayer.
CLOSING PRAYER
Lord, give me a greater heart for the lost, a heart that doesn’t ignore them or work around them, but rather breaks for them. Hurts for them. Guard me from even subtly downplaying their need for you…or considering their salvation someone else’s job to worry about.
Open my eyes as I travel throughout each day, watching for you to open doors so I can give effective testimony to your goodness and faithfulness.
And do battle against our enemy, oh Lord; that he would not succeed in blocking the truth from getting through to those who are dying without it, without you.
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this kingdom priority. Help me see it is a privilege, not a burden – willing to sacrifice for the incredible sacrifice you made for me.
Today’s show featured a Mystery Question and our first “Different Kind of Giveaway…”
Our question today focused on one of Ohio’s native sons: Who is the ONLY American to hold the offices of both President and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court? And what is his hometown?
The answer? William Howard Taft, who was our President from 1909-1913 and Chief Justice from 1921 until 1930. He was born and raised in Cincinnati.
Congratulations to Dean, an MVNU student (and history major), who guessed correctly and wins the $5 gift certificate from Troyer’s of Apple Valley.
We also launched ‘A Different Kind of Giveaway’ to win tickets to see Mark Schultz and Love and the Outcome on December 10th here at MVNU. Congratulations to Betsy of Mount Vernon who correctly identified Mark’s song “He Is”…
Our Word of the Day today was illustrious, an adjective meaning “notably or brilliantly outstanding because of dignity or achievements or actions.”
Thanks for listening!
– Joe
It’s a big Friday today with Thanksgiving weekend, Black Friday, Danville in the Division VII state high school football semifinals tonight, OSU-Michigan tomorrow and the Mount Vernon Christmas Walk and Parade on Sunday! Lilly also joined us on the phone from Chicago, where she’s visiting relatives.
This week’s countdown? Here it is, with links to the videos by clicking the song titles…
10. Control (Somehow You Want Me) – Tenth Avenue North
2nd week on the charts and 2nd week at #10
9. O Lord – Lauren Daigle
1st week on the countdown! – booted off Oh, My Soul by Casting Crowns, which spent 25 weeks on the chart
8. Your Love Defends Me – Matt Maher
3rd week on the charts \\ 2nd week at #8
7. Hard Love – NeedToBreathe Ft Lauren Daigle
12th week on the charts \\ 3rd week at #7
6. Even If – MercyMe
35th week on the charts \\ 3rd week at #6
5. The Gospel – Ryan Stevenson
13th week on the charts \\ down one spot after 5 weeks at #4
4. Word of Life – Jeremy Camp
6th week on the charts \\ up one spot after 2 weeks at #5
3. O Come to the Altar – Elevation Worship
18th week on the charts \\ 4th week at #3
2. Broken Things – Matthew West
15th week on the charts \\ 4th week at #2
1. Old Church Choir – Zach Williams
17th week on the charts \\ 11th week at #1
NEW MUSIC FRIDAY – we added four new Christmas songs, so click the titles for available song or video links…some of these songs are SO new, the videos aren’t out yet!
Christmas Everyday – Unspoken
The King is Here – Love and the Outcome (coming to MVNU on December 10th)
Overwhelming – David Dunn
The First Christmas – Tenth Avenue North f/Zach Williams
We also gave away two tickets to see The Star at Premiere Theatres in Mount Vernon. Congratulations to Lolita from Mount Vernon who won the tickets for her kids!
Thanks for listening and please consider bringing some non-perishable food or cash to drop in my shopping cart Sunday at the Mount Vernon Christmas Parade!
-Joe
…a winter super food?
Here’s an article from the Healthy Living Magazine that tells some of the benefits…
Click here to read it and see recipes!
Today’s Word of the Day is gratitude, which means the state of being grateful or thankful.
Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for listening!
– Joe
What would you do if you knew someone was getting ready to attack you? If you were the leader of a country and you knew attack could happen any day? You would start doing everything possible to prepare – looking at resources, evaluating troop placements and developing a strategy.
This is what Chapter 27 talks about in The Battle Plan for Prayer. Alex and Stephen Kendrick remind us that our preemptive plans start in prayer. Last week, we talked about OFFensive prayer – seeking to take new ground for the kingdom. So, the spiritual battle for our heart is real. The Bible reminds us that we have a real enemy who is out to steal, distort, distract and destroy.
Christ himself recognized Satan – he resisted and rebuked him throughout his ministry on Earth. I John 3:8 says, “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that Satan is simply a symbol of evil. He is not a fable. Not a figment of our imagination. The Bible specifically mentions Satan by name in more than one dozen books. So, taking a posture of preemptive prayer is critical.
Today we’re talking about taking a stance of preemptive prayer. Because we have a real enemy seeking to attack us at any moment. How do we know Satan is real? We have the story of Peter in the Gospels.
Jesus taught Peter and the rest of the disciples to preemptively pray, “do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Lord’s Prayer, Matthew 6:13). Then, on the night of Christ’s betrayal, Jesus warned him, “behold Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you” (Luke 22). Later that same evening Jesus instructed him to “keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
But…Peter fell asleep instead, and a few minutes later he was awake and off guard. Peter emotionally overreacted, hacked off a man’s ear, abandoned Jesus, then adamantly denied Christ three times instead of being loyal like he had promised a few hours earlier. He never prayed preemptively, so as a result he wept bitterly, was devastated and depressed for days, until Christ restored him.
We must learn to pray preemptively, lifting everything in our lives to the Lord. Prayer is the way we spiritually fasten in our armor and ask God to protect us before stepping into the heat of combat.
How can we pray preemptively? By understanding how the enemy attacks. If we know his moves, we can prepare and pray more specifically.
The book gives us four of the devil’s signature schemes.
#1 – Distraction. Psalm 55 reminder that David wrote, “I’m restless in my complaint and I’m surely distracted because of the voice of the enemy.” Satan will constantly try to get us off track.
#2 – Deception. Jesus said whenever Satan speaks lies because he speaks from his own nature, “for he is a liar and the father of lies.” That comes from John 8:44. Strongholds, addictions and sins are founded upon lies…promises never delivered…false advertising. Sin will fail you, let you down and leave you empty. We are not strong enough to stand on our own. We need God’s presence and the Bible’s trustworthiness.
#3 – Derision. Satan’s lies include running you down or running down (deriding) someone else in your mind. Bringing up things from your past. Falsely presuming someone else is guilty. Yes, we’ve been forgiven in the blood of Christ, but he keeps reminding us of old wounds and inciting doubt. In order to the fight the accusations, you need to be studying the Word; to help you find your identity in Christ. We also continue to pray for wisdom and discernment.
How can we pray preemptively? By understanding how the enemy attacks. If we know his moves, we can prepare and pray more specifically.
The last scheme is #4 – Division. One hallmark of the gospel is the unity it brings to everyone, since we are all one in Christ. But Satan knows that the “house divided against itself will not stand” (Mark 3:25).
Anger and argument among God’s people may not destroy the gospel, but it can destroy our testimony and our effectiveness in sharing it. Disunity paints Christians and our faith as weak, hypocritical and phony. So, we can’t live foolishly, ignorant of Satan’s devices (2 Corinthians 2:11). We should pray for God to help us stay focused on his will.
Ephesians 6 reminds us of the spiritual armor: truth dispelling his lies; righteousness from Christ worn around our chest and lived out in bold active and grateful obedience. Prayer is how we stay together. It’s what unites us and it’s what helps protect us.
The question is not whether the enemy is coming out to engage you in battle. He will. Seen or unseen. The question is whether you’re going to prepare in prayer first, or wait until the devil has you in his grip before you call on the One who has already defeated him.
Lord, thank you for alerting us in your words to the tactics and activity of the devil. Thank you also for equipping us with spiritual weaponry to stand firm and push back against his assaults and his campaign of lies, distortions, distractions and accusations. Help us not to be ignorant of his schemes. Give us the grace to discern how the enemy will try to attack so we can wisely pray preemptively and prepare ourselves to stand firm. Keep us steady, Lord, clear-minded, braced, ready, walking wisely and living in victory. Fix our eyes upon you by faith, kept by your power. In Jesus name. Amen.
Thanks for listening!
-Joe, Lilly and Hannah
Today’s Song Poetry focused on these lyrics:
If judgment looms under every steeple
If lofty glances from lofty people
Who can’t see past her scarlet letter
And we never even met her…
The answer is ‘Does Anybody Hear Her?’ by Casting Crowns. Congratulations to Stephanie from Howard who wins the $5 certificate to Troyer’s of Apple Valley.
Name That Tune today featured ‘Soul on Fire’ by Third Day and All Sons and Daughters. Phyllis from Danville was our winner.
Our uplifting story today focused on Hailey Dawson of Henderson, Nevada, who is becoming a regular guest at baseball games. Read the story here from NBC’s Today Show.
If you missed Hannah’s devotional, it was from Sarah Young’s Jesus Always, focusing on Psalm 46:1.
Thanks for listening!
– Joe
Today we explored another section of the book The Battle Plan for Prayer, from Alex and Stephen Kendrick. This week we focus on the importance of the Holy Spirit in our prayer life.
The Holy Spirit is the engine of the Christian life. The Holy Spirit guides us and empowers us to do what we cannot do on our own. The Holy Spirit, as the rushing, mighty wind we read about in John 3:8 and Acts 2:2, can and should breathe life into every segment of our prayer life!
Prayer is an admission that WE are not in control but that we are under GOD’S control (Psalm 103:19). God urges us into prayer because He has given us the Holy Spirit for guidance and direction.
The point of this study and this book is to offer Him our best work of prayer, but we still understand that we trust in the Holy Spirit to take it to the next level
John 14:12-17
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you.”
Remember that the Holy Spirit is what guides our prayer – we are still inadequate without His spirit guiding us!
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Powerful prayer starts with the Holy Spirit. Paul reminds is in Ephesians 6:18 –
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
We all have the Holy Spirit within us – do you realize that? Ephesians 1:13-14 says, “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance…”
We must be filled with, submit to, and walk in the Spirit, instead of following our sinful flesh. Ephesians 5:18 “be filled with the Spirit,” is not a suggestion – it’s a command! It’s a daily decision to submit and live walking in the Spirit.
We can ask God every morning to fill us with His Spirit and surrender to His Lordship. When we obey and abide in Christ, which means to accept and act in accordance with something, we become more tuned in to the voice of the Spirit within us.
Let’s share what the Kendrick brothers write about three things that happen when we allow the Spirit into our prayer life:
#1 – He reveals God and His word to us. John 14:17 – “The Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
John 16:13 – “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”
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#2 – He prays for us. Wait. The Holy Spirit prays for us? Romans 8:26 says, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”
It’s awesome to think that we have two perfect prayer partners – Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 7:24-25 says, 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.25 Therefore he is able to save completely[a] those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
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#3 – He guides our praying. The Spirit inwardly reminds and leads believers to cry out to our father in prayer. Sometimes we may say that God speaks to us; but it’s less of an audible sound and more of an internal knowing. This drives us to do something specific for the glory of God.
It’s the Spirit saying, “this is the way, walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21)
Does God communicate with us personally? The testimonies from scripture indicate YES!
Acts 9:10-19: God directs Ananias to seek out Paul.
Acts 8:29-30: The Spirit directs Philip to seek out the Ethiopian reading Isaiah.
Our prayers are not bound by our limitations because the Spirit has no limits and he is living inside of us!
CLOSING PRAYER
Lord, thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to lead me and guide me; and fill me with your wisdom and insight. Just as you’ve sent Him here to testify to Christ through your people on the earth, I pray that my heart will desire him for that very reason – that my life will bear living witness to Jesus. Fill me with your Spirit. Teach me to walk in your Spirit and pray in the Spirit. Everywhere I go, with everyone I encounter. In every place, be glorified in me.
Thanks for listening!
-Joe, Lilly and Hannah
