Worry and Prayer

I love what The Message says about worry and prayer. Check it out:

Philippians 4:6
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

James 1:5
If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

Overheard on the Subject of Love...

Overheard on the Subject of Love...

"Dear Lord, thank You for loving us. For BEING love."
— prayed by Worship Leader Jason Morgan during service.

That's right! God doesn't just show us how to love. He doesn't just love us. He IS love. IF we looked up "love" in a LIFE dictionary, we'd see God. So when we have love issues, where do you think we should go? Dear Abby has NOTHING on our Lord!

"They say the Top 3 gifts are faith, hope and love. When we are in heaven, we won't need faith because we'll see Jesus with our own eyes. We won't need hope because our hopes will be realized. But oh! LOVE will still abound. And that is why the greatest of these is LOVE."
— in Pastor Tim Webb's message today at Champion Fellowship.

My prayer for this week is that I will think more about selfless love and how to display that to others. May I have the heart of God to have the love of God, with the eyes of God to see the ones who need the love of God, and the arms of God to reach out to those who need the love of God, delivered walking with the feet of God.

Dedicatory Reading

Last July, Hurricane Dolly desecrated our place of worship, leaving our sanctuary in ruins. For the past nine months a rebirth of sorts has transformed the rubble into the awe-inspiring sanctuary we have today. In a previous post below are some photos.

Sunday was our dedication service. Part of the program was a responsive reading we all took part in, to commit together to use this building for God's service and for His glory. I wanted to save it here for us all to reflect on in days to come:

Congregational Dedication:

LEADER: Because we have purposed in our hearts to rebuild a sanctuary to the worship of the true and living God, and to the service of Jesus Christ our Lord, I call upon the congregation to stand for the holy act of dedication. To the glory of God the Father; to the honor of Jesus Christ
the Son; to the praise of the Holy Spirit¬–”

CONGREGATION: We dedicate this House.

LEADER: Knowing there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved–

CONGREGATION: We dedicate this House to the bringing of the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ to the unconverted.

LEADER: In obedience to the explicit command of Christ to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature–

CONGREGATION: We dedicate this House to the mission of world evangelization with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

LEADER: Realizing the obligation to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord–

CONGREGATION: We dedicate this House to the sanctity of the home and the hallowing of family life; to the religious nurture and education of children, youth, and adults; to the grace of Christian character and the warmth of Christian fellowship.

LEADER: In obedience to the command of Christ to love our neighbor as ourselves–

CONGREGATION: We dedicate this House to the communion of the saints, to the refuge of weary restless souls, to the peace and hope of the oppressed, to the comfort of those that mourn, and to the happiness of all those of like precious faith.

LEADER & CONGREGATION: We, the members and friends of First Baptist Church, deeply grateful for the heritage that has been entrusted to us, and keenly conscious of those ties by which we are bound to the Lord of all life, and to each other, do covenant together in this act of dedication, offering ourselves anew to the work and worship of our Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.