The Mission of the Church by Wayne E. Ward

Based on Matthew 16: 18-19, This means that what the church is carrying out on earth is the purpose of God which has already been determined in heaven.  The church is doing the work of heaven on earth, according to God's plan.

The Acts of the Apostles is the story of the New Testament church in action.

The church was always a witnessing community.  Its whole reason for existence was to declare the marvelous story of redemption in Jesus Christ; to receive those who responded to their word, baptize them, and continue with them in the apostles' doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers.

Wayne E. Ward was professor of Christian theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1951 to 1991.  The above is a direct quote from his book "The Drama of Redemption," written in 1966 on pages 114 and 116.

The Church by Wayne E. Ward

It is extremely important to observe, then, that while Luke primarily uses the term "church" to designate the local congregation of disciples, he can also use it in a general reference to many of these congregations considered together.  He is certainly not referring to some regional organization which administered all these congregations, for there was no such thing.  And he is certainly not referring to some invisible or mystical "church" which is distinct from the local congregations throughout his region.  But he certainly is referring to the common life in Christ, which is shared by all these congregations, wherever they are gathered with Christ in their midst.

In other words, the church never exists apart from an actual fellowship of Christian believers, the so-called "local" church.  Yet this fellowship is not only local.  It knows oneness with Christ who is universal, and brotherhood with all who are truly in Christ.  Without this, it cannot even be the church.  The so-called "universal" church is always embodied in an actual fellowship of Christian believers.  It is always seen in a "local" manifestation.  It cannot exist in some kind of suspended realm of ideas, detached from time and space.  That is Greek philosophy, but it is not the Bible!"

The church in the book of Acts (and throughout the New Testament) is a gathered community.  It is Christian disciples empowered by the Holy Spirit, proclaiming salvation in Jesus' name.

Wayne E. Ward was professor of Christian theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1951 to 1991.  The above is a direct quote from his book "The Drama of Redemption," written in 1966 on pages 116-117.

The Real Definition of Church Membership by Wayne E. Ward

The foremost characteristic of this church is its dynamic unity (speaking of the church formed on the Day of Pentecost).  Membership in this community did not consist of a record book or an official letter which anyone carried.  Membership was actual presence and participation in the prayer, the witnessing, the fellowship, and the common life of the community.

That is what real membership in the church always is.  People who move away from their church community and do not promptly put their lives to work in a new church fellowship are not really members of the church in the New Testament sense of the word.  We say, "They have not moved their letter." But their "letter" is not their membership; it is simply a recommendation from brethren to brethren.  It means nothing unless it is used by actually joining the brethren.  Nor is membership simply the record of some former relationship to a congregation of Christian believers.  It is active participation in the living fellowship of the church.  

Its members shared a common life in Christ, and they were empowered by the one Holy Spirit.  This is the church that Jesus built!

(Wayne E. Ward was professor of Christian theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1951 to 1991.  The above is a direct quote from his book "The Drama of Redemption," on page 115 written in 1966.)

The Church is the Greatest Organization on the Face of the Earth

Read the title of this blog post again.  (I'm waiting...did you do it?). 

That's right.  You read it correctly.  There is no organization on the face of the earth greater than the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

It's founder is Jesus Himself. "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church..." Matthew 16:18 

It was Jesus who gave His blood for the church. "Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood."  Acts 20:28

He is the Head of the Church. "For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior." Ephesians 5: 23

Every church (no matter its size, location, or name) is equally important.

It is comprised of His saints on earth for a purpose.  I Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 1:1 - all addressed to the saints.  Matthew 28: 18-20

According to Matthew 16: 16-19, it has been given the message that "even the gates of hell can not prevail against."

He is coming for His church - the bride. "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."  Ephesians 5: 25-27

It's capabilities is not limited to the sum total of its faults, but instead is empowered by Jesus Himself through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Someone once said, "I'm surprised the church does as well as it does when you realize what it is comprised of."  I'm the first one to acknowledge my weaknesses ("clay pot") and lack, but God still chooses to use the "weak things" to acknowledge His strengths and enhance His glory.

There is only one thing bigger and better and that is the Kingdom of God but it is internal and eternal.  "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done." 

A Word of Encouragement for the Pastors

The calling on a pastor's life is the highest calling beyond the call of salvation one can receive.  It is a unique call in that it is only for males, and it is one not achieved by human intuition.  I remember taking aptitude tests seeking to reveal the best job possibilities for me according to my interests.  But being a pastor is not a computer-based decision based on your interests or personality.  People with all types of personalities, strengths, and weaknesses will soon discover God can use them all in His call to ministry.

A pastor is not called by his parents or family.  Just because your father, grandfather, or brothers were or were not pastors does not make you or deny you the call yourself.  For me, no one in my immediate family was a pastor.

A pastor's calling is that call that drives his life day-and-night.  Even though for the sake of supporting his family he may have other income, it is the call that motivates him and moves him.

Charles Spurgeon said there is always evidence and signs of your calling in and through your life.

You have a high calling.  You serve under the headship of the Great Shepherd.  You serve the greatest organization on the face of the earth...the local church.  

So, pastor, be encouraged today.  God has called you and equipped you for this unique service.  It is the vision He has given you for His church that motivates you to get up, to stay up, and to get back up when knocked down.  That vision is the fuel for your life.  Without a vision, there is no motivation to keep going.  So treasure the God-given vision and keep pressing on.

"And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry..."  I Timothy 1:12 (NKJV)

The Place of Works in Salvation

Do works play any role in our salvation?  Are works important after one is converted?
As I wrote in my blogpost on Friday (3-21-25) our salvation is by grace, not works.  So are works out of the picture totally for a believer?  Do we just sit in the grace of God without anything further to do?
NO - the call to salvation is a gift of grace.  No one is ever converted until he has responded to the gracious call of Jesus to be saved.  It is through grace provided we are even able to respond.
But this call to salvation is also a call to follow and serve. It is a call to die to self and live totally and freely for Christ.  

"Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14: 25-27) NIV

Here it is...once converted, our entire life becomes our service.  There is no "service" that stands alone from the flow of our life that makes us a Christian.  Our entire life is now our service freely given over to Christ.  

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." (Romans 12:1) NIV

Our body incorporates everything we do, go, say, think...well, you get the picture.  Totality of who we are.

I remember hearing Dudley Hall say years ago that everything a believer does that is not sin is counted as righteousness because we stand in the righteousness of Jesus and our whole life is an act of service toward God.

And this is our "worship" which the old King James Version says, "Our reasonable service."  There is no one called to a higher level of service or commitment to Jesus than any other converted person because giving one's all - even to death - is what is required by one and all.

Once converted, we no longer control our life.  We belong to Jesus totally and freely.  So whether we continue as a nurse, a controller, an educator, or become a pastor....everyone who has been converted lives under the same policy - we are not our own.  

 

Come to Me and I will give you Rest

One of my favorite words of our Lord is recorded in Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."  The words...."I will give you rest."

Jesus wants us to have rest.  While that can be physical, I want to submit His words are mainly for soulish rest.  Its the kind of internal rest that can not be gotten through a good night's sleep, a week on the beach, or the absence of physical toil.  

Rest...oh, how precious the commodity of grace.

The most important rest Jesus offers is eternal rest.  And He is the only one who can give it.  The secret is found in Hebrews 4:4 "For He has spoken in a certain place on the seventh day in this way: 'And God rested on the seventh day from all His works.'"

The rest is from "works." God rested "from all His works" referring to the six days of labor in creating the world and all we see today, and even what we can't see even through the most powerful telescope.  

The secret is in Hebrew 4:10 "For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His."

We are cease from our works.  Does that mean we no longer have any "work" to do?  We no longer have to serve, work, or labor in good works?  Hardly....other Scriptures clearly declare "we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works..." (Ephesians 2:10)

The rest in regard to our reason we work.  Because of the grace of salvation, we do not work for our approval and right standing (righteousness) before God with our works.  Instead, we "rest" in the person and position of Jesus as our full acceptance and approval for His grace.  We do NOTHING to earn His grace, approval, or Heaven.  It is "the gift of God..."

Has your soul found rest?  Solace? Peace?  

The old hymn "Rock of Ages" says it well:

"Not the labors of my hands can fulfill thy law's demands; could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow, all for sin could not atone; thou must save, and thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling; naked, come to thee for dress; helpless, look to thee for grace; foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me, Savior, or I die."

I have written about rest previously .... check it out here.

July 3, 2023

June 12, 2023 and then June 19

January 21, 2013 and then January 22 

Grace Comes with the Person of Jesus

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled, set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed."  I Peter 1: 13 (NIV)

Our minds play some nasty tricks on us.  In our mind, we are made to believe we are not sufficient for this task given us.  In our mind, we are frightened by an approaching situation.  In our mind, we sense we are losers.  Our mind can cause us to be parylized.

But God says we have a responsibility to prepare our mind, not for sitting, but action.  God is moving us.

So in the midst of us preparing our mind, we are to control our mind by setting our hope, our ability FULLY - not partially, not half us and half God; but FULLY on....the grace.

Grace is not a pansy feeling of compassionate expression given to others to make them feel better.  Grace is action.  Grace is for the purpose of moving on to where God wants us.

This grace will be given us as we see Jesus in the picture.  Whenever Jesus shows up in our situation, grace is on its way to us!!!

In the Greek, this grace "is to be given to you" is an active verb meaning this grace is actively already on its way to you for every situation of life.

When we needed salvation, grace was already on its way.

When we needed power to endure, grace was already on its way.

When we needed provision, grace was already on its way.

When we needed rest, grace was already on its way.

For grace is Jesus. "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."  John 1: 14 (NIV)

To see Jesus in our lives is to see grace on its way.  

A Thankful Heart for Partnerships - Part Two

On Tuesday, I shared my deep gratitude for many of the fellow ministers with whom I have had the privilege of serving with across these forty-six years.  As I retire from full-time pastoring, I am grateful for these partners.

As I finished my full-time ministry at Rainsville First Baptist Church, I want to write more fully about the last three ministerial staff with whom I have had the privilege of serving.  On Tuesday, I shared about our Children's Minister, Whitney Traylor.  Today, I share about the other two.

Max Grizzard

Students Pastor and Families

I don't know when I first met Max but it was sometime in the early 80's.  As I was serving in Glencoe, he was at White's Chapel Baptist Church and then later served other churches in the Gadsden area.  Then in 2022 when we had a vacancy in our Student Pastor position, I was having lunch with Max one day and we were just talking about our needs when I looked across the table and asked, "You wouldn't be interested, would you?"  You see, Max and Sherrie are missionaries who have served at Ponderosa Bible Camp (check it out here) for over twenty years and is the Director of the Release program in DeKalb County, serving school age children by teaching them the Bible during school hours.

I was so excited when a few days later Max gave me his resume and it has been a pure delight to serve with this quality man of God.  His love for our youth has been evident from day one.  Though he has seven children (all now married) and multiple grandchildren, he makes it a priority to be involved in the lives of the students by teaching them well, praying for them, leading a small group discipleship group, and encouraging them by his presence at their games and school events.  He and Sherrie even teach a young adult Sunday School class.  What examples of servants.  Thank you Max for the privilege of serving with you in these last days of pastoral ministry.  There are none better than you.

Isaiah Craig

Missions Pastor

When I was a pastor in the Shoals, Isaiah's mom and dad were members of our church and I heard about their son, Isaiah, who had been in Memphis pastoring and then later moved back to the Loretta, Tennessee area.  I met him and was immediately impressed with his heart for God, the nations, and discipleship.  In fact, he preached for me on August 31, 2014 (I keep good records). I would have loved to have had him on staff with me at that time, but his heart was in church planting and missions.

I lost track of Isaiah when I moved to Rainsville, but you can imagine my shock when a group of us four men went to Massachusetts in March 2023 to explore churches and pastors with whom we could partner, and there was Isaiah.  My immediate response, "Isaiah, what are you doing here?"  Well, we partnered with Isiaah and Pleasant Street Baptist Church in Worcester, MA in the summer of 2023 and then God arranged it for him and his family to move to Rainsville First Baptist Church as our Missions Pastor in January 2024.  What an authentic follower of Jesus Christ and a heart as pure as I've ever witnessed for Jesus and the nations.  And his family (his wife, ShaRhonda, and nine children) are all extensions of his heart for Jesus and the nations.

When you look at the blog on Tuesday and this one, you understand why I am such a blessed man.  Thank you Jesus for allowing my heart and hands to join up with such wonderful servants.  Thanks to all who have given me the privilege of serving with you.

 

A Thankful Heart for Partnerships

As I have now retired from full-time pastoring after 45-and-a-half years, I want to honor the partnerships I have had through these years in some fabulous brothers-and-sisters with whom to serve. Ministry is a partnership, it is not a solo-adventure.  God brings persons with whom you can join your heart, mind, and hands together for a common goal or vision. 

I know I will overlook some and I regret that, but for those whom I remember, I want to honor them.  The order is from the first pastorate at Sardis Baptist Church through here in Rainsville.

Jan Price, Clyde Morris, David Ayers, Jim Taylor, Jr., Aaron Johnson, Carl Cofield (yes, my brother), Brad Bensinger, Virginia Finley, Rodney Gilmore, Will Smith, Neil Stephens, Kathy Lancaster, Terry Gladden, Tim Lett, Steve Lacey, Randy White, J.D. McDuffie, Sean Burns, Craig Robertson, David Denson, Brian Fields, Dorothy Estes, Teresa Word, Bobby Dodd, Edgar Griggs, Zack Fleming, Jessica Thigpen, Shae Walton, Phillip Eady, Dan Arant, Tom Carrigan, Adam Casey, Craig White, Zac Gardner, Keith Beatty, and Virginia Browning.

As I retire, these are the ones who are currently my partners that I wish to honor and say a BIG "Thank you!!"

Lori Culpepper serves as our Administrative Assistant and Jeff Williams is our accountant. The Lord has blessed me and RFBC with an assistant that knows her details and serves with such integrity and sweet spirit. 

Garry Galloway has been the single best Maintenance person I have ever served with.  He serves full-time and knows the building as well as anyone and can do anything.  And is willing to do anything to save the church money.  

Jeff Laney is a pure delight as he serves as our Custodian.  An active member at RFBC, he cares and serves as Custodian with such joy.

And we have just hired an Assistant Custodian in my last week, and I know she will do a good job for RFBC.

Whitney Traylor has been our Children's Minister for my entire tenure at RFBC (nine-and-a-half years).  She has served as a Summer Intern and then when they needed a Children's Minister eleven years ago, they turned to Whitney.  She loves children and her Lord.  She has been such a team player, she was part of the first discipleship group Roxanne led, and she has led groups every year.  The greatest joy to my heart for Whitney is when she begin to serve as a foster parent and was able to adopt a brother-and-sister.  Later we got to dedicate that family and their grandfather got to baptize them after they got saved. 

On Friday, I will honor two other persons with whom I have served at RFBC.

The Pastor's Constant Concerns for the church

Paul talks about the troubles he is going through and then adds, "Not to mention other things, there is the daily pressure on me:  my concern for all the churches."  2 Corinthians 11:28

"I had no rest in my spirit..."  2 Corinthians 2:13

I believe most pastors care more the church they pastor than the people who have been there for years.  This is what your pastor experiences every day of the year no matter who he is or what denomination he is.  Don't dare give him more heartache by not supporting him and doing everything you can to see the church thrive.

Your pastor is a gift to your church from God just like God gives gifts of salvation, healing, finances, relationships and all good things.  Celebrate him, join him, pray for him, encourage him, thank God for him, don't you dare let him suffer more by not providing for his financial needs over and beyond what he needs.  No pastor is perfect but neither are you or your church.

I love and honor all pastors today.  I'm in my 47th year of pastoring and 54th year of preaching.  It gets harder every day because the church is more driven by culture today than spiritual, but every pastor is more vital than President Trump could ever imagine being.

As the late Jerry Falwell said in response to whether he would run for President, "Why would I want to. step down from the highest office in the land to become President."

Be encouraged dear pastor!!  And to every church, thank God for the gift God has given you.

(This post originally was written for Facebook on February 28, 2025).

This Lord's Day (January 19, 2025) at Rainsville First Baptist Church

As a church, we are in the midst of our annual 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting with the theme of "Intercessor Praying:  The Greatest Ministry in Heaven and on Earth."  This type of person who prays as an intercessor is the essence of what a New Testament priest does.  It is what Jesus is currently doing in Heaven (Hebrews 7:25) and to be His follower on earth, we should also be about the intercessory ministry.

This Sunday we will look at an obscure passion in the Old Testament in Zechariah 4 about how the practice of the priest would change in the future.  That future is now for us.  We will look this Lord's Day around the theme of "Praying in the Spirit as an Intercessor."

Join us in person as we gather for Sunday School at 9:00 and worship at 10:15.  Eli Reynolds will be leading our Praise Team and we will worship together through music, prayer, fellowship, and the Word of God.

Giving Brings Greater Blessing Than Receiving by Randy Alcorn

My book The Law of Rewards was first published in 2003, but in 2023, I had the opportunity to update it and also add some new material, especially as it relates to Nanci’s life, death, and relocation to Heaven. I continue to be excited about this small book and its potential for big impact in the lives as believers as they get excited about investing in eternity. (The updated book is available from EPM both in softcover and as a special edition with a leatherlike cover.)

My long-time friend Mart Green, of the Green family that owns Hobby Lobby, is the founder of Mardel Christian Stores. He kindly wrote, “Reading The Law of Rewards impacted me greatly. I have read many books on generosity, but this one fleshed out biblical concepts I had never heard before. I am a book guy, but I have handed out more copies of this book than any other—by far!”

So to answer the question in the title of this blog: how does giving bring greater blessing than receiving? By not giving, we don’t just rob God or rob others of blessing. We rob ourselves of the rewards God wants to give us. How many blessings have we kept from ourselves in the last year by failing to give as we could have? How much spiritual growth and joy have we missed out on by not living by God’s law of rewards?

For Nanci and me, the process of discovering God’s will about money and possessions was exciting and liberating. Our growth in financial stewardship closely paralleled our overall spiritual growth. In fact, it propelled it. We learned more about faith, trust, grace, commitment, and God’s provision in this area than any other. These choices required us to have some challenging giving discussions which ultimately strengthened our marriage, and bonded us around common goals of investing in eternity.

That unforgettable Monday morning in 2022, when I held Nanci’s hand as she exited her body and entered the presence of Jesus, I could picture Christ’s outstretched arms and hear his loving words, “Well done.” I could imagine her broad smile as he hugged her. Home at last! And I thought of all the people from all over the world she would then meet and get to know and love—those we had the privilege of helping through our giving, and who thereby received the gospel, food, clothes, clean water, medicines, Bibles, and good books. Sometimes I feel like part of me went to Heaven with Nanci. That’s not only because of our deep love for each other, but because she and I partnered together to invest in people for eternity. I so look forward not only to seeing old friends but to having Nanci introduce me to these new friends we invested in before we ever met them!

Paul said, “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). I have found that cheerful givers love God, and that love grows deeper each time they give. To me, one of the few experiences comparable to the joy of leading someone to Christ is the joy of making wise and generous eternity-impacting choices with the money and possessions God has entrusted to me. Both are supreme acts of worship. Both are exhilarating. Both are what we were made for.

I believe that the knowledge of what eternity holds for us, and how that relates to our money, is the primary missing ingredient in most Christian books on finances. When we see money only as money, and not in light of its potential impact on eternity for others and for us, we walk away with a shortsighted vision that results in shortsighted financial decisions and lifestyles.

By looking at Jesus’ teachings about finances, I hope you’ll gain a clearer vision of the importance of living for eternity, of the types and extent of eternal rewards, and of the way God created us to be motivated by rewards. When you grasp the concept of delayed gratification in light of eternal rewards, your attitude toward giving will never be the same.

Let’s determine not to be rich fools disguised as disciples. Instead, let’s develop the heart of the poor widow, learning boldly to put all our resources at God’s disposal, as He has put all his resources at ours. I pray you will join a multitude of God’s people, past and present, in not just talking about God’s grace but also experiencing it at your heart’s deepest level.

On the wall of President Lyndon Johnson’s White House office hung a framed letter written by General Sam Houston to Johnson’s great-grandfather George Washington Baines, Sr. more than a hundred years earlier. Baines had led Sam Houston to Christ. Houston was a changed man, no longer coarse and belligerent but peaceful and content.

The day came for Houston to be baptized—an incredible event for those who knew him. After his baptism Houston offered to pay half the local minister’s salary. When someone asked him why, he said, “My pocketbook was baptized too.”

Sam Houston demonstrated the reality of God’s grace to him by reciprocating that grace through giving.

As Sam Houston did, may we learn together the truth that Martin Luther recognized when he said that for each of us there must be not only the conversion of the heart and mind but also the conversion of the purse. 

A Warning and Challenge for Prayer by Paul Miller

"The American church is functionally prayerless when it comes to corporate prayer. Of course, a remnant does the hidden work of prayer, but in most churches corporate prayer doesn’t function in any meaningful way. How big is that remnant? In our prayer seminars, we ask several confidential questions about a participant’s prayer life. In hundreds of seminars, we’ve found that about 15 percent of Christians in a typical church have a rich prayer life. So when someone says, “I’ll keep you in my prayers,” 85 percent of the time it is just words. This isn’t a pastor problem; it’s a follower-of-Jesus problem.

The prayer meeting, which used to function at the heart of a praying church, is all but dead. Wednesday night prayer meeting used to be the core meeting, where the most dedicated, spiritual people attended; now for many, the prayer meeting itself is a distant memory. At a recent A Praying Church seminar, I asked participants what they don’t like about prayer meetings. One young man nailed it: “It’s boring.” Someone else added, “It’s depressing.” But the most poignant comment was “I don’t know where I’d go to attend a prayer meeting.” I asked the pastor of a three-thousand-attendee church if he knew of any prayer meetings in his church. He said, without a hint of concern, “No, I’m not aware of any.”

Which brings us to the unique challenges of praying together in much of our modern world. We are a busy, and often wealthy, people. We didn’t reach our career goals and attain the comforts we enjoy by sitting around, and yet praying together feels like we are sitting around. We can be so intent on building and producing that we don’t pause to reflect on what we are building."

Miller, Paul E., A Praying Church: Becoming a People of Hope in a Discouraging World (pp. 26-27). Crossway. Kindle Edition.

This Lord's Day (January 12, 2025) at Rainsville First Baptist Church

With snow on the ground and freezing temps, we are not sure that we will be able to gather in person this Lord's Day to worship.  If we can't, hopefully, we will be able to do a live stream service for all of the church to view at 10:15 at rfbc.sermon.net.  

Live or in person, the Lord willing I will be preaching part two from Luke 18 "The Faithful Prayerer."  In the context of the second coming of Jesus, Luke begins this chapter with "Then"....and then asks a question that haunts me.  In verse 8 he asked, "When the Son of Man comes, will He really find such faith on the earth?"  What kind of faith?  Faith that preserves in prayer.

So we will look at Luke 18 from the angle of prayer and see some truths here to help us be a faithful prayerer until the end.

"Prayer" by C.S. Lewis

 C.S. Lewis once said that the prayer preceding all prayers is “May it be the real I who speaks.  May it be the real Thou that I speak to.”  In the following poem, entitled “Prayer,” Lewis peeks into what prayer looks like.  

‍

Master, they say that when I seem

To be in speech with you,

Since you make no replies, it’s all a dream —One talker aping two. 

‍

They are half right, but not as they  

Imagine; rather, I

Seek in myself the things I meant to say,

And lo! The wells are dry.

‍

Then, seeing me empty, you forsake 

The Listener’s role, and through

My dead lips breathe and into utterance wake

The thoughts I never knew. 

‍

And thus you neither need reply

Nor can; thus, while we seem

Two talking, thou are One forever, and I 

No dreamer, but thy dream.

‍

This Lord's Day (1-5-25) at Rainsville First Baptist Church

Happy New Year!!  May I challenge you as God has challenged me?  Would you boldly ask God, "Teach me to pray?"  Oh, what a request.  

This Lord's Day we begin our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting.  This is our tenth year as a Pastor-church to begin the new year with prayer and fasting. I have written the devotionals for us as a church on "Intercessory Praying:  The Greatest Ministry in Heaven and on Earth."  Oh, how it has challenged me.

I'm doing something I don't think I've done...I am preaching/teaching every Sunday morning and Wednesday night in January (and possibly some in February) on prayer.  When we left the Gospel of Luke at the end of October, we had finished chapter 17.  Well, chapter 18 is one of the greatest chapters filled with truths about prayer and that is where we will begin this Lord's Day.  

Oh, if we would learn to pray, then our lives and our church would never be the same.  I can't wait....

21 Days of Prayer and Fasting January 6-26, 2025

We will kick off our "21 Days of Prayer and Fasting" around the theme of a devotion that I have written "Intercessory Praying." The devotional guides are available in the foyer of our church. 

"Fasting is refraining from food for a spiritual purpose."

Your Level of Participation:

Enter into time of prayer and fasting at whatever level you can.  Prayerfully consider your limitations as you determine your level of participation. Some cannot participate in a food fast due to health reasons, pregnant, or other reasons.  However, even those limitations can find a way to participate in this time of fasting;  or a part of it.  

If your fast cannot be food-focused, then seek to fast from something else that is a regular part of your life:  social media, TV, internet, sports, hobby, etc. Whatever activity that you sense is exerting too much influence on your heart or time and we need to fast from it to regain a more biblical perspective. 

Abstaining from food is the most powerful, but fasting from other things can have powerful benefits.  
Remember, the details are not as important as the spirit in which you participate.

Primary Purpose of Fasting?

The fast is a spiritual discipline designed to better connect us with God.  As a church, we are fasting in order to deepen our relationship with God, to better hear His voice, and to walk with less distractions in obedience.  

Fasting is not some kind of hunger strike that is forcing the hand of God to move.   

You use the time you would normally eat to pursue God.  Fasting is a biblical practice and a spiritual process that God anoints powerfully.  Fasting is not a diet;  it's a spiritual discipline.  As you neglect yourself to pursue God, you are winning the war against the flesh.  The walls come down when you approach God with this kind of focus, intentionality, and passion.

There is no mandate in the Bible to fast except on the Day of Atonement.  But fasting is assumed just as is praying and giving (Matthew 6).  Biblical fasting takes a lot of discipline and strength.

Types of Fasts:

*  Absolute Fast (no food/drink)  Ezra 10: 6; Esther 4:16; Acts 9:9

*  Normal Fast (no food, drink only liquids such as water and juices).  This appears to be what the Lord did for 40 days.  This is the most common type of fast.

*  Partial Fast (certain foods are given up).  This is what Daniel did in Daniel 10:3.  One could give up a meal or a particular kind of food.  Daniel fasted for 21 days.

Online resources helpful for fasting:

Jentezen Franklin - great resources and a free e-book
Daniel Fast
Ronnie Floyd - Fasting and Prayer as Your Spiritual Worship - GREAT article - a MUST read

Donald Whitney article on Fasting