devotion week of july 10 2011

8/6/2019 Devotion Week of July 10 2011

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SERMON NOTES:PRAYER R EQUESTS

J ULY 3, 2011

Y PCOTW Ghana journey team

Y Pray for those in New Orleans who are

still impoverished from the hurricane.

Y Pray for Heather’s friends’ missionary

trip to Indonesia, for safety and build

church.

Y Pray for a 20-year-old boy who was hit

by a semi-truck.

Y Pray for persons and process involved

in property purchase for COL.

Y Pray for Dean Morin’s Grandpa, as he

is having health issues and is in the

hospital.Y Pray for Pastor Steven’s nephew who

is awaiting surgery in Kenya.

Y Pray for Gina Morri’s friends and family

who mourn the loss of a daughter,

sister and friend. Gina was hit by a

truck while jogging and passed away

June 16.

Y Pray for Tiffany Chopra to have the

strength and faith to know that Godknows what He is doing with her life.

Y Pray for Ben Simmer, a young man

just graduated from college and has

MS with worsening side effects. Pray

for new treatments to become

available and a cure.

Y Pray for all whom at Chain of Lakes

who look for jobs, in particular, Lee

Bliss and Gary Wassam.

Y Jane Zech (Barb & Lee Bliss cousin),

and her family. Jane is suffering from

brain cancer and is in hospice care.

Y Pray for Angelica Van Iperen’s friends,

Paula and Ruben, and they struggle

with infertility and limited resources to

treat it.Y Donna Mc Cullen, Ken Mc Cullen's wife

as she goes through more intense

chemotherapy treatment.

DEVOTIONThis past Sunday Pastor Paul started asermon series called “Unique.” In the serieshe is going to look at three stories in Actsand how we at Chain of Lakes can identify what makes us unique. In July he is goingto share a devotional Bible Study on thebook of Acts. Acts is a story about how thechurch came to be in existence. It’s awonderful story for us at Chain of Lakes toreflect as we are still learning what it meansto be a church.

The sermon this past Sunday was about being clear on what we offer. This week inthe devotion we’ll look at what each passage shares about being clear on what we in the church can offer this culture.Enjoy!

Comments about the devotion can be e-mailed to [email protected]. Monday, July 11Read Acts 1 Jesus wasn’t willing to answer the questionabout when Israel would be restored, but hewas willing to offer the disciples somethingelse—the Holy Spirit. Look at verse 8:

“But you will receive power when the HolySpirit has come upon you; and you will bemy witnesses in Jerusalem …”



2 3 4

We at Chain of Lakes can offer the HolySpirit to others. The Holy Spirit works in ourcommunity life. It is constantly guiding us,teaching us, and prompting us to follow.

Sadly the Holy Spirit is a doctrine that is

easily manipulated and misunderstood.Understanding the Holy Spirit doesn’t haveto be that complicated. The Spirit is theSpirit that comes from Jesus. It exists hereon earth constantly leading us to God.

Today as you pray, give thanks for the HolySpirit. If you find the Holy Spiritcomplicated, pray for clarity. If you areunsure about the Holy Spirit, pray for morecertainty. Pray that we at Chain of LakesChurch can follow the Holy Spirit in all that

we do.

Tuesday, July 12Read Acts 2We have read this story often in the historyof Chain of Lakes as it is one of Pastor Paul’sfavorite stories. One important verse in thischapter is verse 43:

“Awe came upon everyone, because manywonders and signs were being done by the

apostles.”

We at Chain of Lakes can offer this sense of awe. A synonym for awe is wow. When thelocal congregation is operating at its fullpotential things can happen that are neverexpected. When these things happenpeople sit back and say, “wow.”

Each congregation has the capacity andability to offer this sense of awe. When it ishappening it is exciting and can even be

life-changing.

Today as you pray, reflect on a time whenyou said the word, “wow.” Remember a

time in your own past when a localcongregation was operating at such a highlevel. Pray that we at Chain of Lakes canoften share this sense of awe and ministriesthat elicit the word, “wow.”

Wednesday, July 13

Read Acts 3Pastor Paul preached on this story this pastSunday. Look at verse 6. Peter wasaddressing a lame beggar:

“But Peter said, ‘I have no silver or gold, butwhat I have I give you; in the name of JesusChrist of Nazareth, stand up and walk.’”

On Sunday Pastor Paul shared that we offera faith that believes in the impossible. It’shard to know if Peter believed he could heal

the lame beggar as he looked intently athim. Whether he believed that this waspossible, he certainly believed in theimpossible. For he wouldn’t havecommanded the man to walk unless hebelieved in the impossible.

This idea is hard for some to accept. It’seasier to accept a mathematical formula ora scientific description of an event. Butscience couldn’t adequately explain whathappened to the lame beggar. Only faith

could explain that he could stand up andwalk.

As you pray today pray for a faith thatbelieves in the impossible. Pray that we atChain of Lakes can articulate this type of passionate faith.

Thursday, July 14Read Acts 4Pastor Paul will be preaching on this storyon Sunday, July 17th. Look at verses 19 &

20:

“But Peter and John answered them,‘Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to

you rather than to God, you must judge; forwe cannot keep from speaking about whatwe have seen and heard.’”

In the church we can offer fearlessness.Peter and John weren’t worried about whatwas going to happen to them. They were

fearlessly following the Holy Spirit into thissituation. It didn’t matter to them whathappened.

This type of fearlessness is hard for usreticent Midwesterners. But with God’s helpwe can live without fear.

Today as you pray, pray that you can livewithout fear. Pray that you can incorporatea sense of boldness into your own life. If you identify boldness as something you

have, pray for an opportunity to shareboldness today.

Friday, July 15Read Acts 5 The story of Ananias and Sapphira ischallenging. It seems over-the-top andeven frightening that Peter would have thetwo killed. This seems like too much powerfor one person to posses.

Peter was trying to hold Ananias and

Sapphira accountable. Whether this shouldhave involved their death is a fair question.

The community of people offersaccountability to each other. We build eachother up; we help each other; we hold eachother accountable when we stray.

Accountability is hard for churches. It’seasier to ignore a problem than to try toaddress it. The Core Value of HealthyDisagreement is one way to live into this

idea of accountability.

Today as you pray, pray that we at Chain of Lakes can hold each other accountable.



2 3 4Pray that we can speak the truth in love,treat others with respect and dignity, andpledge to stay in community with eachother.

Saturday, July 16Read Acts 6

When the church is working well it offersadaptability. In the first part of chapter 6the twelve apostles identified a problemthat existed. They then chose to adapt tothe situation and choose a different way of proceeding. They selected seven people tohelp in the daily distribution of food.

The church is not known as a place of adaptability. It’s easier to continue to followlong-standing patterns and practices insteadof discerning how we can adapt to a

changing culture.

Today as you pray, pray that we at Chain of Lakes can live into the idea of adaptability.We aren’t changing our message but areadapting to a changing culture. Pray thatwe have the courage to adapt.

devotion week of july 10 2011

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