Midweek Update #7

Here it is, Wednesday again. I am saddened by the passing of Roy Swafford. I know he is rejoicing in heaven, but I am only human. We are in prayer for Lee and each family member and have a sense of grief along with them. However, it is really good grief because the Scripture says, "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord," and "happy in the sight of the Lord is the home going of the saints."  We still experience loss, but we have hope in all our sadness. At the same time there is a note of victory at the promotion of a saint of God to heaven in that we can rejoice with them. The viewing will be Thursday night and the funeral will be Friday morning. Notice the details for the viewing and funeral at the end of this email.

This Saturday is The Wedding at 1:30 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens and then back to the church for the Reception. You will enjoy having Dr. LeRoy Bartel ministering to you this Sunday. Anna Pounds thought I should be there to preach. Thank you, Anna, and I am glad to know that we will be missed. I know she was teasing and we had a good laugh in the process.

Tonight we will continue our series, "Too Busy To Pray."  We will share how easily you can spend one hour in prayer by breaking it down into 5-minute segments and what to pray during each of those segments. We will also look more in detail at the ACTS Plan of prayer that Dale mentioned recently on a Wednesday night. I know you will find this a productive time of praying from 7-8 p.m. tonight and sharing together about becoming more effective in prayer, and especially praying for Lee and the family in the homegoing of Roy. I look forward to seeing you all tonight.

Blessings,

Pastor Larry

The viewing for Roy Swafford will be Thursday night from 6:00-8:00 p.m. and the funeral will Friday morning at 10:00 a.m. at Arlington Funeral Home (1221 E. Division St., 817-548-1791). Entombment will be at Moore Memorial Gardens (1219 N. Davis Dr.)

Other prayer requests:
Donna Webb has been ill and spent some time in the hospital last week.
Tave' Garza's brother, Boaz, was critically injured in an accident and has had multiple surgeries.
Adolfo Galaviz, Jr.
Al & Thelma Mathews
The mother of Karen Lindquist. Karen is from Virginia and visited Dayspring with her husband in September following the death of her brother. She is back now with her mother.

Midweek Update #6

"Heart Building Habits and Praying Like Jesus" will be our discussion tonight. God seems to be helping me to move to a deeper level of praying. Maybe after doing the 10 Commandments of Marriage, I realize how far short I fall and know the remedy is a meaningful time of prayer.
Here is the beginning of our Bible study tonight:  God has invited us to come into His presence. He has told us that He is with us and in us, that He is waiting to hear from us, and that He can and will respond to us. What is more, He has told us what kind of habits we must develop in order to make the most of His blessings.

We will use Jesus' prayer found in Matthew 6:5-13 as a basis for our study tonight. When the disciples asked Jesus for instruction on prayer, He began by saying, "When you pray ..." in Matthew 6:5. He simply assumed the disciples would have a regular time for prayer. That's a big assumption to make about Jesus' disciples today. Most of us say we just don't have time for daily prayer. But do we want prayer to become a vital part of our lives?
Here are my closing remarks for tonight after we have our time in the Word:  Remember that God's prevailing power is released through prayer. He is interested in you and your needs. He is able to meet any need, and He has invited you to pray. His Son, Jesus, the expert on prayer, has given instructions so that you know just how to pray. We will look at those tonight. For the miracle of prayer to begin operating in our lives, we must finally do only one thing:  we must pray. I can talk about prayer but sooner or later, we have to pray. Then, and only then, will we begin to live moment by moment in God's presence.
Then we will take time to pray.
Here is a list of our prayer needs:

Roy Swafford
Thelma Mathews
Bennie Green
Adolfo Galaviz, Jr.
Hope to see you all tonight and at least by Sunday.  Blessings to you.

Pastor Larry

Midweek Update #5

Well, the Rangers finally made it to the World Series even though they lost finally in game #5.  We are all proud of them.

Thank the Lord for the rain during the last day or so.  My grass needed it and the rain brought cooler temperatures.

Don't forget the time change this weekend, but it is OK if you do. You can get to church early and attend one of

the Christian Education Classes at 10 a.m. or, as the Old Timers call it, Sunday School.  Does anyone ever graduate from Sunday School?  So in the Fall we fall back and gain an hour of sleep.  Yes, move your clocks back one hour.  That means it gets darker an hour earlier and lighter an hour earlier.  I don't like to get off  work at 5 p.m. and it is getting dark already.

This Sunday, we will continue our series on the Ten Commandments.The 10th Commandment is "Thou Shalt Build a Winning Team." I know you will really enjoy this one.  This not only relates to marriages but to church, your job, and friendships.   Also, this Sunday, we will have a special guest singer. One of the young ladies from Ransomed has a weekend off from Ransomed and is in my New Testament class.  I know you will enjoy her ministry in song.

Well, November 20th is this month. What is that date?  Hmmm. I wonder.  Do you know?

I hear that the safest place to be during a tornado is Cowboy Stadium because there are very few touchdowns there. Guess I better change the subject and talk about our time together tonight.

Tonight our Topic on Prayer is "God Is Able."   If you could ask God for one miracle in your life, knowing that He would grant your request, would you ask Him:

....to put your marriage back together?

....to change something about your job?

....to bring home a straying son or daughter?

....to heal your body?

....to straighten out your finances?

....to bring a loved one to Christ?

Whatever your request might be, do you regularly and diligently, every single day, bring it to God in prayer, trusting that He will intervene in your situation?  If not, why not?  Can God handle it? 

Let's talk about a variety of things tonight.   We will talk about believing in the heart.  We will discuss God's Power over Circumstances and God's Power over Nature.  We will look at God's Power over Hearts.  I know you will be astonished at the answer. When we recognize that Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever, our faith can become stronger to believe God to intervene in our lives.  You know what? He is just waiting for your call.  These are the things we will discuss together tonight and conclude with a wonderful time of prayer.

Glad to hear the good report about the success Lucie and her team had on Sunday evening at the apartment complexes in handing out bags of candy and being a witness for Christ.  Thanks for all those who turned out to share in that wonderful adventure. Thanks again, Lucie, for doing a great job.

Pray especially today for Bennie Green. She is in Arlington Memorial Hospital and will have a pace maker removed and a new one put in. Her surgery is scheduled for 1 p.m. Also, continue to pray for Al and Thelma Mathews.  Roy Swafford would appreciate your continued prayers.  Glad Gertie is getting better.

See you all tonight or at least by Sunday.  Bless each one of you.

Pastor Larry