Week 14 - Matthew 6:9-13

After this manner therefore pray ye: 

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.   (KJV)

Life Application Study Bible, NIV Footnotes:  

This is often called the Lord's Prayer because Jesus gave it to the disciples.  It can be a pattern for our prayers.  We should praise God, pray for his work in the world, pray for our daily needs, and pray for help in our daily struggles.

I'm sure this is familiar to many of you but have you ever studied what we refer to as the Lord's Prayer?   Please share your findings and insights as you memorize, pray, study and meditate on the scripture this week.

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Matthew 7:7-8 Footnotes

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.  Matthew 7:7-8


Life Application Study Bible, NIV Footnotes:

Jesus tells us to persist in pursuing God.  People often give up after a few halfhearted efforts and conclude that God cannot be found.  But knowing God takes faith, focus, and follow-through, and Jesus assures us that we will be rewarded.  Don't give up in your efforts to seek God.  Continue to ask him for more knowledge, patience, wisdom, love, and understanding.  He will give them to you.

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ASK

Ask and it will be given to you; 

Seek and you will find; 

Knock and the door will be opened to you. 

For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.  Matthew 7:7-8


This picture was sent in by Kelly.....a very pretty and creative way to display index cards!

Also, Kathryn writes this about her index card book:

"I decorated mine too and I keep it on my desk by my computer.  And when I sit down at the desk, I look at it and read it and hopefully by the end of the week I have it just about memorized."

Thanks for sharing, ladies!

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BC Index Card Books

Some of the children in our church that are participating in the Bible Challenge made books to hold their scripture memory index cards.

Some were very crafty.........

Some LOVED the stickers.........

All are proud of their books!

Are you making index cards for your verses?  How are you using the cards?  What other ways are you keeping God's Word before you?

If you receive this update via email and are unable to view the pictures or videos that are posted, please visit the blog.

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Week 13 - Matthew 7:7-8

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.  

Anyone who was with the Bible Challenge last year knows that this is ONE of my favorite scenes from the fantastic movie Facing the Giants.

So because it's football season...

And because we are now 1/4 of the way through this Bible Challenge...

Don't quit!  Keep going!  Give God your best this week!

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Philippians 4:6-7 Notes

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  
                                                                           Philippians 4:6-7

Are you enjoying Philippians this week?  

One of our BC families has been inspired to memorize Philippians 4:4-9.  

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God,which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

What a great passage!  That would be a great section of scripture to start your day.

The following are some footnotes regarding this section from Life Application Study Bible, NIV:

Verse 4:  It seems strange that a man in prison would be telling a church to rejoice.  But Paul's attitude teaches us an important lesson:  our inner attitudes do not have to reflect our outward circumstances.  Paul was full of joy because he knew that no matter what happened to him, Jesus Christ was with him.  Several times in this letter, Paul urged the Philippians to be joyful, probably because they needed to hear this.  It's easy to get discouraged about unpleasant circumstances or to take unimportant events too seriously.  If you haven't been joyful lately, you may not be looking at life from the right perspective.

Verse 4 & 5:  Ultimate joy comes from Christ dwelling within us.  Christ is near, and at his second coming we will fully realize this ultimate joy.  He who lives within us will fulfill his final purposes for us.

Verse 6 & 7:  Imagine never being "anxious about anything"!  It seems like an impossibility -- we all have worries on the job, in our homes, at school.  But Paul's advice is to turn our worries into prayers.  Do you want to worry less?  Then pray more!  Whenever you start to worry, stop and pray.

Verse 8:  What we put into our minds determines what comes out in our words and actions.  Paul tells us to program our minds with thoughts that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.  Do you have problems with impure thoughts and daydreams?  Examine what you are putting into your mind through television, books, conversations, movies, and magazines.  Replace harmful input with wholesome material.  Above all, read God's Word and pray.  Ask God to help you focus your mind on what is good and pure.  It takes practice, but it can be done.

Verse 9:  It's not enough to hear or read the Word of God, or even to know it well.  We must also put it into practice.  How easy it is to listen to a sermon and forget what the preacher said.  How easy it is to read the Bible and not think about how to live differently.  How easy it is to debate what a passage means and not live out that meaning.  Exposure to God's Word is not enough.  It must lead to obedience.

Have a joyful week!

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Week 12 - Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We continue our focus on prayer this week, which is our direct communication with our heavenly Father.

Postures for Prayer:

Standing - Abraham (Genesis 18:22,23); Hannah (1 Samuel 1:26); "When you stand..." (Mark 11:25)

Bowing - Moses (Exodus 34:8)

Kneeling - Solomon (1 Kings 8:54,55); Daniel (Daniel 6:10); Jesus (Luke 22:41)

Prostrate - Joshua (Joshua 7:6); Jesus (Matthew 26:39)

Lying down - Hezekiah on his bed (2 Kings 20:1,2)

So whether you're standing, bowing, kneeling, prostrate or lying down this week........do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And may the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen!

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John 15:7 Commentary

From Matthew Henry:

"The blessed privilege which those have that abide in Christ (v. 7):If my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will of my Father in my name, and it shall be done. See here, [1.] How our union with Christ is maintained—by the word: If you abide in me; he had said before, and I in you; here he explains himself, and my words abide in you; for it is in the word that Christ is set before us, and offered to us,Rom. 10:6-8. It is in the word that we receive and embrace him; and so where the word of Christ dwells richly there Christ dwells. If the word be our constant guide and monitor, if it be in us as at home, then we abide in Christ, and he in us. [2.] How our communion with Christ is maintained—by prayer: You shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you. And what can we desire more than to have what we will for the asking? Note, Those that abide in Christ as their heart’s delight shall have, through Christ, their heart’s desire. If we have Christ, we shall want nothing that is not good for us. Two things are implied in this promise:—First, That if we abide in Christ, and his word in us, we shall not ask any thing but what is proper to be done for us. The promises abiding in us lie ready to be turned into prayers; and the prayers so regulated cannot but speed. Secondly, That if we abide in Christ and his word we shall have such an interest in God’s favour and Christ’s mediation that we shall have an answer of peace to all our prayers."


The portion that I've highlighted really helps me understand the promise in this verse. If I'm abiding in Christ, my heart and desires are going to more naturally line up with God's will. And even when God answers my prayers differently than I expected, I will still have peace because of my relationship with Him and my desire for His will to be done in my life.


Any thoughts?


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Forever Reign

My heart will sing no other name...

JESUS

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Prayer

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  John 15:7


The following information was compiled by J. Darren Ely for a study called, "How to Deepen Your Prayer Life".

God can and will use us in direct proportion to our humility and obedience to Him.  One great expression of humility and obedience is a life of prayer.  Prayer is the means whereby we commune with our Lord.  It is the means by which we are empowered with the life of God.

Prayer to the living God is the greatest unused resource in the world.  It is the world's great, untapped Niagara!  "If we have any regrets at all when we get to Heaven, one feels sure that the main burden of those regrets will be the fact that we did not do more earnest praying while on the earth." (Billy Graham)  That we asked for crumbs when we could have had a banquet.  But prayer must be more than an obligation -- it must become a passion for us.

As we begin to focus on prayer, you might want to read these types of prayers.

Adoration:  Exodus 15:1-21, Psalm 63:1-8, 1 Peter 1:3-5

Confession:  Proverbs 28:13, Psalm 51, 1 John 1:8-10

Thanksgiving:  Daniel 6:10, Psalm 105:1, Philippians 4:6

Supplication:  Genesis 18:23-32, Psalm 143:8-10, James 4:2,3

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Week 11 - John 15:7

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  John 15:7

We are shifting our focus now to the PRAYER spoke on the wheel.  Through prayer we have direct communication with our heavenly Father, about anything and everything.  When we pray we acknowledge our trust in and dependence upon Him.

This verse should sound a little familiar.  It's in the same context as our previous verse, John 15:5.

The study of this verse should be interesting.  Please share your findings with the group!

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Week 10 - Ephesians 6:17

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Ephesians 6:17

This is the only verse we are memorizing out of this scripture section since it deals with the Word and that's the spoke on the wheel that we're still focusing on.  Remember the wheel?

But be sure to read the entire section about the armor of God, starting with verse 10.

Life Application Study Bible, NIV:

We are engaged in a spiritual battle -- all believers find themselves subject to Satan's attacks because they are no longer on Satan's side.  Thus, Paul tells us to use every piece of God's armor to resist Satan's attacks and to stand true to God in the midst of those attacks.  

Put on the full armor of God this week!

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