1. Lord Jesus you are one! You are Lord over every part of my life! Fill me with your Spirit today to love you with all of my heart, all of my soul and all of my strength. Let this be upon my heart! Help me impress it upon my children. Let me talk of it in my home, when I go out, when I rest & when I am walking down the road. Let every time I look at my hands or see my own face bear witness that you are Lord over every part of my life. Let the very place I call home and the hospitality I offer through it always be a witness to me, my family, my friends and anyone who enters into it, to your Lordship over every part of our lives. And let every time I leave that place & walk through the gates, be a reminder that you are Lord over all of creation and anywhere I go I can look for you and find you because you have gone before me, your presence mightily at work, inspiring us by your Spirit to do good works you have prepared in advance for us to do. Praise you Lord Jesus, to the glory of the Father.
2. Lord I confess to you that I have not always followed your heart and your way. For this I am sorry. Dear Dad, please forgive me, restore me and redeem me. Lord I pray that this day, by the power of your Spirit you have invested in me, that you help me to turn to live in your blessings.
a. Dear Dad, please help me to turn today to be poor in spirit, so that Lord we may receive your Kingdom.
b. Dear Dad, please help me to turn today to mourn, so that Lord we may be comforted.
c. Dear Dad, please help me to turn today to be meek, so that Lord we may inherit this earth.
d. Dear Dad, please help me to turn today to hunger and thirst for righteousness, so that Lord we may be filled.
e. Dear Dad, please help me to turn today to be merciful, so that Lord we may receive your mercy.
f. Dear Dad, please help me to turn today to be pure in heart, so that Lord we may see you.
g. Dear Dad, please help me to turn today to be a peacemaker, so that Lord we may be called your sons.
h. Dear Dad, please help me to turn today to be persecuted because of righteousness, so that Lord we may receive your Kingdom.
And Dear Dad please help us to turn today to rejoice and be glad when people insult us, persecute us or falsely say all kinds of evil against us because of you, as great is our reward in heaven and great our prophetic voice you have given us to this world through the lives you have freed us to live. Praise you Dear Dad through your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
3. Lord, you are at work in this world and in the lives of people who do not yet believe in you. Lord your harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Lord Jesus, please send out workers into your harvest especially here in…(name specifically the area/s you have been called to). Especially Lord Jesus, I pray that you reveal yourself to those who do not yet believe in you …(again can name specific people if you know them)… so they can come to know you and work locally in your harvest.
4. Lord Jesus, I pray against the dark forces at work here in…(name your area). I pray that you can break the bonds of evil that are at work in people’s lives and empower us who believe in you to stand firm against that evil, with our armor in place to withstand the attacks and with our light shining to show evil for what it is. Lord, break the bonds of evil that keep people in poverty, imprisoned, in blindness and oppressed. Declare the year of your favor, preach the good news, proclaim freedom, recover sight and give release. Oh Lord, we pray with all of our hearts for your kingdom to come to this place. Anoint us also with your Spirit in your work Lord. In the mighty name of Jesus.
5. Prayer of thanks to God for His goodness to us at the end of each day.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Readings
Deut 6:4-9…
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Matt 19:14…
- “but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs”.
Matthew 28:18-20…
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Luke 4:18-19…
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Ephesians 4:11-13
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Acts 15:15-18…
“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?” When they heard this they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”
Matthew 9:37-38…
Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
Matthew 5:3-12…
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
2 Corinthians 5:17-20…Therefore, if anyone in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Matt 19:14…
- “but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs”.
Matthew 28:18-20…
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Luke 4:18-19…
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Ephesians 4:11-13
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Acts 15:15-18…
“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?” When they heard this they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”
Matthew 9:37-38…
Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
Matthew 5:3-12…
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
2 Corinthians 5:17-20…Therefore, if anyone in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
Practices
Daily
o Surrendering to Jesus Christ as Lord over every aspect of our lives at the beginning of each day
o Engaging, primarily through prayer, in God’s warfare against the dark spiritual forces inherent in situations of poverty, imprisonment, blindness and oppression praying for particular people as well as for whole communities in which we are engaged
o Living by faith each day, not worrying about tomorrow but trusting God for our needs
o Listening for and acting on the promptings the Spirit gives us each day to serve our fellow human beings
o Having a spirit of celebration rejoicing in the goodness of God in all circumstances, committing to daily reflect upon His goodness and thank Him for it
o Praying the prayer of the harvest and looking for God’s answer
o Praying through the ‘Beatitudes’
o Agreeing within our discipleship groups to a daily common reading of the bible, particularly making sure we regularly read through the 4 Gospels & Acts
Weekly
o By blessing three other people every week
o Engaging weekly in a discipleship groups of 2 or 3 as a primary place of faith accountability and learning
o In our groups sharing and celebrating together the goodness of God in our lives
Lifestyle
o Making our homes the base for our missionary activity, places of worship and of hospitality for fellow believers to gather in and worship together and for not yet believers to have a place of welcome and refuge to come into
o Making our homes & relationships amongst and with people in situations of poverty, blindness, imprisonment & oppression
o Always being in a relationship with not yet believers, living out our lives in Christ as their friends
o Valuing children as members of the collective in their own right, recognizing our role in nurturing and discipling them in the faith, but also acknowledging the unique contribution they can make to the community (Matt 19:14)
o Going through a process as a collective to help discern and recognize each other’s giftings from Eph 4, using the APEST test found at www.theforgottenways.org as a tool for a starting point to discerning our giftings
o Acting non-violently in relationship with each other and in relationship with our wider communities
o Including children in the collective’s activities as appropriate to their age and stage of life
o Surrendering to Jesus Christ as Lord over every aspect of our lives at the beginning of each day
o Engaging, primarily through prayer, in God’s warfare against the dark spiritual forces inherent in situations of poverty, imprisonment, blindness and oppression praying for particular people as well as for whole communities in which we are engaged
o Living by faith each day, not worrying about tomorrow but trusting God for our needs
o Listening for and acting on the promptings the Spirit gives us each day to serve our fellow human beings
o Having a spirit of celebration rejoicing in the goodness of God in all circumstances, committing to daily reflect upon His goodness and thank Him for it
o Praying the prayer of the harvest and looking for God’s answer
o Praying through the ‘Beatitudes’
o Agreeing within our discipleship groups to a daily common reading of the bible, particularly making sure we regularly read through the 4 Gospels & Acts
Weekly
o By blessing three other people every week
o Engaging weekly in a discipleship groups of 2 or 3 as a primary place of faith accountability and learning
o In our groups sharing and celebrating together the goodness of God in our lives
Lifestyle
o Making our homes the base for our missionary activity, places of worship and of hospitality for fellow believers to gather in and worship together and for not yet believers to have a place of welcome and refuge to come into
o Making our homes & relationships amongst and with people in situations of poverty, blindness, imprisonment & oppression
o Always being in a relationship with not yet believers, living out our lives in Christ as their friends
o Valuing children as members of the collective in their own right, recognizing our role in nurturing and discipling them in the faith, but also acknowledging the unique contribution they can make to the community (Matt 19:14)
o Going through a process as a collective to help discern and recognize each other’s giftings from Eph 4, using the APEST test found at www.theforgottenways.org as a tool for a starting point to discerning our giftings
o Acting non-violently in relationship with each other and in relationship with our wider communities
o Including children in the collective’s activities as appropriate to their age and stage of life
Covenant
We Covenant to:
Proclaim and Witness, “Jesus is Lord” over every aspect of our lives… (Deut 6:4-9)
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
-By the practice of surrendering to Jesus Christ as Lord over every aspect of our lives at the beginning of each day (see example of prayer)
-By making our homes the base for our missionary activity, places of worship and of hospitality for fellow believers to gather in and worship together and for not yet believers to have a place of welcome and refuge to come into
-By valuing children as members of the collective in their own right, recognizing our role in nurturing and discipling them in the faith, but also acknowledging the unique contribution they can make to the collective. (Matt 19:14) - “but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs”.
Follow God’s mission for us from Matthew 28:18-20…
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
-By always being in a relationship with not yet believers living out our lives in Christ as their friends
-By blessing three other people every week
-By engaging weekly in a discipleship group of 2 or 3 as a primary place of faith accountability and learning
-By sharing and celebrating together in those groups the goodness of God in our lives
-By agreeing within our groups to a daily common reading of the bible, particularly making sure we regularly read through the 4 Gospels & Acts.
Engage in Jesus’ own anointed ministry he proclaims in Luke 4:18-19…
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
-By making our homes & relationships amongst and with people in these situations
-By engaging, primarily through prayer, in God’s warfare against the dark spiritual forces inherent in these situations praying for particular people as well as for whole communities in which we are engaged. (see example of prayer)
As a community to help each other discern and then act in our ministry giftings from Ephesians 4:11-13 regardless of gender or professional and/or academic status…
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
-By going through a process as a collective to help discern and recognize each other’s giftings from Eph 4 (see example of a process)
Actively live our daily lives in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit…(Acts 15:15-18)
“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?” When they heard this they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”
-By living by faith each day, not worrying about tomorrow but trusting God for our needs
-By listening for and acting on the promptings the Spirit gives us each day to serve our fellow human beings
-By having a spirit of celebration rejoicing in the goodness of God in all circumstances, committing to daily reflect upon His goodness and thank Him for it. (Prayer of thanks at the end of each day)
Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field…(Matthew 9:37-38)
Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
-By daily praying the prayer of the harvest (see example of prayer) and looking for God’s answer
Daily live our lives out of the ‘Beatitudes’. (Matthew 5:3-12)
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. "
-By daily praying through the ‘Beatitudes’ (see example of prayer)
Particularly act as Peacemakers, seeking reconciliation & inclusivity as a first point of relationship and community. (2 Corinthians 5:17-20)
Therefore, if anyone in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
-By acting non-violently in relationship with each other and in relationship with our wider communities
-By always including children in the collective’s activities as appropriate to their age and stage of life
Proclaim and Witness, “Jesus is Lord” over every aspect of our lives… (Deut 6:4-9)
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
-By the practice of surrendering to Jesus Christ as Lord over every aspect of our lives at the beginning of each day (see example of prayer)
-By making our homes the base for our missionary activity, places of worship and of hospitality for fellow believers to gather in and worship together and for not yet believers to have a place of welcome and refuge to come into
-By valuing children as members of the collective in their own right, recognizing our role in nurturing and discipling them in the faith, but also acknowledging the unique contribution they can make to the collective. (Matt 19:14) - “but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs”.
Follow God’s mission for us from Matthew 28:18-20…
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
-By always being in a relationship with not yet believers living out our lives in Christ as their friends
-By blessing three other people every week
-By engaging weekly in a discipleship group of 2 or 3 as a primary place of faith accountability and learning
-By sharing and celebrating together in those groups the goodness of God in our lives
-By agreeing within our groups to a daily common reading of the bible, particularly making sure we regularly read through the 4 Gospels & Acts.
Engage in Jesus’ own anointed ministry he proclaims in Luke 4:18-19…
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
-By making our homes & relationships amongst and with people in these situations
-By engaging, primarily through prayer, in God’s warfare against the dark spiritual forces inherent in these situations praying for particular people as well as for whole communities in which we are engaged. (see example of prayer)
As a community to help each other discern and then act in our ministry giftings from Ephesians 4:11-13 regardless of gender or professional and/or academic status…
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
-By going through a process as a collective to help discern and recognize each other’s giftings from Eph 4 (see example of a process)
Actively live our daily lives in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit…(Acts 15:15-18)
“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?” When they heard this they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”
-By living by faith each day, not worrying about tomorrow but trusting God for our needs
-By listening for and acting on the promptings the Spirit gives us each day to serve our fellow human beings
-By having a spirit of celebration rejoicing in the goodness of God in all circumstances, committing to daily reflect upon His goodness and thank Him for it. (Prayer of thanks at the end of each day)
Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field…(Matthew 9:37-38)
Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
-By daily praying the prayer of the harvest (see example of prayer) and looking for God’s answer
Daily live our lives out of the ‘Beatitudes’. (Matthew 5:3-12)
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. "
-By daily praying through the ‘Beatitudes’ (see example of prayer)
Particularly act as Peacemakers, seeking reconciliation & inclusivity as a first point of relationship and community. (2 Corinthians 5:17-20)
Therefore, if anyone in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
-By acting non-violently in relationship with each other and in relationship with our wider communities
-By always including children in the collective’s activities as appropriate to their age and stage of life
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