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watch & pray with Cityview, Mar 29 – Apr 12

/ Craig / Leave a comment

watch-prayIn the fourteen days leading up to Easter Cityview is uniting with a few other local congregations in 14 days of prayer.  I want to encourage you to take up the challenge of getting together with two other people for a period of united prayer.  Our heavenly Father delights to answer prayer and there are things He desires to do in your life when you will maintain a posture of prayer.  On many occasions Jesus instructed his disciples in the prayer life.  In fact Jesus told more than one parable to encourage boldness and persistence in prayer.

“Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’  Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me.  The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed.  I can’t get up and give you anything.’  I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.”

“So I say to you:  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.”

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?  Of if he asks for an egg, will you give him a scorpion?  If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Luke 11: 5-13

Some suggestions for how to get the most out of these 14 days of prayer are below.

 

 · Develop your prayer team of 3 people now.

· Meet together to develop your prayer list by Mar 28; see the prayer guide for directions.

· Submit your list to Pastor Craig for his private prayer by March 29.

· Connect daily over the 2 week period for prayer.

· Meet as a prayer team at the two pubic gatherings.
          Tuesday March 31 & Tuesday April 7, 7:00 PM

· Watch for God’s response.

Here are few suggestions for your prayer list.  Divide it into three parts.  Lift these requests and those of your 2 other prayer partners up to God persistently for the two week period.

ASK for God to provide for personal / family needs.  Identify 2 or 3 needs.

SEEK for God’s direction for a decision or intervention in a situation.  Identify 1or 2 decisions or situations.

KNOCK for God’s salvation for friends, neighbours, coworkers or family that have not yet entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Identify 3 or 4 people.

Cityview will also publish a prayer list specific to the organization needs of our sister churches and congregations that are participating in the two week prayer emphasis.

This year on the journey to Easter WATCH & PRAY.

heard at Cityview this past weekend

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I really appreciate the leadership that Lalpi gives to the congregation at Cityview for our worship of the Triune God.  Yesterday the service was a tight weave that created a picture and an experience of the extraordinary grace of Jesus.  I was so blessed by how Dan and Lalpi presented East to West by Casting Crowns.  A stillness descended on the congregation as we contemplated Jesus’ forgiveness!  Thanks Lalpi and thanks Dan.  If you want to reflect again on Jesus’ forgiveness of our sin you can watch the video below.

help me prepare a new sermon series

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I am preparing for a new series on relationships and I have two questions for my research.  Please help!

1.  What are the top friendship killers?  What sabotages a friendship?

2.  When times were tough for you personally, what did friends do that really made a difference in your life?

the integrity test: alignment and anxiety

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On the weekend after the Integrity Workshop we began a new series at Cityview called Integrity Test:  6 realities we have in common with Jesus.  As followers of Jesus we live with a much for severe reality than others do.  We live with the reality of God’s perspective and right to our life.  We live with the costliness of His grace.  Anyone who is a new believer or even consider following Christ is probably already aware of the challenge that accompanies alignment with the Jesus and seeking to walk as walked in this world. (See 1 John 1:6)

 The first reality that the series deals with is that your alignment with Jesus may create anxiety in others.  For the follower of Jesus this is integrity 101 after the matter of honesty.  Our text Luke 2:41-52 opens a window on Jesus going to Jerusalem with Mary and Joseph and then staying behind without their knowledge.  After three days they find him in the temple conversing with the elders there.  His parents are astonished.  And Jesus himself seems genuinely surprised that they did not know where he was or what he was about.  Jesus’ alignment with His Heavenly Father created great anxiety for Mary and Joseph.  In a simple reduction of the problem we can say that when faced with the anxiety of others we are pressed into an integrity test.  Will we be a people-pleaser or a God-pleaser?  You can listen to the message at cityviewchurch.ca later this week.  The listening guide is below.

1.  Alignment with Jesus means you will be doing new things and establishing new patterns.  

“Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”  Luke 2:49
2.  Alignment with Jesus creates change in relationships.  

“When his parents saw him, they were astonished.  His mother said, “Son, why have you treated us like this?  Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”  Luke 2:49
3.  Alignment with Jesus does not mean you abandon all your commitments.   But it does require you to sort out your obligations.

 “But they did not understand what he was saying to them.  Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them.”  Luke 2:50-51
4.  Alignement with Jesus propels you into essential areas of growth.  

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”  Luke 2:52

Jesus fully met the demands of reality.  We do not and that problem reveals again why I need a Saviour and why Jesus was fully able to meet the reality of my sin:

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  2 Corinthians 5:21

seen at Cityview this weekend

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Here is the video we showed Sunday morning before the service set to Toby Mac’s song Lose My Soul.  The song is based off Jesus teaching on following Him found in Luke 9:23-27.  Specifically verse 25:  “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very sefl?”  What a big difference from the message my kids sang at the table last week, “Baby you can have whatever you want!”