•  God says, “If you find Me, people will find you.”
• You will become like Him when you are with Him.
• If all you do is listen to your pastor, you’re in trouble.
• Whatever you seek to please in life will control you.
• In the kingdom of God, who you are is more important than what you do.
• You’re activity can mask what is not going on in your life.
• God’s Presence is the basis of worship and the church. That is the evaluation. Did anyone experience the Presence of God?
• More than anything else, the church must have the favor of God. We don’t need a better sign or a better music program. We need the favor of God.
• When the church is worship deprived, it becomes Presence deficit.
• The goal is to live in a Throne Zone.
• We should yearn for the manifested presence of God.
• That’s how we make the world drool, by our experience of God.
• Worship is enjoying God as much as God enjoys us.
• Our people are shredded because they have nothing to fight with.
• Help people get worship music into their life, their car, their kitchen.
• People are not worshipping day-by-day, and therefore, they don’t have the power of God in their lives. 

If you happened to miss the Prayer Seminar on the 4^th, we are putting all of Terry’s teaching on our website (www.springfieldfirst.org) where you can listen online or download it and listen later.

I’m so excited about the new thing God is doing among us spiritually. Thank you for praying that fresh work into reality each day.

Yearning with you for the Presence,

Roger

The Soulful Seven

First UMC Prayer Team

May 2013

Please feel free to pray for a different area each day of the week. Thanks for your prayers.

• Sunday—Seek God to use our current sermon series to help us embrace a new, fuller vision of Heaven, and “set our hearts on things above” (Colossians 3:1). Pray, too, that God would use our Cantata, Lord of the Dance, to inspire us on Sunday, May 19 at our 9:00 a.m. service
• Monday—Thank God for highly successful global mission trips to Haiti and Liberia in March. (See the Liberia Recap on Monday, May 13 at 7 p.m. in the Choir Room.) Please begin praying now for our local “Summer of Service” in June, where hundreds from our First Church family will be able to serve in local ministries across the Springfield area.
• Tuesday— Praise the Holy Spirit for our growing men’s ministry. Pray for more men to engage their faith in some form of group life, service in Christ’s name, and a deeper prayer life, such that God will keep raising up spiritual leaders among our men.
• Wednesday—Pray for the Spirit of Jesus, to welcome children and youth to our Kidlife and Fusion Student Ministry. Please pray for our Vacation Bible School, Kingdom Rock, on June 24-28. Ask God to send us over 300 kids as well as the teachers, leaders, and helpers needed to support this exciting outreach ministry. Also, lift before God the over 20 students and their leaders going on a Mission Trip to Osage, Oklahoma June 15-22.
• Thursday—Please pray: Holy and loving God, release Your spiritual revival in my heart and manifest Your Spirit in our First United Methodist family through 1) Unity, 2) Conversions to Christ, and 3) A Spirit of Generosity.  Father, thank you for showing us signs of unity, new persons coming to faith in Christ, and extravagant generosity including the fantastic offering for the Weala Health Clinic of $32,710 as of 4/30/13, and the excellent offering for New Day on April 27-28 totaling $31,091!
• Friday—By faith, thank the Holy Spirit for anointing our Downtown facility at 5^th and Capitol to sell in God’s perfect timing. Ask God to make our options clear and give us wisdom regarding the next steps.   
• Saturday—Please hold in prayer the following people: Donald Powell, our former night custodian as he battles cancer, Rev. Mike Whitaker, our new Associate Pastor who starts here July 1, and Carrie Watson, our new part-time Director of Worship Arts who begins May 13. PRAISE GOD for our staff team of Alyce Foster, Andrew Schmidt, Bob Swickard, Brad Curtis, Carli Burton, Charles Lange, Chase Carlisle, Cheryl Long, Dennis Fors, Elyssa Swickard, Holly Taylor, James “Jay” Dunlap, Laurie Lewis, Lindsay Walker, Pam Long, Grady Peavy, Randy Osborn, Roger Ross, See Tsai Chan, Sharon Sweeney, and several caring nursery workers. Please pray for God’s supernatural favor on their lives and ministries.

In his book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster refers to St. Alphonsus Luguori of the 18th century who offers three, non-negotiable components of a good confession.

• Examination of Conscience – We examine our souls by bringing to mind specific, concrete sins, not vague generalities. We invite God to reveal to us our particular instances of thought, word, or deed that caused injury to our relationship with God, others, or ourselves.
• Sorrow - More than feelings, Scripture talks about Godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10) that is an issue of our will. It is an abhorrence of our sin, a deep regret over the offence to our Heavenly Father that leads to a change of heart.
• Determination to Avoid Sin – This element also involves the will. We intentionally desire to be conquered and ruled by God, or at least desire to desire it.

As our spiritual disciplines class has been studying this subject the last couple of weeks, the facet that has captured my attention is the third one. In Foster’s words, “It is the will to be delivered from sin that we seek from God.” In our time, it so easy to confess a sin and receive forgiveness, fully expecting that we will be right back at the same place, confessing the same thing, in a matter of hours. It’s a spiritual version of the movie Groundhog Day. Each day is a repeat of the one before. No progress is ever made. But this discipline offers so much more.
As we practice confession, we ask God to create in us a longing for holy living and a loathing of unholy living. Imagine what God could do in our lives if we genuinely prayed something like this:

“Lord, I confess this particular sin is detestable to You—and to me. I am so deeply sorry for grieving Your heart by my specific words or actions. Please, forgive me. I ask you to change my heart so the very thought of going back to that sin would be repulsive to me. Give me a desire for holy living that changes my behavior as a testimony to your love. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.”

Sincerely praying this kind of prayer could transform a person. I’m trusting it will change me.

Because He Lives, that changes everything,

Roger

The Soulful Seven

First UMC Prayer Team
April 2013

Please feel free to pray for a different area each day of the week. Thanks for your prayers.

• Sunday—PRAISE THE RISEN LORD for a fantastic Easter celebration with outstanding music, a beautiful spirit, and scores of responses to the invitations to receive Christ during the weekend services. Please pray for each newcomer to get connected not only to Christ, but to Christ’s body at First UMC.
• Monday—Thank God for highly successful mission trips to Haiti and Liberia in March, and the safe return for everyone. Ask God to build on the structural, medical, and spiritual work done in Jesus’ name. (See the Haiti Recap on Sunday, April 7 at 3:00 p.m. in the Choir Room. The Liberia Recap is coming soon.)
• Tuesday— Praise the Holy Spirit for the 40 men from First UMC who participated in the Iron Sharpens Iron conference at our church on March 23. Pray that God will continue to use the truths shared their to impact the men’s lives and raise up spiritual leaders among our men.
• Wednesday—Pray for the Spirit of Jesus, who welcomed the children to come to him, to welcome children and youth to our Kidlife and Fusion Student Ministry. Please continue to pray for new servants in our children’s ministry. Please pray specifically for Lindsay Walker, Brad Curtis, and their teams.
• Thursday—Please pray: Holy and loving God, release Your spiritual revival in my heart and manifest Your Spirit in our First United Methodist family through 1) Unity, 2) Conversions to Christ, and 3) A Spirit of Generosity. Father, thank you for answering all these prayers on Easter weekend through the unity of Spirit, the scores of conversions, and the fantastic offering for the Weala Health Clinic of $29,316 as of 4/3/13. He is RISEN!
• Friday—By faith, thank the Holy Spirit for anointing our Downtown facility at 5th and Capitol to sell in God’s perfect timing. Ask God to provide multiple options for new ministry for the Downtown facility.
• Saturday—Please hold in prayer Donald Powell. He recently stepped down from our staff due to serious health concerns. Please pray for his healing. On a different note, thank God for the appointment of our new Associate Pastor, Mike Whitaker, who will begin his ministry with us on July 1, 2013. PRAISE GOD for our staff team of Alyce Foster, Andrew Schmidt, Bob Swickard, Brad Curtis, Carli Burton, Charles Lange, Chase Carlisle, Cheryl Long, Dennis Fors, Elyssa Swickard, Holly Taylor, James “Jay” Dunlap, Laurie Lewis, Lindsay Walker, Pam Long, Grady Peavy, Randy Osborn, Roger Ross, See Tsai Chan, Sharon Sweeney, and several caring nursery workers. Please pray for God’s supernatural favor on their lives and ministries.

What would it be like if each of us were to catch the wind of the Spirit and sail through our day powered not by our effort but by the breath of God? There is something in this picture that beckons us to a life beyond the familiar shoreline, a life filled with surprising twists, with sea spray in our faces, and a destination yet unknown. This is the Spirit-led life. It is anything but tame and controlled.

If your spiritual life is feeling a little predictable and domesticated, strap on your board, face into the wind, and listen for the whisper of God. I guarantee you will be in for the ride of your life.

Thanks for praying into the Wind,

Roger

The Soulful Seven
FirstUMCPrayer Team
March 2013
 

Please feel free to pray for a different area each day of the week. Thanks for your prayers.

• Sunday—SEEK THE LORD each day leading up to Easter as hundreds of people engage in a personal 40-Day Prayer Challenge and listen for the “whisper of God” through our Lenten series. Ask God to speak clearly and powerfully to each person, class, and group as we study, The Power of a Whisper, by Bill Hybels. Pray for thousands of invitations to be made and hundreds of new people to come to our 4 Easter services March 30-31: Sat. at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday at 7:00 a.m. (Sunrise), 9:00 a.m. & 10:15 a.m.
• Monday—Hold in Prayer Bill Stephens, Elyssa Swickard, & Roger Ross as they join with others from the Midwest on a mission to Haiti Feb. 27—March 8 to build Homes for Haitians and minister among the people. Also cover in prayer Ashley Carriker, Brooke & Zach Bell, Cathy Hardland, Chris Nelson, Mika Nelson, Sue Nelson, and Jean Webster as the go to Liberia on a medical and evangelistic mission March 16-25.
• Tuesday— Praise the Holy Spirit for a fresh and creative work of God on the 20 men that participated in our Men’s Retreat, Feb. 8-9 at Lake Springfield Christian Assembly in Chatham. Thank God for our leader, Dr. Tom Albin, who taught and led us so well. Pray for dozens of men from FUMC to attend the Iron Sharpens Iron conference at our church on Sat., March 23, to raise up spiritual leaders among our men.
• Wednesday—Pray for the Spirit of Jesus, who welcomed the children to come to him, to welcome children and youth to our Kidlife and Fusion Student Ministry. Please continue to pray for new servants in our children’s ministry. Please pray specifically for Lindsay Walker, Brad Curtis, and their teams.
• Thursday—Please pray: Holy and loving God, release Your spiritual revival in my heart and manifest Your Spirit in our First United Methodist family through 1) Unity, 2) Conversions to Christ, and 3) A Spirit of Generosity.  Thank you in Jesus’ name.
• Friday—By faith, thank the Holy Spirit for anointing our Downtown facility at 5^th and Capitol to sell in God’s perfect timing. Doors are slowly opening. Ask God to provide multiple options for new ministry for the Downtown facility.  
• Saturday—Please hold in prayer Donald Powell from our staff who continues to receive cancer treatments. Also pray for a fantastic start for Michael, Rose, Gabriel, and Elijah Paulson as they begin their new adventure with First United Methodist Church of Lincoln, IL on March 1^st. PRAISE GOD for our staff team of Alyce Foster, Andrew Schmidt, Bob Swickard, Brad Curtis, Carli Burton, Charles Lange, Chase Carlisle, Cheryl Long, Dennis Fors, Donald Powell, Elyssa Swickard, Holly Taylor, James “Jay” Dunlap, Laurie Lewis, Lindsay Walker, Pam Long, Grady Peavy, Randy Osborn, Roger Ross, See Tsai Chan, Sharon Sweeney, and several caring nursery workers. Please pray for God’s supernatural favor on their lives and ministries.

Have you ever wondered how on earth someone could pray continuously? We tackled this topic in our Teach Us To Pray III class this week. Do you stay on your knees all day? Do you neglect your kids, quit your job, and stop running errands? How do you pray and eat a hamburger at the same time? And if you are too busy praying to pay the bills, check email, do laundry, or talk to a client, do you make other people do that stuff for you? Nobody can pray all the time without becoming a monk on a hill. It is totally impractical.

At least, that’s what I thought. Then several years ago I ran across a book by Thomas Kelly called, A Testament of Devotion. In discussing “The Light Within,” he says,

There is a way of ordering our mental life on more than one level at once. On one level we may be thinking, discussing, seeing, calculating, meeting all the demands of external affairs. But deep within, behind the scenes, at a profounder level, we may also be in prayer and adoration, song and worship and a gentle receptiveness to divine breathings.

Kelly goes on to explain the relationship between surface living and the inner sanctuary of the soul.

Between the two levels is fruitful interplay, but ever the accent must be upon the deeper level, where the soul ever dwells in the presence of the Holy One. For the religious [person] is forever bringing all affairs of the first level down into the Light, holding them there in the Presence, reseeing them and the whole of the world of [people] and things in a new and overturning way, and responding to them in spontaneous, incisive and simple ways of love and faith.

Understanding these two levels and how they relate to each other opened a whole new vista in my prayer life. A person can pray without ceasing! You and I don’t have to quit doing everything else so we can pray. Nor do we have to stop praying to get some work done. Life and prayer can happen simultaneously. We are designed for a 24/7 relationship with God. Like a song that keeps playing in our heads while we do a hundred other things, it is possible to sing in our souls even in the midst of frantic activity.

One key way to cultivate a continual relationship with the Divine Center is through repeating brief phrases as we breathe. These breath prayers are as simple as “The Lord is my Shepherd,” “I receive Your grace,” “Lord, show me the way,” “Grant me Your peace,” or countless others the Lord may reveal to you. As we repeatedly say one of these phrases in rhythm with our breathing, over time they start to “pray themselves” without our conscious effort. Through this two-level living, we can ceaselessly pray and adore God regardless of how hectic our day may be.

As for me, I am still on the front edge of an unceasing prayer life, but I’ve experimented enough to know it is possible to worship in the sanctuary of my soul through stretches of my day. My goal now is to offer God seamless praise. No doubt, this will be a several year journey.

Another way to grow in ceaseless prayer is through entering seasons of prayer. As Lent approaches, I invite you to enter a six-week period of heightened spiritual focus. The enclosed sheet explains how we can release spiritual revival in our lives and in our church. I hope you will join me. Thanks for your faithful praying.

Roger

The Soulful Seven

First UMC Prayer Team
February 2013

Please feel free to pray for a different area each day of the week. Thanks for your prayers.

• Sunday—KEEP SEEKING THE LORD for a gracious and patient spirit as we live into the new thing God is doing through our new Sunday worship service schedule. As we begin our Lenten message series, “Whispers Worth Following,” on February 16- 17, pray for the Holy Spirit to include over 600 people in Sunday school classes and small groups as we study, The Power of a Whisper, by Bill Hybels.
• Monday—ASK the Holy Spirit for a fresh and creative work of God on our Men’s Retreat, Feb. 8-9 at Lake Springfield Christian Assembly in Chatham. Please lift in prayer our retreat leader, Dr. Tom Albin, as he ministers to us.
• Tuesday—Hold in Prayer three people from our congregation as they go to Haiti Feb. 27—March 8 to build Homes for Haitians and minister among the people.
• Wednesday—Pray for the Spirit of Jesus, who welcomed the children to come to him, to welcome children and youth to our Kidlife and Fusion Student Ministry. Please continue to pray for new servants in our children’s ministry. Please pray specifically for Lindsay Walker, Brad Curtis, and their teams.
• Thursday—Please pray: Holy and loving God, release Your spiritual revival in my heart and manifest Your Spirit in our First United Methodist family through 1) Unity, 2) Conversions to Christ, and 3) A Spirit of Generosity. Thank you in Jesus’ name. Thank God for a generous outpouring in December that led to finishing 2012 in the black by over $33,000!
• Friday—By faith, thank the Holy Spirit for anointing our Downtown facility at 5th and Capitol to sell in God’s perfect timing. Doors are slowly opening. Ask God to provide multiple options for new ministry for the Downtown facility.
• Saturday—Please hold in prayer Donald Powell from our staff who continues to receive cancer treatments. PRAISE GOD for our staff team of Alyce Foster, Andrew Schmidt, Bob Swickard, Brad Curtis, Carli Burton, Charles Lange, Chase Carlisle, Cheryl Long, Dennis Fors, Donald Powell, Elyssa Swickard, Holly Taylor, James “Jay” Dunlap, Laurie Lewis, Lindsay Walker, Michael Paulson, Pam Long, Grady Peavy, Randy Osborn, Roger Ross, See Tsai Chan, Sharon Sweeney, and several caring nursery workers. Please pray for God’s supernatural favor on their lives and ministries.

Many of us feel that odd mix of sadness and excitement in this post-holiday season. As one year ends and a new one begins, we often take stock of the “era” in our own lives. No doubt, there are things that have come to an end as we step into 2013. Some of them we are sad to see go. They have meant so much to us. Others we are thrilled to leave behind. Either way, to move fully into the future, we often have to let go of familiar ways from our past

That’s the exciting part. God doesn’t live in the past. Scripture says his mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23). The Psalmist exhorts us to sing a new song to the Lord (Psalm 96:1 & 98:1). God says to his people,

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”   Isaiah 43:19

God doesn’t do re-runs. God doesn’t re-hash what has always been. God lives in the Eternal Now. If we want to meet the Living God, there is no better place than a new year. We can’t go back, no matter how good it may have been. God isn’t there anymore. God is here, now, in 2013. And to live in God’s presence, to know God’s will, and to have the courage to do God’s will, it may mean we have to do things we have never done before.

Bishop Robert Schnase posed a question several months ago that opened the door for God to do some new things in my life. Let me shape it for this context. “What is the one activity that would have the most impact on your spiritual life if you did it consistently and consistently well?”

For some of us, it would be getting in a group or class that will encourage us, teach us, and enable us to grow. For others it would be a new place to serve with our spiritual gifts. For still others, it may include a consistent time alone with God or going on a 24-hour retreat once a quarter. What is the one activity that could be a true game changer in your walk with Jesus in 2013?

Let’s make this new year the start of a fresh new work of God in our lives.

Anticipating God’s new thing,

Roger

P.S. Our next Prayer Retreat is Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013 at the Chiara Center from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m. Sign up in the Atrium or www.springfieldfirst.org

The Soulful Seven

First UMC Prayer Team

January 2013

Please feel free to pray for a different area each day of the week. Thanks for your prayers.

• Sunday—SEEK THE LORD for a gracious and patient spirit as we live into the new thing God is doing through our new Sunday worship service schedule.
• Monday—PRAISE THE HOLY SPIRIT for drawing over 2,800 people to our Christmas Eve services and 1,100 on the weekend just before Christmas. (This was an increase of nearly 550 people compared to last year!) Please pray that we will actively include these newcomers in our community of faith.  Also, Thank Jesus for the generous hearts of his people who gave $34,719 as of December 30, 2012 to our Christmas Special Offering for Homes for Haitians. This will enable us to build 3 to 4 homes for people in great need. Hallelujah!
• Tuesday—ASK the Holy Spirit to grow us up spiritually, emotionally, and relationally, through our discipleship opportunities this Winter/Spring: Celebration of Discipline, Choirs for all ages, Disciple 1 Bible Study, Divorce Recovery, Men’s Bible Study, Mom2Mom, Pastors’ Prayer Partners, Small Groups, Sunday School for all ages, and Women’s Bible Studies. Please pray for people to be connected to New Life in these choirs, classes, and groups.   
• Wednesday—Pray for the Spirit of Jesus, who welcomed the children to come to him, to welcome children and youth to our Kidlife and Fusion Student Ministry. Please continue to pray for new servants in our children’s ministry. Please pray specifically for Lindsay Walker, Brad Curtis, and their teams.      
• Thursday—Petition God for Spiritual Revival at First UMC that would begin in each of our hearts first and manifest itself in 1) Unity, 2) Conversions, and 3) A Spirit of Generosity.  Praise GOD for the over 384 individuals or families who have made Promise commitments to our operating ministry fund in 2013! Please continue to pray we will grow to over 400 commitments. Thank God for a generous outpouring in December and a projected finish in the black in 2012!
• Friday—By faith, thank the Holy Spirit for anointing our Downtown facility at 5^th and Capitol to sell in God’s perfect timing. Doors are slowly opening. Ask God to provide multiple options for new ministry for the Downtown facility.  
• Saturday—Please hold in prayer Donald Powell from our staff who continues to receive cancer treatments. PRAISE GOD for our staff team of Alyce Foster, Andrew Schmidt, Bob Swickard, Brad Curtis, Carli Burton, Charles Lange, Chase Carlisle, Cheryl Long, Dennis Fors, Donald Powell, Elyssa Swickard, Holly Taylor, James “J” Dunlap, Laurie Lewis, Lindsay Walker, Michael Paulson, Pam Long, Grady Peavy, Randy Osborn, Roger Ross, See Tsai Chan, Sharon Sweeney, and several caring nursery workers. Please pray for God’s supernatural favor on their lives and ministries.