Prayer Pt. 6: An Audience of One

Prayer Pt. 6: An Audience of One

Speaker: Crispin Schroeder

9.19.10

Text- Matthew 6:1-6

I.               Intro: Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise and why I have trouble watching their movies…

II.              Our Need to Be Noticed

III.            2 Kings

IV.            That’s Not Chocolate in There

V.             How Not to Pray

VI.            Rewards 

Prayer Pt. 5: Solitude

Prayer Pt. 5: Solitude

Speaker: Crispin Schroeder

I.               Frenzied, Busy and Distracted

A.    How To Be Alone

B.    What The Internet is Doing to Our Brains

II.              A Life of Solitude

A.    Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42)

B.    Jesus’ public ministry was anchored in a private life of solitude (Matthew 4:1, Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35, Luke 4:42)

C.   Solitude in the Psalms (Psalm 42:1-2, Psalm 23)

III.            The Benefits of Solitude in the Spiritual Life

IV.      Conclusion and Homework (Philippians 4:4-8)

Prayer Pt. 4: Trajectory

9.5.10

Speaker: Crispin Schroeder

I.               The Trajectory of One’s Life

A.    Miracle on the Hudson

B.    Micro-slicing and the future of a couple’s marriage

C.   C. S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce

D.   The goal of the Christian faith is Transformation not simply Destination.

II.              Romans 12:1-2 “do not be conformed to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”

III.            Keeping your spiritual alignment balanced through The Prayer of Examen (examination of conscience)

“How do things stand between me and God?  Where am I coming from, and where is my life in Christ growing?”

1.    Set aside time for reflection

2.    Reflection – Begin by looking over your day and thanking God for the gifts in your life.

3.    Asking for Clarity – When you come across something in your day that you are not thankful for, some negative attitude or sin you participated in take this to God.  Having thanked God for all the good gifts ask God for one more gift – to see clearly and in hope how I am growing more fully alive to God.

4.    Examine – I carefully consider what my actions, omissions, thoughts, and desires tell me about my relationship with God, with myself, and with others.

5.    Question – I patiently ask myself what my action or attitude meant.  Did it embody the love of God or fear, peace or anxiety?

6.    Closing – Finally I determine to keep my spirit filled with gratitude, and to take steps to get rid of mindsets that stand between me and my creator.

IV.            Conclusion

Prayer Pt. 3: Together

Prayer: Together

Speaker: Crispin Schroeder

I.               Intro: Roseto, Pennsylvania and Heartburn

II.              Jesus Heals More than Physical Ailments and Diseases

·      The Leper (Luke 5:12-16)

·      The Demonized Man (Luke 8:26-39)

·      The Woman with a 12 Year Hemorrhage (Luke 8:40-48)

·      Jesus – God is Salvation, and salvation is a bigger deal than just one’s soul.

III.            Prayer and Togetherness – Confession and Prayer for One Another

(James 5:13-16)

A.    Pastors and Priests

B.    Shame and Isolation (Psalm 32:3-4)

C.   Step 1 of the 12 Steps - We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable.  This admitting is not simply to oneself, though that’s a start, but admitting to others.

D.   A Healing Community

E.    TIE Groups

IV.            Conclusion

Prayer Pt. 2: Intercession

Prayer: Intercession

Speaker: Crispin Schroeder

I.               Why Pray? – If God is in control of everything then why should we even bother to Pray?

A.    The original call of humans – Humans were created in God’s image and given  _____________________________,  _____________________________ and __________________________________. (Genesis 1:27-28)

B.    Humans used their free will to disobey God and thus handed over their authority to the enemy.

C.   The great commission (Matthew 28:19)

D.   God brings forth his kingdom with people who choose to respond to him and be a part of his work.  The body of Christ (1 Cor 12:17)

E.    “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” (Matthew 6:10).  We pray for God’s kingdom to come precisely because there are many things going on that are not God’s will.

II.              Intercession – the action of intervening on behalf of another

• the action of saying a prayer on behalf of another person : prayers of intercession. 1Timothy 2:1-8

A.    Pray for everyone especially rulers and authorities

B.    Pray for folks to encounter Jesus

C.   Pray instead of complaining and getting angry

D.   A picture of intercession (Luke 5:17-26)

III.            Conclusion

Who is My Enemy?

Who is My Enemy?

Speaker: Crispin Schroeder

8.8.10

Northshore Vineyard Church

I.               Spiritual Warfare – 2 Pitfalls

1.    Obsession With the Devil

2.    Rationalism

Theodin: “I will not risk open war”

Aragorn: “Open war is upon you, whether you would risk it or not.” (from Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers)

II.              The Enemy and the Fight (Ephesians 6:12, 2 Corinthians 4:4)

A.    The enemy behind your enemy (a modern parable)

B.    “Love your enemies…” Matthew 5:43-48

III.            The Trap and The Way

A.    The Trap - One of the greatest traps we can fall into in the Christian life is when we fail to distinguish the real enemy of our lives and to fight with the weapons of the world.

·      Peter cuts off a servants ear

·      James and John wish to call down fire

B.    The Way

·      Jesus loved his enemies and even prayed for them from the cross

·      Paul and Silas in prison (Acts 16:25-34)

·      Ruby Bridges

IV.            Conclusion (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

Signposts

I. INTRODUCTION

II. SIGNPOSTS

A. God has called all of his people to be signposts along the road of life, pointing to the life of the future, and the life of His kingdom.

B. After Jesus went to heaven, his followers got busy being signposts.

C. The Church (the Jesus followers) are to show the world, through their lives, what things would look like if God were running the world.

III. RISK

A. Matthew 6:33 (the Message) – “Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God provisions. Don’t worry about missing out (on stuff). You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.” B. In order to be a signpost to the kingdom, there’s going to be some risk involved.

1. Risk of money, time, energy, comfort, safety . . .

IV. REWARD

A. It seems that the only people who will really get to experience the depths of Jesus’ promise to sustain them through life are the ones who pursue His kingdom with their whole lives.

V. CONCLUSION