One of the Best Gifts we can give...

One of the best gifts we can give...

As the greatest day of the year approaches, Resurrection Sunday April 20, 2014, let's commit together to pray intercessory prayers for others. I am motivated by Charles Spurgeon's instructions on prayer:

"As an encouragement to offer intercessory prayer cheerfully, remember that such prayer is the sweetest God ever hears, for the prayer of Christ is of this character. His intercession must be the most acceptable of all supplications, and the more like our prayer is to Christ’s, the sweeter it will be. Thus, while petitions for ourselves will be accepted, our pleadings for others, having in them more of the fruits of the Spirit—more love, more faith, more brotherly kindness—will be, through the precious merits of Jesus, the sweetest offering that we can offer to God, the very fat of our sacrifice. Remember, again, that intercessory prayer is exceedingly prevalent. What wonders it has wrought!"

I join Spurgeon's plea by imploring you to go to your private places and cry out to God to set people free from the grip of lies and the evil one who is preventing them to come to Jesus.

I ask that you invite your family to daily gather and pray for others to come and fall in love with Jesus Christ as the only name given under heaven that people can be saved.

I ask that you do a prayer walk or prayer drive around the 1,000 homes surrounding SouthtownBaptist Church, asking God to intervene in these peoples' lives. That God would heal marriages and broken families. That God would adopt lonely people into His family and into Southtown Baptist Church. That God would start the healing process in wounded people. That God's Kingdom come and God's will be done in these homes, families, marriages and individuals.

I ask that you pray for God to give you ideas on how to give, serve and invite your Fab 5.

I ask that you pray for all the ministry teams to dig the ditches we need to dig in order that God would fill those ditches. Remember, it is an easy thing for God to fill the ditches.

I ask that you pray for me as I prepare and share the message of Easter during this series entitled, Jesus' Last Words.

1 Tim 2:1, 3-6 (NLT) Paul wrote, "I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them... This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone."

Interceding together,

Pastor Chris