December: Month of Prayer

          I hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving.  God has been so good and it is good to continually give thanks to Him.  We are now in December and looking forward to Christmas.  Some can't wait for Thanksgiving Day to be over before they rush to Black Friday specials or Cyber Monday deals in order to get more stuff.  (I'm not judging everyone who does this.  My family and I have done this on more than one occasion).  But I really believe that the attitude of thanksgiving should continue throughout the Christmas season.  After all, God has already given us the greatest gift: His Son Jesus Christ.

          In that spirit of gratitude and worship, at Calvary we have designated December as a month of prayer.  Yesterday's sermon was titled "Keep the Light on through Prayer" and was based on John 8:12; Matthew 5:16; 6:5-13.  Here are a couple of excerpts from the message.  If you missed the sermon, here's a link to the video also (if you've already heard it, you may skip to the last paragraph):

Sermon: "Keep the Light on through Prayer" (12-01-13)

          "Like the title of the second "Hunger Games" movie, we, as the children of God, can catch fire too.  We can shine bright the hope in Christ for others to see.  This hope that we possess, this fire that burns bright, cannot be fabricated in some superficial way.  What shines on the exterior is an effect of what burns in the interior.  We can burn bright externally when we have the fire of God internally.  So if we want to shine bright the light of Jesus, we need to start with the inner self.  We need to start with deep and intimate communion with the Father.  It is not coincidence that in the same sermon where Jesus says we are the light, He also instructs us about true prayer (Matthew 6:5-6)…

...If we are going to catch fire, we must be fueled by the prayer closet.  If we are going to shine bright in a world of darkness, we must begin by seeking the Heavenly Father in prayer.  The brightness of our light depends on the depth of our prayer life…

…(Matthew 6:7-13).Jesus assures His followers that our Heavenly Father does not need to be informed.  He already knows what we need.  He is lovingly and compassionately paying attention to every detail of our lives.  In fact He knows what we need before we even know what we need.  He knows what we need better than we do…

...The first two words of this beautiful and magnificent prayer are  “Our Father.”  … We pray to the Heavenly Father who delights in His children.  We pray to a Heavenly Father who loves His children and wants to give us what we need.  We pray to a Heavenly Father who desires to have a conversation with His children…

...“Give us today our daily bread” teaches us that God wants us to depend on Him daily.  ... He wants us to focus on the Giver not the gift…

...Sometimes I think that God allows our economy to be shaken so that we would remember to depend on Him.  Sometimes I think God wants to remind us that is not about our projecting and our planning but about our praying....When we take provision for granted we cheat ourselves from the relationship with the Provider.  Thank God for times of need because they bring us to the throne of grace!"

As we move into 2014, we want to seek God in prayer.  This month of December we will prepare our hearts to depend on God for his provision as individuals, as families, and as a church body.  We have provided prayer guides in English and Spanish that have petitions each day of the month as we pray for Calvary.  (On the days that the English language guide requests prayer for the Spanish Language ministry, the Spanish language guide requests prayer for the English Language ministry and vise-versa!).  If you did not get one yesterday, additional copies will be available.  In the meantime, below is a link to a PDF version of the prayer guide and to the missions inserts.  I encourage you to use it to pray each day of this month.  Please also encourage your team/group to join in this prayer emphasis. May we be drawn to the Father's heart this season when we celebrate the gift of His Son!

December Prayer Guide

Missions Map

Mission Trends and Facts

Guía de Oración (Español)