A People Of Prayer
Blog | Pastor Duane
Psalm 62:5-8 “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.”
Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
When it comes to the topic of prayer, prayer seems like a given…”of course we pray and are supposed to pray, we’re Christians.” Yet often we easily neither think deeply or engage meaningfully in prayer. Prayer is not the caboose on the end of the train or a formality of our religion. We must have both a sound theology of prayer and a vibrant practice of prayer. The things we pray reveal what we really believe and think about God (theology) and what we really think and believe about God and his world is reflected in how much we pray (practice).
Below are some quotes from theologians and pastors on prayer and some questions I wrote to help probe us in our prayer life.
The Father and the Faith of His Family
Matthew Series | Matthew 6:1-7:12 | Pastor Duane Smets
This week is an exegetical sermon looking at the third main part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount where Jesus warns us about seeking the approval and praise of others, addresses our wants for success and security, and points out weaknessess which effect our character and love for one another. This sermon was originally preached on November 14th, 2009 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
Pandering Prayer
This week’s blog entry is on prayer. Prayer is a both a discipline that the Christian develops and a conduit through which God both ministers to us and through us. In our church we have seen God radically answer many of our prayers recently. In effort to spur us along in prayer, I thought I’d give you all some guidelines we went through in our community group a few weeks ago…
Psalm 27 – “The LORD is My Light & My Salvation”
This is part of our summer Psalms series in 2009, where we are preaching through some of Pastor Duane’s favorites Psalms. This week is an exegetical sermon on Psalm 27 titled The LORD is My Light and My Salvation. This sermon looks at facing enemies and difficult situations, fearing God, seeking the LORD, prayer and waiting on God. This sermon was originally preached July 6th, 2009 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
Nehemiah Series (Part 4): “Facing Challenges to God’s Vision”
This is the fouth week of our sermon series, “Nehemiah: Building God’s Church in the City.” Part 4, this week is an exegetical sermon of chapter four and is about Facing Challenges to God’s Vision. This sermon addresses the following issues in the context of church planting: external oppostion, internal faltering, the weapon of prayer, the mind to work, and remembering the LORD who is great and awesome. This sermon was originally preached February 15th, 2009 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
Nehemiah Series (Part 2): “Moving Forward with God’s Vision”
This is the second week of our sermon series, “Nehemiah: Building God’s Church in the City.” Part 2, this week is an exegetical sermon of chapter two and is about Moving Forward with God’s Vision. This sermon addresses the following issues in the context of church planting: divine opportunities, prayer, asking for help, dealing with difficulties, assessing needs, committing to one another and giving God credit. This sermon was originally preached January 25th, 2009 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
Nehemiah Series (Part 1): “Getting God’s Vision for a City”
This is the first week of our new sermon series, “Nehemiah: Building God’s Church in the City.” Part 1, this week is an exegetical sermon of chapter one and is about Getting God’s Vision for a City. This sermon includes an introduction and overview of the book of Nehemiah along a look at how we are to assess, repent, and pray for a city. This sermon was originally preached January 18th, 2009 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
Plans and Decisions
Plans. There are all kinds of plans…business plans, architectural plans, marketing plans, battle plans, health plans. You can plan from the top down or the bottom up. You can have many plans. One big plan. Or no plan at all. When it comes to life most people either make decisions only in so far as they are in accordance with their personal plan or they just make them on a whim out of their no plan theory. You can’t get away from it. As Doug Martsch says from Built to Spill, “…the plan keeps coming up again.” Perhaps surprisingly, the Bible has a lot to say about plans and decision making as Christians.
