Wednesday January 30th, 2013

                  The two most powerful, life changing prayers you will ever pray!

This Sunday at 2:00 pm in the afternoon (because we love our sports fans) we will continue our series on prayer. I hope you will join us because if ever there was a Sunday that could literally change your life, this may be the one. We will be talking about "The Two Most Powerful, Life Changing Prayers You Will Ever Pray!" Of course we will be recording the message for those who cannot make it this week.

 This will also be a Holy Communion Sunday. I hope you will come and join us before you head off to your super bowl parties.  We will resume church the following Sunday, February 10th, at 6:30 pm as usual.

I hope you are using your prayer diaries. If you have not received one yet, you can pick one up this Sunday.

IMPORTANT:  If you know of anyone who usually attends our service but does not use a computer  to get these emails and updates, please give them a call and remind them about the time change for this Sunday.

God has a grand, wonderful plan for your life.  See you Sunday!   Go Rams!   Love, Kent

Tuesday January 29th, 2013 PM

Prayer Diaries

Tonight as the thunderstorm rumbles through I have been working on my prayer diary. I want to share with you what I call "Only With Gods Help" prayer goals or OWGH goals.

I have three categories of these OWGH goals and I would encourage each of you to consider doing something similar. The first category I worked on is my OWGH goals for Praise Community Fellowship.

PCF OWGH Goals

1.) That PCF will become recognized as the most Loving, Caring, Doing, Sharing, congregation in the     United States!

2.) That the RTP choir will raise over one million dollars for our chosen charities in the next 5 years!

3.) That the PCF congregation will touch over 100,000 lives world wide for Christ in the next 10 years!

4.) That the PCF congregation will also come to be known as the "Praying" church.

Like I said, if you are going to dream big for God, make it a dream that can only be accomplished through us with His power. That becomes known as a miracle!

The second category I made of OWGH goals were for Bonni and I. And the third category were personal OWGH goals.

Go to God and ask Him to help you with a OWGH goal list. I can't wait to see how God starts moving in our lives!   God has an amazing plan for your life.  See you at 2:00 pm Sunday!  Love, Kent

Tuesday, January 29th 2013

Some of my favorite bible verses on prayer.

I am sharing some of my favorite bible verses on prayer but there is something you must understand about isolating bible verses. I suggest you always read the chapter of the bible from where the verse is found. It is always good to get a picture of the content in which the verse was being used. 

Here is what the bible is "NOT"about. It is not about being able to quote a particular verse and use it like a "genie in the bottle", "get out of jail free card" all encompassing promise to heal, fix, bring into existence, or remove unwanted circumstances like magic.

I think too many people get falsely led to believe that such is true. "If I can only learn enough about God by going to church and bible study, and learn the right bible verses my life is going to get perfect and blessed in every area".   Not true. If you believe that way, you are probably going to be a very disappointed Christian.  One only needs to read about the lives of Gods servants throughout the bible to see that that way of thinking is false.

Signing on with God does not guarantee a life without problems. As a matter of fact, signing on with God will probably complicate your life!  Thats right, make it more challenging, create discomfort, and possibly make you even ask, "God, I'm trying to serve you, whats up with all the trials?"  But here is what God says in the bible about such:

James 1:2-8

Profiting from Trials

² My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

So, place these verses in your heart, but do not consider them as magic mantra's! But rather as a faith enforcer as to the love God has for us! The main message of the bible is this: GOD LOVES YOU and HAS A PLAN FOR YOU!

James 1:5-8

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

James 5:13-14 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
 and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

John 14:13-14 

"And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

1 John 5:14-15 

And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

Philippians 4:6-7 

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 


Rejoice always; pray without ceasing. in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 50:15 


And call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me."

Psalm 145:18 


The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.

Matthew 6:5-12 

"And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. "Therefore do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him. "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. 'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 'Give us this day our daily bread. 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 


Proverbs 15:29 The LORD is far from the wicked: but he hears the prayer of the righteous.


Matthew 7:11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Luke 18:1 And he spoke a parable to them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;


Luke 11:9-13

9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.


Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.


1 Timothy 2:8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

God has a plan for you life.  See you Sunday at "2:00 pm .  We moved service up because of Super Bowl.  No excuses for not attending!  I'll be taking role.   Love, Kent

Monday, January 28th 2013

So what happened last night?  

For those of you who attended the service last night I am sure you walked out wondering, "What in the world happened to Kent's sermon?"

Let me tell you something encouraging about a "not so good sermon."  You know God is about to do something wonderful when satan puts an all out attack on you.

Satan does not want you to discover the power of prayer!  It is that simple. Why? Because when you discover the reality and the power of prayer that brings God into every situation, satan's plans are doomed. Praise Community Fellowship is on the verge of  something very big and wonderful. We are a very unique, wonderful family of people seeking to know God personally.

Let me share with you a note that Judy Bertels, (founder of African Vision of Hope) sent me this morning. Judy and Bob were at the service last night.

Lessons Paul learned from hardships and challenges - 2 Corinthians 1  8-11
1.  We sometimes face the most difficulty when we're being use most powerfully
Verse 8    Acts 19-8-12 and 1 Corinthians 15  30-32

2. The enemy can't squelch the power of God so he tries to disable the servant
of God. In verse 8 Hardship means to be compressed on every side,
great pressure me ans to be oppressed (to be burdened , weighed down
with affliction)  "This is what I was dealing with last night. kent"


3. Even the most devoted believers can encounter hardships far beyond
our ability to endure, 1 Corinthians 10:13 - tempted here means to
throw beyond.

4.  Believers can and do experience despair.  The original word for
despair means to be wholly without resource (in the pits)'

5.  Paul actually felt doom, in verse 9

6.  God wants us to rely on Him, Rely means to be Convinced, to come
to trust, to be convinced of the reality of God in your presence of
trouble

7.  When hardships surpass our ability to endure, God wants us to
discover His surpassing power (2 corinthians 4:7)  Power actually
means achieving power.  He wants us to discover His surpassing Glory,
Glory means to recognize.  (2 corinthians 4:17).  He wants us to use
His surpassing comfort (2 Corinthians 1  3-5)

8.  GOD HAS A SPECIAL DELIVERY IN MIND WHEN HIS CHILDREN SUFFER
HARDSHIPS(2 Corinthians 1:10), The original greek work rescue means to
DRAW to oneself


THE ENEMEY WANTS US TO QUIT - HE IS NOT WORRIED ABOUT AN INEFFECTIVE SERVANT

GOD CAN ALLOW OPPRESSION BUT HE DOES NOT CAUSE IT


I AM LEARNING TO DO BATTLE WITH THE DEVIL EVERYDAY - Put on your
battle gear today, I am praying for you.

Love Bob and Judi

Thank you Bob and Judy.  Tomorrow I will post some of my favorite bible passages on prayer.  Be encouraged God is real and has a plan for your life. Please make prayer the top priority of your day and watch the power of God begin to move and influence your life.   

The Raise the Praise Choir kicks off practice tonight, please pray for us. Anyone who wants to join the choir can show up tonight.

Sincerely and with love, Kent

Saturday January 26th, 2013

Today is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it. 

Tomorrow, 6:30 pm at Esic Baptist Church I will be continuing the series on prayer, "You are Always Just One Prayer Away from a Miracle!"

There will be worship with music, prayer, and the message. I hope you can join us. Bring a friend that needs encouragement and hope. You might even hear some Elton John tomorrow evening.

When you allow God into your life, all the way, watch out. Things are going to get exciting!

For those of you who did not receive a prayer diary yet, no worries, we will have one for you tomorrow. See you then!  Love, Pastor Kent

Pray for one another.

Thursday January 24th, 2013

How are your prayer diaries coming along?

I hope most of you are writing down what you are praying about in your prayer notebooks. This coming Sunday I will be continuing the message on prayer.

The bible has so much to teach us about coming into the fullness of God and all that He has for you.

I am well aware of how difficult it is to pray. That is because satin (the devil) knows that once you align yourself with God through prayer and obedience to His word, that he and his minions are defeated. Satin will use every trick in his book to keep you from learning how to pray effectively.

He will use distraction, lack of time, physical ailments, temptations, interruptions, and many other tactics to lure you away from the most powerful tool God has given us, prayer.

If we as a congregation learn how to pray effectively with the power of the Holy Spirit then the words of the song we sang last Sunday ( He Reigns) will become real to you.

"Our God is an awesome God    He reigns from heaven above 

with Wisdom  power and love   Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God    He reigns from heaven above 

with  Wisdom power and love   Our God is an awesome God

You're marvelous and You're glorious 

Your love has made me victorious

You took away the fear in us

Now we praise You cause You, You delivered us

  There ain't no stoppin us  (Naw!)

  Devil there ain't no blockin us  (Naw!)

  Come on and clap your hands with us "

I hope you will join us this Sunday as we go deeper into "Your Always Just ONe Prayer Away from a Miracle!"

God has a plan for your life!    Love, Pastor Kent

Tuesday January 22nd, 2013

You are Always Just One Prayer Away from a Miracle

Todays prayer: 

God let your thoughts be my thoughts, let your plans be my plans, let your love be my love. Teach me your ways God and fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I can be empowered to do your will. Bless me so that I can be a blessing,  heal me so that I can be a healer, guide me so that I may guide others, and lift me so that I may also lift others. God plant a dream in my heart so big and so wonderful that only through your miraculous power will I be able to fulfill it, in Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Monday January 21st, 2013

You are Always Just One Prayer Away from a Miracle

Our scripture from last nights service: 1 John 5:14-15  

"Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."

Points to ponder:

1.) Quote from Adrian Rogers: "Nothing lies outside the reach of prayer except that which lies outside the will of God."

2.) God always, always, always knows what's best for you!

3.) John 15:7  ^"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."

4.) You are never too old, too young, too poor, too sick, or too insignificant to go after dreams that God has planted in your heart.

Prayer Notebook Assignment

Those of you who attended last nights service received a notebook. This is going to be a prayer and a dream log. It is your personal diary of what God wants to do in your life, and also a place to date and document when and how He is answering your prayers. 

What to do.

1.) Go to God in prayer and repent of any sin in your life. Empty the vaults. He knows everything anyway but it is up to us to come clean and ask for forgiveness and strength to change. I mentioned 10 hindrances to prayer last night. They are listed after this assignment for you to look at again. Check over the list. What do you need to change or go to God about?

2.) Pray to God and ask Him to plant a big, huge, "Only God can make this happen" dream in your heart.  This may take some time. You cannot rush God. Everything will be done in His time, that we cannot change. 

3.) You can begin your notebook immediately by writing down all the prayers you are seeking an answer to right now. Date the prayer. Then stay with the prayer until you get an answer. Then write down how God answered and the date He answered.

This is a discipline. It will help you focus on your prayer life. I am hoping we will have some people volunteer some of their praise reports and how God moved and answered some of their prayers. This is faith building.

Over the next several weeks, if you stay with us I can assure you your prayer life will change and develop into a daily power source in your life. I also request that each of you pray for me as your pastor, and our church. Ask God to bless us and to show us what He wants us to accomplish for His Kingdom. 

Prayer is how we connect to Gods wisdom and power. Become a prayer warrior and let the power of God change the path of your life into a miraculous, and glorious journey.  

God has a plan for your life!  Love, Pastor Kent

PS if you missed the service this past Sunday no worries. I will have a notebook for you the next time you attend. You can catch up with the sermons on the website. See you next Sunday.

10 Hindrances of Prayer

1. Praying without knowing God through Jesus

John 14:6

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

2.Praying from an unrepentant heart

Psalm 66:18

If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;but God has surely listened  and heard my voice in prayer.

3. Praying for show

Matthew 6:5-6

5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

4. Praying repetitive, empty words

Matthew 6:7-8

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

5. Prayers not prayed

James 4:2

You do not have, because you do not ask God

6. Praying with a lustful heart

James 4:3

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

7. Praying while mistreating your spouse

1 Peter 3:7

Be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

8. Praying while ignoring the poor

Proverbs 21:13

If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,  he too will cry out and not be answered.

9. Praying with bitterness in your heart towards someone

Mark 11:25-26

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses

10.Praying with a faithless heart

James 1:6-8

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.  For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

This list is borrowed from a web blog called "The Heavenly Homemaker."