Prayer Week, June 4th-8th

Frequent Problems with Tithing #3

Profiles of Christians Who Rob God

Used with permission.[Alcorn, Randy (2003-02-01). Money, Possessions, and Eternity (Kindle Locations 4142-4233). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition].

The Situation:

Joe is an outspoken Christian known as a man of faith. He stands up at church business meetings and says he wants the church to build, raise the pastors’ salaries, and expand into new ministries. Joe challenges the church to rise to the occasion and reads passages of Scripture about walking by faith. He inspires everyone. Everyone, that is, except God and the financial secretary, who know the truth: If everyone gave like Joe, the pastors would be laid off, the missionaries would have to leave the field, and the church would close its doors.

The Problem:

Joe has great faith and vision when it comes to other people’s obedience. It’s his own obedience he has trouble with. He fails to ask himself, “If everyone gave like I do, where would this church be?” He’s quick to commit other people’s money but clings to his own. Joe is a hypocrite. He says one thing and does another. In doing so, he heaps up judgment for himself. He’ll be held accountable to God, not only for his lack of giving, but also for his hollow words.

The Situation:

Paula believes in giving but thinks that Scripture says giving should be voluntary. After all, “God loves a cheerful giver.” However, Paula is not yet to the point that she really wants to give. “Given my financial obligations, right now I just can’t give cheerfully,” Paula says. “And if you can’t give cheerfully, you shouldn’t give at all.”

The Problem:

Paula is right that God wants us to give cheerfully. But she is wrong in thinking that she should only give if she feels like it. The tithe belongs to God. It is not Paula’s to withhold, regardless of how she feels about it. Paula’s point about cheerfulness may be relevant to freewill offerings (those beyond the tithe), but not to the tithe itself, since it doesn’t belong to her in the first place. After becoming obedient, Paula will perhaps become more cheerful in her giving. But whether she does or not, she should still be obedient.

The Situation:

Dan is a seminary student headed for the ministry. He and his wife, Karla, have sacrificed to attend seminary. Knowing that God commands them to give to his work, they believe that by giving their tithe to their own tuition they are investing in the ministry, even though they don’t give to their church.

The Problem:

Dan and Karla are not God, and they are not the church. Giving to themselves is not giving to God or the church, no matter how the money is spent. The people of Israel brought tithes to the storehouse for the spiritually qualified leaders of Israel to distribute, just as the first Christians laid gifts at the apostles’ feet. The Israelites were not given the option of “tithing to themselves”—that is a contradiction in terms. It is not their tithe, it is God’s. Should church leaders or others decide to help Dan and Karla financially, that’s up to them and God—not to Dan and Karla. They are robbing and it’s hard to imagine him blessing them as they steal their way through seminary. This final profile centers not on the amount of giving, but where it goes:

The Situation:

Jim is a successful Christian businessman who wants his dollars to count. “I strongly believe in tithing,” says Jim. “Part of my tithe goes to a missions organization, part to a student ministry, a radio broadcast, and a television ministry. I believe in giving where it matters. Too much of the church’s money goes to salaries and buildings and maintenance. I don’t want my money going to clean restrooms and mow lawns. I’m not that impressed with the church anyway. The services are too crowded, the building needs repairs, and we ought to be giving more money to missions. Why doesn’t this church get on the ball?”

The Problem:

Jim fails to understand the centrality of the local church in God’s kingdom program. Jim is annoyed at the deterioration of the church facilities, yet he doesn’t want his money going to buildings. He would be appalled at dirty restrooms, yet he doesn’t want his money to clean them. He wants and expects his pastors to meet his needs, but he doesn’t want to pay their salaries. He wants the church to give to missions, but he doesn’t give to the church. The church will get on the ball when people like Jim get on the ball.

Frequent Problems with Tithing #2

Profiles of Christians Who Rob God

Used with permission.[Alcorn, Randy (2003-02-01). Money, Possessions, and Eternity (Kindle Locations 4142-4233). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition].

The Situation:

Don and Sue believe that they aren’t under law but grace, and that tithing lends itself to a pharisaical “letter of the law” approach. They believe that God’s law is written in our hearts and we should give freely without compulsion. They are proud of their mature and liberating belief in “grace giving.”

The Problem:

Last year Don and Sue’s “grace giving” amounted to $30 per month—about one-half of one percent of their income. While they laud grace and deplore the law, their actions suggest that grace is one-twentieth as effective as the law. If grace is as ineffective in motivating their sexual purity as it is their giving, they won’t be married much longer. (The problem isn’t grace, of course, but their belief that grace means God has lowered his standards and doesn’t care how we live.)

The Situation:

Ralph was laid off three months ago and collects $1500 a month in unemployment. Others in the church give him an average of $500 per month to supplement his income. Ralph says “amen” to the financial sermons and wishes he were in a position to give too. Ralph assumes that even though God says the tithe belongs to him, it surely doesn’t apply to things like unemployment, social security, benefits, gifts, inheritances, or other “nonsalary” forms of income.

The Problem:

Scripture makes no such distinction between sources of revenue. If it comes in, it’s income. God doesn’t tag monies “tithe exempt.” The source of material blessing is not the point. If I receive $500 to help get me through the month, the first $50 belongs to God. Why should it matter where it comes from? If it’s provision, it comes from the Provider.

The Situation:

“There’s a lot more to stewardship than money,” says Gina. “We can’t all give—but we can teach Sunday school, clean the building, and open our homes to guests. I consider that to be my giving.”

The Problem:

Gina rightly believes that stewardship involves more than money—but she wrongly believes that stewardship ever fails to include money. Her argument is just as faulty as saying, “I can’t give the church any of my time or my gifts and talents, so I’ll just give my money instead.” God expects all of these, not just some of them. We all can and should give, just as we all can and should pray. Gina is attempting to justify robbing God by “making up for it” with things she should be doing anyway.

The Situation:

“I’m so far in debt that I can’t give a dime to the church,” says Tony. “What am I supposed to do, stop my car payments? What kind of testimony would that be? And it would be bad stewardship to sell my car—I’d have to take a $3,000 loss. God doesn’t want me to be stupid, does he?”

The Problem:

Tony has already been stupid. In buying his new car, he put himself in a position to disobey God’s command to give. He violated Scripture by spending money he didn’t have. His greedy and foolish misuse of credit is what put him in this fix. Tony apparently believes that God, his church, and needy people should pay for his foolish choices. Why not take a $3,000 loss in order to get into a position to obey God? Is there any stewardship more terrible than robbing your Creator and Savior? Tony is another person who acts as if the tithe is his, not God’s. Scripture doesn’t say “firstfruits” are to be given to those to whom they will be the best testimony, but to God. If Tony ends up having a bad testimony, it’s because of his foolish choices, which are only complicated by further disobedience. He needs to ask forgiveness and learn from the situation so he doesn’t do it again. But it makes no sense to rob God in order to have a “better testimony” to men.

Frequent Problems with Tithing #1

The Life on Loan series of messages at New Life Church has generated quite a bit of discussion. Every family is unique and every situation is different. Yet, Randy Alcorn, in his book Money, Possessions and Eternity highlights twelve common situations that many families face. I hope these profiles, over the next couple days, will help you think about your situation and plan for tithing.

Profiles of Christians Who Rob God

Used with permission. [Alcorn, Randy (2003-02-01). Money, Possessions, and Eternity (Kindle Locations 4142-4233). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition].

The Situation:

Bill and Donna are in their midthirties. Bill has steady work, but there’s always too much month left at the end of their money. Bill and Donna sincerely intend to put in the offering box whatever’s left at the end of the month. But between house payments, bills, and sticking a little into savings, there’s never anything left. They feel bad, but what can they do when they’re out of money?

The Problem:

Bill and Donna don’t understand “firstfruits.” They should give to the Lord off the top, not out of what’s left—or not left. They don’t realize that the tithe belongs to God, and that there’s a word for taking money that doesn’t belong to them—stealing.

The Situation:

Joan’s a twenty-two-year-old, just finishing college. Her thirty-hour-a-week job pays just over minimum wage. She earns $800 a month. Joan’s parents still provide room and board, but she has to take care of her tuition, books, and other expenses. “I can’t afford to give,” says Joan. “I’m barely making it now. If I gave a tithe, it would be $80 a month, and I’d probably have to drop out of school. I’d like to give, but I just can’t.”

The Problem:

Joan is not only robbing God, she’s robbing herself of the opportunity to grow in faith. Right now she doesn’t believe God’s promise in Malachi 3 (confirmed in Matthew 6:33 and Luke 6:38) that he’ll take care of her if she puts God first by giving him what’s his. If God is capable of helping her get by on $800 a month, isn’t he capable of helping her get by on $720 a month? Joan’s God doesn’t seem very big—he can’t even compensate for an $80 shortfall.

The Situation:

Bob and Elaine are in their early fifties. Elaine says, “For years we frittered away our income on all kinds of luxuries. Now we’re twelve years from retirement and we don’t have anything saved. On top of that, we’ve still got two kids in college.” “We’d like to give to the church,” Bob explains, “but Scripture says we’ve got to provide for our family first. After we get our kids through school and get a nest egg started, then we’ll start giving.”

The Problem:

Bob and Elaine are keeping what belongs to God in order to compensate for their poor planning and lack of discipline. Their first debt is not to their children’s college education. Their first debt is to God. If it wasn’t tuition costs, it would be something else. Since they have no standard of giving, they’ll always find reasons not to give.

The Situation:

Phil and Pam enjoy giving. With their little blue Santa’s helper (credit card) they just gave each other a DVD player and a large-screen television. The kids got a new computer to keep them busy while their parents enjoy the city’s finer restaurants. They’re tired of their three-year-old Chevy, so they just bought a new model. “Next year I’ve got a big promotion coming,” says Phil. “Then we’ll start giving. Right now the budget’s tight. It’s not that we don’t ever give to God’s work,” Phil adds. “Why, when we were in Hawaii last month we attended a church service on the beach and I dropped $20 in the offering.”

The Problem:

Phil and Pam are blind. They say there’s no money left to give—and they do their best to make sure of it! No matter what they say, their lifestyle proves that toys, trips, and cars are more important to them than God and others. They say they’ll give when they earn more, but they won’t. If Phil and Pam have been unfaithful with a little (more than a little), they’ll be unfaithful with a lot. Their expenditures will always rise to meet their income. Making more money will only make them guilty of robbing God more. Phil and Pam don’t understand that the tithe belongs to God, not them, and they should return to him the “firstfruits,” not “last fruits” or “no fruits.”

Can I Believe the Bible?

One of the questions that individuals have to wrestle with when investigating the claims of Christ is whether they can actually believe that the Bible is true. Sometimes even people who have been Christians for a long time struggle with really trusting what is in the Word of God.

I found a great article recently called "Can I Believe the Bible" by Josh McDowell. It is well worth the 10 minutes that it will take you to read it. I think it will give you even more confidence to believe in the reliability of the Bible. This would also be a great article to pass along to a friend who may be struggling to believe that the Bible really is the Word of God.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. Romans 10:17

Bibles for Sunset Neighborhood!

I am blogging this afternoon to request prayer for a local mission adventure:

This past fall we were able to begin a neighborhood Bible study with three other believing couples. The Lord did a good work in our marriages and in our relationships with each other. This spring the group has begun to pray that the Lord would use us to reach out to other families in our neighborhood with the good news of Jesus Christ. We have three social events on the calendar this summer to allow people to come and meet our group and hear the vision for the Sunset Neighborhood Bible Study. We have started a Facebook group and have begun inviting other families to participate.

About a month ago God gave our son Hudson (7 years old) a vision to give a Bible to every home in our neighborhood (over 800 homes). His idea was to have a series of bake sales to raise the money for the Bibles. Two weeks ago he had his first bake sale and raised over $300 for Bibles. We found an organization that would sell us Bibles for $1 each if we bought at least 240 Bibles. So, last week we ordered our first 288 Bibles and the six huge boxes are sitting in our living room. Hudson composed a letter that he wants to insert in each of the Bibles inviting people to read the Bible and to join with others in studying the Bible. We are planning to go out tonight for our first round of passing out Bibles. Would you pray for us as you read this blog? Here are some things to pray:

1. Pray that we would boldly embrace the ministry of reconciliation that God has given to us (2 Cor. 5:18-20).

2. Pray that we would be protected from the evil one (Matthew 6:13).
3. Pray that God may open a door for our message (Colossians 4:3).

4. Pray that God would remove the blinders from the eyes of unbelievers that they might see the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4-6).

5. Pray that people would come to faith as the read the word of Christ (Romans 10:17).

Thanks so much!

Books Added to the Library

After God's Heart - Myrna Alexander
Tongue-tied No More - Don Ashcraft
Growing as a Christian 101 - Bruce Bickel
Knowing the Bible 101 - Bruce Bickel
52 Ways to Know your Bible Better - Robert Jon Crown
Quiet Strength - Tony Duncy
GENESIS - Here is Love - Commentary for Children - Nancy E. Ganz
LEVITICUS - Here is Love - Commentary for Children - Nancy E. Ganz
NUMBERS - Here is Love - Commentary for Children - Nancy E. Ganz
The Family Blessing - Rolf Garborg
Making Summer Count - Joyce Heinrich
Too Busy NOT To Pray - Bill Hybels
Top Ten Biblical Discoveries in ARCHAEOLOGY - Timothy G. Kimberley
The Glory of Heaven - John F. MacArthur
The Love of God - John MacArthur Jr.
Parenting: Questions Women Ask - Gail MacDonald
Davinci Code - Josh McDowell
Don't Check Your Brain at the Door - Josh McDowell
Tell the TRUTH - Will Metzger
From Fear to Freedom - Rose Marie Miller
Then Sings My Soul - Robert J. Morgan
The Great Everyday Commission - Dann Spader
Living Fearlessly - Sheila Walsh
The King James Only CONTROVERSY - James R. White

Why A Week of Prayer? (Part 1)

On June 4-8 New Life Church will be having a week of prayer. We will gather at each of our three locations over the course of this week to seek God together (look for more info. in the coming days about the schedule). Maybe you are asking, why would a church do a week of prayer? Or, better yet, why should I be involved in my church's week of prayer? Let me give you three quick answers that I think will cover both of those questions:

1. We pray because God tells us to. (Ephesians 6:18, Colossians 4:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:17)
2. We pray because it is good for us. (Psalm 100, Philippians 4:6-7)
3. We pray because it accomplishes God's work in the world. (John 14:12-14)

Would you take a moment right now and put "Week of Prayer" on your calendar for June 4-8, and plan to spend time with your church family in prayer that week?

Total Money Makeover Giveaway #2

We are giving away another copy of The Total Money Makeover book by Dave Ramsey to supplement our Life on Loan series. If you would like to win this copy, head over to the New Life Church Facebook page and leave a comment about something you are learning or thinking about as a result of the Life on Loan series. It's that simple. Do it by Sunday and we'll count you in!

Shared Meals at New Life Church

This Sunday the Riverfalls congregation will join the other two in having a shared meal on the first Sunday of the month. I thought it might be helpful to share a minute about why this is important enough to make a priority.

Tweet for a Sweet Book Giveaway

Giveaway!

Yes, it's free!

We are giving away Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover Book this week. It will be a great way to help you live "Life on Loan."

All you have to do to win is to go on Twitter and tweet something you are thinking about your life on loan and use the hashtag, #LifeonLoan. Monday, 5/7, we'll search all the tweets that use #LifeonLoan and pick a winner. It's that simple!

Awana Missions Night

There was a lot of excitement at Awana this past Wednesday! The kids in our Sparks and Truth in Training programs got to travel around the world learning about different countries and thinking about how they might share the good news of Jesus in those places. Representatives from four different countries shared about life and missions.

Josh Whitbeck shared about Germany. He taught the kids in his group to say Jesus loves you in German!

Julie Gatewood shared pictures and memories from her family's time in Holland, and fed the children special Dutch treats!

The Foullon family shared about the country of Mexico where they have traveled several times on mission trips. At the end of their session they led the kids in a traditional Mexican Hat Dance!

We had a couple of special guests at our club. Lorraine Reece (who attends Mountain Park Church in Lake Oswego) came to share about the country of Japan. She and her husband were church planting missionaries there for 47 years! For the last 10 years she has served as a teacher in the Cubbies Club at Mountain Park.

To top off the night the children were able to enjoy a Skype interview with one of our very own missionaries who is on the mission field in Slovenia. Stephanie Rogers woke up before 4 AM, her time, to be able to join us. The kids themselves asked Stephanie several questions. She shared about how God called her to become a missionary at a very young age and encouraged the children that they too can be a missionary. For the last several weeks the kids have been bringing duct tape, frisbees, and kickballs to be used in the summer camp programs Stephanie helps run for youth in Slovenia. In total the New Life Awana clubs donated over 50 items for this project!

Please pray that God would continue to raise up young people from New Life Church to bring the good news about Jesus around the world!

April is Autism Awareness Month

April is a Autism awareness month. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autism are both general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors. ASD can be associated with intellectual disability, difficulties in motor coordination and attention and physical health issues such as sleep and gastrointestinal disturbances. Some persons with ASD excel in visual skills, music, math and art. There is no known single cause of autism, but increased awareness and funding can help families today.

Did you know that New Life Church is partnering with two organizations to help those with ASD?

• New Life Robinwood will be hosting Camp Yakety Yak this summer. Camp Yakety Yak is a summer camp that helps children develop social communication and emotional regulation skills. 
• New Life Wilsonville shares facilities with Victory Academy. Victory Academy is a year round school which serves children with unique learning differences, focusing on students impacted by Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Life on Loan

This Sunday we are beginning a new sermon series: Life on Loan. We will focus on the grace of God that has given us life and our accountability to live that life in a way that pleases the one who gave it to us.

Our goal in this series is simple we want everyone who is part of New Life Church to hear the words of the master, in the great stewardship parable, "Well Done! Good and Faithful Servant!" (Matthew 25:14-29).

Where do those beautiful flowers come from?

Have you ever wondered where the flowers that brighten our church each Sunday come from? I didn't know; but after a recent discussion with Linda Rodenbaugh, our Decorating and Floral ministry leader, I discovered that we have a group of 14 faithful servants who orchestrate and create the beautiful flower arrangements that we see each Sunday. Most of them serve on the committee for two years. Linda is very thankful for all of these people for sharing their time and talents which bless us each week. Thank you! Thank you also to Tim and Jennifer Austen for donating our lovely Christmas tree and thanks to our Ignite High School group for braving the tall ladders and decorating the tree. Lastly, thanks to Tom Kendall for making sure our front landscaping is welcoming.

Prayer Focus for the week of April 15th

New Life Church has a prayer focus each week. Our prayer focus is broken down into three categories of ministry: 1. We pray for another local church that is proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. 2. We pray for a Global Outreach Partner who is proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. 3. We pray for a ministry of New Life Church that is proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ locally.

Area Church: First Baptist Church – Estacada, OR, Pastor Brent Dodrill

Global Partner: Michele and Anna Gandolfo – Italian Ministries, USA

NLC Ministry: Celebrate Recovery

Rejoice!

I didn't talk a lot about it yesterday during our Easter service, but over the last several hours these words have been running through my mind, "The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord."

It was Easter Sunday night. The disciples had heard that Jesus was alive (from Mary Magdelene), but they hadn't seen Him for themselves. The resurrection of Jesus hadn't taken any affect on them yet. They were huddled in fear behind a locked door. Jesus appeared, gave them a greeting of peace, and then showed them His hands and side. It was seeing the resurrected Jesus with His nail pierced hands and and His spear pierced side that caused the disciples to rejoice.

How about you? Has the resurrection of Jesus had any affect on you yet? Does your feeling of joy center more on having a sunny weekend than on the truth that Jesus, the Son of God, was crucified for your sins and has risen from the grave, conquering sin and death. Maybe you just haven't seen Him for yourself yet, or lately. Maybe you have only heard of other people's experience of the resurrected Christ. Would you take time this week to read through the book of John again so that you might see Jesus for yourself and rejoice?

Middle School Auction Update

The Middle School auction, held on March 21st in the Fellowship Hall at the Riverfalls campus, was a huge success! Over 100 people attended and $3,305.51 was raised to support the Dalit children in India, who the Middle School group supports throughout the year. Once again, this total is a record breaking amount of money raised at auction. Scott Haugen served as auctioneer and fun was had by all. For a YouTube video about the auction, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51aWU_dZZH0

Everything!

Last night I got to attend Re: Generation, the young adult ministry at New Life Church, with a young adult friend of mine. It was encouraging for me to get to worship with so many young adults who are so passionate about Jesus. It was a great experience for my friend who is looking for a community of Christian young adults to plug into.

Beyond that, it was good night of worship for me. We looked at the scriptures in James 4:11-17. Pastor Scott gave us a great reminder of our need to realize that life is short, and thus all of life ought to be about God and His will, not our own.

We sang one song that was particularly inspirational to me, and I thought I would share it with you today. It reminds me of one of my favorite verses in the Bible Acts 17:28: "For in Him we live and move and have our being." The song also mentions Colossians 1:27: "God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

May Jesus be your everything today!

Prayer focus for the week of March 25th

New Life Church has a prayer focus each week. Our prayer focus is broken down into three categories of ministry: 1. We pray for another local church that is proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. 2. We pray for a Global Outreach Partner who is proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. 3. We pray for a ministry of New Life Church that is proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ locally.

Area Church: First Baptist Church – Canby, OR, Pastor Lee Wiegand

Global Parner: Rich and Cheri Strahm – Equippers Network International

• Pray for the success of the Womens’ Leadership Conference Cheri and her team will lead on April 11-15 in Armenia.
• Pray for Rich as he teaches (for the first time) at the seminary in Armenia (also April 11-15).
• Pray for the translation and production of a missions how-to text in Russian.

NLC Ministry: re:Generation

• Praise God that re:Generation just celebrated 2 years on March 4th.
  
• Praise God that lives are being transformed by the good news of Jesus and the love of people.
  
• Pray for more laborers for the harvest.
  
• Pray for more leaders (teachers, musicians).
  
• Pray that the Life Groups would grow in richness and number.
  

Women's Bible Study Cancelled on March 22nd

Following our snow policy, since the West Linn-Wilsonville School District will open two hours late due to weather, Women's Bible Study has been cancelled. Bible study will resume after Spring Break, on April 5th.

Join us on Easter Sunday!

This year New Life Church will be celebrating Easter at all three locations:

Riverfalls Gatherings - 9:00 a.m./10:15 a.m./11:30 a.m.

1984 McKillican Street
West Linn, Oregon

A light brunch will be served after the 9:00 and 10:15 services. Sunday school classes are available during the 10:15 service for children fifth grade and younger. Nursery provided for all services.

Robinwood Gathering - 10:00 a.m.

19915 Old River Drive
West Linn, Oregon

A light brunch will be served at 9:00 followed by a Resurrection Egg Hunt for the kids at 9:30. Nursery provided during the service.

Wilsonville Gathering - 10:00 a.m.

27960 SW Canyon Creek Road
Wilsonville, Oregon

A light brunch will be served after the service. Sunday school classes are available for children fifth grade and younger. Nursery provided during the service.

Coffee Cart Breaking Records

March 8th was not an ordinary Thursday for our Coffee Cart volunteers Shirlene Littrell, Andie Haugen and Darlene Laski. It was a record breaking day with 139 students and staff members stopping by for food, beverages, and conversation.

And, today was another record breaking day for Coffee Cart. They passed last year's record attendance of 10,034 and have served to date 10,094 with nearly 60 days remaining in the school year. Thank you Coffee Cart volunteers!

Thank you from Pastor Bill

Jeannette and I deeply appreciated our retirement celebration.
We appreciate the encouragement. It has been a joy to serve you.

Pastor Bill Kramer

A Plan for Prayer

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. (Col 4:2 NIV)

The call of God on the life of a believer is clear. We all know that we should pray. We all know that we need to pray more. We all really want to be people who are devoted to prayer. But even knowing those things we often struggle to find time or to make time to actually pray. It seems to me that if any significant change is ever going to happen in our devotion to prayer we need a plan. More than likely you are not just going to wake up tomorrow morning, roll out of bed, and set the world on fire by the transformation of your prayer life if you have no plan. The truth is, if we don't make a plan, we will do things exactly the same as we did them yesterday and the day before and the day before that.

I thought I would encourage you today by sharing my plan with you. Plans don't have to be sophisticated. In fact, the simpler the better. My current plan has three parts:

1. Praying with the other pastors every Tuesday afternoon- When you share requests on your keeping in touch cards, those really do get prayed for every week by our pastors and elders. We also pray for each other and for other things concerning the church. This scheduled prayer time is an important part of my plan. Let me encourage you to find a couple of other people that you can schedule time to pray with on a regular basis.

2. Praying with folks from the Robinwood Congregation every 2nd and 4th Monday- We are convinced that God wants us to draw near to Him and ask for things like a child asks for things from his father. The scripture says, "you have not because you ask not". We are committed to drawing near to our Father and asking Him to move in powerful ways in our congregation. Would you be willing to carve out a few hours a month to pray with someone for the ministry context where God has place you?

3. Personal and Family Prayer- We try to spend time as a family talking to God each evening after some time in the scriptures. But when we are tired, it sure is good to have a plan for what we are going to talk about. Recently I have chosen a specific focus for personal and family prayers each day. It's not that we can't pray about other things that day, it just really helps me to have a plan. I'll list my categories for each day below. Maybe you'd like to chose different categories for your personal and family prayer time. Whatever you do, make a plan to pray!

Monday- Men. Praying for specific men in our church community to grow in Christ and develop into Godly leaders in their homes and in Christ's church.

Tuesday- Seizing the Time. Praying about things that God is doing in my world, through our church, in our community. Asking God what He is up to, asking Him to help us seize the time, to make the most of every opportunity, to do far beyond all we can ask or imagine in and through me, my family, and our church family.

Wednesday- World Missions. Praying for the missionaries that our family and our church family supports. Praying for unreached people groups and countries. Pray for opportunities for our church and for my family to be involved in bringing the gospel to the nations.

Thursday- Thankfulness. You might try having fun seeing how many things you can thank God for on Thankful Thursday!

Friday- Family. Praying mostly for immediate family, but also extended family.

Saturday- Salvations. Praying for people on our lives that don't yet know Jesus to come to know Him.

Sunday- Sermon. Obviously I am pretty motivated to pray on Sunday mornings. But Sunday mornings before church are a great time to pray for your church family and for how God might use you to build up the body of Christ at church that day.

Prayer Focus for the week of March 18th

New Life Church has a prayer focus each week. Our prayer focus is broken down into three categories of ministry: 1. We pray for another local church that is proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. 2. We pray for a Global Outreach Partner who is proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. 3. We pray for a ministry of New Life Church that is proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ locally.

Area Church: Sandy Baptist Church - Sandy, OR, Pastor Fred Vogel

NLC Ministry: Ignite

Grace Based Parenting

Sara and I are always looking for resources to help us in raising our kids in a way that pleases God, helps them to follow Jesus, and keeps us from going crazy! Children are a blessing from the Lord, but there is a heavy responsibility and a lot of hard work involved.

So what role does our faith in Christ play in parenting? It means everything! Not only is our most important role to guide our kids to know and love Jesus, but there is no way we can do the work of parenting without God's supernatural intervention. In a word, we need grace.

Grace is something that God gives to us that we don't deserve. In the gospel, God poured out His amazing grace on us by sending His Son, Jesus, to live a perfect life and then give His life as a sacrifice for our sins. He rose from the dead. And then, amazingly, God reached out to us (sinful people) and drew us to faith in Christ! Our salvation comes to us not because of anything we have done, but because of what Christ has done for us. Amazing grace.

The concept of the book "Grace Based Parenting" is for us to parent our children in the same way God the Father parents us. God knows we are sinful people, and yet He still reached out to us and loved us in the gospel. In the same way, we know that our children are sinful people. After all, they are the products of sinful parents. Our role is to continue to reach out to our kids and love them even when they fail, which we know they will. We point them toward the amazing grace of God toward them in Christ. We forgive them and then guide them to walk in the truth.

Some people misunderstand grace. They see it as a license to live any way they want to because God will always forgive them. We call that abusing the grace of God. Not good. If we teach our kids that they can live any way they want to, we do them an eternal disservice.

However, others receive the grace of God and think that now they have to remain in God's good graces by never doing anything wrong. They set up a law for themselves (and their children) so that they will never step out of bounds. Obviously there are things we should and shouldn't do. But the law of love laid out for us in the gospel is one in which we are compelled to love God and love our neighbors because of what Christ has done for us. When we fail to follow that law of love, we have sinned. We are called to confess our sin to God, but we are never outside of His grace. Each day, each hour, each minute is chance to renew our relationship with God.

O may God help us to continue walking in His grace each day, and be parents who show that grace to our kids. Check out Tim Kimmel's book "Grace Based Parenting". I see it as a bit of a primer for helping us parents to live out the grace of God as we raise our kids.

All-Church Service March 11

Tomorrow, March 11, 10:00am PDT, all three congregations of New Life Church will gather together at the West Linn High School Auditorium for a combined worship service. It promises to be a great morning. Worship leaders from each congregation will make up the band. We'll have a special presentation. Annual Reports will be distributed after the service. We'll have some goodies and a time of fellowship across the street at the Riverfalls building. Hope to see you there!

Spring Ahead

Don't forget to set your clock ahead tonight! Daylight Savings Time embarrasses someone every year who forgets to adjust their clock and walks into church an hour late...You don't want to be that person! See you tomorrow!

Prayer Focus for the week of March 4th

New Life Church has a prayer focus each week. Our prayer focus is broken down into three categories of ministry: 1. We pray for another local church that is proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. 2. We pray for a Global Outreach Partner who is proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. 3. We pray for a ministry of New Life Church that is proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ locally.

Area Church: Barton Community Baptist Church – Boring, OR, Pastor Thom Turner

Global Partner: Rick and Mary Beth Holladay – The Art Factory, Deutschland

NLC Ministry: Middle School

• Pray for the focus of the Middle School students, that they will think of investing eternally through their giving: that they see the impact of laying up treasures in heaven rather than on earth
• Pray that there will be ample donations and attendance for the auction on Mar 21 as funds are raised for students in India.
• Pray for several students who have recently shared with their unsaved friends at school about Christ. Pray that they would continue to be bold despite ridicule.