Good Morning Teammates--Co-Laborers in Christ! I can't get last night's video and huddle discussion out of my mind. God woke me very early to contemplate this further with Him. (BTW for those wondering, at 3 am my blood sugar was 113 and my BP 118/70! God is my healer! and three donuts are OK!)

We had an awesome day of ministry and fellowship around the table in our Fellowship Hall yesterday! Around 65 people came for bread and donuts and about 70 some gathered around the tables for ministry and fellowship. Prayers were lifted and encouragements shared. Then last night around 25 gathered around the tables to eat, fellowship, watch a video and discuss, reason together and pray. Our fellowship hall is becoming a house of prayer for the nations. In between those two activities I had the honor of visiting some of our homebound as I did on Tues. as well. God is on the move and using us to share His love and help! PTL! We are reminded in the Bible to care for widows and orphans, feed the hungry, cloth those in need, visit the prisoners', shelter the homeless. We, by the grace and provision of God, are doing these things. Keep it up and keep stepping into your part--including praying, giving, and serving.

Here's an update: Nancy Bahr is doing well but lonely and bored. She says hi to everyone. Doris Hausman is doing great and still ministering and lighting up lives with the joy of the Lord at 103. She said to remind everyone that Jesus loves you and to keep loving Him and there is no retirement from sharing God's love! Darlene Skinner is sitting in a wheelchair and doing better but still has a long road to go in rehab from her spine surgery. She thanks everyone for their prayers. Harold and Maryanne Zanders say Hi and they miss everyone. They are able to get out and take walks and have some day trips planned for the late spring with their daughter. LaRue and Randy Schmidt say hi and follow what is going on at St Matts and pray for us. They attend a church close to them now. They have a man servant, Hesmond, who joins us for communion and prayer. He asked for prayers for His family to be able to get a visa to join Him. Next week I will visit some others. I know some of you are visiting, calling and sending cards to our homebound. They very much need and appreciate the love we show! Thank you!

A few other prayer requests: Houstin Lichtenwalner has a torn Ham string but does not need surgery and has been given the go ahead to work the farm. He will be pain a lot of pain for a long time, especially when sitting. Pray for a full and complete healing, pain relief and for wisdom and patience and for Gail as she cares for him. Bob from bread ministry has constant pain in his back and is ready to give up. We prayed for healing and relief and he left in tears. God is at work with his friend Patrick. Pray for God to continue to draw Patrick to His love and forgiveness. Pray for healing for Isabelle as she has been suffering a long time awaiting doc visit. Pray for provision for all those we served and for them to be drawn to God through us. A family is interested in renting the fellowship hall for family gatherings. Pray for more opportunities for this kind of income. Pray for the NA group that gathers in our building for deliverance and to be drawn to God as they walk away from addictions. Pray for the Clothing Closet ministry this Sat. Thank God for the new members that will be joining our church Palm Sunday. Thank you! And pray for God to lead us to summer connection points and ministry. Ask what your part is and for dreams and vision for where He wants us to connect to others.

I'm only sharing the Harvest Prayer blog below today. You can use your Bibles and devotionals to connect to and talk to God. I spent most of my quiet time talking to God about last night and His plans for us this summer. The Video we watched from Israel last night was about how God is always teaching and preparing His people to follow Him and spread His Good News. He moves from isolation to distribution (preparing and protecting from the outside influences to sending His prepared ones into the world.) That is why we are still here. (we are gathered to prepare and now sent to take the Good News to our neighbors) We are God's Good News Delivery Co. and we all have a vital part in that. What's yours? What's ours a a gathering of believers?

The thing that really got me during the video and is still being chewed on is the thought the host shared, "Are we living out the purpose of our place?" It sounded like he got ahold of one of my sermons. I love the affirmation that comes when others are hearing and sharing the same things we are hearing from God! Thanks Lord! The host reminded us that we are unique individuals with unique purposes from God and placed by Him right where He wants to use us for such a time as this. Sound familiar? God is speaking and He has gathered and placed us here, placed you here, for such a time as this! PTL! So are you, are we "living out the purpose of our place"? Talk to God about that and process that with some others! Why are you/we placed here? What does God have planned for us? What's my part/ our part together? What's next? What is the purpose of your placement here and are you doing that purpose? What about our Body called St. Matts.? God has some great custom made plans for custom made you, just as you are, for such a time as this. He wants to grow you and our fellowship. He wants to grow His Kingdom through us and has placed us here and is preparing us to make disciples today. He's already using us. How does He want to expand that? He's always up to something new? What might that be? Let's pray into and figure that out and start putting God's plans into action in this place, even today! Amen!

I shared last night how God has been using our Fellowship Hall and table ministry to grow our fellowship and ministry opportunities. We know that at least 90% of our ministry happens there. But since you voted to not add air conditioning most of that ministry will stop for the summer after Memorial Day. I shared how I am a bit frustrated by that, especially after we spent over $100,000 to fix a window that isn't even seen. Are we living the purpose of our place well? Are we stewarding God's blessings well while sowing lavishly into what He is doing? We always need to be evaluating and adjusting as God leads us to His new things for us. That's part of the task of the Vision, Finance and Support Teams and you as part of the Body--seeking God and supporting what He's doing. That's part of our role in His Good News Delivery Co. So, since the vision, support and finance teams determined that we should not invest in air conditioning. That means God has something else for us this summer. What is it and what your part? Where is God leading us this summer to fulfill the purpose of where He has placed or is sending us for such a time as this? Where do you go in the summer and how can we connect to and minister to people there? We talked about how we are starting to see the fruit of ministry and inviting people from the race track. Where do you hang out that needs some Jesus and love? Who do you hang with that might respond to an invite. Where can we gather in extreme heat or severe weather on a Wed. night and keep our rhythm going? What does God have planned for us as He moves us from isolation to distribution. He has a plan and has placed you right where He wants to use you. How can we come alongside and minister with you? Are we living out the purpose of our place? Are we stewarding the best while sowing lavishly and investing in what God is doing? Pray into this and let us plan together the next things, summer things, where God is sending us to distribute His Good News as we live and love more like Jesus! I am really excited to here what God is saying to you and processing and planning together! We are commissioned to go and make disciples. We saw how God prepared, and when the time was right, sent His people to share the Good News with the world with great success as He led them. Where's He leading us? What doors are being opened? Pray and listen and process that with us. Let's prepare and get ready to take His Good News to the world together! Let's maximize the purpose of our place! Amen!

Harvest Prayer:

March 14 - God Is Calling You

All of life is a process by God to restore what was lost in Eden. God is bringing us back to Himself. The whole work of Christ is aimed at this blessed reality. When we realize this and are drawn to Him, we are saved from sin and death and hell. But salvation is so much more than merely legal pardon. It opens the way for an ongoing, intimate relationship with Jesus. Prayer is to be the running dialogue we are now offered with the God of the universe and His Son who love us with perfect, unceasing passion. It is not merely one of the things we do as a follower of Christ. It is a description of the atmosphere in which we can now live. The life-giving air we can now breathe. We often shy away from prayer or ignore it altogether, but we must realize that prayer is not just about us, it is about Him. The Father wants to be with His children, just as you long to be with your earthly family. Life-giving Jesus, what a joy to know that prayer is life itself, postured before Your throne of grace! Prayer is breath, our being, our privilege, and our responsibility. You have a deep desire for Your children to come to You with child-like faith and trust. Thank You for calling me to step into this conversation of love with the purpose of joining You in Your plans for people, nations and situations. May Your will be done through me as I obey Your voice and step into the gap between heaven and earth. ---Adapted from Prayer with No Intermission by Bill Elliff. This book is available at prayershop.org.

Prayer Points

Read Psalm 24 and praise God as the King of glory, the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle, the Lord almighty! Give thanks for God’s power poured into your life and ministries. Confess any attempts to live and minister by your power instead of the power of the Spirit. Commit yourself to being a channel of his powerful love. Ask God to give you clean hands, a pure heart, integrity of soul and honest speech (24:4), so his power can flow through you unhindered. Pray that your family and friends will seek God’s face (24:3) and be allowed into his presence through Christ. Ask God to work with power on a particular need in your home.

Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.