January 22 – We Grow Through Equipping

Hello there. Thanks for joining me and others. We appreciate it. There’s something special when God’s people pray in unison. We have been praying through our value of “We Grow” and today it is about growing through leaders equipping God’s people. Paul tells the church at Ephesus that one of the roles of leadership in the church is “to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:12 NIV). Equipping one another is part of discipleship. This is what our Lord Jesus did with the twelve – He equipped ready to build up the body of Christ which they did. At Reedy God is raising up a wonderful generation of people. Let’s pray for our leaders (Leadership Team, Life Group Leaders, Youth and Brigade Leaders) as they equip the many.

January 21 – We Grow Through Welcoming

Hi church. Thanks so much for hanging in there praying through this month of prayer. Today we are focusing on growing through welcoming everyone. Matthew 25:35 quotes Jesus saying: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matthew 25:35 ESV). In this parable of the Sheep and the Goats, Jesus wants us to know the importance to look out for one another, even the stranger. Think about this. Every Sunday the Lord blesses us with around 5 visitors. Now out of that five, some are visiting while on holidays, some are visiting with family members, but say if only 2 are looking for a church to belong to. As you know good preaching, quality programs for children and youth are reasons why people might stay. Welcoming though is just as important. Looking out for the new person and authentically welcoming them and showing interest in who they are make a big difference in that person’s decision to stay or not at the church. Many at Reedy do this well. We value numerical growth through heart felt welcoming not just at church but at our groups and events. Let’s pray that we as a church will grow in our welcome of new people – both on Sundays but also in our weekly groups.

January 20 – We Grow As A Community

Hi there. Thanks again for joining with others in this series of prayer throughout this month of January. Hope things are going ok with you as you begin to gear up for another year! We grow is a value at Reedy and so we desire to grow first in our faith but also as a community of believers. Acts 2:46 says, “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts” (Acts 2:46 NIV). You get the feeling that there was a strong sense of community feel amongst those early Christians. With so much fragmentation in our society, we want to swim against that tide and be known for our love for one another. I don’t know about you, but I want to belong to such a community. But it doesn’t just happen. Its takes work to maintain unity, looking out for one another, dealing with conflict in healthy ways. Let’s pray about this and ask God to help us grow in our fellowship with each other – that it will be real, authentic, caring, fun, and joyful.