To God’s Beloved At Cloverdale Baptist Church:
Reminder to pray for me this week as I minister in Newfoundland! Long to be used by God to be a blessing on your behalf! I am not as big a fan of travel as I used to be, but enjoy serving God in different cultures and worlds, and St. John’s is a blessing to partner with! Hard to leave LORI, not to mention Adaline and Eloise!
We are seeking to build a CULTURE as a church family, where who we are produces the ministry we want. We need programs to facilitate this, however, more important than any of our programs is our passion to be who Jesus wants us to be.
So, what is the culture we want to have as followers of Jesus at CBC, and what can you do to help us to get there?
Our passion in terms of culture development is: Discipleship, Love, Evangelism, Prayer, and an ever growing first love relationship with Jesus that defines everything about us!
We want all of these to be an overflow of what is foundational in terms of Gospel orientation and word saturation. It is a lifelong pursuit in the power of the Holy Spirit to be all that God wants us to be, and what a privilege to know that He is at work in us and through us.
The church is to be a unified people with the mind of Christ gathered to honour Him and scattered to serve Him. We come to be ministered too, as well as to actively be aware of His calling on our lives to engage in loving and serving Him. We together are becoming who God wants us to become.
God is at work at Cloverdale Baptist Church, and for that I am truly grateful!
We know that only as we pray will we see maximum impact for God’s glory (we want to be an asking and receiving community). Prayer seems to be a lost art in the current culture that we live in. So, I want to ask and answer a few questions, with the goal of giving us a passion to pray, and a cultural pattern that engages this kind of dependence for God’s glory.
Why Pray? Simple answer is that prayer is active awareness of God’s presence (relationship), and engagement with God’s power (requests). Authentic Christianity is a relational pursuit, and we have the massive privilege and responsibility to include God in our daily experience through prayer. This must include praise, thanksgiving, confession, and requests as a part of the overall pattern, but can be as simple as crying out HELP, and as profound as spending a weekend in prayer.
Why Don’t We Pray More? I think there are many reasons, but certainly near the top would be that we don’t think relationally, and we are unsure that prayer is needed or even works. If we learn to be aware of God’s presence, then this reverent conversation will be much more impactful. He is with us always, we can like Nehemiah pray, and then engage. Prayer working is a lot more difficult to address, but really must be fought with our doctrine of who God is. He is All Wise, so what He answers is best, even if we don’t always align with it in our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). As a famous country singer states, “some of life’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayer”. So, we should learn to live relationally, and in a life filled with faith and praise, ask God in faith of who He is, and rejoice in His best answer, even if in our childish minds we don’t fully understand (2 Corinthians 12).
How Can We Learn To Pray More? Well, I suppose there is overlap, but simply put, we must learn to be aware of the reality of God and the relevance of God, then actively live in His presence. Learn to practically live relationally. And when we see His goodness, and are overwhelmed in the reality that He treasures us, we will pray more and more. That said, I would also add to learn to pray with Jesus teaching on prayer (Matthew 6), or in the Spirit, learn from the prayers that are found in the Bible. Donald Whitney also has some great helps in learning how to pray biblically. I think we should first and most importantly know who we pray too, and then as an overflow learn from how He has revealed that we should pray. We could add to this, and I love D.A. Carson’s little antidote, “pray until you pray”, but there are more questions…
Why Is Corporate Prayer So Important? We are called to pray in community, and when Jesus teaches the disciples how to pray it is corporate. Following the life of Jesus, we even find Him praying in public after the Father had answered so that others could be drawn to praise God for that answer. Corporate prayer is important because we are living in community for God’s glory and seeking Him together, and praising Him together is a significant part of that rhythm. That is why prayer meetings and praying together in our gatherings and growth groups is so important.
What do I need to change now? My encouragement to you is to realize the importance of prayer and seek to intentionally improve the intimacy of your prayer life. If you honestly engage with your current situation and seek to improve it, we will corporately be better every moment and together build into a creshendo of praise and powerful impact. If each of us intentionally seeks to get better at praying (more biblical) and to spend more time in prayer together and alone, we will see a changed church and the impact will be significant, powerful and quick.
So…Pray more alone with God. Actively live in His presence.
So…Pray more together…commit to our summer prayer meetings…and join our church in this passionate pursuit of a culture of prayer!
So…Pray more biblically…commit to learn how to pray through the Psalms, or Paul’s prayers, or the pattern that Jesus gave us, and learn to pour out your heart to God!
You are needed to help us get better, and WHO KNOWS, maybe God will use this email, and your prayers with us to bring a REVIVAL, for every major move of this kind of renewal in the Spirit that I know of was preceded by intentional Spirit filled prayer.
Sunday night (June 2, 7:00 pm) we have our last monthly prayer meeting…COME AND JOIN US!
Summer includes weekly prayer meetings on Wednesday nights, and there are many others around you who attend CBC that would love to partner with you daily to pray. So…let us pray until we pray, let us pray until we see the difference, let us become more and more a family filled with prayer, a CULTURE OF PRAYER!
For Further Growth...
Suggested Books On Prayer:
- Carson, D.A.: Spiritual Reformation: The Prayers Of Paul
- Whitney, Donald: Praying The Bible
Many great books on the Lord’s Prayer, my favourite being Kent Hughes: Abba Father, I think…but there are many good ones!
Other Helpful Books On Prayer:
- Miller, Paul: A Praying Life
- Chapel, Bryan: Praying Backwards
I have also found reading the prayers of those who went before us enriching, and particularly treasure, Valley Of Vision.
Most books that discuss spiritual disciplines include portions on prayer, and many are also helpful!
Sunday Is Coming:
Pastor Thomas is preaching this Sunday, as you prepare your hearts for communion and what the Holy Spirit will say through Him, I eagerly anticipate joining you (I will be 4 ½ hours ahead), or watching later. Thankful for a staff who love God and are loyal to His Word and preach in the fulness of the Spirit.
Excited to partner with you around the world for the Gospel,
Pastor Rob
Thank you for your prayers!
Bulletin
Prayer Service
Sunday, June 2nd / 7:00 pm / Fellow. Hall We're gathering for one last Prayer Service before the summer! Let's come together to pray for boldness and guidance as we reach out to those in our spheres of influence with the Gospel.
Young Adults Retreat
June 7th–9th / Osoyoos, BC Our annual Young Adults retreat is coming up! Come for a fun weekend of camping, water sports, and fellowship. All between grade 12 to 29 years old are welcome. Registration is limited, so register online today >
Spring Business Meeting
Tue. June 11th / 7:00 pm / Sanctuary We'll be conducting general business as usual and voting on Special Resolutions. These include the 2024/25 Financial Budget and Elder, Deacon, and Pastor offices. Everyone is welcome to attend and childcare will be available for children grade 6 and younger. More details >
Membership
If you are interested in church membership, but cannot make Sunday morning classes we are offering a 3 session course on weekdays. If interested in church membership classes during the evening please be in touch with the church office.
Kids Summer Camps
Summer 2024: Soccer Camp & Day Camp Hey parents! We're so excited to share with you that this summer we're once again organizing two summer camps! Register today >
Wedding Shower
Mon. June 10th / 7:00 pm / Fellow. Hall The Women's Ministry is excited to host a wedding shower! We invite you to sign up to bring food for the shower on our website. To contribute towards a group gift, please contact carmenradke@gmail.com.
Women's Retreat Registration
November 1st–3rd / Cedar Springs, WA This 3-day retreat will be focusing on building gospel friendships, joined by special guest speaker Bronwyn Short, with fun activities and time to relax. Childcare will also be offered to mothers with infants. Registration is opening on June 2nd both online and in-person. Learn more >
Langley Food Bank Needs You!
The Langley Food Bank is a Christian organization supported by our church and they're in need of summer volunteers! If you would like to help them serve the community this summer, please contact them at info@langleyfoodbank.com.
Church Custodial Position
We’re looking for a custodian for general cleaning duties. Learn more >
Join us in praying for our missionaries.
Matthew Lahey — Mile One Mission
- Praise God for the many ways He is working in Killbride Community Church and in the surrounding community.
- Pray that God would raise up more workers to join KCC, and that He would equip people inside of KCC to serve in worship and children’s ministries.
- Pray that the Lord would provide the necessary finances and volunteers to run Soccer Camp this summer. Pray that the Lord would provide the 60 registrations that their team is praying for.
- Pray that Matthew and Ruth would find their strength in the Lord at this time. There are many needs and many responsibilities when establishing a new church plant— and the weight of these fall to Matthew and Ruth right now.