prayer

A Weekend Of Prayer and Family

/ joseph elon lillie / 2 Comments

It is summer. Here in New England with summer being so short (lasting really only two. months) we try to cram in as much summer living as we can. This weekend the Parks and Rec department scheduled inn the annual Food Truck Festival. It was all hands on deck for this huge event, so my daughter Melanie had to work the event from start to finish. Her husband James also had to work, so I got to watch their girls, my granddaughters Daniella and Abigail.

We watched “Bluey” and”Monsters At Work” on the Disney Channel

Then we went to the playground for some much needed playtime in the sunshine. We even stopped at the Food Truck Festival, but the girls didn’t see anything they liked (except ice cream of course) and so we ordered a pizza from where their Dad works and hunkered down until Melanie and James were finished their work.

On Saturday all the kids went to the beach and I met mum with my Father-in-law for lunch at Kerrick’s Tavern in Orange MA. Doug is up visiting his brother and sister-in-law who are both ailing. But we found time for lunch and catching up.

After a ride through the countryside, I dropped Doug off at his brother’s house in Athol MA. Since it was time to pray I decided to take little prayer tour around the area. I stopped at Silverlake St. Cemetery where my family is buried. There I heard I felt the Spirit of God urging me to begin tying up loose ends.

At Tully Lake I contemplated how long my family has been connected to this area of the world. My great great great grandfather was a pastor in this region back in the mid 1850’s. My family has been actively spreading Christianity in this part of the world for a long long time.

At Doane’s Falls I was once again thinking about how much spiritual water has been over the bridge since my family came to this region. How many lives have we been able to touch over the centuries and how many more souls remain to be impacted before the age of the worlds changes.I

I know my great great great grandfather probably thought the same way I am thinking now, but I feel like time is short and the message must be brought to our generation.

HERE IS THE MESSAGE I PREACHED ON SUNDAY OF YOU CARE TO LISTEN.

https://fb.watch/t2Of-Ueiw2

PREPARE YOUR LOVE PT. 2

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This year our church has been given a congregational sentence that comes through the many prophetic words which have been spoken to us over the last year or so. That sentence says: “Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“

seven prepare statements will be broken down into three brief devotionals a piece to give us 21 devotionals to share over 21 weeks.

TODAY IS DAY 20- Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open.

Photo by Liza Summer on Pexels.com

Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48

We are being called to prepare to love those who disagree with us. I will be the first to point out that just because a person disagrees with us on something, that does not necessarily make them our enemy. But in our hyper-tribalized society, we are quickly becoming a people who view it that way. In fact we are raising up a generation that thinks that in order to love someone you must agree with and accept everything they think. That, of course is not the truth. Love is something that flows through agreement or disagreement equally well, because it is not based in our comfort, logic, emotion, or will. It moves through those things but it is based in and flows from the Spirit.

WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO LOVE THROUGH A DISAGREEMENT WITH RIGHT NOW? PRAY FOR THEM? WHAT GROUP DO YOU HAVE THE GREATEST DISAGREEMENT WITH RIGHT NOW? PRAY FOR THEM.

A RANDOM SPLIT OF A DAY: A Funeral, Founder’s Day and the Relay For Life

/ joseph elon lillie / 4 Comments

I was describing the job of a minister to a friend the other day. It is not like most jobs. It’s the ultimate split shift rotation. I start in the early morning and then take a break for breakfast and to walk the dogs. Then I usually have some morning work to do. Then I take a break for lunch (usually I go home and walk the dogs during that time). Then I have an afternoon commitment of some kind and always more prayer. Then I take another break sometimes I get to work around the house and the garden and then it’s more prayer and sometimes an evening commitment.

Today for instance. I started with prayer around 4 A.M. and prayed for a few hours. Then Amanda and I had a funeral to attend for a dear lady we know through disabilities ministry .

Anne-Marie was a wonderful woman of faith and Amanda and I were blessed to be able to attend her funeral. We stayed for the reception and got to catch up with many church friends from the area.

Then it was back home to meet up with Joe and Kristine and Sevy. They had an open house to attend in a neighboring town this morning. The house was not something they were very interested in but they keep looking and waiting for the right thing to come along.

Kristine, Sevy and I then headed out to one of the two big events going on today. It’s Founder’s Day in Winchendon.

And Relay For Life in Gardner. We had church staff and leaders at both. The Prayer Shawl Ministry gave out 64 shawls at the Relay!

Meanwhile we had several of our members working as volunteers at the Founder’s Day event.

I was just an attendee at the Founder’s Day, but I had some great opportunities to chat with people from town including one of my classmates, and one of the police sergeants whom I have known since childhood.

Then I went home to do a bit of gardening and to put together my devotional video for the church and to get myself ready for church tomorrow morning

I opened up the bushes next to the drive a bit.

I have one more prayer session for bed. It’s been a wonderful day!

WHAT’S ON YOUR AGENDA FOR THIS WEEKEND?

A DAY OF PRAYER

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So today was or is not really a Sabbath day. I have called our church together today for a day of corporate prayer and preparation for the work that lies ahead of us as a church. I have had this increasing burden in the last weeks that this work will need us to rely on God more fully than we ever have before. Soooo……prayer together tonight for three hours. Jon Bauver from THE WORSHIP ROOM HOUSE OF PRAYER is helping us tonight for the three hours. I so appreciate the help!

HERE ARE SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT THE PLACE OF PRAYER IN THE WORK OF THE CHURCH.

“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” 
― St. Francis of Assisi

“Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.” 
― Mother Teresa

“I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.” 
― Abraham Lincoln

“Let us never forget to pray. God lives. He is near. He is real. He is not only aware of us but cares for us. He is our Father. He is accessible to all who will seek Him.” 
― Gordon B. Hinckley, Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes

PREPARE YOUR WITNESS PT. 1

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This year God has given our church direction that we are to prepare. We have been given a congregational sentence that comes through the many prophetic words which have been spoken to us over the last year or so. That sentence says: “Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“

These seven prepare statements will be broken down into 21 devotionals which I will share over 21 weeks. This wee we are on.

DEVOTIONAL NUMBER 13: Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). 

In the days ahead our Christian example will be such an important part of our witness it will far outweigh our words. 

Preparing our witness is going to involve us earning the right to speak by treating the people around us…all the people around us, in such a way that they will be convinced that our message bears weight. This involves loving…truly loving the people God is calling us to.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Cor. 13:4-7

PREPARE FOR THE STORM PT. 2

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Our church has been given a seven part statement for 2024, through the congregational gift of prophecy. We are calling this statement the congregational sentence for 2024. It reads: “Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“

I am breaking these seven prepare statements 21 devotional which will be posted on Mondays throughout the year. Here is our eleventh devotional of the series.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT # 11: PREPARE FOR THE STORM (PRAY FOR ACTION PLANS, PRAY FOR A SPIRIT OF PERSEVERANCE)

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

What else do we know for sure about the coming storm that will help us prepare?

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.Ma. 24:3-14

The storm ahead will bring many false belief systems and false hopes of salvation outside of Jesus Christ. We must be prepared for this, and hold onto the truth that Jesus is the only way, the only truth the only life. No one will come to the Father or eternal life, but through Him.

The storm ahead will be a time of large scale war and conflict across the Earth. Mankind cannot establish peace. Only God can do that. As mankind allows less and less room for God in the public arena conflict can only escalate. We must in the midst of this storm become what Jesus called, in Matthew 5, a peacemaker. 

PRAY THAT IN THE DAYS AHEAD GOD WOULD HELP US AS A CHURCH TO BE A COMMUNITY THAT KEEPS THE GOSPEL MESSAGE AT ITS CENTER AND A COMMUNITY THAT CREATES PEACE IN THE MIDST OF GROWING CONFLICT.

PREPARE FOR THE STORM PT. 1

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Over the course of the last year Cornerstone has been given a congregational sentence that comes through the many prophetic words which have been spoken to us. That sentence says: “Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare you Spirit (come out of the decay of your strongholds). Prepare your Souls(Prepare to practice and feel compassion). Prepare your facility (your structures, infrastructures and plans). Prepare for the storm (Pray for action plan, Pray for a spirit of perseverance). Prepare your witness (know your gifts, earn the right to speak, build your relationships with those outside the church, build your example). Prepare your hope and faith (think hope, speak hope, act in hope). Prepare your love (love each other, love the people in your towns, love those who disagree with you, love through the doors that open).“

We are currently doing a devotional series which breaks down these seven “Prepare statements” into bite sized pieces. Let’s begin talking about the next “prepare statement” on our list.

PREPARE FOR THE STORM (PRAY FOR ACTION PLANS, PRAY FOR A SPIRIT OF PERSEVERANCE)

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I have already been asked a few times, what I think the storm we are to prepare for, is. Well I could give you my thoughts on the matter, but they would just be my thoughts. I have my ideas about how this storm might play out, but we aren’t tied to my ideas of what-ifs and wherefores. We have Scripture to tell us some specifics about the storm of the last days. Let’s take a look.

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents,ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. 2 Timothy 3:1-5

We know the storm will take the form of a culture of: prideful selfishness, self- promotion, lovelessness, anger, backstabbing, violence, constant danger, short-sightedness and interested only in entertainment rather than the good of society. In short our current culture is the storm. It is a category two hurricane right now. It is intensifying. We have not seen the storm in its full glory yet.

How do we protect ourselves against this part of the storm? I think the following verses are among some of the most important verses in the Bible for the days ahead.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited,provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5: 22-26

PRAY THAT GOD WOULD GROW US IN EACH FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.

WEEKEND COFFEE SHARE FROM THE VICARAGE

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If we were sharing coffee today at the Vicarage, you would be drinking a strong generic French Roast from Market Basket. It is strong because I put an extra scoop (to two) in the basket. We would also be sharing any number of pastries from our kitchen: Coffee cake, Apple Fritters, Donuts, Turnovers. The congregation is keeping us well stocked during this season of my mother’s hospice.

Photo by Andrew Neel on Pexels.com

Brenda, Joe, Kristine and I have worked hard this week to take care of Mom and Sevy.

Amanda,Melanie, James and the girls were vacationing in Pennsylvania.

I would share with you that it was a good week. I got a lot of work done from home. I even got to take some time on Thursday night to pray at the worship room.

Well everyone is back home safely now. Brenda, Mom and I are watching Dr. Dolittle (well Mom is sleeping peacefully through Dr. Dolittle) while the kids are playing Everdell in the other room.

Next week, starting tomorrow, promises to be busy. So today is rest up day and get ready day. What is your day like?