Have you spent you life trying to fit in, fit into places, fit into styles, fit into ministry. Are you trying to be something you’re not so that you can feel valued? Well, you don’t have to be something or somebody other than yourself. God has found something special, and He has put it together so that it fits you… You are uniquely gifted, positioned, called. So step into what fits you, because when something fits, you’ll never want to take it off…
Rule #1: No Coffee in the Sanctuary There are different reasons why churches come up with this kind of rule. Maybe they are concern that the carpet or seats will get ruined by spilled coffee. Maybe it’s the false notion that eating or drinking in God’s house is irreverent. Maybe it’s the excuse that it is distracting to see others drink a cup of coffee in the house of God. Whatever the reason, in my opinion – it is completely ridiculous. Would you feel the same if I brought a bottle of water into the sanctuary? Would you really be distracted if I took a sip of water from my water battle? I don’t really think so. I am sure some of these folks mean well. They don’t want spills, distractions, irreverence etc… Like the 89-year-old woman in my congregation who consistently asks visitors and church members to take their coffee out of the sanctuary. Unfortunately, well-meaning people always act out of a misinformed, zeal without knowledge, religious spirit with no basis in the gospel. Quite …
Effective praying is precision praying. Prayer is most effective when it has as its backbone reliable substance in the word of God. The Bible says that when God sends forth the rain, He aims for a precise result. The same is with the word of God, after it is sent forth, it does not return to God void. It accomplishes exactly what it was sent forth to accomplish. Scripture even assures us that God watches over his word to perform with razor precision what He intended. It is therefore imperative that when we pray, we pray with precision. When we pray we must pray God’s word. In this series, I would like to take us on a journey, an adventure to discover the power of precision praying. I will seek to show you examples of how to pray for various aspects of our lives. So today, I would like for us to begin with the privilege of parenting. Recently my status as a father was upgraded to father of not one, but two teenagers – …
I hear the whispering of many.
Have you ever heard someone pray for God’s visitation? “Visit us, Lord!” Have you ever prayed that prayer? I have prayed the prayer before, and one of my all time, old school worship song is entitled, “Visit Us.” So, I am not trying to scold anyone for praying for God to come near to where they are. Depending on what one may actually be praying for, I think it important to pray for habitation instead of His visitation. For several reasons, I will explain. But for starters, what does the bible have to say about God’s visitation? Visitation carries a biblical idea of God coming to deliver us from captivity, bondage, slavery, darkness or sin. Also, the Lord visits us to show us acts of kindness, care, and love. (Exodus 3:16; 4:31; Jeremiah 27:22; 29:10; Luke 1:68, 78, 79; Ruth 1:6; Job 10:12; Luke 19:44). It also carries the biblical idea of an investigation, a probing and consequently a reckoning or judgment for sin or rebellion. (Isaiah 10:3; Jeremiah 8:12; Hosea 9:7). Visitation is twofold when it comes …
"Culture is not expensive to create, but costly if not done intentionally" @johnerikthinks thanks for the 1% change idea. Very encouraging. — Walter Bright (@WaltBright) September 10, 2014 I spoke this morning at a Youth With A Mission Base in Northern California to a small group of hungry, looking for revival, kingdom builders. I shared a bit about myself, my mission and my church. It was a very cold morning, but together, we enjoyed what we felt was a unique opportunity to partner with local churches to see a new move of God in their communities. Various people from that group spoke up to confirm what we were feeling through unique and timely testimonies of what the Lord was saying to them, and showing them. The conversation actually brought into a clear understanding of how we should strategically pray. At the end of our time together, a young woman from Jamaica walked over to me and asked a very simple, yet poignant question: “What’s the culture of prayer in your church?” I took a few minutes …
Walter Bright 
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