theCrossroads UPC

Prayer on Saturday mornings is how we come together to prepare for our weekends. We can plan and prepare, but first, PRAYER!THE PRAYER OF JABEZ Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let Your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request. 1 CHRONICLES 4:10The Prayer of Jabez is a helpful model of a prayer we can pray every day. 1. BLESSINGJabez begins his prayer by asking God for His blessing. We need more of God’s blessing to be better equipped to make a difference for His Kingdom. We need more provision, more spiritual gifting, more wisdom, and greater understanding so that we can bless others with what God has given us. James 4:2-3 tells us, “You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” God wants to bless us, but He is often waiting for us to ask with the right heart. We have a big God, and we can be bold in asking for His blessing. As James points out, God sees our heart, and we get His attention when we ask for blessing with the motivation to help others.“Oh, that You would bless me...”1 CHRONICLES 4:10Ask God for His blessing. Recognize your need for His provision, and set your heart toward wanting more than you need so that you can be a blessing to others.PRAYER:“God, I pray that You would bless me with more than I need so that I can bless others. I pray for more provision, that You would equip me to give generously to others and meet their practical needs in Your Name. I ask You to give me greater spiritual gifting so that I can strengthen the Church and be more effective for the Kingdom of God. I pray for an abundance of wisdom and discernment so that I can point others to You and make decisions that honor You. I ask You to help me grow in understanding of Your truth and Your heart for people so I can do my part to bring Your Kingdom to earth. Help me keep Your generous blessings in perspective, so that I never become self-serving but stay focused on using what You’ve given me to serve other people.”2. INFLUENCENext, Jabez asks for more influence. As God’s blessings increase in our lives, we ask for and experience greater opportunity to influence the world around us for Him. God has the power to bless us greatly, and He also has the power to open doors of opportunity for us to make a difference. We want to walk through doors that only He can open, and He responds when we specifically ask Him to give us more influence for His Name. “Enlarge my territory...” 1 CHRONICLES 4:10 Pray for more influence. Knowing that God can make a way, trust in Him to open doors and lead you on the best path for your life and for His glory. Ask Him for boldness to take the steps He lays out for you. PRAYER: “God, make me effective in my sphere of influence, and open new doors for me to be able to impact and reach even more people for Your glory. Give me a heart to make a difference in the lives of people I have never reached out to before and boldness to walk in obedience to Your calling. Help me to be a good steward of the responsibility You’ve entrusted to me. I pray for greater territory to impact for Your glory.” 3. PRESENCE In order to have lasting influence, we need God’s presence in our lives. Through His power at work within us, God can do more than we could ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). As we ask for blessing and influence, we also need to ask for His presence as Jabez did so that we are not operating out of our own strength but through the presence and the hand of our Almighty God.“Let Your hand be with me...”1 CHRONICLES 4:10In humility, acknowledge your need for God’s presence. Depend on Him and ask for more of Him in your life today.PRAYER:“Lord, I know that without You, I am nothing. I cannot do what You’ve called me to do on my own. I am desperate for Your presence in my life. I depend on You completely. I recognize that the same Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead lives in me. Through the power of Your Spirit, I pray that You will help me succeed in the opportunities You’ve given me. Thank You for being with me. I would never want to face today without You.”4. PROTECTIONFinally, Jabez asks the Lord to protect him. If we are influencing the world for Jesus, we must understand the enemy will try to stop us. This leads us to pray that God will not only help us if the enemy attacks, but that He will protect us from the enemy attacking us in the first place. Jesus has already won the victory, so we don’t need to fear destruction. God promises to be with us and protect us, and because He is with us, we have nothing to fear. “Keep me from harm” 1 CHRONICLES 4:10 Trust God to protect you. Tell Him specific areas where you feel the need for His protection and ask Him to cover areas that you can’t yet see. PRAYER: “God, as I walk out the purpose You have for my life, I pray that You will stop any and every attack of the enemy against me. Please protect my body, my mind, and my emotions. Don’t let the enemy get a foothold in my life. I pray, too, that You will protect my family and community from harm. I know that the One who is in me is greater than the one who is in the world, so I have nothing to fear. Thank You for watching over me. I love You and I trust You.”Connect with Us: https://flow.page/thecrossrdsStreaming License # CCLI: CSPL043706

Join us for a new series called Elements - The Building Blocks of a Spiritual Life (for children). Many ask what they should do after following Acts 2:38 - God's plan of salvation? What comes next? How do I live a spiritual life that pleases Jesus? Find out answers to these and many more questions in this series.

Join us today to see how confusing things can get when we don't trust God's plans in our lives!

Prayer on Saturday mornings is how we come together to prepare for our weekends. We can plan and prepare, but first, PRAYER!How to Pray for the LostWe can win anyone for whom God gives us a burden. If God burdens our heart for a soul it is evident that He intends to save that soul. It is also evident that He desires to work through us as the human vessel since He gave us the burden. Many times the soul is actually won in prayer. It is one thing to pray, it is another thing to “pray right”. Here are seven pointers for praying for the lost to be saved: Pray Believingly Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”Prayer is the key, but faith unlocks the door. We must pray believing that God is working in the sinner’s heart and preparing him for our visit. Pray Realizing That With God All Things Are Possible Mark 10:27 “And Jesus looking upon them saith, with men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”Recognize God in the picture, for nothing is too hard for God. In our praying most of us never get beyond human limitations and boundaries. We whittle God down to our own size and power. We are like the woman who said, “It’s no use to talk to my husband. He won’t listen to me.” Pray Asking the Soul to Be Saved For God’s Glory John 14:13 “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”We should not pray for a soul to be saved that they may be a better husband or wife. This is selfish praying. We should pray for souls to be saved so they will no longer dishonor God in their sins. Our great concern should be that they will stop trampling over the precious blood of Christ and stop spurning God’s love. This should be the real motive in soul winning rather than to put another “notch” on our belt, or add a few more figures to our report. Pray Beseeching God to Awaken Them Matthew 13:13, 15 “because they seeing, see not, and hearing, they hear not, neither do they understand. For this people’s heart is become gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed . . . “Every sinner needs the Holy Spirit to reveal his sinful condition. Then Christ will be revealed to the heart. We should pray that the Holy Spirit will “quicken” their conscience, plow up their heart, and ring conviction in their soul. We should pray that God will give them “hearing ears” and “believing hearts.” Pray that God shall open their understanding. Pray Claiming That Soul Which the Blood of Christ Has Purchased II Timothy 2:26 “And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”In our sense every soul is God’s purchased possession, though still held by Satan through unbelief. We must through prayer claim and take for God that which is rightfully His. This is praying on the ground of redemption. Pray Claiming the Tearing Down Of Satan’s Strongholds in That Soul II Corinthians 10:4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.”The Devil has built up lies, false doctrine, stumbling blocks and many other strongholds in the minds of the unsaved to keep them from receiving Christ. He has them blinded lest the light of the glorious gospel should shine unto them. We must through prayer rebuke the Devil and claim the tearing down of his lies and warped ideas that are keeping the sinner from trusting Christ as Savior. We must exercise our authority in Christ. Pray Perseveringly Luke 18:7 “shall not God avenge his own elect, who cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?”Perseverance is “not giving up.” We persevere not to persuade God, but because of the enemy. In persistent intercession we are pushing back the forces of evil. We are getting the Devil off of God’s territory. Daniel prayed for three weeks before he received his answer from God, though the Scripture says that God answered his prayer on the first day. Daniel spent three weeks wrestling with the forces of evil and hanging on to God in order that he might receive his “package.”Now go pray for that lost soul that God has laid on your heart, claiming these truths.Connect with Us: https://flow.page/thecrossrdsStreaming License # CCLI: CSPL043706

Tonight is step 3 of 3 things we NEED for salvation from Acts 2:38. Next week we will be starting a new series called Elements! Hope you continue to join us each Wednesday!

Today we will discuss the ark and how important it is to follow God's Word.

Prayer on Saturday mornings is how we come together to prepare for our weekends. We can plan and prepare, but first, PRAYER!Prayer for Revelation“Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3Lord, show me a revelation of Your Word and Your will. Cause the obscure and confusing things to become clear to me. Expound my current understanding of Your Word to deeper levels of insight and application. Give me a definite understanding of what Your Word means, and how I am to apply it to my life, in my time and my culture. Cause me to see the world through its truths instead of the image the world wishes me to see. Reveal Your will to me so I will know how to pray effectively both for Your cause and for my own life, causing me to come into alignment with You, where I am fruitful and blessed.Lord, show me a revelation of Your ways. Teach me the things You like and desire. Teach me how You like to be worshipped and served. Cause me to understand reasons why You do the things you do, and what You desire to still yet do. Let this understanding breed delight in the deepest places of my soul, causing me to hunger even more after Your Spirit and Your Word, day and night. Make me to become satisfied each time I spend time in Your Word and Your presence, where all other things that used to satisfy fail to fill me any longer. Cause my mind to think on Your ways throughout my day, and see life through Your eyes.Lord, show me a revelation of Your glory. Reveal to me things You have done – the miracles, signs, and wonders – no matter how big or small they might seem. Cause me to search for Your glory, not just happen upon it. Reveal how You work in nature, through our senses, life experiences, and through others, where I am aware of it and become a verbal witness of it. Let me not steal Your glory by claiming ownership of Your work, or by withholding honor that is due You. Affect me with Your glory! As I meditate on it, let it leave me in awe and wonder, and with a hunger to see more of it, where it saturates my thinking, my words, and my prayers. Let Your glory create a deepset joy in my heart, knowing that You are my Father – You are absolutely pure, good, and beyond sufficient explanation – and I am Your child!Lord, show me a revelation of the work of the enemy. Cause me to become aware of how, when, and where the enemy is at work. Cause me to know when others are causing chaos as opposed to when the enemy is attacking. Let my discernment be accurate and my intuition be acute. Reveal the tactics and strategy of the enemy, and the hidden plans and traps that lay in wait so I can evade destruction by Your wisdom. Cause me to see the smokescreen of deception the enemy displays to get me off focus and in despair. Cause me to discern the voice of the enemy and know which of Your Words to fight back with. Your Word is my weapon, and I therefore I will declare it! Give me understanding of how and when to respond when the enemy comes against those I am close to. Let me not react with haste or emotion, but rather with Your perfect timing and strategy. Cause me to remember that in the end You win. No matter how strong the battle, no matter how long the fight, no matter how often the enemy claims victory, no matter how much carnage I see, I will remember that You are God of the Living and not the dead. You are the Almighty and You will NOT give Your glory to another!Connect with Us: https://flow.page/thecrossrdsStreaming License # CCLI: CSPL043706

Join us for step 2 of 3 of things we NEED for salvation from Acts 2:38!

We are continuing our God's Word for Life - Kids series. Today we will learn what it means to give our best. Why was God not favorable of Cain's offering.

Join us for these 3 weeks as we break down Acts 2:38 and discuss all the things we NEED in order to have salvation. Tonight we will be discussing the first of three steps.