FAITH DAY AT THE KERNEL'S

SUNDAY - July 31^st!

Kernels vs. Beloit Snappers
Game time - 2:05 PM - gates open at 1 PM
More information on the Serve the City events page.

Pictures from May 29th Faith Day!

60th Annual National Day of Prayer

Thursday, May 5, 2011
Noon to 1 PM

Greene Square Park in downtown Cedar Rapids between 3rd & 4th Avenue and 5th St. SE

Prayer Leaders will give guidance to our prayers

No cost to attend - lawn chairs are a good idea

Co-sponsored by the Linn County Association of Evanelicals and the Serve The City Partners

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Seeking The VISITATION of CHRIST the KING

Seeking God….to Fill the World With His Glory

Scene One:

“And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to Him, ‘Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.’  And He answered and said, “I tell you, if these become silent, ‘the stones will cry out.’ ” Luke 19:39-40

In the face of opposition, criticism, and intimidation Jesus would not quiet His followers AND they would not be quiet!

Followers of Christ – One                        Rocks - Zero

Scene Two:

By Thursday night, the disciples are having dinner and the scriptures record this: “And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest.” Luke 22:24  From praising Jesus to this……oh my!

Scene Three:

In the garden, Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the Garden to pray…. “Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.  And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.  And when He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow.” Luke 22:43-45

Scene Four:

Moving ahead to (Good) Friday, we have a different scene.  At the cross the crowds are subdued, weeping……..and quiet.  Turning to the scriptures again we read this: “And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.  And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook……and the rocks were split….”  Matthew 27:50-51

Followers of Christ – Zero                      Rocks - One

What about you and I – every day?  What will the score be?  In the face of doubt, fear, opposition, criticism, and intimidation, will we be prayed up?  Will we praise? Our scorecards are prepared each and every day to be filled out!

Followers of Christ – __?__                    Rocks - __?__   The daily score is simply up to us.

Today, Palm Sunday, Patricia and I visited Oakhill Jackson Church. One of the verses used this morning was 1 Corinthians 15:57.  “…but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  We were challenged to live daily WITH the victory in mind.  We were encouraged to be counted among those that will not wilt in the face of some “trial” when we already have the victory.

Pray with me!

We pray that You would visit Your people in ways that rock the nations and turn the attention of all upon You. 

Come!  Fill this world with Your glory. 

Come!  Find our city prepared by our prayers to welcome You! 

Come!  Find our city prepared by the praises of Your people in the midst of those that do not yet know You!

Our eyes may not yet behold You, but You can make Your presence felt. 

Reveal the mountainous majesty of Your wisdom.

Cause everyone to sense the surpassing grandeur of Your governing love.

Display the dreadful magnificence of Your wrath against evil. 

Reveal Your ferocious passion for Your beloved!

You Word tells us that Your mercies are new each and every day….May we have eyes to see these mercies and tell You….may we PRAISE You for them!

May I, may we, be filled with an expectancy to see Your invisible nature in the creation all around us each and every day!

May our daily score, each and every day be……..

Followers of Christ – __100__                Rocks - __zero__  

……as we walk in a lifestyle of Seeking Your Face, seeing Your nature, acknowledging Your hand in our daily lives minute by minute and thanking You for Your great love.

In the mighty and precious Name of our Lord and Savior – Jesus The Christ.

Charles Daugherty

Serve The City

Saturday, April 16, 2011

SEEKING the JOY of the KINGDOM

Seeking God…..for His Dwelling Amidst His people.

“While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst.”  Luke 24:36

Have you ever wondered if there will be anything manmade in heaven?  Scripture teaches us there will be only one thing in heaven that is manmade: the scars on Jesus’ body.   

 Why would God leave these manmade prints on His only Son? 

One reason is to remind us that we are not alone when we go through the trials of this life.  He is with us in good times and bad.  He is with us every second of every day. No matter the gain or loss, Jesus understands everything we are going through and is with us.     

Another reason is His love.  Every time we see the holes from the nails and spear we remember He died on the cross bearing our sin, resurrected from the grave and offers eternal life to all who trust in Him for salvation.

After the resurrection Jesus appeared to His followers, stood in their midst and said “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49)  Just as Jesus was “in their midst,” He is still in our midst today.  He promised us that He will be with us to the very end of the age.  While this is true, we also have within our very being, the deep abiding presence of the Holy Spirit.  God is truly dwelling among, in and through His people!

Is life throwing you a curveball?  Are you facing trials? Look again at Jesus’ scars.  He has “been there, done that” and will help you.  Lean on the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit within you and drink deep of Christ’s friendship.  As you do, people around you will see Christ standing in your midst.  They will see his scars and be drawn to Him, seeking His dwelling amidst His people.   

John Seitz

Antioch Christian Church

Friday, April 15, 2011

SEEKING the JOY of the KINGDOM

Seeking God… for Joy in Extravagant Worship.

Have you ever experienced worship so joy-filling that you never wanted to stop, or leave the Holy ground where you were?  Have you ever had an experience that focused so deeply on Who God is as our Creator, our Sustainer, our Redeemer, and Friend that you just didn’t know what else to do or express, but allowed the Spirit to fill you with sounds of praise?  

When I was in college, I had the unique experience of attending the conference Urbana ’93 in Illinois.  There, 25,000 plus college-aged students from different areas of the US, and from around the world gathered for an experience of worship.   What an experience it was to be in the presence of other believers lifting their voices in joy and praise to our Heavenly Father!  I remember thinking to myself, “What a taste of heaven!”  People of all races and all walks of life, giving praise and glory to God for what He has done, continues to do, and will still do for us!  

That memory remains in my heart as I continue to fix my heart on who God is, and as I allow Him to fill my heart with joy each day.   That experience has been a continual reminder of the glory which comes in knowing The Savior and experiencing life here on earth with Him, in anticipation of the complete fullness of life to come in Glory.

Psalm 89:1-2, “I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations!”

Father, let us not quickly forget your grace, love, and mercy in our lives each and every day. May we forever bring praises to your name so that others will realize Who you are, and be drawn to You because of your amazing grace.  

God's richest blessings,

Kristina Sjogren

Lieutenant
Corps Officer
The Salvation Army – Cedar Rapids, IA 

Thursday, April 14, 2011

SEEKING the JOY of the KINGDOM

Seeking God…..for Abundance with Contentment

What a blessing it is to be counted among those called to intercede for their land. In this season we focus on not only the world, but specifically for our immediate surroundings, our city, our more loosely those who are our neighbors in the geographic location where we each live. Looking at the scope of the events in our world can be very distracting, taking away the passion for the things that are close at hand.

I was talking with a man recently that was concerned that the world was falling part around us so quickly, and his worries are shared by so many. As I was encouraging him as to the faith required to live in peace in a tumultuous time was imperative. His perception of this peace was interpreted as inaction and passivity. I pondered only for a brief moment in his statement spoken with such conviction. I calmly replied that this peace and confidence comes from our Lord and savior, who having no anxiety in the matters of this world, allows us to take a place of quietness thus allowing the Spirit of God to lead us in the direction in which we are to pray. 

This is a privilege Gods allows us, to empower His mercy and grace in the lives of the lost, as well as His people to being released from the bondage that quenches the destiny God has planned for all who will choose to humbly surrender to Him. 

Who will tear down the walls of Jericho in your city? Will you in your mighty work and strength alone, or will you let God through your faithfulness in prayer and obedience allow Him to accomplish all He has planned in his strength and timing.

Keep praying... remain faithful... and Believe! Remain a servant Of God.

Thomas High

River of Life Ministries

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Seeking the Joy of the Kingdom

Seeking God….For Abundance with Contentment

“Our riches have made us comfortable, but we are not comforted.”  Isn’t that the truth? 

To be brutally honest, my prayer of late has been for contentment.  The request is revealing, in and of itself.  For, in spite of living in the most prosperous nation in the world, serving in a profession that I purposefully chose and a ministry that I feel intimately called to – not to mention being surrounded by loving, devoted families, both at home and at church – I still find myself often struggling with feelings of unrest, discontentment and dissatisfaction.  The thing is … I don’t think I’m alone.

Jeremiah 31:14 concludes with God declaring “My people will be satisfied with My goodness.”  The DSP (Dan Sanford Paraphrase) unpacks this as: “Discontentment will rule in your heart until you forsake your idols and find true contentment only in me.”  We live in a greed-driven culture.  Media and marketing constantly bombard us with messages that our lives are incomplete until we purchase their products or acquire their services.  Additionally, our selfish flesh and a devious adversary conspire against us to pry our eyes away from the immeasurable Treasure within; onto the paltry “treasures” without.

Where is true satisfaction or contentment to be found?  “My people will be satisfied with My goodness.”  “My goodness.”  Contentment is the byproduct of fixing our gaze upon Jesus, who is the fullest expression of the Father’s goodness.  I find that the more I can turn my inner radio station off of KDAN (“all Dan, all the time”) and cultivate an inner dialogue with the Holy Spirit, the more contentment I find.  When I stop looking for contentment “out there” and understand that “the Kingdom of God is within,” then I begin to enjoy “the sacrament of the present moment.”

“Our riches have made us comfortable, but we are not comforted.”  Jesus promised us only one “Comforter,” and that is his Holy Spirit.  My inner feelings of discontentment, truly, serve as a warning bell that my eyes are looking for satisfaction without, instead of within. 

As we cultivate our secret, inner life with Christ during this season, may “the things of Earth grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.”      

Dan Sanford, Pastor

First Church of the Open Bible

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Seeking the Joy of the Kingdom

Seeking God….to Restore Desolate Communities

Seeing God is as simple as a fat man losing weight. Fat men lose weight by reducing their caloric intake. Consistently pressing past the breakfast donut and choosing the Kashi cereal instead (I've gotta try that someday) easily said, difficult to make a lifestyle habit. It's the same with seeing God; you have to make a habit of searching just a little more when seeking to find him.

I've recently been searching the internet for a class on evangelism. One of the core subjects of evangelism is how to deal with difficult questions. On a site dealing with the subject, I found this question and how to deal with it:  "The Bible claims that Jesus sweat blood….that can't be true?" The answer to that question I've included below:

Although this medical condition is relatively rare, according to Dr. Frederick Zugibe (Chief Medical Examiner of Rockland County, New York) it is well-known, and there have been many cases of it. The clinical term is “hematohidrosis.” “Around the sweat glands, there are multiple blood vessels in a net-like form.” Under the pressure of great stress the vessels constrict. Then as the anxiety passes “the blood vessels dilate to the point of rupture. The blood goes into the sweat glands.” As the sweat glands are producing a lot of sweat, it pushes the blood to the surface - coming out as droplets of blood mixed with sweat.

From: Did Jesus really sweat drops of blood?

www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t018.html.

If I were to have just stored this bit of knowledge away and moved on, I would have missed a wonderful experience of seeing God. A part of the text caught my eye: Then as the anxiety passes “the blood vessels dilate to the point of rupture.  I was inspired to see God so; I looked up the scripture passage in Luke 22: 39-45. I was looking for that moment of when “the anxiety passes" and found this portion of the scriptures:

vs. ⁴³ And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

vs. ⁴⁴ And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Note that an Angel strengthened him which allowed Jesus the ability to pray with more earnest. At that point I was able to see two great truths and see God even clearer. The first truth was the scriptures perfectly line up with science. The second was that seeking God in earnest brings about the passing of anxiety. That tickled my soul. If I hadn't wanted to see God more, I would have missed seeing him. Wow, I'm almost inspired enough to go on a diet…..almost.

Michael Parsons

Oak Hill Jackson Community Church

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The Holy Spirit is a gift that has been sent to us to help us in prayer.

Look at Matthew 7:9-11 (NLT): “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? ¹⁰ Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! ¹¹ So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.”

My kids look to me to provide for them, it is a gift to them.  When I come back from a trip, my kids look for gifts from dad.  Recently, before leaving on a trip to Ireland, my youngest daughter asked me to bring her back a snow globe – she loves to collect them.  Of course I returned to Iowa with a snow globe!   I searched most of Northern Ireland to find it.   

I am their dad, and they love it when I give gifts to them, and provide for them.  And they know how much I love them by the ways that I provide for them.  The more they look to me for that love, and find it, the more they trust in me as their dad.  This relationship with my kids helps me to understand this verse - let’s read it from Luke’s Gospel.

Luke 11:11-13 (NLT): “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? ¹² Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! ¹³ So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

The context of Luke 11 is Jesus teaching on prayer.  He is saying that when we pray for the Father’s provision, that His provision is good, and the more that He provides for us, the more that we will trust Him as our Father.

Did you notice the difference between the wording in these two passages?  In Luke it says that our Father will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him.  In Matthew it says that our Father will give good gifts to them that ask Him.  To me, Matthew’s version makes more sense because he is initially talking about giving good gifts.

With Luke’s gospel we could ask…What if we weren’t asking for the Holy Spirit, what if we were asking God the Father for something else?  The answer to this question unfolds the reason why God sent the Holy Spirit to us.

  

For example, what if something tragic happened to someone close to you, and you asked God for comfort.  God the Father doesn’t just give you comfort, He sends the Holy Spirit who is the comforter.  What if you were asking for help?  Our Father doesn’t just send help, He sends the Holy Spirit who is the helper.

Maybe you ask for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control.  The Father doesn’t just give you these things; He gives you the Holy Spirit who makes all of these things a reality in your life.

This is the great promise to us in prayer; we ask God for gifts in prayer, and He gives us the gift giver, we ask God for supply, and He gives us the source.

With the Holy Spirit you don’t just get the snow globe; you get the snow globe manufacturer – wouldn’t my daughter love that!   

Daniel Winn

Cedar Rapids Family Church