Greetings!

This past Sabbath I focused on the story of Moses found in Exodus 17:8-16.  Joshua has been sent to choose men who will fight against the Amelekites, while Moses heads up the hill to pray, and by God's direction, hold his hands out with staff outstretched.  While fighting, Aaron and Hur, who had gone with him, recognized an interesting fact; when Moses had his hands up, the Israelites were winning.  Hands down, the Israelites were losing.  Recognizing Moses was getting tired, they sat him down on a stone, and stood on both sides of him, grabbing his hands and keeping them raised until the victory was assured against the Israelites' enemy.

What we learned?  Fervent, persevering prayer makes a different.  It discloses our investment in the outcome, and what we have presented to God through our requests. It is easy to ask God to do something, then walk away and wait.  But those who persevere in prayer, grabbing hold of the throne of God with their petitions, those are the ones who often see God move in amazing ways.  Moses hands outstretched to heaven was his perseverance and trust in God, the outcome of victory came through a fervent trust and faith in God.

After the sermon we broke into prayer circles and shared our petitions together, taking time to make prayer a priority.  I have heard from many it was a true blessing.  I know it was for me, and the joy of seeing our church in prayer, a most necessary element in the success and ministry of the Lewisville SDA Church, was overwhelming.  If you were part of this experience, I hoped you were blessed as well, and have seen God move this week in answer to prayer.

Here is the good news!  We do this every Sabbath morning at 9:30A in our Prayer Circles, and I would encourage you to continue the blessings by coming to this needful part of our church life, and share with others the power of prayer together.  I know, I believe, I am convicted, the church MUST pray, and we must lean in on God with perseverance in our petitions.  All of heaven awaits to answer the prayers we offer, and God wants to do amazing things in our church and school...

I hope to see you Sabbath at 9:30A as we continue our circles of prayer...

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  9:30A - Prayer Circles (all are invited, connect group leaders urged to attend)

  9:50A - Connect Group leaders setup their areas

10:00A - Connect Groups (all ages)

10:50A - Conclusion of Connect Groups (all leaders close with prayer in group)

10:51A - Meet & Mix (hit the snacks in the fellowship area)

11:00A - 5 Minute worship countdown

11:05A - Worship Service

12:30P - Guest Fellowship Lunch - Please find a guest, invite them to lunch!

We continue our "Start Here" class again, with Lee Murray, Yvette Akar, and Faye Hunte as teachers.  This class is an introduction to the Biblical beliefs we hold as a church, and also a refresher course for those who wish to join.  We encourage those new to the Adventist church, or haven't been attending in a while, to join up!

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I want to challenge you, again, to take serious the guests who enter in our church, so I share again the post from Twitter below.  God has been sending numerous guests the past several weeks, and that is no accident.  God is moving within our church, and drawing people to our congregation, and more importantly, Him.

1.  Be intentional about looking for new people each week.

2.  Introduce yourself to new people, welcome them, introduce them others.

3.  Invite them to our guest fellowship lunch, go with them too!!! Get to know them!

4.  Tell them what you love about LSDA in 30 seconds, get them excited.

5.  Point out to the pastor who is new, so the pastor can connect also.

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Please remember we have fellowship lunch this week for the entire church, and you are encouraged to stay, and please bring one, or two, dishes to share with others.  It is a wonderful time to continue building relationships with each other, and guests!

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Enjoy the rest of your week.  

Dean

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!!!!