We have a tremendous opportunity as the women of College Church of Christ! Beginning the first Sunday in March (March 6), we will have a Women's Prayer Group meeting in the Ocheltree Group Room (700) before church at 8 a.m. All women are invited. Helen Gonzales will lead us in seeking God's face on behalf of ourselves, our families, our church, our city, our state, our nation and the world.
Some of the most powerful prayers in the Bible were prayed by women. For instance, one prayer even has its own name: "The Magnificat". It is the prayer of praise that Mary prayed when she learned that she would be the mother of Jesus. We often sing part of this prayer in church. Perhaps you recognize it:
"My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me--
holy is his name."
Luke 1:46-49 (NIV)
Hannah prayed a similarly powerful prayer when she learned that she would give birth to the mighty prophet, Samuel:
"For the foundations of the earth are the Lord's
upon them he has set the world.
He will guard the feet of his saints,
but the wicked will be silenced in darkness.
It is not by strength that one prevails;
those who oppose the Lord will be shattered.
He will thunder against them from heaven;
the Lord will judge the ends of the earth.
He will give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed."
1 Samuel 2:8-10 (NIV)
Miriam, the sister of the great prophet Moses, led the congregation in praise after they crossed the Red Sea safely, but their Egyptian pursuers were drowned in the waves:
"I will sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
he has hurled into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will exalt him."
Exodus 15:1,2 (NIV)
In heaven, those men and women who have suffered greatly under the evil world rulers of the End Times, but who have remained faithful to God, even unto death, will repeat the chorus led by Miriam and Moses at the Red Sea:
"And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fie and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb:
'Great and marvelous are your deeds,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
King of the ages.
Who will not fear you, O Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.'"
Revelation 15:2-4 (NIV)
Let's come together as the women of College Church of Christ and make history with our prayers! We can do it! Our sisters Mary and Hannah and Miriam did long ago. We can do so today!
Women's Prayer Group meeting will take place on the first Sunday of each month at 8 am in the Ocheltree Shepherding Group Room (700).
--Posted by Mama O
New Mercies
Friday, February 26, 2016
Friday, February 12, 2016
The Lord's Prayer
--Posted by Mama O
Friday, February 5, 2016
Deceiving the elect(orate)
Thursday, January 28, 2016
"Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
Dad (Bob Morrow), Mom (Guylene Morrow) and me (Carolyn Ocheltree) |
This is me and my mom, Guylene Morrow. We think we look a lot alike! |
Thursday, January 21, 2016
No pain, no gain!
This Sunday concludes our 3-part January series on "Spiritual Disciplines". January is typically the month when we commit to self-improvement. We start diets and exercise programs, we launch "Read Through The Bible in One Year" plans, we start organizing our personal areas. So, it seemed like an ideal time to address some of the less popular, but necessary topics in our Christian walk.
In our first discussion we looked at the biblical meaning of "love". We may not think of love as a "discipline", but more as an emotion or feeling. But, the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13 must be diligently maintained with discipline. Learning patience and kindness and a lack of egotism are not warm fuzzy feelings. They are hard work.
Why was love the first of the spiritual disciplines? Because love is THAT important. Without love, all other disciplines are useless. Without love, we are like a man who emerges from his house at midnight to bang on pots and pans. Our actions and our noise are misplaced: wrong time, wrong context. Our words hurt instead of help. Our actions are resented rather than appreciated.
Last week we addressed fasting and prayer (I noticed attendance was extremely low that day!). Fasting is a way of investing ourselves, personally, into our prayer lives. When we deprive ourselves of food for a time, we are putting some "skin in the game", making it personal. God is not obligated to do as we ask, even when we fast, but our fasting allows us to see and hear God speak and move in ways that we might otherwise miss.
This week, we will discuss a variety of spiritual disciplines including listening, prayer, humble service, covenantal community and simplicity, among others. We will explore the concept that "less is more". Do we really need all the junk we accumulate through the years, physically or emotionally? A good thorough cleaning might be in order for our personal spaces: our homes, our offices and our emotional life.
Wear your spiritual workout clothes. Be ready to sweat. Remember class, "No pain, no gain!"
See you Sunday morning at the gym, called Room 700.
--Posted by Mama O
In our first discussion we looked at the biblical meaning of "love". We may not think of love as a "discipline", but more as an emotion or feeling. But, the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13 must be diligently maintained with discipline. Learning patience and kindness and a lack of egotism are not warm fuzzy feelings. They are hard work.
Why was love the first of the spiritual disciplines? Because love is THAT important. Without love, all other disciplines are useless. Without love, we are like a man who emerges from his house at midnight to bang on pots and pans. Our actions and our noise are misplaced: wrong time, wrong context. Our words hurt instead of help. Our actions are resented rather than appreciated.
Last week we addressed fasting and prayer (I noticed attendance was extremely low that day!). Fasting is a way of investing ourselves, personally, into our prayer lives. When we deprive ourselves of food for a time, we are putting some "skin in the game", making it personal. God is not obligated to do as we ask, even when we fast, but our fasting allows us to see and hear God speak and move in ways that we might otherwise miss.
This week, we will discuss a variety of spiritual disciplines including listening, prayer, humble service, covenantal community and simplicity, among others. We will explore the concept that "less is more". Do we really need all the junk we accumulate through the years, physically or emotionally? A good thorough cleaning might be in order for our personal spaces: our homes, our offices and our emotional life.
Wear your spiritual workout clothes. Be ready to sweat. Remember class, "No pain, no gain!"
See you Sunday morning at the gym, called Room 700.
--Posted by Mama O
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Six Things Fasting Does For Our Prayers
"For truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you. But this kind (of demon) does not go out except by prayer and fasting." Matthew 17:20,21 (NASV)
Jesus' disciples had been trained in spiritual healing and casting out demons and had been practicing God's medical mercy on many people when they were approached by a man and his son. The son was given to seizures, akin to epilepsy. When the disciples applied their training to the boy, his seizures continued. The disciples consulted with their master as to the reason.
Jesus responded with an encouraging lesson on faith and some further instruction, in advanced spiritual healing techniques. Apparently there are some strongholds of the devil that do not respond to ordinary methods. That's when more serious spiritual weapons are necessary. And fasting, paired with sincere and repentant prayer, is one of those advanced weapons.
What kind of strongholds might need those advanced spiritual weapons?
1. A long-standing grudge
2. An addiction
3. Unbelief
4. Prejudice
5. Childhood hurts
6. Abuse
We will study six things that fasting does for our prayers in Ocheltree Group this week. If you would like to do a little preliminary study, please read these passages, shared in a sermon by Dr. Adrian Rogers:
1. Fasting strengthens our prayers: Joel 2:12; Jer. 29:13
2. Fasting subdues self: Ezek. 16:49
3. Fasting stays the judgment of God: Jonah 3:5,10; Jer. 18:7,8
4. Fasting stops God's enemies: 2 Chron. 20:3,4,24,29
5. Fasting seeks God's guidance: Acts 13:2
6. Fasting shatters strongholds like bitterness, resentment, fear and bad habits: Isaiah 58:6
--Posted by Mama O.
Thursday, January 7, 2016
The Greatest Of These Is Love
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NIV)
January is the month when we are most likely to get our lives back in order. We
1. Start reading the Bible all the way through
2.Join a gym
3. Start a diet
4. Reorganize our personal space
5. De-clutter
6. Quit smoking
7. Start reading Moby Dick
8. Vow to cut back on social media or television viewing
...And the list goes on....
I, personally, am an enthusiastic advocate of New Year's resolutions. As the old adage goes:
"Failing to plan is planning to fail."
I believe life has natural rhythms and the New Year is one of those annually occurring opportunities to get a fresh start.
In the spirit of fresh starts, I will be teaching a three-part series on "Spiritual Disciplines" in the Ocheltree Shepherding Group during January. We will address some serious disciplines, the kind we would expect from full-time monks or nuns or Jason Locke: prayer and fasting, obedience, service, community, active listening, hope, simplicity, stability, balance and hospitality.
But, without a solid and stable foundation of love, these disciplines will function more like weapons that hurt people than like tools that help them. That's pretty serious.
We will discuss the biblical definition of love and the opposite of love. (Hint: read 1 Corinthians 13; 1 John 3:17,18; 1 John 4:18 and 2 Timothy 1:7).
I look forward to a spiritually healthy 2016, built on the solid foundation of LOVE!
--Posted by Mama O.
January is the month when we are most likely to get our lives back in order. We
1. Start reading the Bible all the way through
2.Join a gym
3. Start a diet
4. Reorganize our personal space
5. De-clutter
6. Quit smoking
7. Start reading Moby Dick
8. Vow to cut back on social media or television viewing
...And the list goes on....
I, personally, am an enthusiastic advocate of New Year's resolutions. As the old adage goes:
"Failing to plan is planning to fail."
I believe life has natural rhythms and the New Year is one of those annually occurring opportunities to get a fresh start.
In the spirit of fresh starts, I will be teaching a three-part series on "Spiritual Disciplines" in the Ocheltree Shepherding Group during January. We will address some serious disciplines, the kind we would expect from full-time monks or nuns or Jason Locke: prayer and fasting, obedience, service, community, active listening, hope, simplicity, stability, balance and hospitality.
But, without a solid and stable foundation of love, these disciplines will function more like weapons that hurt people than like tools that help them. That's pretty serious.
We will discuss the biblical definition of love and the opposite of love. (Hint: read 1 Corinthians 13; 1 John 3:17,18; 1 John 4:18 and 2 Timothy 1:7).
I look forward to a spiritually healthy 2016, built on the solid foundation of LOVE!
--Posted by Mama O.
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