A Six-Week Sunday Worship Prayer Guide

Transcription

1 A Six-Week Sunday Worship Prayer Guide

2 A Six-Week Sunday Worship Prayer Guide How to use this guide: Below are suggested prayer focuses to be used over a six-week period. Plan to set aside three to five minutes of each gathering to challenge your members toward obedience, and spend time praying intentionally for God s direction for your church. You can print this out and insert it in your weekly worship guide. You can also encourage use of a six-week, small-group prayer guide. 2

3 Sunday 1 God is a missional God and has a heart for ALL nations Between God s promise to Abraham that all peoples would be blessed through his lineage in the person of Jesus Christ (Galatians 3) and John s vision of its fulfillment, the prevailing message of the Bible is God s passion for all peoples to know and glorify Him. The LORD said to Abram: Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you. (Genesis 12:1-3, HCSB) After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were robed in white with palm branches in their hands. (Revelation 7:9, HCSB) Prayer: Ask God to increase your passion to see all peoples reached with the Gospel. Pray that He will fan a flame of passion for His glory among all the people groups of the earth. Ask Him to grant you eyes that will see the world the way He does. seetheunreached.com 3

4 Sunday 2 The mission: to make disciples of all nations in fulfillment of the Throughout time, God has chosen messengers to proclaim His name among the nations. The Bible tells us that all things were created by Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16). The very reason God created all things, including mankind, was for His pleasure. He desires and deserves the worship of all peoples. The good news is that He is a good and loving God whose very nature compels those who know Him to worship Him. In the story of the Bible, from beginning to end, we see that God has chosen a people to represent His name to the nations. We see God choose the children of Abraham to be a people set aside for His name s sake so that all the earth would know Him. In the New Testament, we see that we who are of the faith of Abraham are now included in that calling as children of Abraham to be a blessing to all the nations. Paul reminds us that we have been reconciled to God and have become ambassadors for Christ, having been entrusted with the message and ministry of reconciliation. It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth (Isaiah 49:6, ESV). Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, In you shall all the nations be blessed. So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith (Galatians 3:7-9, ESV). Prayer: In prayer and thanksgiving, praise God for providing the means of salvation through His son, Jesus, and for blessing us through the access of the incredible message of the Gospel. Pray that God will remind you of the joy and responsibility you have in being an ambassador of the King of kings to all the earth. Ask God to give you the courage and zeal for being a witness for Him. 4 seetheunreached.com

5 Sunday 3 God instituted the Church for the sake of fulfilling His great, global mission. Many times, when we think about missions, we automatically think about those individuals who sell all their material goods, leave their homes and families and go to a faraway culture to share the Gospel. Although this is not a wrong way to view missions, it is incomplete. The truth is, everyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ has been called to be a part of God s global mission. Paul tells us clearly in Ephesians that from the beginning of time, God chose the Church to reveal His manifold wisdom. Jesus Himself commissioned His disciples to continue the work begun from the beginning, to make God s name famous to. When we think of the Church, we need to remember that each believer is part of the body of Christ, the Church. The Church is not simply a building in which to gather. The Church is the people, the members. Each one of us has been commissioned by Christ to fulfill His mission both individually and corporately, as a community of believers. Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you (John 20:21, ESV). God who created all things, so that through the Church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord... (Ephesians 3:9-11, ESV). Prayer: Ask God to fill all of us with His Holy Spirit so that individually and corporately we can fulfill the mission to which He has called us. Pray that His will will be made known clearly and that He will provide the strength to obey. seetheunreached.com 5

6 Sunday 4 Although Jesus has clearly called His disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all peoples, there are still many peoples who have never heard. The Bible clearly instructs us as followers of Christ to proclaim the Gospel to every language, people, tribe and nation. We know that this is His heart, His mission and His command. Yet today there are more than 6,700 people groups who are still considered UNREACHED. They are considered unreached because less than 2 percent of their number are true followers of Jesus. To go further, some of these peoples (3,800) are also considered UNENGAGED meaning there is no one intentionally trying to reach them. We know that one day God s mission will be fulfilled, based on John s revelation of his vision of Heaven. He saw a multitude of people from every tribe and language around the throne, worshipping and praising God. We realize that day will come, but for now there is still much work to be done. Imagine being born in a place where there is a great possibility you will never even hear the name of Jesus Christ. Approximately 1.7 billion people find themselves in that very reality. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? (Romans 10:13-15, ESV) Prayer: Ask God to break our hearts for the peoples of the earth who know only enough of Him to condemn them to eternal separation from Him (Romans 1). Pray that God will clearly review what people group He is calling our church to Embrace so they can hear the Gospel. Ask God to begin to work in the hearts of that people group even now. 6 seetheunreached.com

7 Sunday 5 Being on mission with God is a joy and a privilege, not simply a duty. Many times we refer to the as a task or duty. It is true that God has left us on the earth to be about the task He has commissioned us to complete. Yet it is not simply a duty. It is pure grace to be called the ambassadors of God, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. God has chosen us to represent His name to the ends of the earth. What an incredible privilege to serve our great God. God is at work all over this world calling people to Himself, and the exciting thing is that He has called us to come alongside and partner with Him in this mission. The joy of being heirs of the King, recipients of supernatural love and grace, should drive us daily to make His name known among the earth. May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; let all fear him! (Psalm 67, ESV) Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ (Ephesians 3:7-8, ESV). Prayer: Thank God for the wonderful gift of grace He has given us to be able to partner with Him in His global mission. Pray that He will renew the joy of our salvation and compel us to take the Gospel so that others can experience the joy of knowing Him. seetheunreached.com 7

8 Sunday 6 We must be willing to do whatever needs to be done to take the Gospel to all peoples Today there are still more than 3,800 people groups who are considered unengaged and unreached. They are lost and haven t heard the wonderful news of the Gospel. God has done everything to provide a way for their salvation and reconciliation, yet they have not heard. Jesus was willing to give His life and become sin so that a multitude from all tribes and tongues could know and worship God. What are we willing to do to proclaim that Gospel and make Him known among the nations? Will we ignore the cost, engage in the spiritual battle and do whatever it takes to Embrace an unengaged, unreached people group so they can know and worship our Lord Jesus Christ? The unengaged peoples are unengaged for a reason. There will be geographic, religious, governmental or other significant barriers. We must choose to do what it will take to see churches planted among them. We must be willing to go where they are, whether in their homeland or even to those scattered (Diaspora) throughout the world including the United States. After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were robed in white with palm branches in their hands (Revelation 7:9, HCSB). Prayer: God, reveal to us what people you want us to Embrace for the sake of Your glory. Please help us find them and learn to love them. Give us endurance, wisdom and power so that we may see disciples made and churches planted among them. We lay our yes on the alter and are willing to do whatever it will take to Embrace the unengaged, unreached people group You choose for us. 8 seetheunreached.com