I knew God is “the God who sees me” when I read Hagar’s story in Genesis 16. When you seem to be at the “end of your rope” and all hope seems to be gone, He is the God who knows where you are; and He cares. But on a Saturday morning I experienced God as “the God who sees me.”
Great Georgia Revival of 1827
The Great Georgia Revival of 1827 began in prayer and impacted a region in the revival of God’s people that led to a spiritual awakening in communities across the state. Adiel Sherwood was pastor in Eatonton, GA where over 100 were converted. Revival struck a crowd of 4,000 at the annual meeting of the Okmulgee Baptist Association where Sherwood spoke. Others pastors, churches, and denominations became involved in preaching and sharing Christ. During the season of revival over 16,000 were added to Baptist churches. In Sandtown, GA every person of accountable age was saved, and they renamed their town Newborn, GA. Revival is the preparation of God’s people to be used in a Spiritual Awakening where large numbers or high percentages of people are converted to Jesus Christ and communities and cultures change for God’s glory.
War Room Church Campaign
The movie War Room releases in theaters across the country on August 28. Use War Room Campaign Kit to prepare your church to take full advantage of the opportunity to respond to the many who will ask: “Teach me to pray.” Use War Room Bible Study Leader Kit before or after people see the movie to examine five areas of Christian living using video clips from the movie and a Bible study guide to help members grow in their walk with Christ. The kit includes the Bible study, a planning guide, a DVD-ROM with digital downloads with sermon helps, helps for developing a church prayer ministry, flyers, web ads, posters, movie trailers, social media tools, and more.
For this and other War Room resources go to:
For more information about the movie go to:
4 Preparations to Pray with Power
James 5:16 explains that the fervent prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. If we want to pray with power and effectiveness, we need to prepare ourselves to be the kind of people who receive answers to their prayers. Let’s go after:
1. Entire Consecration
2. Wholehearted Love
3. Complete Obedience
4. Full Surrender
Praying in Agreement
Jesus gave us a wonderful promise for the power of prayers of agreement in Matthew 18:19-20. What kind of praying meets God’s standards for such effective prayers? When we pray together, our greatest need is to come to the place where we agree together with what God desires to do–we pray according to His will.
For more on this message see the following course:
- Growing Disciples: Pray in Faith (by T. W. Hunt and Claude King)
Disciple Making Calls for Multiplication
When Jesus gave His disciples the Final Command (Great Commission), He told them to make disciples of all peoples and teach them to obey all His commands. He further commanded them to go to the ends of the earth. Disciple making that measures up to Christ’s command and to the demands of a rapidly growing world population will require multiplication, not just simple addition. A Disciple-Making Movement will produce a spiritual awakening when large numbers or high percentages of a population come to genuine faith in Christ.
[Note: For more stories and insight on Disciple Making Movements see Miraculous Movements: How Hundreds of Thousands of Muslims Are Falling in Love with Jesus by my friend Jerry Trousdale.]
Paul’s Model of Disciple Making
The Apostle Paul set a wonderful and powerful example for us on how to make disciples of others. He lived his life in such a way that people could see a living demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s power to transform a life. Then he encouraged people to follow his example as he followed Christ’s example. When the church at Thessalonica followed Paul’s and Christ’s example like that, they had an impact on a significant portion of the Mediterranean world. Join me in seeking to follow Paul’s model as we pursue Christlikeness. See his example in 1 Corinthians 2:4-5; 1 Corinthians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 11:1; Ephesians 5:1; and 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7.
Establishing a Core Curriculum for Disciple Making
Just as universities require a core curriculum for a particular degree program, churches need to establish a core curriculum for disciples. They may offer many courses of study to appeal to personal interests of members, but disciples of Jesus Christ need to be trained and equipped in the essentials of faith and practice. If your church does not have an established foundational curriculum, I’d like to recommend a set of resources for your consideration.
Week One: Taking Your First Steps as a Follower of Jesus Christ
- Growing Disciples: The Call to Follow Christ (by Claude King)
- Growing Disciples: Abide in Christ (by Andrew Murray and Bo Stevens)
- Growing Disciples: Live in the Word (by Philip Nation)
- Growing Disciples: Pray in Faith (by T. W. Hunt and Claude King)
- Growing Disciples: Fellowship with Believers (by Mel Blackaby and Bo Stevens)
- Growing Disciples: Witness to the World (by W. Oscar Thompson, Jr. and Carolyn Thompson Ritzmann)
- Growing Disciples: Minister to Others (by Richard Leach and David Wheeler)
Step by Step Through the Old Testament
Step by Step Through the New Testament
8 Steps Toward Becoming a House of Prayer for the Nations
In my previous two posts I’ve tried to emphasize the importance and necessity of churches becoming houses of prayer for the nations. In these five video clips, I’ll introduce the following 8 steps you may consider using as you seek to become a house of prayer for the nations.
1. Get right with God and one another.
2. Rekindle a first love for Christ, the wounded Savior
3. Experience an intimate and personal love relationship with God in prayer.
4. Be devoted to prayer with God’s people in every setting possible.
5. Make prayer a primary part of your work strategy in every aspect of church life.
6. Pray for one another while together with one another. Ask: “How may I pray for you.”
7. Tell stories and share the testimonies of answered prayer.
8. Pray for God’s assignments to the lost world beginning at home and to the ends of the earth. Then obey the Final Command (Great Commission).
Part 1: Steps 1-3
Part 2: Step 4
Part 3: Step 5
Part 4: Step 6
Part 5: Steps 7-8
The Walter Hill Revival
A church that had run about 50 in attendance for 50 years repented of their prayerlessness. God began to bring inactive members back into active fellowship with the body. They began to reach people in their community for Christ and become involved in an international missions partnership. For me, this church was an example of the difference between a “house of prayer for the nations” (Isaiah 56:1-8) and a “den of robbers” (Jeremiah 7:9-11).