The Secret to Living

Welcome to The Douglas Band as they lead us into worship. They are a family anointed. They use their gifts and talents for the glory and honor of God. Allow them to bless you as they sing about the Savior they serve and love.

What is the most important relationship outside of your relationship with God? The next greatest relationship we need to invest in is with ourself. The person you look at in the mirror. If you don't know how to love yourself how do you love your neighbor as The Word states. The first and greatest command love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul. Be who He died for, who He loves. When you tell those around you about the God you serve they should see that you live in that truth. When we live in the lie that we are not enough we are not living in the truth that we are enough for Jesus to die for. Jesus says you are enough. The creator of the universe love you. Start living like you believe that. You are enough. Pastor Kevin speaks about the seven spiritual practices Jesus modeled in his earthy ministry years that we should follow 1) Prayer 2) Fasting 3) Worship 4) Scripture reading 5) Solitude/Silence 6) Service 7) Meditation. If we will search The Word we will find the answers.

Happy Fathers Day to all the fathers and men of influence. Most fathers want their children to be happy, healthy, independent and to have a strong emotional connection with them. They want their children to grow up to be resilient, moral adults. The best Dad ever. Our heavenly Father. He loves you. God has given the example in His Word on how to be a good dad. What example are we following and showing to our children. The 3 P's of being a good dad. What every good dad wants FOR their children. 1) Provision for his children 2) Protection for his children 3) Promotion for his children. The bible is awesome. Our heavenly Father has been teaching and showing us all through scripture how to be good mothers and fathers. Whatever your situation, whatever you are going through, if you know God is for you, then who can be against you? What weapon is going to prosper? Who is going to tear you down? What stronghold is going to come against you? NONE of them! Who is the best dad ever? HE IS!!

Uncomplicating our prayer life. Parents Grandparents, kids church workers, and teachers all understand that Jesus listens very attentively to the prayers of children. Children's prayers are simple and uncomplicated. They don't use a lot of filters. They speak from the heart. Jesus says in Matthew 18:4 whoever humbles himself as a little child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. As we age our lives become more complicated and we assume more responsibility. Our minds and our spaces become more cluttered with stuff. Sometimes that steps into our prayer life. We are all Gods children. He loves us, He wants our child like love and trust. The best prayers are straightforward, simple and uncomplicated. Find a place you can talk to God without a sense of hurry or rush. Uncomplicate your process with 3 A's, 1) Adore, 2) Acknowledge, 3) Ask You can pray 5 minutes or an hour. You can pray in silence or out loud. You can pray kneeling or standing. You can pray at your desk or walking in the park. Unlock the power of prayer. We need to move past the alter and move into the presents of God in the Holy of Holies. To smell like incense. We need to stop smelling like sheep and start smelling like prayer. Uncomplicate your prayer life.

Uncomplicating things in our lives. From our appliances to our cars everything has become complicated. Technology is great when it works. When it does not work things get complicated. We tend to make our spiritual life more complicated than it needs to be. If a child can talk to God so can you. Just like our kids and grandkids can come to us that's how we can come to God our Father. We have turned prayer into a complicated list of task with rules and strategies. We don't need a strategy to approach Gods throne. Sometimes the thought of praying is so overwhelming we neglect the spiritual discipline all together. Jesus in Luke 11 and Matthew 6 taught His disciples TO pray. He taught first what not to do. Pastor Kevin speaks on The Lord's Prayer. Prayer beings with praise and ends with praise. We begin our prayer praising God for who He is and we end our prayer in praise for what He will do according to His will. Don't be overwhelmed at the thought of maintaining a vibrant prayer life with God. Why should we do anything other than the model Jesus gave to His disciples: Praise, Priorities, Petition, Protection, Praise.....

One thing that should not be complicated "prayer". The greatest communication tool in the universe. Over the next several weeks Pastor Kevin will be speaking on the straightforward, simple and uncomplicated practice of prayer. Many of us don't feel we pray as much as we should, as long as we should or as knowledgeable as we should. Our problem is we have a tendency to overcomplicate things. Prayer is an open door. Access into the presences of God and into the throne of grace. Jesus teaches in Matthew 7 to keep asking, keep seeking and keep knocking. We have forgotten how simple prayer is. Let us open our hearts and ears to hear what The Word tells us about how to uncomplicate our prayer life.