Title: Lay Message

Date: 2009-08-02

Reference: Matthew 7: 7-12

By Jere Sutton



I am again humbled and honored to be in front of you. There is much that I want to share with you. Today I want to talk to you about prayer and why I would not be here with you if were not for prayer.

First, I must do something that I feel a compulsion to do. In our Sunday school class, we have a time for sharing and are able to tell joys and concerns, after placing some talents in the “box” (used for our various projects). Many of us like to occasionally tell of our favorite teams accomplishments. We sometimes are very enthusiastic about our stories.

Roberta Arwood made a comment that it would be a wonderful thing if we could be as enthusiastic about Jesus as we were about our pet teams. I think we can be enthusiastic and would like to demonstrate.

I have prepared some cheerleaders in our congregation to help me demonstrate our ability to be enthusiastic. Please stand.

I want all of you to enter in to a cheer for Jesus. Give me a J – give me a E --- give me an S – give me a U --- give me a S. What does that spell!!! Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

Thank you! We should be enthusiastic when we are talking about Jesus and let the entire world know that Jesus is our Savior.

After last week, some of our members said that I should tell about all that we do in this church and it is true that there is many missions and activities that all of you are doing.

First, we have persons in mission that have given up several of their personal days and are on their way back from a successful mission trip. We have people that are serving us by visiting the hospital and home bound. We have a wonderful prayer team that presents an inspiring and meaningful service the third Sunday of each month

We host the IHN, Andrea Shirley, a member of the Uganda Mission team is in charge. We support the Cooperative Care Center, we have a very active Youth Group, the youth recently on a mission trip, we have a men’s group that meets every month, we have an active women’s group.

We have very talented and caring people in our congregation that take part in serving the church. Jewel Nelson has made these wonderful banners that have added so much to our worship services. We have loyal and dedicated choir members that are here every Wednesday night during nine months out of the year and are willing to come and sing for each of our 2 worship services. We have dedicated nursery workers, Sunday school Teachers, there a lot of our congregation that help to cook and serve the Wednesday night dinners during the fall and winter. There are the individuals that work and plan our various social functions. Dedicated nursery workers that give our young children the love, and attention they need.

I do not have the time to tell you about all of the workers and activities that is a part of our church. The church is and must be dynamic. After knowing all of this, does that mean we do not need to Rethink Church? What we are talking about is what we are today. We need to think where we are and what is FUMC to be 5 and 10 years from now? We need to each ask ourselves what we can do to make Church a verb instead of a noun. Do not think of the church as a place to go but a place to do.

I want to now talk to you about our Conversation with God. Prayer is our conversation with God. It is our only way to a real and personal relationship with God.

It is our opportunity to be intimate with God. He is a friend that knows everything there is to know about us, so we have nothing that can be hidden. When we carry on our conversation with God we are able to confess what he already knows. We can speak to God without fear of rejection. I believe you can argue with God and He will help to work out a better understanding of the problem and lead to a solution.

You must have faith and expectation that God will answer your prayers. It may not be the answer you want, but I am convinced that God will answer it in your or in the overall best interest.

For what do we pray?

Acknowledge God, that He Loves, Merciful and Forgiving. Accept His gift of Jesus Christ as you Lord and Savior.

Read Romans 10: 4-13

Read Luke 11: 9 – 13

Confess our sins and accept His Forgiveness.

Pray for His will to be done in your life, that his Holy Spirit guides us and then we will be filled with the fullness of all God has for us.

Pray for thanksgiving with an awareness of all that God has done for us and all the ways he has blessed us.

If you have a concern for others that are having troubles and problems, intercede on their behalf.

Pray to worship Him.

There is nothing that we cannot pray about. The Bible tells us to “pray without ceasing” and in everything give thanks to the Lord.

We gain an intimacy the more we pray to God.

I stated earlier that I would not be standing here if it was not for the prayers of a loving pastor (my buddy) and a loving congregation. This is the story as told to me by my parents. I was 5 years old. We lived next to the church and the parsonage backyard joined ours. I called the pastor Pound, Pound because he taught me to pound nails into a board. I developed complications from measles and it progressed to double pneumonia. I was running a seriously high fever for several days and all attempts to lower it had failed. I was being treated by a wonderful doctor at that time. His name was Dr. Shaver. (I remember that ever since that time I wanted to be a doctor.)

It came to Sunday and at the start of the service, Rev. Thompson (pound-pound) was concerned that I was so ill and the thoughts were that I could die. He told the congregation that he was so concerned that he could not carry out the service and ask all of them to come to our house for a prayer service. They all came to our back yard and Pound – Pound led them in prayer and asked God for my healing. At that time, my fever broke and I was on my way to recovery. Praise the Lord.

I personally enjoy sharing my thoughts with the Lord. He and I are able to spend a lot of time together on my trips to the prison at Olney Springs. I know that he is with me at all times. God does not shout or whisper in my ear, but I can feel His presence. I know he guides me if I have patience enough to wait and listen. When I have let go of the reigns and placed them in the hand of God He has answered my prayers.

I believe that God always answers our prayers. Jesus is my companion and friend. I know that I cannot hide anything from Him and it is comforting that he accepts me just the way I am.

Let us pray.