1. HOW TO START A BIBLICAL FAST
Fasting is denying my self. It is denying not only my own body, but
also my own wants. It is a way of saying that food and my desires
are secondary to something else. Biblical fasting is deliberately
abstaining from food for a spiritual reason: communication and
relationship with the Father.
Fasting is abstaining from something to give the time to a spiritual
exercise. Fasting and praying are often linked together in the Bible
(Luke 2v37, 5v33). Jesus assumed we would fast Matt 6v16-17.
We can abstain from food, sex, sleep (TV, reading, or anything that
takes our time…). The purpose of fasting is to take our eyes off
something in order to focus on the Kingdom of God. Fasting is not
punishment; it is voluntary, and an opportunity to ‘spend more’
time/ energy/ money on God and his work. Time ‘redeemed’ can be put
to use in other ways.
One obvious time to fast and pray is when there is a particular need
present in a person's life, the church family, nation or world.
HOW DO I FAST?
If you have never fasted before, start slow – miss one or two meals
in a day not three. Keep drinking fluids all day. Spend the time you
would have spent in a meal with God. Start and stop as you would
with a meal… timed. Use the time well. During your fast, pray and
read Scripture, sing worship songs, or read devotional books.
Remember: fasting is not an end in itself. Seek the Lord, not the
experience of fasting.
Let God speak to you. Ask the question: “What are you saying to me
God?”.
SOME BIBLICAL REFERENCES ON FASTING
Ezra 8:21-23; 10:6, Nehemiah 1:4, Esther 4:16, Job 33:19,20 Psalm
69:10; 102:4 Isaiah 58:6 Jonah 3:5,10 Daniel 9:3,20-23; 10:3 Joel
2:15 Exodus 34:28
Matthew 4:2; 6:16; 9:15 Acts 13:3; 14:23 1 Cori7:5 2 Cor 11:27,28
A MORNING OF PRAYER & FASTING
Saturday 4th March 10-12am at St.Marys.
A quiet time for individual prayer in church. Join in for as however
long you want!
A drop-in Budgeting Clinic (from the Money Matters course) will also
be available in the church lounge for those who would like get a
better handle on their day to day finances.
2. HOW TO…PRAY FOR ½ HOUR FOR CHURCH
The outline below will help you to pray for 30 minutes for the
vision & work of St. Marys and SWCC. Each section lasts about 5
minutes; use them as a rough guide and ‘unpack’ the prayer pointers
- be imaginative!
PREPARATION
Put distractions out of your mind. Be quiet before God. Reading
Scripture will help you to focus. Ask God to lead your prayers.
PRAYER FOR OUR CHURCH LEADERS
Graeme, Philippa & family: Thank God for what they have meant to us.
Pray that they may ‘finish well’ here, that the move will go
smoothly and that God will guide them in their new ministry at Upton
St.Mary’s.
Steve, Outi & family: Pray for strength and vision in the role of
‘acting vicar’. Pray for ability to balance ministry needs in both
churches.
Jon, Ella & family: Pray for their leadership and involvement in the
Small Group network and new initiatives with Holiday @Home
PRAYER FOR SOME KEY MINISTRY AREAS
Children & Youth: Pray for the training & vision of leaders, the
appointment of a new Youth Pastor (to follow Alistair), & the task
of reaching families in the parish. Small Groups: Pray for spiritual
health & vitality in the groups. Pray, too, that group leaders and
pastors will know God’s strength in their roles. Sunday services:
Pray for those involved in planning, preparation and up-front
ministry. Pray that we may all glorify God by worshipping Him in
spirit & truth.
PRAYER FOR MINISTRY RESOURCES
Vision: Pray that our churches can be God-centred, growing, caring,
serving, & sharing. Staffing: Pray that the staff team will be able
to ‘fill the gap’ left by Graeme & enable the church to grow and
mature. Pray for strategy, planning & organisation. Finances: Pray
that we can overcome the £30,000 deficit and fulfil our vision.
PRAYER TO HELP US IN SPIRITUAL BATTLE
Pray for yourself and others that we will stand firm in God’s Word,
encourage one another & refuse the devil any foothold. Pray for God
to release more gifts He has provided for His church.
PRAYER FOR OUTREACH
Points of contact: pray for spouses, friendships, Men’s & Women’s
Groups, Alpha, St. Marys School, Babes & Toddlers, Butterflies,
Monday Lunch Club etc. Sunday Services: pray for our Welcome teams,
musicians, leaders & preachers Evangelists: Pray that God would
raise up folk gifted in sharing their faith.
3. HOW TO…BE A GOOD STEWARD
Psalm 24:1 — “The earth is the Lord’s,
and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
The Scriptures make it clear that all of creation belongs to God. He
made it, directs how it is to be managed, and expects those to whom
He has entrusted it to “report back” to Him. The health and beauty
of life in creation has always depended on our willingness to honour
and obey God, the Creator of all things. And so, the question
remains: Do we understand that everything we have actually belongs
to God, and has been entrusted to us only temporarily?
Work is never more fulfilling than when it is seen in the context of
stewardship. The steward (or manager) knows what belongs to the
master and what belongs to him. There is no confusion between the
two. A good steward does not fight for control over things that do
not belong to him. And the steward does not seek the honour that
belongs to the one for whom he works. Furthermore, the steward is
careful to give an account of what he has done and return to the
owner that which belongs to him.
The idea of stewardship is at the heart of the discipline of
generous giving. Without it, giving becomes a miserable experience,
and truly generous giving may not even be possible. The biblical
idea of stewardship reminds us that we do not give because we find
it convenient or practical. We give because all that has been
entrusted to us is God’s and must be used as He sees fit.
To give you a rough frame of reference, if all the
individuals/households increased their giving by £12 a month then
the deficit would be covered as well as enabling us the press on
with our vision & ministry as a church.
HOW CAN I GIVE AT CHURCH?
“Each one should give then as he has decided, not with regret or out
of a sense of duty; for God loves the one who gives gladly. And God
is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have
all that you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good
cause.”
2 Corinthians 9 v 7–8
It is right that we should be prepared, having prayed over and
planned our giving. Please do come and join in the Thanksgiving
Sunday Service on March 19th, as part of our commitment to God and
to each other.
Signing a Gift Aid form allows tax to be reclaimed, increasing the
gift by 22%.
Become a part of the Stewardship Scheme either by filling in a
standing order form or by using the weekly envelopes.
For help if general money management is a struggle then so use the
drop-in Budgeting Clinic between 10-12am on Saturday 4th March at
St.Mary’s.
