A Prayer for the New Year

If you’re not a member of the Lord’s church, we invite you to come be a part of our family in Barboursville. If you’ve fallen away, it’s a great time to come home. We look forward to seeing you soon. New Year, New You, New Beginning!  In Christian Love, Kevin Reynolds
 
Happy New Year, Blessings to You and Yours!
 
Heavenly Father,
 
We pray for your Spirit to lead us each step of this New Year. We confess our need for you. We ask that you will guide our decisions and turn our hearts to deeply desire you above all else. We ask that you make all things new, in our hearts, in our minds, in our lives, for this coming year. Let your grace and favor fall upon us.
 
We ask for your wisdom, for your strength and power to be constantly present within us. May the fruits of your spirit be evident in our lives – your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We ask that you would keep our footsteps firm, on solid ground, helping us to be consistent and faithful. May we walk closer to you each day.
 
We pray for your protection over our families and friends. We ask that you would provide for our needs. We pray for your blessings to cover us and that you would help us to prosper. Help us to be generous and kind, to look to the needs of others and not be consumed by only our own. We pray that others would take notice of your goodness and desire to live their lives for you.

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Joy vs Happiness

Personal notes shared by Kevin Reynolds following a recent bible study on Joy.
 
Walking in the Joy of The Lord.
 
Joy comes from knowing and trusting God. Happiness comes as a result of pleasant circumstances. Joy is steady and lasting; whereas, happiness is temporary and unpredictable. Happiness will always be dependent on forces outside of ourselves. On the other hand, joy is a deep security based on our knowledge that God loves us, will take care of us, and has saved us through Christ (Ephesians 1:13-14). True joy does not depend on circumstances, but on God’s protection and provisions. There is no joy that endures pain and suffering and persecution like the joy of the Christian, whose hope and joy are in the Lord, and not in our own circumstances.
 
  • Joy is fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).
  • To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be filled with joy (Acts 13:52; Romans 14:17, 15:13; 1 Thessalonians 1:6). 
  • The fullness of joy is in the presence of God (Psalm 16:11; John 15:11).
  • His salvation produces joy on earth and in heaven (Psalm 51:12; Luke 15:7; Luke 15:10).

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Are We Excited About God?

The following message was presented by Mike Lucas before the Lord’s Supper on Sunday, October 4, 2015.
 
woman excited
 
In recent weeks, it’s been nearly impossible to watch any news without seeing something about the pope’s visit to America. Now, as nice as it is to see our country focused on something morally good for a change, it’s still sad to see so many thousands of people become caught up in the idea of this one man being any more holy than any other Christian. Yet, it makes me wonder, how different would this world be if it would ALWAYS focus this much on issues of faith.
 
What if this same zeal and excitement we have seen on TV for the pope could be harnessed into building up Gods New Testament church? How different would the world look in just one week… a month… a year… a decade? God, OUR Father, may not walk among us as a man via the pope, but He is still here.
 
So what WOULD it take for the world to get this “pope level” of excitement for the REAL Father in Heaven? Well, I believe the very first step would be for His CHURCH, the body, YOU and I, to get excited ourselves before we can convince others to be excited. When was the last time you were as EXCITED for God as the Catholics we’ve seen on television have been for their pope?

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