Weekly Message / Prayer Request

Acts 2:42 Men’s Fellowship

“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” 2 Timothy 2:3-4 NKJV

This past week, I have had the opportunity to sit down and watch the HBO miniseries John Adams. I recommend that everyone find time to watch this miniseries (available on DVD) because you walk away with a very powerful understanding of all the difficulties our Founding Fathers faced while establishing this great country.

It is a great lesson about duty and staying the course in the face of great opposition… And all of us as Christians face this prospect each day because the world is trying to derail us at every turn. There is no question that the war is raging and regardless to any amount of apathy that each one of us may have, the battle lines have been drawn and it dissects each one of us straight through the heart.

That is why I love the passage from 2nd Timothy quoted at the beginning of this message. To reference us as a ‘good soldier of Jesus Christ´ I believe is a very accurate interpretation of where we find ourselves. It not only applied to Timothy, who was at the forefront of the early Church, but applies to all of us today as well.

Because there are three challenges that all of us deal with daily in our spiritual lives as Christians: the evil world system, our sinful nature, and Satan our enemy. All of them are there, challenging our faith in God and trying to disrupt the good work which God has been doing in each of our lives.

These tests sometimes work alone, challenging us through various trials we face; but many times they are integrated to such an extent that we cannot distinguish one from the other, challenging us on multiple fronts at once. They even can come through various means, sometimes in ways that we were not even expecting.

Therefore each one of us is truly on the frontlines of this battle. We are the Christian soldiers that the Apostle Paul is describing to Timothy here in this passage.

But we must remain focused on where our commission is from… We are not commissioned by anything of this world; instead our commission is from above. We are part of the Lord’s army, fighting the spiritual battle we face as Christians. Therefore we must follow through on fighting not with the weapons of this world (2 Corinthians 10:4), but with weapons of righteousness in both the right and left hand (2 Corinthians 6:7).

Yet we cannot stop there. We must go further. We must transform our lives into the Christian soldier the Apostle John describes. For it is written:

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” 1 John 2:15-17 NKJV

Our focus must be completely on the mission which is before us. The ‘affairs of this life’ are but a mere distraction of our ultimate focus. The purpose upon which God has called each one of us should be our life as Christian soldiers. Just as a soldier is severed from the normal affairs of a civilian life, so our lives as Christian soldiers should be severed from all things of this world.

Therefore my prayer is that each one of us can bring this type of living into our everyday life as Christian soldiers. May each one of us realize the distractions this world offers us and turn our attention to the soul. I know it will not be easy because we live in the world; but my prayer is that all of us will understand that we are not of this world but instead live within the grace of God.

Join me on this transformation as we begin to realize our duty together. Join this fellowship of men as we follow our great Commander-in-Chief, our Lord Jesus Christ…



Prayer requests

Vince – pray that he can begin to build a bridge to his neighbors, pray for peace between him and his neighbors

Tim – pray for his health and that he may see a doctor regarding his heart, sleep issues

Greg – pray for cousin who is having kidney problems, pray for a good time in Hawaii

David – pray that he will be used in Marysville to reach the lost souls of his new neighborhood

Ramon – pray for Brett S who has a liver disease which is progressing and needs treatment or possible transplant, pray for Brent who is being pressured to get married

Ernie – pray for wife who is having some health problems with her pancreas and arthritis, pray for a friend in Marysville who is Muslim and for a Catholic friend named John who passed out that both of them will meet Christ

Steve S – pray for increased unity with one another throughout the Church and within the community

Kelcy – pray for all the pastors and leaders within the Church

Bill – pray that his appointments go well with the surgeons performing his treatment of prostate cancer

Mark – pray for our finances as we continue to reduce our bills, pray for more focus in the Word over the next few weeks

***Pray as Northshore begins a new chapter in its ministry to people who desperately needs to hear the gospel message


Continued prayer needs

Paul – pray that he will find more time with God in His Word

Kevin – pray for wife that she may find happiness, pray for the Middle East and all of the difficulties they are having

Dick – pray for gluttony issues, pray for strength to deny self by helping him submit to the Lord

Bill – pray for God’s spirit to bless all of the kid’s in the Royal Family kid’s camp and to support the counselors

Brett S – pray for all men within Northshore which need healing

Carmine – pray that he can find ways to lower his blood pressure which was very high recently

Gary – pray for sister-in-law who has serious infection in organs, pray for wife Terry who may have to have surgery here in the near future to take care of a serious health issue

Monte – praise God for a new job that he has been blessed with

Keith – pray that their youngest daughter will be able to do well in college, pray that Nate will be able to find a job

Craig – pray that he will become more diligent in his Bible reading, pray that all pain will be removed someday from his body

Bret – pray for rest, pray for a the right relationship with a girl he recently met

Larry – pray for financial security as he works on building a new house near Arlington

Chad – pray for continued seeking of purity in his life


Future Meetings

Wednesday, July 9th, 7:00-9:00 pm, regular meeting at Northshore Christian Church in room C214 on the academy side of the church. (I will most likely be leading the group again unless something comes up with the family)

Wednesday, July 16th, 7:00-9:00 pm, regular meeting at Northshore Christian Church

Wednesday, July 23rd, 7:00-9:00 pm, regular meeting at Northshore Christian Church


Group Happenings

Either late this month or early August, we are going to have a barbecue in combination or in lieu of our Wednesday night meeting. So start to consider which Wednesday works best so we can discuss this at our next meeting…

Also I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the offering we took for the “Charity and Faith Mission” lead by Pastor Titus in South Africa. If anyone still would like to contribute, we will continue to do so until the end of the month. Next month we are planning on helping out another group, someone locally this time… Therefore start praying how you believe this group should be used in the coming months, as we reach out to those in need…


Memory Verse

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 NKJV