Weekly Message / Prayer Request

Acts 2:42 Men’s Fellowship

“Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, ‘Who do men say that I am?’ So they answered, ‘John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’” Mark 8:27-29 NKJV

There is so much information available to us. We live in a time where information streams at us in a way that is almost unavoidable. All you have to do is consider all the advertisements a person will witness during the day. They are on the radio, on the side of the road, on buses or other vehicles, ect. A person can hardly avoid them.

Yet the information does not stop there. We have access to more books than at any time in history. We can look on the World Wide Web to find out about a business or product. We have people calling us, emailing us, faxing us, text messaging us, writing us, with the intent to share more information. We are bombarded with information. This truly is what some scholars say is the information age.

This can be very helpful because now we can research into the Bible like no other time in history. For example, I just finished the outline to the first fourteen verses of the book of Ephesians for our study tomorrow night. I was able to pull from multiple sources to write out this outline; resources which told me about the context of the verses, cross references to them, and even Greek word studies to the words used in these verses. Two hundred years ago these resources were not available to the average person. Instead they were only available to the Biblical scholars of that time.

We should feel blessed because of the information available, but I believe we have become numb by the amount of information. Today information has turned into a detriment to society because of its shear volume.

Now any one piece of information can barely make an impact because our lives have been shaped by a certain worldview created by this constant bombardment of information. If something does not fit into the worldview created, it is quickly discarded and treated as if the information is false; which explains why the question of truth is at the heart of almost every debate on the evening news.

This is nothing new because in the opening passage, Jesus was making reference to the worldview of his disciples. Throughout Scripture the disciples are constantly described as shaping their opinion of Christ based upon their own worldview. Look at their failure to understand the importance of humility (Matthew 20:20-23); or their ‘earthly’ view toward the Samaritans when James and John wanted to call fire down from heaven against them (Luke 9:54); or even when the people wanted to make Jesus King of Israel in a physical sense (John 6:15). All of these views of Christ were based upon a certain worldview.

But the key thing is regardless to the worldview, Christ should the one which is being preached. For the Apostle Paul made this clear when he said:

“…Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.” Philippians 1:18b NKJV

Everything we do as Christians should be focused on one thing—Christ.

Our worldview should take a backseat when it comes to focusing on Christ because nothing else truly matters. Peter had it correct when he quickly responded to Jesus’ question by saying ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’ (Matthew 16:16). His focus was on the truth. His focus was on Jesus. If we could only remain this focused, imagine how we could be used for His glory.

Therefore as vast amounts of information swirl about your everyday life, remember where our focus should remain. No matter what the world may be saying, no matter what our friends may be saying, no matter what is the latest “facts” on the nightly news, let us stay fixated on the truth like Peter—Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Prayer requests

Paul – praise God for how He is working thing out in Prosser and in his life, pray that he will be able to travel home this weekend

Ernie – praise God for the positive report of his wife’s doctor’s appointment, praise God for the continued healing of his grandson who recently had surgery on his throat cancer, pray for wife’s brother Gerry who is in intensive care because of a blood clot following surgery

Bill M – praise God for the test results of his PSA count after prostrate surgery, pray that his grandson’s hearing exam will go fine

Greg – praise God for taking care of a recent bill on his daughter’s cell phone, pray that he will continue to keep his eyes squarely focused on Him, pray for his brother who is having hernia surgery

David – praise God for the abundant life He has provided, pray that God will continue to give him wisdom, pray that he will continue to learn how to recognize his voice, pray that he may become more articulate about the Word and sharing

Richard – pray for all the turmoil in the Middle East and that our government will make the right decisions on how to be involved with the conflict in Gaza and beyond

Tim D – praise God for choosing us, pray that the government job which he recently applied for will work out according to His will

Mark – praise God for the health of his wife and that the results from a doctor’s appointment well well, praise God for a recent trip to Poulsbo with the family and how much fun it was, pray that God will guide this group of men through the study of the book of Ephesians and that it will make an impact for Him in the hearts of other men

***Pray that Northshore can continue to make an impact in the local community for our Lord Jesus Christ


Continued prayer needs

Calvin – pray that the men of this church will become energized for God, pray for his brother which is dealing with a difficult custody battle

Carmine – pray for the troops which are serving overseas and for their financial health and security

Dick – praise for his new job that it is a good fit and he can be successful

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

Stephen G – pray for strength in teaching kids at school so they may learn and become better students

Steve S – pray that he will be able to trust more in God

Brett S – pray that he will be able to stay strong in the Word and continue to come back to this fellowship

Nelson – pray for the President-elect that he will be a man of God, pray for his brother Bob

Tim W – pray for wife who is going to Germany to visit parents who may not be doing well, pray that a great deal of success came from the auction which happened on Saturday night

Ramon – pray that God will continue to heal his wife Tina and give her strength in the coming days

Larry Miller – pray that he will be able to find work, pray that he will be able to strengthen the marriage ministry at Northshore

Sky – pray that the move to Bellingham will be smooth and he will be able to attend school up there to pursue some of his goals

Kevin – pray for his youngest daughter and her boyfriend that they make smart choices, pray for exwife

Tim H – pray for his wife to find her ministry

Gary – pray for strength as he works through all the various stresses of life, pray for the health of his wife

Brent – pray that he will find clarity and guidance for finding the right person to marry

Keith – pray that their youngest daughter will be able to do well in college

Chad – pray for continued seeking of purity in his life


Future Meetings

**** Wednesday, January 21st, 7:00-9:00 pm, meeting with Tim Dresler at Northshore Christian Church in room C214

Wednesday, January 28th, 7:00-9:00 pm, regular meeting at Northshore Christian Church

**** Wednesday, February 4th, 7:00-9:00 pm, meeting with Tim Dresler at Northshore Christian Church

Wednesday, February 11th, 7:00-9:00 pm, regular meeting at Northshore Christian Church

**** Wednesday, February 18th, 7:00-9:00 pm, meeting with Tim Dresler at Northshore Christian Church


Group Happenings

Just started… “Ephesians: The Wealth of God in us”—A study through the book of Ephesians, verse by verse, chapter by chapter, so we can discover all we have been given by God…

As the world continues to tell all of us all what we do not have and what we are lacking; as each one of us continue to struggle through tough economic times; as the Church continues to face new challenges; I believe there is no better time then to truly discover all we do have as Christians. We have been blessed beyond measure through our Lord Jesus Christ and by Him have access to all of God's promises.

By studying all the topics covered in the book of Ephesians together in this fellowship of men, my prayer is that all of us will truly come to understand that we have "The wealth of God in us".

Pray that this study will be a tremendous blessing to each one of us, a blessing to the Church, and an opportunity for the Acts 2:42 Men's Fellowship to continue the calling God has placed on all of our hearts...

I invite you to invite others so that through this study, we can minister unto others and share the love of God.

God bless and I look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.

In Christ,
Mark


Memory Verse

“But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!” 2 Chronicles 15:7 NKJV