Weekly Message / Prayer Request

Acts 2:42 Men’s Fellowship

“He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east.” Ezekiel 8:16 NIV

Today I must be honest with everyone. As I told everyone last night, my mind has drifted some from the mission this past week…

Instead I have found my patriotism stirred, focusing on the difficulties that lay before my country. The economic challenges, financial uncertainties, and the international relations which all sit before this country as problems that needs to be solved. This has caused much of my focus outside of my daily devotions to fall squarely on these concerns.

Yes, patriotism is a good thing; but we must always keep this in perspective, as our study through the book of Ephesians has revealed. We are just sojourners, passing through this life unto our ultimate destination in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6).

This week as I was reflecting upon my focus on worldly events, I remembered this section of Scripture from the book of Ezekiel. Because there is no place, no set of circumstances, upon where we can avoid falling into temptation and worship the creation more than the Creator. It is a slippery slope. Even some of the most “sacred” places can be places of idolatry.

In this story from the book of Ezekiel, here we have twenty-five priests within the inner court of the Temple. These priests were facing east, worshipping the rising sun with their backs toward the temple of the Lord.

These men were supposedly men of God, men who were considered righteous enough to be within the inner court. But their worship became worldly, focusing on the creation not the Creator. They fell prey to one of the earliest forms of idolatry (Job 31:26-27) and into violating one of the Ten Commandments given to the people of Israel (Deuteronomy 17:3).

But the question is, how did it get that far? How did these men who were at the Temple, a place of worship to God, being the most well respected priests of their day, still turn their back on Lord who was the Creator of all and began to worship the sun? Pagans worshipped the sun.

The answer I believe is pride. For no man can escape its grip once you have given into its seductive calling. Once it has its grip on people, pride leads them into believing that you can find answers in this world on your own. It leads men to thinking, “No longer do I need God…”

We have been warned of this faulty argument and one we need to take heed of. Listen to the Apostle Paul when he spoke to the Corinthian people:

“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 NIV

The priests in the book of Ezekiel looked toward the sun in their worship. They were worldly in their thinking. Many today do the same thing. In fact, the world is worshiping the earth more and more each day (example: global warming) while trying to remove God from every aspect of society.

Yet as we watch the world; as we consider the ‘wise’ by the human standards of today; as we look at the ‘influential’ in dealing with the financial and economic problems; let us never forget where true wisdom resides. Let us never turn our back on the Lord and worship anything other than the One who gave all and is in all.

Instead of allowing pride to grip your heart and mind, let us live in humility. Let us live according to Christ knowing this life is temporary because our inheritance is secure.

So join me on this journey as we recommit to the calling we have been given (Matthew 28:19) and through prayer, let us not be conformed to this world but renew our mind in the truth (Romans 12:2).


Prayer requests

Bill M – praise God for his health, pray for wife who is dealing with fibromyalgia

Paul – praise God for the work he has, praise God for the home he has been given in Eastern Washington, prayer for continued guidance in doing the right thing

Ernie – praise God that his grandson is recovering from cancer and is now back at work, pray for his brother-in-law Jerry who has had numerous complications from prostrate cancer surgery, pray for grandson who is in basic training for the Army, pray for a man who works with Ernie who is a Muslim and that Ernie can witness to him

David – praise God for His presence in his life, pray that He will reveal Himself more in his life

Ramon – praise God for the weather so he can finish a roofing job, pray for the health of his wife who is struggling with fibromyalgia as well

Richard – praise God for this church and how God is speaking through the ministries and pastors of Northshore, pray for a young man who is dating his daughter and how he wants to come to church with him

Gary S – praise God for all the blessings her has been given, pray for wife who is in California and is working on her Masters Degree, pray for the family as they are separated from one another, pray that he may be able to find employment after being laid off

Tim D – praise God for his love and mercy, pray for mom who broke her ankle and the plate put in her foot

Mark – praise God for my family and how blessed I am with a beautiful wife and children, pray for Matteo who has bronchitis, pray that I can remained focused on the Lord and can maintain my spiritual integrity while monitoring the political / economic forces at work in America, pray for Northshore and the Men’s ministry

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


Continued prayer needs

Sky – praise God that the move to Bellingham has gone smoothly and he is now attending a school up there

Greg – praise God for the church and all that He is doing here at Northshore, pray for his brother who is moving to Arizona

Jimmy – pray that he will be able to walk more consistently with the Lord

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

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

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

Chad – pray for continued seeking of purity in his life


Future Meetings

**** Wednesday, February 18th, 7:00-9:00 pm, meeting with Tim Dresler at Northshore Christian Church in room C214 in the academy wing

Wednesday, February 25th, 7:00-9:00 pm, regular meeting at Northshore Christian Church

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

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

**** Wednesday, March 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 than 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


Ephesians Study Outline

Here is the outline of the study plan we are looking at covering while we study the book of Ephesians:

Part number
1. Ephesians 1:1-14 Salutation / Predestination, Redemption, Inheritance in Christ
2. Ephesians 1:15-23 Resources in Christ
3. Ephesians 2:1-10 New Life in Christ
4. Ephesians 2:11-22 Unity in Christ
5. Ephesians 3:1-13 The purpose of the mystery revealed
6. Ephesians 3:14-21 God’s Fullness for the Church
7. Ephesians 4:1-6 God’s Plan for Faithful Living in the Church
8. Ephesians 4:7-16 God’s Son Endows and Builds the Church
9. Ephesians 4:17-32 God’s Pattern and Principles for members of the Church
10. Ephesians 5:1-14 Walking in love / Living in Light
11. Ephesians 5:15-21 Walking in wisdom / Filled with God’s Spirit
12. Ephesians 5:22-6:9 God’s standard for Authority and Submission in the Church
13. Ephesians 6:10-17 God’s provision for His children’s spiritual battles
14. Ephesians 6:18-24 God’s appeal for prayer in the Church / Benediction

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