Weekly Message / Prayer Request

Acts 2:42 Men’s Fellowship

“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.” Psalm 62:5 NIV

Whenever I feel like I am struggling, it is usually because I am not resting in the right place. Either my thoughts are resting on my finances; or my thoughts are resting on my job; or maybe my thoughts are resting on all the future struggles that are going to come my way. None of these can truly provide any rest, but instead only provide more anguish to some already anxious moments.

All of us at times will do it anyway. We will let our flesh focus on the wrong things while at the same time we know the truth in our minds. It then becomes a battle, keeping our focus on what is righteous and holy. A battle Paul knew very well when he penned in the book of Romans how the law of sin was raging against the law of the mind in his life (Romans 7:21-24).

Therefore let none of become discouraged of our failure to keep the faith and find rest in Him because it is a battle. It is a very difficult battle at times. Yet this is a battle we can all win with one victory at a time. God wants us to succeed and He has given us everything necessary to succeed (2 Peter 1:3,4).

So today I want to focus on David when he proclaimed where all of us should find rest—in God alone.

This is the only true place of complete rest. Only in Him will you find peace that will satisfy your deepest longings, your deepest troubles, or your deepest fears. God proclaimed this time and time again throughout the Scriptures. Jesus even said to come to Him because His yoke was easy and His burden was light (Matthew 11:30).

But many times we will never be able to match up this world with this truth because of all the external troubles which lurk outside our door everyday. For many of us it is persecution; for others it may be famine; or maybe it is a disease that plagues us or those we know. None of these are very hopeful thoughts and with each one of these, finding rest in Him may seem impossible.

So for us Christians, how do we match up our life with the truth? We do this through the hope we have in Christ.

The world is becoming an increasingly difficult place to find any truth. Instead the enemy is at work and today is “alive and well”; deceiving those who may listen and persuading them to believe in a lie. In fact, Satan is doing everything in his power to remove the truth because he knows that in Jesus is truth and in Him all things exist. This is why moral relativism has become such a powerful force in the world today—because truth is under attack.

Yet notice that David matched up his hope with his ability to rest his soul in God. He knew that our hope in Christ is how we match up reality with truth even when it does not seem to make sense. This is because hope is about having confidence, knowing that His truth is forever unchanging.

When Jesus said to his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount:

“So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:31-33 NIV

This is the truth. God will provide us with everything we need life and godliness; therefore we should have hope. We should have tremendous hope because He is the rock upon where our foundation has been set.

If we would display the hope we have in our Christ Jesus everyday to everyone we know, imagine the change which would happen in this world. Our testimony would become a city upon a hill and reveal the glory of God in a way that would absolutely amazing.

Join me in my commitment to fight the battle of hope. Let us encourage one another to not live by what we see, but live by what we know is the truth. From this testimony, the first step, we can make a difference and spread the Word of God to a culture who desperately needs to hear the truth…


Prayer requests

Paul – praise God for being able to make it over the mountains to with this group of men, pray for a safe journey while traveling around the state for work

Ernie – praise God for his goodness, pray for Hee Young who was in a car accident pregnant with two children that God will watch over all of them, pray for Jerry’s rehab from the medical dialysis that he is going through, pray for the health of his wife

David – praise God for the life he provided him, pray the Lord would lead him to an apartment

Ramon – praise God for continually bringing him work, praise God for the health of his wife, pray that his daughter may be comforted while she is going through counseling, pray that he may have the strength and ability to put in wood floors at his son’s house

Bill M – praise God for Gary making it to Oklahoma and finding a job, pray for Gary’s continued success and that he may be strengthened in his marriage, pray that his family will have a safe trip to Santa Barbara

Richard – pray for his son that he may be able to find some success at work and find strength in working two jobs

Gary S – praise God for the job he was able to find in Oklahoma, pray for his marriage and that God will help them be able to work through the distance and any trouble they may be facing

Tim D – praise God for His faithfulness, pray that all the believers in the church will have the desire to seek out Him and to reach out to others

Calvin – pray that he will find a good work family balance and that he may find success at work, pray that he will be able to return to the group soon

Greg – praise God for having other brothers in Christ, pray for his daughter who moved out that they all will be watched over, pray for the leadership of the church that they will provide Biblical leadership

Mark – praise God for this group staying strong for continually returning to this table to study the Word and encouraging one another in prayer, pray that God will provide all of us the ability to reach out to the younger generation and pass on the blessing from the Lord

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

Continued prayer needs

Joe T – pray for his brother who unintentially overdosed on Tylenol, praise God he lives, pray for his son Joey who is dealing with seizures, pray for his wife, praise God for his patience and that his oldest son accepted Christ

Brett S – praise God for bringing him here to the group healthy and with energy, pray that he will continue to have some more good days of strength and health

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

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

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

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

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

**** Wednesday, April 1st, 7:00-9:00 pm, meeting with Tim Dresler at Northshore Christian Church

Wednesday, April 8th, 7:00-9:00 pm, regular meeting at Northshore Christian Church

**** Wednesday, April 15th, 7:00-9:00 pm, meeting with Tim Dresler at Northshore Christian Church


Group Happenings

“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