Another great week at Calvary
Church! God continues to answer prayer, but this is no reason for us to quit.
Praying is what Christians do at all times. We shouldn’t just pray when an
emergency arises or a problem comes our way or a need pops its head up. If we
only pray when we are facing a crisis then we are not following the Lord’s
will; in fact we are far from the Lord’s will. The Lord’s will is for us to be
praying constantly.
“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
“Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication…”
(Ephesians 6:18)
Prayer is part of the fabric of
the church (cf. Acts 2:42).
We are in a season right now
that prayer is intensified, purposeful and intentional. This is a reminder to
us that we are desperately dependent on God. This is a time when our focus
shifts a little to some specific requests. This time will pass but our prayers
must not. We should be praying everyday for His church. We will always find
things to pray about; we just never run out of things to pray for. There will
be times of intense and intentional praying for our children (VBS, camps, etc.); there will be times like that for
our youth (Awaken Weekend, mission trip, etc.);
and there will be opportunities to focus our prayer attention elsewhere. The
point? We will always be praying for the church.
But today I am in praise mode
(along with petition mode). I am praising God for another family that joined us
on Sunday. Welcome to the family Ricky and Julie Moore! That makes #2; no,
you’re not in second place! You represent an answer to prayer and we feel
honored to have you become a part of what God is doing in His church. I am also
praising God for an abundant offering. This is God’s church and He will pay the
bills and take care of our needs. No need to worry or panic or manipulate, just
trust.
I am also thanking the Lord for
a phenomenal Awaken Weekend! Thank you to Kristy Hall and the youth crew who
prayed, planned and participated to make this a life-changing weekend for our
youth. You are awesome! I’ve heard so many good things about Jared Snead and
his band. The prayer garden is a perfect addition to the life of Calvary
Church. Thank you youth for your hard work on that and the windows.
Now let’s all grab a prayer rock
and pray!
Grace & Peace,
Scott
The end of the school year is in sight for our students! This is a great week of celebration as they end another year and look to begin something new and exciting. At Calvary Church we congratulate four of our own: Matthew Bayliff, Alejandra Molina, Matthew Banks and Shelbi Elder.Matthew Bayliff graduated from West Virginia University with a Master’s Degree in Athletic Coaching Education. He is also enrolled in the PGA of America’s Professional Golf Management Program. Alejandra Molina graduated from the University of South Carolina (Upstate) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. Keep her in your prayers as she will soon be taking the state board exams to become a registered nurse. Matthew Banks graduated from Spartanburg Methodist College. He will be attending Upstate this fall to finish his four-year degree in Physical Education. Shelbi Elder graduated Friday (May 28) from Boiling Springs High School. She plans on attending Spartanburg Community College majoring in Radiology.
Hey, with these four students we’ve got our recreation and health issues covered! Each one of them needs our prayers and support. Becoming successful in life doesn’t happen by accident—it is intentional. They are doing their part and we must do ours. Put their names on your prayer list and pray diligently for God to bless and direct them.
Congratulations Matthew, Alejandra, Matthew and Shelbi. We love you and are proud of you!
Grace & Peace,
Scott
The Lord knows exactly what we need, when we need it and how we need it. I think all of us at Calvary Church have been a little discouraged lately. We have looked around and seen the low attendance at all of the worship services; we just seemed to be off a little lately. Now, I don't like to focus on the numbers and this is something I have especially struggled with lately. I have noticed that whenever numbers becomes my focus then the Lord is not. I believe He wants us to be fully satisfied in Him and Him alone. But the struggle is still there. I must confess that last week was a depressingly difficult week for me.
But then Sunday happened! I was so looking forward to being with the Calvary family on Sunday that I could hardly stand it. It was good to see familiar faces that haven't been able to come for one reason or another. And it was refreshing to see some new faces. But it is always wonderful to see the faces we see each week...I never get tired of "the same old crowd"! At the end of a great time of worship through the Lord's Table, six people stepped out and risked everything to join the family (I believe soon we will have two more). I don't know about you, but I simply can't get over people joining Calvary Baptist Church. It touches my heart in ways that I cannot describe.
I am excited about the Elder and Molinas. These two families came as a result of the influence of two other families (the Elders and Galloways) who joined Calvary in the last couple of years. I believe God will use our new additions to help us better honor His majesty and build people's lives. Welcome and God bless you for believing in us!
Homecoming is just a week away. I look forward to reconnecting with old friends. I also look forward to bragging on what God is doing at His church. I want the world to know what a great church Calvary is! I hope to see you there and that you are encouraging others to come.
Grace & Peace,
Scott
Stop what you’re doing! I want everyone who reads this to take some time to think about how God has blessed you lately. I’ll wait while you think…Now I want us all to write down seven blessings that came to your mind. I’ll wait while you do that…
Now that we’ve done this, let’s take one of these blessings each day this week and get caught up in praising the Lord for blessing us so richly.
The practice of praising God is a topic we talk about but seldom practice. Yes, we know that God enjoys listening to His family thank Him for all He has done and given, but do we get so enthusiastically involved in doing praise that others will look at us like we’ve lost control? Ponder on these verses:
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17 ESV)
…The LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. (Psalm 100:5)
I don’t believe it is enough just to know that God is good we must express our thankfulness to Him for being good to us. We must not take God for granted; we should passionately shout His goodness so others will hear that God does make a difference in our lives.
If you are reading this then you are one of the blessings I am praising God for this week. I love being a part of your life and am so thankful to God for you!
Grace & Peace, Scott
