(This article can also we found on our website
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This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.
THIS WEEK’S GUEST POSTING IS BY JAMIE STINSON, DIRECTOR OF FAMILY MINISTRIES
PRAYER FOR BAPTISMAL CANDIDATES - Please pray for all the candidates this week!
Lord God:
Stories of life transformation just never get old. These people stand here as living proof that You are the hope of the world….that you are the solution to sorrow, sin and death.
I am so thankful for their lives and their stories…These stories breathe life into a congregation.
They can speak to those of us who have been Christ followers for a long time and may have let our love grow cold.
They can touch the hearts of those who find themselves sitting in a church for the first time.
And for those getting baptized, their stories are like lines in the sand. They will always remember the day they publically declared their love for you.
They will remember it in victory and good times… and know that there is nothing they can do that will make you love them more.
And they will remember this day when they fail… and they will hopefully be reminded that there is nothing they can do that will make you love them less.
For some of them, it’s been a long journey to this day… full of brokenness and heartache, for others it’s been a gradual understanding and longing for their lives to count for something more.
So Lord, we want to lift them up to you today.
9:00 Service
Thank you for Madison, Lord…she grew up in a Christian home with godly parents and I know that the older she gets, the more grateful she will be for her heritage. I pray that you continue to lead her and surround her with mentors. Give her wisdom beyond her years and continue to transform her into a woman after your heart.
And I know many of us could probably relate to Michelle’s story, a product of the Jesus movement, and a life of self-professed disobedience. But you never let her go, you continued to love her and give her a friendship with Phyllis, a woman who refused to see her stray too far from Your love. And today as she deals with cancer, we pray healing into her life…both physically, emotionally and spiritually.
And the dramatic and powerful story from Fraser, Lord, his heart longs to serve you the rest of his days. He has broken free from chains that were determined to bind him… His hands are spread, his knees are bent, and His heart is open. He has so much to offer to those who are hurting. There is so much more in store for him that he can’t even imagine right now. Help him to continue to rise above his brokenness, and continue to heal him emotionally in such a powerful way that You are able to use his story of hope, to instill hope in others.
And for many of us, Sara’s story really resonated, as many of us struggle with issues of control and stress. Thank you Lord that you did not leave her in her misery, but you used a godly friend to help her break those chains of control and once she gave her life over to you, the chains fell away like feathers. Sara’s testimony is a wonderful example of how your yoke is easy and your burden is light. As Sara reaches out to others on the Queen’s campus with your message of beauty, I pray that you would use her in ways that are both surprising and unimaginable to her. Help her to always look to you to find her worth as a woman of God.
For Lexy…she too comes from a godly family. I pray that her spiritual roots continue to grow as deep as her spiritual heritage and that you would continue to lead and guide her into a deeper relationship with you. A relationship that continues to fill her so much that it spills out in ways that touches many lives.
Dale’s story was another story of a prodigal come home proving it’s never too late for any of us to return to God, and that we are never too messed up and broken to be loved by you. You have powerfully pulled him out of a life of addiction, may he never look back. I pray that as his life continues to unfold in times of joy and sorrow that he is able to hold on the peace and joy that is so evident in him. He talks about how Harbor Light was a place he saw the light…I pray that as he reaches out to others, he would be a light. I pray that people would say, “God used to Dale to help me see the light.”
And for Carmen, Lord….she is an ‘iron sharpens iron’ kind of friend to many of us and a passionate Christ follower…She has a gift that helps others understand what they believe and why they believe it. I pray that you continue to use her to help others understand the intellectual side of faith. I’m thankful that she also understands it needs to be combined with a healthy dose of community because life change happens in circles where relationships are strong.
11:00 Service
I pray for Ketsia this morning…she was raised to know you from a young age….and she wants to be a moral rebel for you. She has such an Esther spirit Lord….so willing to take a stand and do what is right no matter what the cost. So I pray that as Ketsia has drawn her line in the sand today that she will know down the road in every situation that she was made for ‘such a time as this.’
And for Jeff I pray that you would continue to push him in his faith and in his walk with you. Thank you for his Christian upbringing and the people that have mentored him and I pray that he would go and do likewise and be a mentor to others. Give him guidance and direction as he steps out into his next phase of life after high school. Grow him into a man of heart who remains hungry for you and serves you with all his heart, all his mind and all his strength.
Thank you for Brent Lord…he grew up in a Christian home with godly parents and I know that he will continue to look back on his spiritual heritage as a real gift from You. We so need strong godly men in our culture…help him keep his eyes on You. Lord, I pray Ephesians 6 into his life…I pray Brent that you will put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the enemy.
Julia is another example how much our family members can influence our spiritual lives and how important our campus ministries are to help students navigate their life in Christ. Lord, I thank you for them. And I pray that as Julia heads to Edmonton this summer for her missions trip that you would continue to open her eyes and heart to the direction you are taking her.
Ib’s story reminds us that sometimes we find ourselves swept up in God’s story because of the outpouring of love from God’s people. Because a group of people loved Ib… Ib fell in love with Jesus. How beautiful is that? I pray for Ib’s continued growth and commitment and that she would truly experience how wide and high and deep is your love.
And Lord I pray for Nick… another man after God’s heart with deep spiritual roots that he is extremely thankful for. He is a man with many gifts, and I pray that you would continue to develop those gifts, because they will equip him for what you have called him to do. As he graduates this year, I pray that you would make the path of the future more clear. As many people have heard me say, “Your plans always include a larger purpose, but You rarely make things simple,” so even though the road ahead might not be simple, I pray that Nick would have peace in the transition and a spirit of adventure in the journey.
Jonathan is another man whose journey has been complex. His relationship with you has been on and off, and now he’s ready more then ever to do life with Christ. While he spends the next 5 years in Kingston, I pray that you would continue to bring people into his life that will sharpen him, and that he in turn would begin to sharpen others. Equip him for his calling, and give him endurance for the journey. Help him to know that his house does not have to be spotless for you to be at the centre.
And God for the part that we as brothers and sisters in Christ play in the lives of these people, whether it be a big role or a small one, may we be more faithful than a brother. Hold us all firmly in the grip of your grace.
And Lord I pray for Nick… another man after God’s heart with deep spiritual roots that he is extremely thankful for. He is a man with many gifts, and I pray that you would continue to develop those gifts, because they will equip him for what you have called him to do. As he graduates this year, I pray that you would make the path of the future more clear. As many people have heard me say, “Your plans always include a larger purpose, but You rarely make things simple,” so even though the road ahead might not be simple, I pray that Nick would have peace in the transition and a spirit of adventure in the journey.
Jonathan is another man whose journey has been complex. His relationship with you has been on and off, and now he’s ready more then ever to do life with Christ. While he spends the next 5 years in Kingston, I pray that you would continue to bring people into his life that will sharpen him, and that he in turn would begin to sharpen others. Equip him for his calling, and give him endurance for the journey. Help him to know that his house does not have to be spotless for you to be at the centre.
And God for the part that we as brothers and sisters in Christ play in the lives of these people, whether it be a big role or a small one, may we be more faithful than a brother. Hold us all firmly in the grip of your grace.
We look forward to what You are going to do in us and through us in the power name of Jesus. Amen.
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