Phone in: 1-312-626-6799
Meeting ID: 286 365 955
Welcome to Sunday Morning Online
Welcome! This is our second Hybrid Online Sunday.
We have seating for about 20 now that the Stay @ Home order is null.
However, we want to observe recommendations from the CDC.
- Good handwashing (20 seconds).
- Cover your cough.
- Six-foot spacing.
- Obviously, if you have a fever or new symptoms you should join the service online from home.
Most importantly we want people to feel safe.
Announcements
Check out the announcements below and if we missed anything please update us on the Prayer, Needs and Updates form at the bottom of this page. Thanks.
- Sunday Morning – Hybrid @ 10:00 AM.
- Thursday Night @ 7:00 PM.
There is an Offering button in the giving section below as well as on the Home Page upper left corner.
You can also mail your gifts to LSF – PO Box 103 – Warrens, WI 54666
Songs
The Blessing - over the UK
Giving
God’s promise of sowing and reaping is real.
Luke 6:38 (CSB)
38 Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over—will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Scripture
Matthew 5:28 (CSB)
28 But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Adultery Begins in the Heart
Matthew 5:27-30 (CSB)
27 “You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery.
28 But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
Read and Journal – Mark 2:18-22
Pick 1-3 sections of scripture that get your attention. In other words, what do you notice as you read the text, i.e. certain words, phrases, images, persons, the storyline?
Uncover what God is telling you through His word.
Are you feeling distant in your walk with Christ? Discover how to Make room for the new life now!
Do you ever feel like you are wandering in life? You came to know that Jesus loved you and gave His life for you.
You were drawn by this love and desired the relationship that Jesus offered. You can have peace with God. You can know Him as your loving Father. You made a decision to follow Him.
But then you drift. Other things attract your attention…
The first love you experienced when you suddenly knew God as your Father, is gone. It seems far away as the passion fades.
How can you recapture this passion? How can the joy of your salvation be restored? Remember the passion…
“How did I get here?”
Have you ever been driving and then become aware of where you are? You ask yourself the question, “How did I get here? It’s as if you checked out and were on autopilot.
There are specific points in my life where I have felt like this. It is as if I woke up from sleeping and wonder how I drifted.
How did I stray from this truth I believe? How did I lose connection with those I love? How did I lose my way?
We lose our way when we lose our why. The good news is that there are disciplines that can help us remember our why.
“How do I get back?”
A great question that will help correct our course is, “How do I get back?”. It revolves around focus, specifically a focus on discipleship. There are a number of disciplines that go along with discipleship. They are spiritual disciplines.
There is an acronym that Robby Gallaty teaches in his book Growing Up that outlines the basics of these disciplines. It is C.L.O.S.E.R. (Communication, Learn, Obey, Store, Evangelize, and Renew).
Communication is known as prayer. Talking with God and listening for His voice is necessary as we come into His presence. I would add that listening is what we all could use more practice on.
Learn, Obey and Store all involve the Word of God. It is important that we study, apply what we learn to our lives and memorize the Scripture. I believe memorization is part of biblical meditation. It is focused attention to the Word of God that will make you successful and prosper.
Evangelize is like show and tell. You share what you are learning in Scripture. You talk about how God is moving in your life.
Renew brings in the practice of journaling along with prayer and listening. This is a step that allows us to take what God is showing us and process it.
As we become more aware of the meaning, we write it down. Because of this, we can share it with others.
Prayer and Fasting
Prayer and fasting are important disciplines. We covered prayer previously. It is a basic discipline we use to talk with God, but what about fasting? Here is a quote I have been thinking of lately.
What does that mean? A better question is how can I have more of that in my life?
I remember my dad talk about silos. In order for there to be room for fresh silage, the old silage has to go.
In order for God to move freely in and through me, I have to make space. Space that is available for Him to work. I see fasting as the tool to open this space.
When I look at it this way, fasting becomes a blessing instead of a burden.
Do I want God to have His way? Do I truly surrender to His purpose for my life?
Am I willing for the potter to shape me in anyway He chooses? Do I want to be used by God? Then I will fast.
What Jesus says about fasting.
What did Jesus say about His disciples fasting? Take a look at Mark 2.
Mark 2:18-22 (CSB)
18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. People came and asked him, “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
19 Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the groom is with them, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. 21 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new patch pulls away from the old cloth, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost as well as the skins. No, new wine is put into fresh wineskins.”
Here are two examples that you have heard before, the unshrunk cloth and the old wineskin. But have you ever related it to the practice of fasting? Jesus told the people His disciples would fast and then gave these examples in the same paragraph.
I think it has to do with the process of humbling and surrendering ourselves in fasting. This practice makes the space necessary for Christ to reshape us to receive more of Him. If we just try to add Him to our lives and not let Him be our life we will burst like an old wineskin.
Let Jesus become your life.
Types of Fasts
There are several types of fasts that I will list below. This will give you an idea of what it would take to fast.
Here is an article from the C.S. Lewis Institute – The Place of Fasting in the Christian Life. It gives you a good overview of the topic.
Fasting requires a certain level of physical health, and it is recommended that you check with your doctor if you’re doing a fast that lasts more than a few days in a row.
1. Complete Fast
A complete fast is when you abstain from food and drink for twenty-four consecutive hours or more. Some examples from Scripture can be found in Acts 9:9, and Esther 4:15-16, just to name a few.
2. Major Fast
A major fast is when you abstain from food for twenty-four consecutive hours or more.
3. Minor Fast
In a minor fast, you choose to abstain from food for a certain period of time (i.e. 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. or sunup to sundown). This fast is sometimes called a “Jewish fast,” and it can last for days at a time, eating only at a set time of the day. In a minor fast, most people will drink liquids during the day and have one small meal after sundown each evening.
4. Partial Fast
A partial fast is when you give up only certain foods during the course of your fast. We see this in the book of Daniel, where Daniel abstains from certain foods out of devotion to God for a period of time. During a partial fast, some people choose to give up certain foods they enjoy in an effort to turn their hearts toward God.
5. Soul Fast
Biblical fasting, in the technical sense, refers only to abstaining from food or drink for a spiritual purpose. However, some choose a fast from other things to focus on prayer (i.e. videos, social media, etc.).
Questions
What type of fasts have you participated in?
Is there something you need focused prayer on this season?
2 Chronicles 7:14 (CSB)
14 and my people, who bear my name, humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
Now that you see what fasting entails, how could you implement this practice in your life?
Prayer
Please fill out the form below with your prayer requests so we can pray about them during our meeting together. Also, any updates you might have for answered prayer or announcements can go here. Thanks.
Use the Prayer Watch link above to access our prayer list. Contact me for password.