{"id":12487,"date":"2016-11-06T18:00:45","date_gmt":"2016-11-06T22:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=12487"},"modified":"2017-01-24T15:43:53","modified_gmt":"2017-01-24T19:43:53","slug":"becoming-agents-of-holiness-pt-2-92516","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=12487","title":{"rendered":"Becoming Agents of Holiness- Pt 2 (9\/25\/16)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Power of Intercessory Prayer\u201d<\/p>\n

Pastor Jim is preaching a sermon series on Prayer, entitled “Becoming Objects of Holiness.”\u00a0 Last week<\/a>, he introduced the series by challenging us with the importance of prayer, and highlighting the importance of praying together (“Corporate Prayer”).
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In this week’s sermon, he reminded us of the power that comes when we pray for others (“Intercessory Prayer”).\u00a0 Peter was in jail, about to be executed, and his friends were together praying for him.\u00a0 But, God answered their prayers (in the way they wanted): Peter was freed! His life was spared, but when he knocked at the door, their unbelieving minds just assumed that the knocks were coming from Peter’s ghost and not from the real live one.
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The following recording is from the 9:30 service.\u00a0 Click on the play button, then scroll down to follow along…<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\nhttps:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Sermon-2016-09-25a_Becoming-Agents-of-Holiness_Part-2_-by-Pastor-Jim-Bolton-6kbs-mono.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Our scripture reading was from Acts 12:1-16 \u00a0 Open the below drop down box to follow along.\u00a0 The New Living Translation is shown below…<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Acts 12:1-16<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t

1\u00a0 About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church.<\/p>\n

2 He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword.<\/p>\n

3 When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration.)<\/p>\n

4 Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover.<\/p>\n

5 But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.<\/p>\n

6 The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate.<\/p>\n

7 Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists.<\/p>\n

8 Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered.<\/p>\n

9 So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening.<\/p>\n

10 They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.<\/p>\n

11 Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!”<\/p>\n

12 When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer.<\/p>\n

13 He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it.<\/p>\n

14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!”<\/p>\n

15 “You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”<\/p>\n

16 Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed.<\/p>\n

17 He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers what happened,” he said. And then he went to another place.<\/p>\n

Holy Bible, New Living Translation \u00ae, copyright \u00a9 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

There is something powerful about prayer; it’s not magic or a rabbits foot, but God does things when we pray.<\/p>\n

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Johnny, a very bright 5 year old, told his daddy he’d like to have a baby brother and, along with his request, offered to do whatever he could to help. His dad, a very bright 35 year old, paused for a moment and then replied, ” I’ll tell you what, Johnny, if you pray every day for two months for a baby brother, I guarantee that God will give you one!” <\/span><\/p>\n

Johnny responded eagerly to his dad’s challenge and went to his bedroom early that night to start praying for a baby brother.\u00a0 He prayed every night for a whole month, but after that time, he began to get skeptical. He checked around the neighborhood and found out that what he thought was going to happen, had never occurred in the history of the neighborhood. You just don’t pray for two months and then, whammo- a new baby brother. So, Johnny quit praying. <\/span><\/p>\n

After another month, Johnny’s mother went to the hospital. When she came back home, Johnny’s parents called him into the bedroom. He cautiously walked into the room, not expecting to find anything, and there was a little bundle lying right next to his mother. His dad pulled back the blanket and there was — not one baby brother, but two!! His mother had twins! Johnny’s dad looked down at him and said, “Now aren’t you glad you prayed?” Johnny hesitated a little and then looked up at his dad and said, “Yes, but aren’t you glad I quit when I did?”<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n

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Protest or Pray???<\/span><\/h3>\n

Scripture is constantly reminding God\u2019s people to be a people of prayer. As we noted last week, to achieve the holiness God is calling us to, for the Church to have a lasting impact and to be able to make an eternal difference, then the people who \"signboard-2016-09-21-prayer-steering-wheel-_img_3756\"call themselves Christian must be praying people.<\/p>\n

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Today it seems as if we are quicker to raise some sort of protest than we are to pray.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t

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