Today was Prayer Stations Sunday. In the months with five Sundays, Cornerstone Church of Blaine devotes one Sunday to prayer. After worship and a short sermon, the balance of the service time is spent in prayer.

A few photos from the service and scans of the prayer cards are in the article I wrote today.

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Saturday morning at 7:45AM had our group gathering in the living room with common descriptions of soreness and fatigue from the active play on Friday. We began the day with a talk about praying for the lost followed by discussion of what our role is in the course of salvation for both the effective prayer and the practical witness.

After being served another excellent breakfast, we regrouped in the living room so Pastor Ron could present a lesson on listening to God followed by a short quiet time. We came back together and began the process of praying for all of the families in our congregation using the church directory and notes of the newer attendees. This procedure carried through a time period on the pontoon and in the van on the ride home. We cleared out of the house we had been staying in and loaded our gear into the van.

We took the pontoon out for a lunch cruise and found a calm spot near the lily pads to dine. We dined on sloppy joes, pasta salad, baked beans and an excellent strawberry dessert. We had plenty of laughs as we enjoyed one another’s company. After lunch we had a little free time as Ron took a couple of the kids on a short tubing ride while driving the speed boat over to the landing to pull it out of the water.

The ride home included a little bit of debate and lots of laughs as well as the finishing of our praying through the directory. We had a discussion about the retreat; what people liked and what they would like to see changed and then a suggestion time for ideas for the prayer ministry. All in all, people seemed to enjoy themselves and found value in attending the pray and play weekend. Thanks to Jeff for driving and for the use of his van for the transportation. Thanks to Pastor Ron for providing the facilities and giving us the last couple days of his vacation time there. And a special thanks to the great ladies at Mogasheen Resort who prepared the fabulous meals for us, including the wonderful desserts.

Read the full article.

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After lunch we had a session on Effective Prayer. As I said, it was after lunch so some eyelids were looking fairly heavy. People did perk up however as a lively discussion ended the session. The lesson was mainly on switching our prayer motivations from being self-serving to God glorifying and God’s will in the situation being prayed about. The discussion took a bit of a turn to whether or not our reason for being created was to simply glorify God or if there was more than that and also considered how much God truly wills for our individual daily decisions in life.

We then had free time from approximately 1:30 to 3:00PM. Some napped or sat and relaxed while others took care of some personal matters such as sermon prep or photo and blog uploads. At 3:00PM the speed boat was loaded into the water and the water skis and tubes were about to get wet. Some skied and tubed while others went along for the ride and watched. It was a warm, sunny afternoon that we were blessed with for some fun. The most popular comments dealt with being sore from using muscles differently than normal and wait to see how you feel tomorrow. Other than Jeff banging his knee jumping into the water behind the boat and Josiah taking a skidding slide across the gravel road that he was running on, we seemed to survive the afternoon with no casualties.

At 5:30 we had a short session before dinner which was an hour later. Having covered praise, thanksgiving and intercession earlier in the day, we now focused on confession. This was mainly a solo effort as we received a copy of a reprint from Finney dealing with the sin that we sometimes ignore or deal with in less than a sincere manner. We each went to a spot where we could sit alone to read the 3 pages and do a little self-introspection and confession. I know that I will have to address this one again as the allotted time did not seem to do it justice.

Dinner was what I would call a spaghetti lasagna, salad, garlic bread and milk or Kool-Aid. We were treated to a chocolate cake, pudding and whipped cream dessert that was very good to top off the fabulous dinner. The gals at the resort have provided excellent meals for us throughout our visit and we are grateful for their efforts.

After dinner at the picnic tables, we headed back to the house and spent about 45 minutes praying for the Cornerstone mission, vision and 2010 goals. We were then free for the night which included a Rook game and laughing at some of each other’s favorite YouTube videos.

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This morning we began at 7:45 with a pre-breakfast session, then had breakfast together in the house. After breakfast we had a message on praise and thanksgiving, took 10 minutes to reflect on our own prayer lives and our approach to God before gathering together for an outdoor activity.

We occupied 2 canoes and 4 kayaks and set course for the island. Along the way each person prayed alone quietly offering praise and thanksgiving to God. On the island we hiked across to a campsite where we settled in to hear some more thoughts on praise and thanksgiving before praying as a group. We reloaded into the watercraft and made the trip back to the resort for a lunch outside at the picnic tables.

After lunch we went back to the house and heard a message on effective prayer followed by a discussion about determining how a prayer was effective or not.

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The Pray and Play Retreat is a time for us to get away and focus on prayer. There is teaching followed by application and then conversation regarding the topic and experience. Between each session is time to play and enjoy the beautiful area here at Mogasheen resort near Cable, Wisconsin.

We all rode up here together in a 12 passenger van and over the three hour ride we took time to discuss prayer and had a short time of prayer. We learned of the backgrounds of each other concerning prayer in our upbringing and we discussed our current prayer habits. We also talked about why we were along on this adventure, all with differing reasons.

We arrived at 9:45PM and unloaded the van. We were shown our rooms and were free to explore our surroundings. Four of us went for a moonlight swim and then headed to the pool which felt like a hot tub after swimming in the refreshingly cool lake. After a little conversation time, people wandered to their beds. 7:45AM is start time in the morning.

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Hebrews 13:15
Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.

While sitting at home wondering what is causing the pain, I look forward to the doctor appointment on Wednesday.

My work Pager goes off alerting me to the production of my day. A slow day, I was hoping for 62.5%. The numbers came in at 63%.

Having watched a couple episodes of Band of Brothers tonight which is about WWII, I am thankful for the sacrifices of others.

I turn to thoughts of thanksgiving for the poor number exceeding my hopes. Thanks also for my loving wife caring about my struggles. Then about my beautiful granddaughter and daughters who love me enough to visit me.

I turn to praising God for His loving kindness. Even in the midst of my struggles He is with me and upholding me by His grace. This is the Sacrifice of Praise and is loved by God as we turn to Him in our time of need. I am washed over by the warmth and comfort of His presence and comfort.

Believers are never to forget the constant presence of God. This is prayer when we enter into sweet communion with the God who cared enough to save us from the wrath we deserve.

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Praying for one another and the needs of the church is a regular practice in the Christian life. At Cornerstone Church of Blaine it is no different as we have regular corporate prayer meetings, leadership that believes in and promotes prayer and home groups that foster the building of relationships and caring for one another.

So how does one request prayer?

From time to time we see prayer requests posted in public on message boards which is a broader form of a person to person request. This is comfortable for some but intimidating for others. Person to person is probably the most common form of request as it depends upon someone with whom a relationship has already been built. Join a CCB small group and enjoy the personal support when you need it and offer support to others as they need it.

The prayer chain is another method within a church by which the request is passed along through a list of participants. In days past it would be a phone call to a person who then called one or more persons as assigned from the list of participants. Some people would not participate for lack of wanting to make phone calls. These days the chain is more of an announcement as people can sign up to have the requests emailed or texted to them. At CCB you can sign up to be on the list to receive an email.

1) Go to the church site, www.ccblaine.org
2) Go to the Members section and log in or register with the site.
3) Place your mouse pointer over the Members link and on the drop down menu click on mailing lists.
4) Click on the list or lists that you would like to be notified from. Ours is the Prayer Chain.

Requests can also be made in person at one of the CCB regularly scheduled corporate prayer meetings. There you will have attendees pray for your request immediately and remember to pray for you as you come to mind in the following days. Join us to pray as they did in the first century church and ever since.

"Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers."  Acts 1:12-14 It goes on to say that the gathering was about 120 people.

Corporate Prayer Times
1st Saturday of the month - 9AM - Sykes residence.
2nd Wednesday of the month - 7PM - Sykes residence.
3rd Thursday of the month - 7PM - Schaenzer residence.
4th Monday of the month - 7PM - Borchert residence.
Every Friday - 7:30AM - Sykes residence.
Every Sunday - 9:30AM - Stage Dressing Room.


You will not be required to pray out loud if that makes you uncomfortable.
Generally lasts one hour, there should be a time to fit your schedule.
Volunteers needed to host the 1st Saturday and 3rd Thursday meetings. Just open your residence for people to sit and pray for our congregation. Contact John Schaenzer with questions.

At Cornerstone we also have the welcome card in the Sunday bulletin which has room on the back to submit a prayer request. Simply write down your request and drop it in the offering basket. These cards are used at the corporate prayer meetings to pray for the requests unless the "For Pastor Only" box is checked.

Also, prayer requests can be made from the site, after signing in, under Members > New Prayer Request or by sending an email to prayer@lists.ccblaine.org .

Why is it that some people request prayer regularly and others do it rarely if ever?
Read More

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Station 5 - Mission Trip 2010

Where:

Buffalo Narrows, Saskatchewan, Canada is the destination where we will serve the local community by teaching the youth, running outreach events and encouraging the adults to grow in their faith and prepare them to go and preach to the nations themselves. The trip is scheduled for June 27 through July  5, 2010.

Pray For:

Buffalo Narrows

• the families of those who recently committed suicide in Buffalo Narrows.
• that the return of prayer to the local schools makes a positive impact on students.
• for God to prepare the hearts of many there to receive the Good News we will be bringing and through Steve's church.

Flippins and Church

• for the Flippin's testimony class at church - that it will be instrumental in empowering the Christians there to share their faith effectively and help grow the church.
• that new attendees to their church will continue to rise and for continued growth.
• that God will provide an effective youth pastor for their church.

Preparations

• that our missions team will be able to write and effectively share their testimonies.
• that our fund-raising efforts (both individual and as a group) will move people to support this event either in prayer or with money as God moves their heart. Praise God for the $700 raised through the garage sale.

Journey

• for safe travel on our journey. Specifically, that there would be no issues crossing the border either way. Health and safety while there.

Our Ministry There

• that we will make a positive impact during the July 1st celebrations.
• that we would especially have an impact on the youth - that trusting relationships would blossom.
• for the banquet and talk that we are planning - for people to see the need to attend this event.

 Station 4 Ministries

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Station 4 - Ministries

Pray for our church ministries and ministry leaders. Pray that our leaders will continuously seek God for guidance, provision and to do His will. Pray for our congregation that individuals will rise up in roles of leadership and support by being active as the Holy Spirit leads them. Volunteers are always needed.

Elders

Pastor: Dr Ron Sykes
Chairman: Steve Harms
Elder: Mike Vedders
Elder: John Mittelstadt

Ministry Leadership Team

Youth Ministry: Jena Lauzon
Adult Teaching: Alan Furst
Men's Ministry: Jeff Seversieke
Women's Ministry: Linda LaFrenier
Outreach: Toni Borchert
Prayer/Nursing Home: John Schaenzer
Property Acquisition: Matt Ashworth
Children's Ministry: Heather Sundal
Worship Team: Bruce Cox and Steve Harms
Care Ministry: Peggy Bergley
Nursery: Jen Porter and Lola Sykes

 Station 3 Healing                                              Station 5 Missions Trip 2010

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Station 3 - Healing

We serve a sovereign God and we desire to see His will fulfilled both in the world and our individual lives. He determines the times and seasons of our lives and we do not seek to short-circuit any work that He is doing in us and through us. God has taught us to pray and in fact commands us to seek Him. So we follow the Scriptural example and pray for one another.

"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins  to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:13-16

The Pastor and Elders are available to pray for and with you if you desire to take the step of faith in being anointed with oil and personal confession if necessary.

Pray for those in our congregation who are recovering or suffering from ailments and struggles whether they are physical, emotional, mental or relational in nature.

 Station 2b Prayer                                                                        Station 4 Ministries

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