“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock” (Matthew 7:24-25)

Not if, but when.

If you’ve lived long enough, you know that storms in life are inevitable. Therefore, you build your life so that it can withstand the storms. Sure, for the majority of one’s life when things are going well or smooth sailing, having built for the storms of life is overkill. The things your life need to withstand the storms of life are not necessary during the normal course of your life. But that’s not why you built your life to withstand the storm. You built your life on solid foundation because you know storms inevitably come.

That solid foundation is Jesus and the Word of God.

The world is going through a storm. Things we are living through were unimaginable four months ago. If someone had told you that the world would come to a screeching halt, no more international or domestic travel, the entire cruise industry shut down, stores, malls, theaters, sporting events all shut down, that doctors in Spain and Italy would have to choose who would live and who would die as there wasn’t enough capacity to take in all the sick, you wouldn’t have believed them.

Not if, but when.

Build your life to withstand the storms. The key is to build your life on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ and God’s word. Commit to building your life on the word of God.

Here are some links that can help you do just that:

• YouVersion
• Daily Bible Reading
• One Year Bible
• Common Prayer

There are plenty of free tools online to help you read and study the Bible. That’s the first step in building your life on the foundation of Jesus Christ and God’s word.

Church, if you can grow and thrive as a disciple in this storm, there is little God cannot do with a church like that!

“I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you” (Philippians 1:3-4)

Little Church and Lakewoodgrace, I have the privilege to pray for you every Wednesdays and Thursdays. It is a privilege to go through the prayer requests we receive and to lift up prayers for God to continue doing his amazing work through the Little Church and Lakewoodgrace.

If you would like to be prayed for, call us in the office or email to let us know how we can pray for you. You also have the opportunity to fill out the communication cards on Sundays.

Here is the thing about prayer: Prayer is a powerful ministry that every single person can engage in. It doesn’t matter how old or young you are, how physically able or not you are, how wealthy or not you are, how educated or not you are, everyone can pray. There is nothing to stop us from praying. Every single one of us has the capacity and the privilege to pray and lift up one another.

The moment you start praying, the God of the universe stops all things to pay attention to your prayers and your requests!!!

Just think about that!!!

What an awesome privilege.

“I need some things to do during these days of social isolation.” Ever find yourself saying that?

Here is something to add to our daily arsenal for the ministry of Jesus Christ. Make a list of people you will pray for and pray for them every day of this week.

Don’t try to pray for 100 people a day. Start with 3. Every day, pray for 3 different people.

Don’t know what to pray for?

• Pray for God’s presence and peace in their lives during this uncertain times.
• Pray that God is using this season to grow and mature their faith.
• Pray that God uses them to be a blessing to the people around them.

If everyone reading this put this to practice, can you imagine the kind of church God can raise up in the Little Church and Lakewoodgrace?!?!

Friends of the Little Church and Lakewoodgrace, “I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you.”

“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers“ (Ephesians 1:16)

I miss seeing you. I miss being with you.

While we haven’t been gathering in a particular physical place, there are many things The Little Church on the Prairie and Lakewoodgrace hasn’t stopped doing:

• We haven’t stopped worshiping. We continue to worship together every Sunday
• We haven’t stopped meeting in small groups. There are small groups meeting throughout the week
• We haven’t stopped impacting the lives of others through our giving and serving. The ministry of compassion continues.
• We haven’t stopped praying. We continue to pray for one another, our city, and our country
• We haven’t stopped our children’s ministry. Every week, our children and their families are getting instruction and crafts to work on
• We haven’t stopped our youth ministry. They continue to meet by Zoom
• We haven’t stopped our planning and preparing for future ministry. Our committees continue to function. Our session is always looking for better ways to serve our church. Our staff continues to meet weekly to ask how we can equip our members to grow and mature as disciples during this season

Nothing about the Little Church and Lakewoodgrace and her mission has stopped. One day, we will be able to gather again in the sanctuary and Harrison Prep. And that will be a great day. I’m going to hug everyone! But just because we haven’t been able to gather in the sanctuary or a Harrison Prep doesn’t mean the Little Church or Lakewoodgrace ever shut down. Ministry continues.

That’s the reason why “I do not cease to give thank for you, remembering you in my prayers.”

Keep up the great work Little Church!!! Keep up the great work Lakewoodgrace!!!