Boomers Christmas Party

Image credit: freebievectors.com

Band of Brothers Holiday Gathering

Image credit: freebievectors.com

CANO Christmas Party

Image credit: freebievectors.com

Alternative Gift Market

Alternative Gift Market

 

 

 

Have you started your Christmas shopping? Do you need a few stocking stuffers? What do you buy for that person on your list who has everything?

 

Make your life easier by coming to our Annual Alternative Gift Market. You may get much of your shopping done in ONE day! There will be many booths where you can buy items or make donations to local and/or international ministries in a friend or family member’s name. What a great way to show your loved ones you care while supporting very worthy causes in our community or that of another’s.

 

WHEN: Sunday, December 2, 2012 from 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

 

WHERE: San Pedro Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall

14900 San Pedro Avenue• San Antonio, TX 78232

210-494-6560 •  www.sppcsa.com

 

WHO (Missions we support at SPPC):  

· Presbyterian Children’s Home

· Christian Assistance Ministry

· House of Neighborly Services

· Habitat for Humanity

· Guatemala Project

· Romanian Boys Home

· Mobile Loaves and Fishes

· Heifer International

· Barefoot Children (Running Strong for the American Indian Youth)

· Emmanuel Presbyterian Church (Supporting SA Food Bank)

 

SPPC Harvest Table

Image Credit: Google Images

Let’s gather together during this Thanksgiving season to be Christ to San Antonio families in need. Please bring your gifts of canned goods, staples, and dried items and place them on the table outside of the Fellowship Hall.  The table will be up until Sunday, November 18th and the food will be distributed on Wednesday, November 21st. 

SPPC Fall Clean-up

Girlfriends Christmas Dinner Theater

Image credit: Shutterstock

RSVP Diana Grippi at dgrippi@swbell.net

CANO Thanksgiving Night

Image credit from google images

Please contact Kari Schwab to get the gate code and to RSVP

CANO is SPPC's Adult Social Group ages 20 to early 50's

Prayer

A couple of years ago I attended a Sunday school class that Faith taught on prayer. The class revolved around a book written by Walter Wangerin Jr., Whole Prayer; Speaking and Listening to God. The class taught me something about prayer that I would like to share with you this month.

Walter Wangerin announced in his book that the complete prayer is made up of four parts, four very discrete parts. Two of those parts are ours and two of them are God's. Each part may seem like it is separate from the other three because they are not necessarily all done in one continuous act of prayer but they can, in a lot of instances, occur in such a swift succession the complete prayer is a single, unbroken event.  Those four parts to prayer are:

First, we speak while,

Second, God listens.

Third, God speaks while,

Fourth, we listen.

I think it goes without saying, and we would all agree, that prayer is initiated by us. When we go to God in prayer it should always be deliberately, attentively, and openly turning our minds to God. There are a couple of reasons why we pray. Sometimes we don’t have a defined purpose beyond simply wanting to be with Him; we want to commune with our heavenly Father.  Other times, we have something specifically we want to talk with God about. We want to ask for this or that, we want to apologize to Him for something we've done, we want Him to intervene in a situation that bothers us – to turn a bad situation into something good, or we want to thank Him for something He has done for us or someone close to us. The main thing about prayer is that it is an act that puts us in our proper, natural relationship with God in the best possible way. The marvelous blessing in this is that we can, despite all of our sinful ways, initiate this talk with God and we do this whenever, wherever, and however we feel the need to. This is how we speak to God.

As we begin to speak with God, the second part of prayer begins immediately—God listens. It is this part that makes the first part possible. If God didn't hear us there would be absolutely no reason for us to begin to speak to Him. So, how do we know God is listening?  Because the Bible tells us so in 1 John 5:14 (see Bible Verses to Remember below). God's love for us all is the power that receives our voice. This is God's promise. 

It is at this point that many people stop praying. They've said their piece and they expect that God has heard them, so they are done. That's so sad because the prayer is only half complete. The third part of a complete pray is that God speaks back to us. Now please don't misunderstand.  Speaking to us is not the same as giving us what we want, which He may or may not do. In love He responds to us. He talks back, answers, makes Himself known, and makes His being and His intentions real to us. He does this and He does this every time we pray. How does He speak to us? He speaks to us through Scripture, through the words of other people—both other Christians and those who are not, through the church, and through the daily experiences we have in life. Rest assured He does speak back to us.

The fourth part is the heart of prayer—we listen. As God empowered our words by listening and responding back, we show our faith in Him and dependence upon His word by listening to Him. Very rarely does God speak in a dream or a vision as he did in the time of Jesus and before. Since God doesn't normally shout from the heavens for our attention, listening cannot be an accident. Listening must be our own conscientious action, a thing we do, a thing we choose to do, and a thing we can learn to do better and better.  We hear God by making ourselves ready to hear, by paying attention to our surroundings, and by trusting and having faith that God will speak to us.  But an attentive attitude is not enough if we don't know how to distinguish God's "voice" from other voices or how to interpret the voice of God when He speaks to us.  I said that God speaks to us through Scripture. The Bible is God's dictionary. The words of Scripture are God's words to us, but more than just His words to us, Scripture also interprets these words. It is the Bible where we find our deepest explanation of what God's "deeds" mean.  So, in order for us to recognize when God speaks to us in our own lives, we need to know His "language" as it is recorded in the Bible. When we learn the Scriptures we then have a basis for understanding and being able to distinguish God's "voice" from other "voices."  Even just to know that it is God talking and not our strong desires we are hearing.

We must remember that we don't know God exhaustively. We can't. We have an awesome and loving God. If you believe that then you're going to have to be okay with sometimes not being privy to the how's and why's of everything He does. When He speaks to you it isn't always going to be what you want to hear.  He isn't going to always explain why He does what He does. He expects us all to have faith that He does it for good reason and He does it because He loves each and every one of us.  We are joyful when He answers our prayer with a positive result that we like or want, but friends, I ask that you be joyful that He answers our prayers, whether we like the answer or not.  Be thankful He is there when we speak. Be thankful He is there to listen to us.  Be thankful He is there.

Bible Verses to Remember:

1 John 5: 14 – 15 (TNIV): This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of Him.

John 15:7 (TNIV):  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 

By Ed Olson

SPY Costume Party

"While We're Waiting: What is the Significance of My Life?"

Meditation
“May the God of peace sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23



Call to Worship  
Leader: You are in our midst, O Lord, and we are called by your name.

People: Stir up in us the desire to fulfill this sacred calling.

Unison: May we devote each day to serving your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.


Prayer of Confession
Gracious God, you know our frailty and understand our failures.  Cleanse us by your forgiveness, purge the stain of sin, and make pure our hearts within us.  Mend what is broken in our lives, that we may be whole with the peace of Jesus Christ. Amen.


Assurance of God's Faithfulness
Leader: Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." (John 14:27)

People: Jesus also said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

Leader: May these words of Jesus bring rest to our weary souls and comfort to our aching hearts. Amen.


Scripture Lessons  New Testament: 2 Peter 3:8-15a
Sermon: "While We're Waiting: What is the Significance of My Life?"  (Dr. Calvin Reynolds)

You can listen to this sermon as well as the other sermons in this series by going to the following link: http://www.sppcsa.com/pages.asp?pageid=93516

Boomer's Haunting Halloween Party

Girlfriends' Cozy Mountain Retreat

"While We're Waiting: Stay True to the Faith"

Meditation
“May we continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.”   2 Peter 3:18

Call to Worship
 Leader: Eternal God, you never fail to give us each day all that we ever need, and even more.
People: Give us such joy in living and such peace in serving Christ,
Leader: that we may gratefully make use of all your blessings,
People: and joyfully seek our risen Lord in everyone we meet. Amen.


Prayer of Confession
God of wonders, you work your mighty will in amazing ways and claim us to serve your purposes as you have revealed them in Jesus Christ.  Take us and all we are and all we do; forgive what is imperfect and flawed and show us how to make amends, so that our lives may be better witnesses to the presence of our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Assurance of God's Faithfulness
Leader: Eternal God, remind us always that you have gone before us through every dark valley, and that Christ walks with us still.
People: Free us from fear and the pressure to conform to this world that we may be firm in our discipleship. Unison: Lead us to stand with all who suffer and to champion the cause of justice and truth in Christ’s name.  Amen.

Scripture Lessons
Old Testament: Zephaniah 3:8-13
Sermon: “While We'reWaiting: Stay True to the Faith” (Dr. Calvin Reynolds)

You can listen to this sermon as well as the other sermons in this series by going to the following link: http://www.sppcsa.com/pages.asp?pageid=93516

“While We're Waiting: Carpe Manana”

Meditation
Matthew 25:4 The Parable of the Ten Virgins: 5 were foolish and 5 were wise.  Jesus says, “The wise took oil in jars along with their lamps.” 

 

“Now this kind of wisdom Jesus describes by saying, that they are to provide themselves with supplies necessary for completing the course of their life.”  John Calvin

Call to Worship (Psalm 24:7-10)
Leader: Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
People: Who is this King of glory?
Leader: The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
People: Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Leader: Who is he, this King of glory?
People: The LORD Almighty - he is the King of glory.

Prayer of Confession
Heavenly Father, we humbly come before you with empty hearts.  We spend so much time with the activities of life that our souls are shriveling up.  Often our Christian walk is something we think of later.  Forgive us, O God, for our neglect.  We are not prepared.  We are not ready.  Our spirit is often too weak to withstand the day to day onslaughts of life.  We are caught unprotected by the enemy. Eternal God, be our starting point and our haven, and accompany us in this day’s journey.  Prepare us for the day.  Prepare us for the hour, so that we might not be found wanting.  Amen. 


Assurance of God's Faithfulness
Leader: God of all joy, fill our souls to overflowing with the fullness of your grace.
People: Remind us of your triumph over the tragedy of the cross, and your victory for us over the power of sin and death,
Unison: so that we may reflect your glory as disciples of Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. Amen.


Scripture Lessons
New Testament: Matthew 25:1-13
Sermon: “While We're Waiting: Carpe Manana” (Dr. Calvin Reynolds)

 

You can listen to this sermon as well as the other sermons in this series by going to the following link: http://www.sppcsa.com/pages.asp?pageid=93516

“While We're Waiting: Looking Is Not For Us”

Meditation
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8

 

Call to Worship

Leader: Blessed is the one who makes the Lord his trust, who does not look to the proud or to those who turn aside to false gods.

People: Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you have planned for us no one can even number.

Unison: We come this day to give you glory and honor and praise for what you have done in our past and what you will do in our future. Amen.

 

Prayer of Confession (Psalm 38:4-6a)
“O Lord, my guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly. I am bowed down and brought very low.” Lift me up, O God. Deliver me from my sins. Take away the guilt, so that I can press on for you, so that I can live again in your glory. Amen.

 

Assurance of Pardon (Psalm 32:1-2, 7)
Leader: Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

People: Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.

Unison: You are my hiding place, O Lord. You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Amen.

 

Scripture Lessons
New Testament: Acts 1:6-11
Sermon: “While We'reWaiting: Looking Is Not For Us” (Dr. Calvin Reynolds)

 

You can listen to this sermon as well as the other sermons in this series by going to the following link: http://www.sppcsa.com/pages.asp?pageid=93516