Springford Baptist Church

And now as we approach the second Sunday in Advent and are preparing our hearts for Christmas, we will light the Advent Candle of PEACE. We are keenly aware of a longing for PEACE in our world. Everywhere we look there is a need for PEACE that only God can bring about. We know that God is ultimately the Giver of PEACE, yet Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5:9) One of the active ways that we can be peacemakers is through prayer. When we pray, we invite God to be at work in us and through us. As believers all around our world are praying for PEACE, God can initiate activity in each of us that will lead to PEACE. How will we recognize peacemakers if we meet them on the street? Peacemakers will not be trying to draw attention to themselves. They will often go about ways of making PEACE that will be quiet and hardly noticed. Peacemakers will invite people to consider forgiveness. Peacemakers will attempt to show people how to cooperate instead of competing or fighting. Peacemakers will work hard to bring understanding between people. Peacemakers will help people to release anger and bitterness. Peacemakers will welcome each new day as an opportunity to experience and to bring PEACE. Peacemakers will be determined and will not give up when there is resistance. As we rely on God to help us, any of us can be effective peacemakers. The intention is not for the credit to go to us, but rather for a profound awareness of God and God’s provision for PEACE to be recognized. All of these descriptions of a peacemaker remind me of Jesus. He is the One Who has shown us how to be faithful children of God by being peacemakers. This week, we will pray and trust God to guide us to be peacemakers who will be blessed and who will bring the blessing of God’s enduring PEACE. Please plan to join us for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow December 6^th at 1 pm.

Praying and trusting God for His PEACE to inhabit our hearts and for us to be His peacemakers, Pastor Lola

Our God Who has sent Jesus Your Son into our world to bring PEACE, we thank You that You can equip each of us to be peacemakers. This is a commitment that is demanding and so we look to You to sustain us in the effort required to be a peacemaker. Thank You for the PEACE that we have found in Jesus. We think of the ways that knowing Your PEACE inspires us to want to share Your PEACE with others. We come to you today to continue to pray for PEACE. We recognize that You have gifted us with PEACE in knowing You and Your abundant grace. We pray that those of us willing to be peacemakers will not be trying to draw attention to ourselves. We ask that we will be humble and wanting instead to draw attention to You. Please give us contentment in persistently being used by You in quiet ways to usher in PEACE. Thank You God that You have forgiven us. We see opportunities to invite people to consider PEACE as a powerful means of acting as peacemakers. Guide us we pray in demonstrating how to cooperate instead of competing or fighting. Reveal to us how we can build bridges of understanding. This will require people wanting to understand and we cannot accomplish this desire in people, but You can. We pray for Your love to infuse people in ways that will compel them to seek understanding and reconciliation. Where there is resistance in us to mend relationships or to admit how we have damaged loving communication with someone else, we look to You to make us examples of Your grace. It will be You enabling us to find PEACE with each other that will allow others to walk this same path of PEACE. Where we see anger and bitterness festering, we pray that we will not regard these circumstances as hopeless. On the wider world scene, there is such heightened anger and bitterness that could make PEACE appear impossible. We commit to continue to pray for PEACE when we find it hard to imagine how the damage done can ever be repaired. The miracle of Jesus’ birth that we celebrate at Christmas renews the promise for PEACE on earth. When this Holy Child was born, there was a promise for the possibility of PEACE that cannot be destroyed by hateful acts of sin and we want to remember that. We expect to see evidence of a PEACE that will spread from person to person as Your peacemakers are doing what You have called them to do. When people witness PEACE steadily taking over, it is our prayer that people will turn to You. It is our prayer that people will declare, “This can only be because of God”! Any small part that we can have in being peacemakers is a blessing. Any appreciation and praise that comes from being peacemakers goes to you. We pray that our dependence on You as Your children will grow ever stronger and that the impact of this dependence in a desire to be peacemakers will have a transforming influence that is widespread. Our God You have been a Peacemaker through Your Son Jesus, our Saviour and we want to follow in His footsteps of PEACE! May this be so. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN.

This coming Sunday will be the first Sunday in Advent leading up to Christmas. In the circle of candles in our Advent wreath, this week we will light the Advent Candle of HOPE. We are all aware of a desperate need for HOPE in our world today. There are so many examples of places where HOPE is needed. Unresolved conflict and war has us praying for the HOPE for peace. Rising costs and hunger and homelessness find us searching for answers and for HOPE. For those dealing with illness and in some cases being told there is nothing else that can be done medically, there is a longing for HOPE. In our relationships with family and friends where there is tension and brokenness and pain, we look for HOPE. In our personal circumstances where we wonder how we will face an uncertain future, there is a desire for HOPE. Sometimes looking for HOPE can be like searching the shelves of a store for a particular item. We may even go to multiple stores asking if they have available that for which we are looking. It is such a disappointment to be told, “Sorry, we are all out” or “We don’t carry that anymore.” In this season leading up to Christmas, we have good news to hold and to share. There remains the potential for HOPE in our world and in our personal lives. This HOPE might seem in short supply but we can remember that our God has infinite resources. The angel delivered the message to Mary, “You will be with child and will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus.” (Luke 1:31) When God sent Jesus into our world, HOPE was established for always. Our prayers this week will center around rediscovering the HOPE that God offers. Yes, HOPE can be obscured by the immensity of the problems we see all around us. Yet, we have the promise of HOPE because of Jesus, God’s Son who came to bring HOPE to our seemingly hopeless lives. We will pray this week that God will assist us in seeing and experiencing the HOPE that is to be found in Jesus. Please join us for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow November 29^th at 1 pm.

Praying that the glimmer of HOPE will burn brighter and brighter as we look to Jesus, Pastor Lola

Our loving God, thank You that we can rely on You as our Source of Hope. You know how much we need hope in our individual lives and in our world. You know the places where we search for hope. We experience hope when we recall the gift of Your Son Jesus Who entered our world to bring hope to humankind. In this Advent season leading up to Christmas, we want to renew our hope in You. Thank you for times in the past when You have brought hope, although we felt hopeless. We recognize that when we leave You out of the picture, there is no hope. Instead of trying to fix things ourselves, please remind us to turn to You constantly. For every place and circumstance where hope is needed, we release each of these to You. When we begin to feel overwhelmed by all that is wrong in our world, please remind us of all that You have redeemed and made right. We do pray for decisions to be made in the Ukraine and in the Middle East that will advance the hope for peace. We pray for the hope of people being able to feel safe. We think of Jesus coming to save us and to keep us safe forever. This is where our hope lies. When the circumstances of our lives and world are anything but safe, we acknowledge that Jesus has come to give us eternal safety. We pray for those who are homeless and hungry and ask You to show us how to work together to bring a new hope for them in their need. And God when we think of the complications of relationships with family and with friends, we pray for You to guide us in all that we think and say and do. We want our interactions with others to be committed to You for You to touch them with hope and grace. In this Christmas season, we know that often there are heightened levels of stress and anxiety. Here too we pray for hope from You. For those for whom Christmas holds painful memories, we pray for the hope of healing. For those who only know a Christmas without Christ at the center, we pray for the hope of meeting Jesus in a personal and transformative way. God, we see in Jesus hope for every one of us and for our world. May we find generous ways to share this promise of hope with those whom we meet and those for whom we pray. Please do give us a fresh encounter with you and a fresh experience of hope again this Christmas we pray, in the name of Jesus who is our Hope, AMEN.

How do you feel on these frosty mornings this time of the year when you need to get your car windows cleared off before you can go anywhere? Sometimes the method is to start your vehicle and let the defroster do much of the work. Sometimes there is effort expended with a scraper until the icy coating is removed. Whatever the  approach to clear car windows, it is a necessity. If we try to drive without being able to see properly, it is both dangerous and frustrating. Just as there is effort required to ensure a clear view when frozen windows are cleared, there is effort required to ensure that we have a clear view of where God is inviting us to go. This is required in all seasons of weather. The most effective approach  is prayer. Our regular times of prayer are a method we can trust for the clearing of our outlook to assist in finding our way forward. . When we pray, God can adjust our attitudes that may have resulted in a cold response to the world around us. Our perspective may have become glazed over as we hear repeated reports of all that is wrong in the world around us. Only as God warms that chilly resentment or frigid indifference, can we hope to see what God wants us to see. In reference to the Holy Spirit, Jesus says in John 16:13,  “ But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth.” Our prayer time this week will be spent bringing to God the harshly frozen covering of our hearts that needs to be defrosted and removed so that we can see with love each person on our path. This is the way of Jesus. Please arrange to join us for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow, November 22^nd at 1 pm.

Praying for a clear view of what God invites us to see, Pastor Lola

Loving God, thank You for the truth that is to be found in You. Thank You that Your Spirit will guide us into all the truth. Often there is lack of clarity around what is true and accurate. There are many different versions of the truth and we need Your wise discernment to determine what is actually true. We need You to clear anything that obscures our view of You and Your work in our world. Sometimes we hesitate to expend the effort required for our view to be clear. We want to get moving and resist any delay. Please God, may we always take time to have the vision needed for our journey. Guard us against having our sight clouded by popular opinion or the prejudice held in unloving outlooks. As You walk with us each day Lord Jesus, we ask that Your way of loving people will influence us. Show us how to react and what imitating You looks like. When we are able to see clearly, we expect our response will be required. We cannot know the obvious needs of others and not do what we can to help. We cannot see people being misunderstood and disrespected and not seek to see that change. Our prayers today find us examining ourselves. It is not just looking outward. If Your Spirit is going to guide us into all truth, then we must also be willing to look inward. In all aspects of our lives, we pray that we will be really seeing what is before us. We suspect that many people are just going through the motions of living. We pray that the clearing away of what is not authentic in us, will inspire others to face the truth for themselves. When our view reveals things we would rather not see, give us strength to face the truth. Please challenge us when we enter into denial or turn away from what we do not wish to see. We know that with many things to occupy our thoughts and attention, it is possible to overlook all together what is right in front of us. When that happens, please guide us back to where we have the possibility of viewing what we need to witness. When familiar patterns of behaviour contribute to us not seeing clearly, please deal effectively with this impediment. Where the truth that comes from You compels us to live differently, we pray that we will be willing. Reveal to us how we can encourage each other to see with clarity. Restore what has been damaged by us not seeing clearly. When our impaired vision has caused others damage, we pray for forgiveness. Rather than judge others, please give us determination to deal effectively with anything that prevents us from knowing You for Who You are.We are grateful that Your Spirit is available to guide us into all truth. Remind us not to attempt to navigate by ourselves. And God when we are able to lovingly assist others in having a clear view of You, we pray that we will. Our prayer is that each new day will move us closer and closer to You. In Jesus’ Name. AMEN.

We have been looking expectantly at our Christmas cactus for its’ first blooms. Each year, at this time, we start to see small buds forming and then one morning when we come down to our living room, there it is a beautiful pink blossom and several more to follow. I find this especially lovely when it has grown cold and frozen outside and the outdoor flowers are finished for another season. Inside, we have daily displays of beauty in the delicate flowers that present themselves. This week, I am reflecting that our wise and loving God in His time gives us gifts of encouragement. In seasons where we see barren ground and long for signs of life and the promise of what God can do, it is there for us to witness. Prayer really is about continuing to surrender to God all that comes to our minds and then waiting to see what God will do. Prayer is our opportunity to trust God. We wait for the signs of beauty that can blossom when God takes our prayers and offers us something fresh and new and encouraging. God is continually at work as we are praying and inviting what He is prepared to bring about. We can find inspiration from Scripture for our prayers, “See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19) Cactus plants naturally grow in desert conditions where we not expect much to display life and hope. Still God is at work and in our prayers this week we will welcome and trust the ways that God is at work to do a new thing and to make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert. Please pause to join in our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow November 15^th at 1 pm.
Praying for eyes to see and hearts to welcome the fresh expressions of life that God offers us, Pastor Lola

Thank You our loving God that You take time to arrange for new things and signs of life and promise in response to our prayers. Today we thank You for the gift of indoor plants. Thank you for cactus flowers that grow and blossom and bring beauty to our lives. We renew our trust in You to continue to bring the blossoms of new life into our experience. The flowers we have enjoyed outdoors have been a gift for which we are grateful. Now we look to the new things that can spring up in what is often considered a wilderness season of winter. We want to be encouraged to continue to pray and to look for the new things that You have already activated. When we are waiting for the signs of life and hope to appear in answer to our prayers, we pray that You will be near and keep our focus on You. Since You are a God Who can and will do even more than we ask or imagine, we want to hold steadfastly to our faith in You. We are reminded that when we cannot see what You are doing, You persist in Your redemptive action. We long for evidence of the new things You are doing in individuals and in nations. So often we continue to see repeated patterns of sin and destruction of life. Our God we actively pray today that You will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert. Where human beings like us have acted in ways that have not held life as sacred, we pray for forgiveness and restoration. In our everyday experiences, we pray to be people Who work alongside what You are doing to initiate a new and hope filled reality. When we do not perceive what You are doing, we pray that You will give us understanding that You can make a way where there seems to be no way. Enable us to be peacemakers. Enable us we pray to see where love is needed and to respond with Your grace and compassion. Every interaction we have with another person has the potential to be an intricate part of the something new that You are initiating. When we focus on what we cannot do or have not done, we grow discouraged. Please bring us the encouragement that comes with releasing to You and trusting You and Your divine initiatives as we pray. It is our delight to know You more fully when we pray. We want to be recognizing all the ways that You reveal Yourself and your encouragement to keep trusting you in prayer and with devotion. God, as the new You are doing springs up and as the streams in the desert cause new life to blossom, please grow new life and deeper faith in us and those whom our lives touch. We pray this prayer committing to be those who look for what You are doing and a desire to join you in Your work! In Jesus’ Name, AMEN.

Last Sunday when we included a Remembrance Day Observance as part of our worship service, I was aware that war can seem very far away in both time and distance. The annual gatherings at cenotaphs for Remembrance Day ceremonies have fewer and fewer veterans. Each year at the nursing home when we mark Remembrance Day, there are veterans whom we have previously honoured who have now passed. War might appear as a distant memory and people today might assume themselves quite unaffected by the reality of war. Yet, the current conflicts in our world are brought right into our living rooms when we watch the news or read about what is happening. We cannot escape the fact that war, as it rages, does affect us all. While we sleep comfortably in our beds, there are those who are displaced by war and have no shelter or security. When we go for medical appointments, there are those who have no hope of care because of bombed out hospitals and lack of health care supplies. We are compelled to pray for peace in our world while there are so many suffering because of the destructive and evil effects of war. We read in Scripture, ”…As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Peace between those in dispute does not happen without concerted effort and a desire for something different, something better. We can quickly conclude that we want our world to find the means for peace. We do not want war to continue anywhere in our world. This week we will continue to pray for God’s intervention to bring love where there is hate and peace where there is war. You can join in this WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow November 8^th at 1 pm using the prayer provided below.

Praying that we will not give up praying for peace and seeking God’s help to live at peace with each other, Pastor Lola

Our God Who has given us the gift of life and placed us in this world to live at peace with each other, we so desperately need Your help. We as human beings have not done our part to ensure peace with each other. Often we have forgotten to seek You and our own attempts to right what is wrong have failed. We see that negotiations between people and countries are always tainted by self interest. Only as You transform us Lord can any of us be willing to act in the best interests of others, not just ourselves. Peace when there is war can seem so impossible. When will we learn God? When we will we learn the lessons of peace that You are willing to teach us? We think of Jesus Your Son Who did not come to be served but to serve and to give Himself for us. We see Jesus demonstrating the possibility for peace. We hear Jesus inviting us all to be peacemakers. Making peace is hard work. God we pray for those who will be willing to do the hard work of making peace. Today we pray that You will replace the determination for war and revenge with a strong and persistent desire for peace. Please help us to remember Who You are and Help us to remember Who we are as Your followers. You have entrusted us with caring for this world and for each other. We recognize that there can be no peace without You guiding us all on a path of peace. What seems impossible to us is not impossible to You God. This longing to live at peace with everyone is not just a hopeless dream. Please help each of us to advance the cause of peace one relationship at a time. As we forgive and are forgiven, the surging force of peace can grow. When we grow tired of striving for peace in our world, please renew our energy and resolve. Help us to see how peace does depend on us depending on You. When You have pulled us out of the places where peace is threatened, we pray that we will not slip back into old patterns that thwart the progression of peace. We pray God that the peace that is established in our hearts and in our world will not be an overlooking of what is wrong. We do not want to deny the need for transformation. We pray for the courage needed to confront what needs changing so that there will be justice. Where there are people of privilege and power who control the outcomes, we pray that this will be disabled to place in each person’s hands the opportunity to choose peace. We are asking You God to provide us with the tools for peace and to instruct us in using these tools for peace wisely and well. We remember the painful cost of war and we are remembering today that only as You enable us to live differently can peace survive and thrive. We welcome You using us to step into what You are already doing to establish peace both near and far. In the Name of Jesus Who makes peace possible. AMEN.