Ordinary Stories for Ordinary Time - Teresa Kincaid

Church -

Below is a link to another 'Ordinary story' of Redeemer from Teresa Kincaid. These simple acts of hospitality are making a profound impact in their new neighborhood. Just another example of how in our everyday, ordinary lives we can Participate with Christ in the Redemption of All Things!

Enjoy!

*If you are enjoying these stories, please consider contributing to them for the benefit of the rest of the church. Contact me (ford@redeemerrraleigh.org) and I can give you some very simple instructions on how to share your story. It just takes a couple of minutes but will encourage many

Ordinary Stories for Ordinary Time - Sarah Hughes

Church Family -

What a wonderful weekend we had Roughing it with Redeemer these past two nights. Thank you to everyone who planned and participated in this church retreat. It was a joy to be together. For those of you who were unable to join us, we missed you and prayed for you this morning.

At church today, we considered Psalm 134 and how in light of the way that we have been blessed by God, we are able to live lives blessing Him in reply. These lives of response are our 'Ordinary Stories' and below is a link to the next one. We pray that you will enjoy it, be encouraged by it and challenged to consider how you too can Participate with Christ in the Redemption of All Things.

In the love of Christ,

ford

Sitting with Jesus - Weekly Prayer for the week of August 24th

Church –

Below is our prayer for our church this week. It is a prayer asking the Lord to allow our unity to show forth His power. What a fitting prayer in light of our sermon yesterday from Psalm 133. How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity. I pray that this prayer will be helpful as you Sit with Jesus this week.

The Sunday closest to August 24

Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Also, I wanted to include the Prayer for Unity from our Prayer Book that we prayed yesterday at church together.

For the Unity of the Church

O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sitting with Jesus - Weekly Prayer for the week of August 17th

Redeemer –

As Barney reminded us last night from Psalm 131, it is good for us to calm and quiet ourselves before the Lord. This is why we encourage the church each day to take time to Sit with Jesus. It is in these moments of stillness and quiet in the presence of God that we learn to listen to His voice, discover our true selves and find our ability to trust and hope in Him.

Below is the prayer for the church this week. I pray that it might help you find a few moments of quiet and stillness with your Lord today.

The Sunday closest to August 17

Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of this redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Ordinary Stories for Ordinary Time - Jared Korver

Church –

Below is a link to another 'Ordinary Story' of Redeemer. This week we have the privilege of hearing from Jared Korver, who serves the Lord in his ordinary life by helping people better understand their use of finances and how they can use their finances to serve the Lord. By the way - on top of all of this, he also serves the Lord by being a faithful husband to his wife, Amy, and a loving (new) father to his son, Miles.

Enjoy this story of how our church is participating with Christ in the Redemption of All Things.

https://drive.google.com/a/redeemerraleigh.org/file/d/0Bz7twXcixZyfUUhIczUyTS11UlU/edit

Sitting with Jesus - Prayer for the week of July 27th

Church –

I pray that Psalm 127 will bring each of you a new perspective on both your family and your work this week. Remember to consider how your daily work is a participation in the work that the Lord is doing here on earth. If you have questions about how this is true for your particular situation, I would enjoy an opportunity to sit down and discuss it with you. Please let me know if that would be of interest.

Below is a prayer for this week. I pray that it will encourage you as you Sit with Jesus.

The Sunday closest to July 27

O god, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

- Ford

Ordinary Stories for Ordinary Time - Tracy Vazquez

Church -

Last week we introduced Ordinary Stories for Ordinary Time. Over the next several months we hope to send out a new story every couple of weeks so that we are encouraging one another with the ways in which the people of Redeemer are Participating with Christ in the Redemption of All Things.

Follow this link to the Ordinary Story of Tracy Vazquez. It's an encouraging story of how Tracy is using her passion for fashion to encourage girls towards the godly value of modesty. This is a message that they may not hear anywhere else. Thank you, Tracy, for living out your faith this way and for encouraging us with your story!

Sitting with Jesus - Prayer for the week of July 20th

Below is our prayer for this week. It is a prayer that acknowledges that the Lord knows what we need before we even ask and requests that He will give us what we need whether or not we ask for it. There is some rich theology in this prayer.

The Sunday closest to July 20

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Have a blessed week.

ford

Ordinary Stories for Ordinary Time

Redeemer Family –

Several weeks ago we entered into a season of the church called Ordinary Time*. Throughout this season we’re going to be periodically sharing some stories of how the people of Redeemer are living out their faith in the ordinary places of their lives.

Our prayer is that several things would happen as a result of capturing these videos:

• First, we pray that we would be encouraged as we hear stories about what the Lord is doing in the world through the people of Redeemer.
• Second, we hope that we would get to know one another a little bit better as we hear one another’s stories and learn about one another’s desires and interests.
• Finally, our desire is that as we hear the stories of how others are living our their faith, that we would all be encouraged to consider how we are living out our faith in the ordinary places of our own lives.

Below is a video that introduces this series. I hope you enjoy it.

https://youtu.be/fefw2Z3tH3A

Ford

Ordinary Time doesn’t get its name from the use of the word ordinary that we are accustomed to - meaning ‘normal’, ‘commonplace’ or ‘everyday’. Instead it gets its name from the term ‘ordinal’ which refers to the numbers by which we count the weeks of Ordinary Time (1st week of Ordinary Time, 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, etc.). In this series, however, we’re going to use a play on words and refer to Ordinary Time in its non intended meaning.