Sunday Recap - Unfrustrated Prayers
From Sunday, September 3, 2023
Sunday Recap outlines sermon notes, testimonies, and announcements to encourage you throughout your week and inspire you to fear less and love more.
Talking about forgiveness is never easy and Sunday was no exception.
To be honest, I was so cautious with Sunday's sermon that I forgot to give it a title. I knew that preaching about forgiveness without God's help and wisdom could be more offensive than helpful. However, God graciously met us again and deliverance took place in the lives of many.
During the altar call, we did something unprecedented - we prayed for our enemies. The result was deliverance and regained confidence in God’s protection and love. I strongly believe that our greatest miracles are not material possessions like houses, jobs, or cars, but experiencing God's love overtaking our hearts and restoring families, as well as removing the pain caused by our abusers.
Unfrustrated Prayers
During Sunday's sermon, we continued our lesson on God changing outcomes in Mark 11:25-26. We learned about the relationship between unforgiveness and unanswered prayers and how holding a grudge pollutes our words and deceives us into praying for the wrong thing. The real outcome that God wants to change is our response to the mountain of unforgiveness.
When unforgiveness is present, we may ask for God's success with our mouths while seeking revenge in our hearts. This leads to more frustration, as God cannot be manipulated through prayer for revenge. Vengenance belongs to him, but the future is (y)our inheritance.
Here are the three (3) points to keep with you this week:
Forgiveness is a requirement of prayer [Mark 11:25] - Forgiveness cleans our hearts so that we ask God for the real need and not our desire for revenge. Why do you want the success? Is it to flaunt it in the face of someone who tried to stop you?
You don’t need access to the person to forgive [Mark 11:25] - Dead or alive, you don’t need to talk to someone to begin the process of forgiveness. The process first begins in our heart.
God won’t forgive unforgivers [Mark 11:26] - It may be tough to hear, but we cannot receive God's forgiveness and release from shame if we haven't extended that same forgiveness to a fellow human being. Until we do so, we cannot fully conceptualize what forgiveness truly means, and therefore God cannot forgive us.
This week God will give you the strength to speak up for yourself. To walk into the opportunities he’s prepared for you and detach yourself from the effects of how offenses have silenced you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Thank You for Your Giving
The leadership of Fearless Love Church is so grateful to everyone that gave during our first two weeks of services. Because of your cheerful giving we are able to start planning our first community impact event in the upcoming weeks.
As a reminder, 15% of each contribution goes towards our mission of solving our community's toughest problems in Jesus' name. By de-emphasizing money in our worship service, we are proving together that money is a tool for good and that it is never our goal.
Worship for the Week
If you’re looking to add some worship to your week, here is the playlist from Sunday and a new one we’ll introduce this week.
See you next Sunday,
Pastor Marcus