This past Sunday morning, I talked to our children in my time with them about their wants instead of their needs. I gave them a choice between a slice of loaf bread and a piece of chocolate candy. Only one of the children chose the slice of bread. They all wanted candy except one. Jesus said, “Give us this day our daily bread…” He did not promise us candy. Bread is a necessity. Candy is a desire, a want. Jesus taught us how to pray because we need to pray. Prayer is a basic necessity for a believer in Jesus. Here are some tips on how to fulfill your need to pray:
 

1. God is Sovereign – We need to pray because God is perfect and greater than we are. God has never said, “Oops.” He has never confessed, “I messed up today.” We are flawed and full of mistakes. We need to pray in order to confess our sins. We need to admit our mistakes and tell God we are sorry for what we have done wrong. Our problems show us that God is able to answer and provide what we need, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.” (Ephesians 3:20)
2. God has the answer – Prayer should not be our last resort. It should not be something we do after we’ve tried everything else. Prayer should be our first response, our first “go-to” place when we need an answer. God promises to answer when we pray, “Ask and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 6:7-8)
3. Finding God’s Will – The will of God is not a mystery that God keeps for Himself. God’s plan and purpose is clearly revealed in the pages of scripture. You will never know what God wants if you do not read His word. Pray with your Bible open and ask God to show you in His word what He wants you to do, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
4. Living with Confidence – Once you’ve determined that God’s word is true and that it provides the answers and directions you need, you can live with confident assurance. People may disagree with you. They may even mock your choices, but God’s presence of power through the Holy Spirit supersedes the opinions of others, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” (1 John 5:14-15)
5. Serving with Gratitude – Giving thanks for answered prayer is the highest mark a praying believer can reach. Praise is the language praying people use to tell God thank you. God is not stingy. He is not a promise breaker. He is like a father who supplies good things to His children, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”(Philippians 4:6)

 
With all these good promises to inspire and guide our praying, why do we find it so difficult to pray?
Why are there so many hindrances keeping us from praying, and so many excuses we use to cover our not praying?
 
We simply need to pray. Ask God to give you the desire to pray. Then pray. He’ll do all the rest.    

We all agree that children are a gift from God, “Behold, children are a gift from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward” (Psalm 127:3). The apostle Paul said, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” (Ephesians 6:1). Not only are children a gift, when they are obedient the Lord is pleased, “Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord” (Colossians 3:20).

With all these positives about children in scripture, some disturbing news was reported this week. Through internal research, Facebook has discovered that their social media platforms lead to increases in teenage anxiety, depression, and suicide among young girls.

​The Bible tells us that having children is the good, right, fruitful, and pleasing thing to do. Social media, on the other hand, turns what is right and good into something that is dark and destructive.
 
The Bible tells us that there are several important things about our children we should know:

1. Children are to be conceived inside the bonds of marriage – “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it…’” (Genesis 1:27-28a). Having children outside of marriage is not in keeping with God’s plan. The right way is for husbands and wives to bear children.
2. Fathers and mothers are to provide for their children – “…for children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but parents for their children” (2 Corinthians 12:14). Parents caring for, protecting, supervising, nurturing, shielding, and educating is the right way to go. No one can do for a child what a parent is called to do.
3. Parents are to instruct their children – “For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers that they should teach them to their children” (Psalm 78:5). Parents are responsible for teaching their children the things of God. Teaching the Bible to your children is always right. Taking children to church is right. Praying with your children is right. Facebook, Instagram, and Tik-Tok do what is profitable, not what is right. 
4. It is the job of parents to discipline their children – “Discipline your son while there is hope, and do not desire his death” (Proverbs 19:18). The undisciplined life is short-lived. Good discipline starts at home and continues throughout one’s lifetime. Learning to live a controlled and stable life is the right thing in God’s eyes.
5. Children are to be encouraged – “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Pointing children in the right direction is always encouraging. Leading them is better than pushing them. Children will follow when they are encouraged.

 
I guess you can see that raising children to be obedient takes time and energy. Obedience is more than words and conversations. It starts at home and builds upon what husbands and wives are committed to show their children every day. We must never allow social media to assume or take over that which God has put in the hands of moms and dads to do. Facebook will not, cannot, and does not raise obedient children.

​​Our church has unanimously approved the plan to raise $15,000 to match a $12,000 donation already in hand for the purpose of constructing and installing a new 8’ X 10” church sign and message board by which the gospel of Christ Jesus will be proclaimed every day to people passing by on Mundy Mill Road. This sign will be the only one of its kind all the way from the Blackshear Place crossing to McEver Road. Yes, there are business signs, bank signs, even church signs along this corridor, but ours will be the only Gospel sign for people to see and read the Good News of Jesus Christ.
 
The Bible says of Jesus, when He first began His ministry in Galilee, “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.” (Matthew 4:23)
 
The gospel does its own promotion. Its faithful proclamation will lead to what the Bible says, “Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.” (Matthew 4:25)
 
Trusting in the power of the gospel will lead to people hearing, growing numbers following, and people receiving the gospel by which they will be saved. Grace church is trusting in the power of the gospel to do its work in the lives of people who will be regularly informed with its truth.
 
The title of our campaign to raise the necessary funds will be known as

 
capital campaign. Last Sunday, $1,100 was received in donations toward the goal. This Sunday, we will call the church to prayer and ask you to contribute to the fulfillment of the plan. Prayer is the key. We do not want God to endorse what we have done apart from the movement of the Holy Spirit to make it happen. We have been praying and talking about this gospel sign for 9 years.
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• God has given us over these years a permanent property that belongs to our church on which the sign will be placed.
• God has led our church to raise over $150,000 to match funds contributed by Mr. Jim Walters to pay for renovations to our buildings.
• We have reduced the overall debt we owe to $300,000 when a recent appraisal shows that our location and buildings are worth well over a million dollars.

 
God has been leading us, blessing us, and giving us sufficient evidence of His mighty hand at work among us. We can accomplish this worthy goal, not because we are financially well off, but because the evidence proves that the mighty hand of God is with us.
 
I look forward to all that God is going to do as we trust Him and the power of His gospel. Jesus said, “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to myself” (John 12:32). Putting this gospel sign in front of our property is a means to lift up Jesus Christ. His powerful name will be shown to people passing by every day. There is power in His name. The truth of the gospel will be broadcast continually in large letters, illuminated by sharp and distinct lighting. This sign will be a bold testimony of our faith in the Bible and its revelation about Jesus through the gospel. It will reveal that we believe what the Bible says, and God will receive glory through its daily messages.