Daily Scripture

Matthew 5:1-2a (CEB), 7:24-27 (NRSV)

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up a mountain. He sat down and his disciples came to him. He taught them.

[Jesus concluded his message saying,] "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”

Prayer Tip

by Ashly Cooley, Executive Assistant to Locations & Care at Resurrection. Ashly first wrote a version of this post for us in 2018.

This week we will be discussing Jesus most important sermon, imagining him preaching it to our church. One thing is made clear in Scripture, and that is that Jesus cares about our church. Jesus cares about the health of our church because it is how people come to know him. He cares that its members are healthy and are building one another up. Our church is a growing, living, breathing thing and it matters to God.

He knows every person who has walked in and out of our doors. He knows every person who has led and every person who has followed. He has seen every Coffee with the Pastors and been at every church gathering. I believe he gets excited watching his children grow and thrive in his family.

This week especially would be a good time to pray for our church. You could pray for a different section of the sanctuary every day. You could pick a different ministry to pray for every day, or a different pastor or Sunday school teacher. You could pray over the playground equipment and the tables by the coffee shop. Whatever you choose to do, I encourage you to pray every day this week for our church. I believe in the power of prayer. Let’s continue to grow in a healthy way.

Dear Lord, Thank you for this place of worship. We know that wherever two or three are gathered in your name you promised to be there. Be with us and guide us to serve our church in ways that are pleasing to you, so we can all watch your transformative power keep making our church more pleasing to you. Make us stronger, wiser and more diligent disciples. Amen.