Prayer resources

Last weekend we described prayer as an open-ended conversation with God. We talked about several ways to ramp up our prayer life.

• Create a Prayer List - Write down the names of several people who are not yet followers of Christ and begin praying for them regularly.
• Subscribe to Prayer Reports - Click here to subscribe to electronic prayer requests from Calvary Austin members.
• Attend Prayer Meeting - 6AM on Thursdays at Parkfield campus.
  

Here are a couple cool resources for those wanting to expand their prayers to take in the whole world.

• Operation World - This amazing book is filled with info to fuel your worldwide prayers.
• Personl Prayer Diary/Planner - This tool from Youth With A Mission (YWAM) gives you specific missional things to pray for every day.

And don't forget to mark you calendar and watch for info on calvaryaustin.org for . . .

• May 3, 2007 - The National Day of Prayer
• May 27, 2007 - The Global Day of Prayer
  

Proselytizing

Anymore it's frowned on for followers of Christ to talk to others about faith. They tell us that it's okay to be a person of faith. But that it's not okay to think of your faith as right and the faith of another as wrong. And that it's definitely not okay to try to persuade someone else to embrace your faith. They call it proselytizing and tell us that it's intolerant and offensive.

I sometimes wonder how many people have actually been proselytized by an intolerant, offensive Christian. Recently I spoke to a guy wearing a t-shirt that said, "TURN to Jesus or BURN in hell!" So I asked, "How's that working for you?" He figured it was working pretty well since no one had given him any negative feedback. In fact, he said that while wearing his shirt, hardly anyone had spoken to him at all. Now there's a shocker.

All that to say that I know intolerant, offensive people are out there. I'm just not convinced that there are really that many of them. Most of the Christ-followers I know are thoughtful people who would like to be able to discuss lots of interesting subjects, including faith, with their friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Is it intolerant to point others to faith? Is it always offensive? If not, when should we do it? And how? And why? That's what we're talking about this weekend at all three worship gatherings. Please join us on Saturday or on Sunday, in Round Rock or in Austin, as we continue our message series Ekklesia, a verse-by-verse study of 1 Timothy.

Sunday gatherings a 'go'

Temps are in the mid- to high-30s. Streets are wet but not icy. It's a 'go' for Sunday gatherings. Hope to see you at 9:30 or 11:30 AM!

Saturday gathering a 'no-go'

In light of the potential icing of roads, we cancelled tonight's gathering. Calvary Austin is portable on Saturday. We pull a trailer to Ridgeview Middle School in Round Rock and a team of people unload and set up our equipment. Afterward, the entire process is repeated in reverse. The decision to cancel was as much about valuing our incredible team members as anything else. God willing we will be able to meet tomorrow at the Parkfield campus in North Austin. Those gatherings begin at 9:30 and 11:30 AM. Please join us but check our website before leaving home just in case it becomes necessary to cancel more gatherings. Be warm, safe, and blessed!

Severe storms

Severe storms have caused havoc throughout Central Texas today. Keep an eye on calvaryaustin.org in the event that changes are made to the weekend schedule.

Ekklesia

This weekend we start a new message-series, a verse-by-verse study of Paul's first letter to Timothy. We're calling the series Ekklesia. That's the Greek word for the church. In 1 Timothy 3:15, Paul tells Timothy why he wrote to him: "I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in . . . the church." There it is. "The church." Ekklesia. The word means "called out." God is calling us to a new sense of what the church is and should be. This series is going to call us out! It's the call out for our all out.