Prayer, Evangelism and Worship

 Aloha Pastors and Leaders:   Happy New Year!   I would like to extend an invitation to you to resume our  OBN Men's Leadership Council fellowship and meeting on Thursday, 12/31/2022 in preparation for great things especially for January 2021. As you all know, I am still in Vegas tending to my daughter Nicole's chemo and my wife's medical need.  My wife and I can't wait to go back home to Mililani but I sure do appreciate all your prayers and love.  I know there are several issues we are facing but COVID or not, we know we have to move forward.  We continue to claim Jesus' promise in Matthew 16:18,   Recent development on church Sunday and associational meetings teach us ways on how to conduct future OBN Men's gathering.   Some new thought about the upcoming OBN Men's gathering program.  Instead of three speakers maybe just two with singing in between with pastors speaking about working with their men and give an overview of what works for them.  Like Ewa Be

 I missed the lesson   The Lord said to Moses, Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This how you are to bless the Israelites.  Say to them, "The Lord bless you and keep you; the  Lord  make his face shine on you   and be gracious to you;   26  the  Lord  turn his face toward you    and give you peace.”’ 27  “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”  -Numbers 6:22-27 6 powerful statements you can extend to someone today Blessing of Pronouncement - The Lord bless you Blessing of Protection - and keep you Blessing of Partnership - The Lord make His face shine on you Blessing of Provision - and be gracious to you Blessing of Personhood - The Lord turn his face toward you Blessing of Peace - and give you peace Blessing others with good words can happen ...  ...Intimately in Small Groups ...Corporately at church gatherings ...Evangelistically,  everywhere to everyone ...Practically, It can happen TO YOU - TODAY! Join Fil-Am Small Groups Join Living Faith Small Groups

Paul understood that putting off sinful habits and putting on godly ways are not as easy as taking off your dirty clothes and putting in a new one.   It is why he asks us to prioritize our relationship with the God (v.30).  Equally important is your response to "get rid" of all the junk in your life (v.31) and replace it with kindness, compassion and forgiveness that is in Christ (v.32).   In the heart to F.O.R.G.I.V.E. that replaces anger are practical steps you can take.  Can you identify 2-3 of these that you can work on this week?  F irm decision O wning your responsibility R elease yourself G rasp the real Issue I ntegrate what you cannot change V alidate lessons learned E xtend yourself to someone Take the time to go through some of these helpful verses and worksheets to help you and your small group in this week's lesson.  These Love To Know worksheets can help you identify and process managing anger.   They are simply tools and chose which one can be helpful.  Be

 There were two section focus LAST Sunday.  The first is managing your speech and the second is managing your emotions.  Both are interconnected to each other and one affects the other.  Help your small group in these areas.  Manage your speech  Manage your emotions  The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:2,  “From now on, then, you must live the rest of your earthly lives controlled by God’s will and not by human desires”  (GNT). What are human desires? They’re your emotions and your affections. Once you become a Christ-follower, your life should be controlled by God’s will, not by how you feel.   Pastor Rick Warren i

Pick a section in this blog to use for your small group this week.   3 Strategies Paul had in  mind in developing Good Habits Put off the old man  #  Renew in Christ #  Put on the new man Read:  Ephesians 4:17-26  Key verses:  vss. 22-24.   22  You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self , which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;   23  to be made new in the attitude of your minds;   24  and to put on the new self , created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. What things (habits) do you have to put off?   Renew yourself by coming to Jesus in prayer What steps can you take as you put on the new ways?  How do you know if a certain action is out of control and no longer helpful to you? 1 Cor.  6:12a - Is what I'm doing helpful at all?  1 Cor. 6:12b - Is what I'm doing controlling me?  1 Cor. 8:12 - Is what I'm doing offending anyone?  1 Cor. 10:31 - Is what I'm doing giving glory to God?   

The two emphases of Ephesians 4:1-6 are: (1) Take care of your spiritual life (v.1-2)  (2) and take care of church life (v.3-6).     To take care of your spiritual life,   you have to allow the Holy Spirit to cultivate humility , gentleness , patience , and forbearance .   This week, make a choice to pay attention to these characters.  The Lord promises great rewards to those who follow this path.    God grants these characters for the benefit of the church - so that the church is united.  In a symphony, all instruments have to be tuned.  Each instrument tunes to a tuning fork.  Coming together as a church and even for small groups allow us to be fine-tuned together in one direction.  This is despite our differences .   May you have an opportunity this week to share with your small groups about the transformation in your life and how God is uniting his church.  

You are probably reading this thinking, 'finally, a way to get me going in my prayer life."   I hate to disappoint you, but there's no silver bullet in praying.   No novena, Tajima hall, beads or program can enhance your prayer life but your determination to be with God.   John Piper 's observation of how to pray is this:  "I get in trouble sharing to people how I pray - where the solution to their prayer life is their love relationship with God."  The truth is that's where it all begins.    Prayer is your love relationship with God .  "Father, I'm so excited about today.  I want to look out for how you will reveal yourself to me through my situation, the people I meet, and the struggles I face. Help me not to forget you especially when it becomes busy.  I love you."     Prayer is introducing others to have a love relationship with God .  What essential prayers can you do for people?  Is it money, health, and a good life?  Paul in Ephesians

"Believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem...Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks."  John 4:21,23 Zoom Worship can pose a great challenge.  I hope that this article can help ease your preparation for Online worship.    Host, Co-Host, Participant Survey who can and cannot connect.  In the age of smartphones - there really is no excuse for any grandma or child not connect to engage worship.   Open room early.   There are members who need help to connect, opening the room early can give them peace of mind.    Make sure you are wired connect.  Wi-fi is ok but if you are a host, co-host, or have a role in the program, the last thing you want is a lag because of your connection.  Remove possible audio and video distractions.  Rooster crowing or a member of the family passing by behind you. 

Updated:  08/20/2020.  After reading the declaration, this article should have been titled, "Alternatives To (no) Singing At Church"  Singers on the stage can sing with restrictions and it does not update former restrictions for the congregation, for which I assume that masked congregants can sing.  What's your take.   Article:  08/19/2020 Oahu Hawaii is the latest city that has  received restrictions  of mandatory masks, no singing, or wind instruments  for in-person spiritual services.  Read the actual mayor's declaration taken from pages 23 - 24.  It is helpful for you to interpret this on your own and come up with your alternatives.   ...Any person(s) singing and/or playing a wind instrument, etc. shall maintain physical distancing of at least ten (10) feet from any other person(s) while singing and/or playing a wind instrument. etc. Members of the same performing group singing and/or playing a wind instrument. etc. may be closer than ten (10) feet togethe

Theologians in the " total depravity of man " “To teach men that they possess the ability to turn from sin when they choose to do so is to hide the true extent of their need.” ―  Iain H. Murray,  The Life of Martyn Lloyd-Jones - 1899-1981 “So then, let "Deserved" be written on the door of hell, but on the door of Heaven and life, "The free gift" (68).” ―  Richard Baxter

Introduction:  From the past weeks, we have been looking at Paul's overwhelming prayers for the church of Ephesus.  There were two reasons that drove Paul to pray for the church.  He wrote, " This is why, since I heard about your faith the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers."   (Eph. 1:15).  Here are the two things that is Paul's prayer focus:  faith in the Lord Jesus (salvation of people) your love for all the saints (growth of the church) Last Wednesday, we focused on evangelistic praying.  Today, we focus on Discipleship Praying and we ask the questions, what are the things that I can pray for the church.  Below are ten scriptures that dictates what you and I can pray for the church.   At the end of this session, we will go to small groups and actually pray.  Here are the 10 things to pray for the church:     1.  Pray that the church stays true to God’s message –

So we face the inevitable - online worship!  Your people are in agreement to do online worship service but will they really worship and at best serve?  Here are some ideas on how to prepare your church to worship and serve during the online worship service. TECHNOLOGY  Meaningful worship exalts God through His word, prayer, service, and fellowship.  A pastor can check the first two with ease, but the last two might be a challenge.  That is why I like FB messenger, Google Hangout, Skype and Zoom.  They facilitate an interaction that FB Live might fall short from.  However, FB Live has real-time comments that might just do the trick. PREPARATION  Not all of your congregants are techy.  So what do you do?  Prepare your people before Sunday.  Teach them how to use their smartphones, download the apps or use a computer.  If that is too much, ask their 2nd grader to help them out.   Finally, post these advice days before the event. PARTICIPATION  As noted ab

It may be a new norm but doing online worship doesn't have to be an unusual experience.   As your leaders try to put together online worship for your church.  Remember these four principles. Homogenize By definition, it means the "same likeness".  The idea is that whatever your congregation sees, try to come as close to what they usually would see.  That could be the face of the pastor to the face of the worship leader or the background of the church or a slide showing the church.  The order of worship and perks and quirks that come along with live worship. Contextualize You can't really attain the same experience with live worship so contextualize it.  Maybe you don't have to do the whole 45-minute sermon.  How about your offering?  Can't pass the bucket so figure out if you need to do an online giving, a deacon passing by this week to collect or just simply mailing it to the church.   Have you ever thought of a direct deposit?  Personalize You

There are a few things we know about the Holy Spirit, but do we really know him.  Matthew 28:19-20 - 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Here are a few things about the Holy Spirit He is Creator, Genesis 1:2 He gives life,  Ezek. 39:29 He sustains life, Genesis 2:7; Job 27:3 But beneath this, the HS has a power related to you today,  John 15:15-20 15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in