Whats Happening

May Calendar 2023
Worship Service every Sunday at 11am
Wednesday- May 3rd, Fiesta Fellowship 6-8pm
(Come and enjoy a time of fellowship around the table with Mexican Food)
Sunday-May 7th The Lords Supper
Sunday,* May 14th Mothers Day Celebration-
Brunch for Mom @ 10am
Worship at 11am with mother's recognition and free gift
Wednesday, April 17th- Combined Men's and Women's Fellowship @6:30pm (Taco Cabana Hwy 90 at Military Dr)
Wednesday, May 24th- Bible Study @7pm
Sunday, May 28th- Memorial Day Recognition
of those who served and died @ 11am
Wednesday, 31st- Bible Study @7pm

The Basics of the Gospel

In 1961Vince Lombardi entered the locker room of the Green Bay Packers at the beginning of training camp and said gentlemen this is a football. He was reminding them about the fundamentals, about getting back to the basics. The word Gospel simply means "The Good News".

Introduction: The Gospel is made up of certain truths that must be heard, understood, believed and acted upon in order for someone to come to saving faith. Understanding each aspect of the Gospel is imperative if one is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

The following are the six main points of the Gospel.

1. The fact of sin. Romans 3: 10, 23 ; James 4: 17 ; Galatians 3:10 ;James 2: 10

2. The penalty of sin. Romans 5: 12 ; Romans 6: 23 ; Ezekiel 18: 20

3. The penalty must be paid. Hebrews 9; 27 ; Hebrews 2: 2-3 hebrews 9: 22 ; Romans 2: 12

4. The penalty was paid by Christ. Romans 5:8 ; 1 Peter 2: 24 ; 1 Peter 3:18 ; Isaiah 53: 5-6

5 Salvation is a free gift. Ephesians 2: 8-9 ;Romans 3: 24 ; Titus 3: 5 ; John 3: 16

6. You must accept. Revelation 3: 29 ; John 1: 12 ; John 6: 37 ; 1 John 5: 11-12

Grow in Christ

The Springs How to pray for others Handout

3 Ways You Can Practically Pray For Others

Our Prayers Make A Difference

“…The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results… James 5: 16-18

As Christians, we are each called to be a person of prayer for others. As the Church, prayer for others should be a priority when we gather together as well. Prayer is a big deal to God and it’s a major part of our faith.

What we see in Scripture is that our prayers really do make an impact. God works in the world and in our lives through the prayers of His people–your prayers included. Through prayer, God allows us to partner with Him and step into a place of godly influence in others lives and His purposes. Through prayer, God changes outcomes and shifts circumstances. Through prayer, God speaks encouragement, guidance, and direction to our hearts.

Luke 11: 5-13 , Luke 18: 1-8 , Philippians 1: 19

How to Practically Pray for Others

“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. 1 Timothy 2: 1-4

Ask God to start helping you see the Timothy passage in a new way. Here are some “steps of a practical model to follow that can help us live out this exhortation to pray for others.

As you pray for people, think about these three themes and let them shape your prayers.

1. Give thanks for them. For what can you offer thanks to God about that person and/or about His work in their life? What aspects of their personality or character can you acknowledge and celebrate before God? What’s a recent testimony of something God’s done in their life or how he’s been growing their faith lately that you can thank Him for?

2. Ask God to help them. What’s going on in their life where they could use God’s help? Are they facing a health or financial challenge? A relational conflict? Are they stepping into a new season of life or weighing an important decision? Bring that situation before God and ask Him to be at work in those areas of that person’s life.

3. Pray for their relationship with God. If the person is not a Christian, pray that they would come to know Jesus. If the person is a Christian, pray for their spiritual growth. Ask Jesus to reveal Himself to them and open their hearts to His message. Ask that His Spirit would convict their hearts of their need for Jesus and work in them to bring them to a place of saving faith in Jesus.

For believers, you can pray that they would get to know God better,

that they would grow in righteous character, and that they

would have strength to endure in faith.

You can pray this way for friends, family members, co-workers/classmates, government leaders, cultural influencers. You don’t even have to know someone personally to pray for them! ‍

Encourage Others With Prayer. It’s great practice, if you’re able, to pray for someone in person, right in the moment when they ask for prayer. There’s something so encouraging about having a brother or sister in faith come alongside you in person and getting to hear that person bring you before God in prayer. There will be plenty of times, though, when you’re praying for others during your personal time with God and the other person is not present.

Try to make it a part of your daily practice that you spend time praying for others–choose a few people you know personally and a few people you don’t. You never know what God can do in someone’s life through your prayers for them.

Pick 2-3 people you can intentionally pray for this week. Write their names down in your Bible, journal or phone and spend a few minutes each day this week praying for them.

Grow Your Faith

How to Sow(plant) the Seed of the Gospel

In 1 Corinthians 3: 6 Paul says “I planted, Apollos watered , but God was causing the growth.”

Definition of Seed planting

We need to season our speech with the goal of sharing Christ with others

Colossians 4:6

When we are talking with others we should Introducing ideas into the conversation that:

*Remove barriers of resistance

*Prepares their heart to hear more

*Moves the person one step closer to God

3 best practices

1. Align yourself with the Lord John 15: 5

2. Use seeds that speak to the needs, interests, and problems of the person

(1 Corinthians 9:22)

*This requires listening (let the person tell you about where they are)

*Requires flexibility (not everybody is at the same place so be sensitive)

*Requires transparency (people must know everyone has problems)

3. Stay in the flow of the conversation Colossians 4: 6

*Listen and lead the conversation to the Gospel

*No sharp turns, Don’t start to talk about things that

lead away from sharing your faith

*Don’t be afraid to slow down

3 Cautions

1. Avoid Distraction and Dead ends. 2 Timothy 2:23

(Some Distraction could be)

Politics can be a distraction

Talking about bad church experiences

Avoid secondary issues

Dead Ends

Don’t ask Are you a Christian

Don’t use words that are not known to non christians

Don’t bring up Christian leaders

2. Don’t stop Short. If the door opens to ask a person to trust Christ go through the door. John 4:35

3. Don’t be disappointed if you don’t see immediate results 1 Corinthians 3:6

Just do it. Thats how you learn.

Resources to help

Watch Church video on churches website

www.evantell.org

Other ways to plant seed

Invite others to church and church events

Be a friend in a time of need

Share a meal with somebody

Give out a christian tract that shares the Gospel

Develop friendships with non believers

Giving

The Right and Wrong Ways to Give to God

Matthew 6:1–4 tells us that there are a number of ways that our

giving to God can be wrong:

The wrong way to give

(1) Not give at all

(2) Give sporadically and disobey God and

miss many of His special blessings in our lives

(3) We can give, but have the wrong motives.

“When you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly I say to you, they have their reward” (Matthew 6:2).
The word reward in this verse means “paid in full and receipted.” In other words, if you give of your money or of your time or do something in such a way as to draw attention to yourself, you are giving with a wrong motive. You have already received your reward, and “you have no reward from your Father in Heaven” (Matthew 6:1).

The right way to give to God is to give with the right motive. Jesus explains, “But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” (Matthew 6:3–4). In that culture, the right hand was considered the primary hand of action. In a normal day, many things would be done with the right hand that would not involve the left. The idea here is to do our giving quietly, not proclaiming it, announcing it, or bragging about it.

We should also give in secret—no matter what kind of gift it is. Whether you give of your finances, in faithful prayer, or by serving in church or some unknown region in the mission field, it should be done unpretentiously, with no thought of recognition or appreciation. Then,

“your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” (Matthew 6:4).

God sees our giving or our not giving.

Why do we give?

*We give out of obedience to the Lord.

*We give to further the work of the Lord here on the earth.

*We give to help the church function and minister.

How do we give?

1. We tithe (10 % of our income)

2. We give offerings

3. We give a sacrificial gift.

When do we give?

We can give at anytime as God leads.

1. In the Church offering plate during the worship service.

2. We give electronically in the back during the worship service

3. We give online at the Churches website www.thesprings1.org

We also give through

The use of our time and abilities

We give them to the Lord for His use and glory.