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| | | GPS for Ramona Lutheran Church and School |
| | A few years ago, we launched a three part devotion and prayer plan as an encouragement for our congregation to grow in their personal and spiritual relationship with our Lord (i.e., GPS). Our congregational members and The GPS Team benefited greatly from following this plan (and we still do). The information for this plan is still included below. The dates are all wrong for this Lenten season, but it's still an excellent way to get started on a prayer and devotion routine (or a great refresher if you've found that the busyness of life has waylaid your quality time with the Lord). As always, our goal is to encourage everyone in their walk with our Father in Heaven, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ...and our Helper and communicator, The Holy Spirit.Blessings and peace to you all, The GPS Team
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| | To sign up for our GPS mailings (prayer requests and frequent encouragements) please send an email to the address listed below with the subject "subscribe." We'll add you to our list pronto! |
| rlc.gpsgroup@gmail.com |
| | | Finding God's way in your world |
| Over the last 2 to 3 months the GPS (Growing Personally and Spiritually) group has been meeting to develop a plan that will help all of us grow spiritually as a congregation. We believe that exciting things can happen for Ramona Lutheran Church and School as a result of an increased spiritual relationship with our heavenly Father. Our goal is to grow together as a congregation in our prayer life and scripture study. The hope is that our spirituality will burst forth and visitors to church will sense it and recognize the Spirit alive in us. In order to accomplish this we are proposing the following plan.Many studies in human behavior say it takes 21 days to develop a new habit. We are proposing a 3 stage process of 21 days per stage beginning Ash Wednesday, February 6. The first 21 day stage involves daily prayer, the second 21 days is daily Bible verse study (suggested verses will be provided) added to the prayer, and the third stage will be to move from verse study to daily devotions. Our hope is that after 63 days, new habits will be in place and continue on into the future. We encourage families to do this together when possible. The plan outlined in the service is summarized below. Prayer: Pray daily. We ask that you include in your prayers the fiscal and spiritual health of the church, church growth, and God’s leading to help us become the church He wants us to be. Set aside a special place and posture to pray rather than lying in bed prior to sleep, or while doing something else like driving. The idea is to focus on what you are praying about. Pray together as a family or by yourself. If you have a prayer request, you may let the prayer chain know, e-mail Leah Cullen at rlc.gpsgroup@gmail.com , or write it on the prayer board posted in the hallway. Items to include in your prayers may be found on the prayer board, church web site, and Sunday bulletin. Another helpful idea is to write down your prayer requests and over the year, record answers to the prayers as they come. Matthew 6: 5-15 contains Christ’s directions on how to pray. An acronym you can use to remember how we have been taught to pray is:
Praise
Repent
Ask
Yield Verse Study: We will provide a list of verses to study at the February 24 service and March newsletter. These are verses that have been recommended for study and memorization by various Christian resources. To study the verse, look at it in context. Ask these questions: What is the context (read several verses before and after as well as read Bible study notes if your Bible has them)? Who is the audience? What is the message? Why did this audience need this message? How does this message apply to your life? Daily devotions: Beginning the Wednesday after Easter, begin a practice of daily devotions. A list of devotion resources will be in the March newsletter and listed on the Ramona Lutheran Church and School web page. This Lenten season rather than give up something like candy or meat why not give up some of your time and spend it with God? We truly believe exciting things can happen in our church and school if we are all united in prayer and the study of God’s word. Why not give it a try? You can download this information by clicking on the file below. |
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GPS Phase II
Daily Bible Verse Study
How did your first 21 days
of prayer go? I hope you have begun
to feel a closer relationship to our heavenly Father. Prayer is the method we have of
communicating to God our needs, desires, praise, and gratitude. It also begins to open the door to God
communicating with us. The Holy
Spirit acts a bit like an interpreter between us and God. The inner yearnings, thoughts, and
feelings are often the Holy Spirit acting in us to let us know God’s
desire for us. How in tune are you
to these messages? Prayer helps us
get in tune with God’s communications. Remember to check the GPS link on the
church and school web site and the prayer board in the hallway for prayer
requests.
God’s most effective
way of communicating directly to us is through His Word. Now that you hopefully have reinforced,
strengthened, or developed the daily habit of prayer, the next step is to
develop the habit of getting into God’s Word. For the next 21 days, beginning
Wednesday February 27, we will begin studying a Bible verse (sometimes 2or 3)
each day. To truly study and
understand a verse, you are encouraged to read several verses before and after
the verse in question. This gives
you a better sense of the context in which it is being used. The next step is to identify the
audience for whom the verse is intended and determine why they needed that
message. Finally think about how
the message from the verse applies to you.
Is it a universal truth you can apply to your daily life? Can it give you comfort in times of
trouble (you might want to memorize these)? Does the verse give you a deeper
understanding of God and your relationship with Him? Does it give you insights into how to
deal with other people or personal challenges in your life? These are just some of the ways verses
can be helpful to you. As part of
your daily prayer, ask God to give you the insights you need to learn what he
wants you to learn. A good study Bible can be a great tool.
Below
is a list of 21 verses recommended for you to study, one per day. This is just a suggested list. Feel free to cut along the dotted line
and post the list somewhere or keep it in your Bible. If you have your own list, plan, or feel
compelled to study something different, by all means do. It may be God calling.
This
phase will last through March 18.
On Wednesday March 19 we will begin Phase III, the daily devotions. There will be more to come later on
Phase III. This is a great
opportunity to teach your children how to study Bible verses by studying them
together as a family. Try adding a
family prayer.
Remember
to continue to pray for our congregation and school, that we grow spiritually
into the church and school God intends us to become. Pray for each other. There is great peace and comfort knowing
that an entire church body is praying for you. Listen to the lessons God has in store
for you as you study His Word.
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Day
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Verse
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Day
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Verse
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Day
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Verse
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1
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Jeremiah 29:11
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8
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Rom 10:9,10
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15
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Col 3:12-14
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2
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Proverbs 3:5-6
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9
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1 Cor 6:18
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16
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1 Tim 4:12
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3
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Matt 6:25
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10
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2 Cor 9:6,7
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17
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2 Tim 3:16
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4
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Matt 28:18-20
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11
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Gal 5:22,23
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18
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James 1:22
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5
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Luke 12:29-31
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12
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Eph 2:8,9
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19
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James 4:7
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6
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John 14:6
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13
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Eph 4:29
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20
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1 Peter 3:15
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7
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Rom 5:3-5
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14
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Phil 4:11-13
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21
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1 John 4:1-3
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| | You can download this information by clicking the file below. |
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GPS Phase III
Daily Devotions
We are now gearing up for Phase 3 of GPS. I hope you have found the first 42 days of this journey rewarding. On Wednesday, March 19, we move into daily devotions. This may not be much different from the verse study we have been doing if you have been exploring verses around the scriptures recommended in the last phase. This is the last formal phase, but not the end. The plan is that consistent daily devotion over the next 21 days will ingrain a habit that will continue after the formal process is over. Although we will be formally finished with the 63 day program, we will continue to provide support and continued spiritual growth activities.
Below are some resources you can use for daily devotions:
- Portals of Prayer – available in the church sanctuary.
- Bible .org is a website with a large number of resources. Go to www.bible.org and move the cursor over the Topics header and search for studies in the method of your choice. There are a tremendous number of options.
- K-love radio’s web site also has resources. You need to register on their site and you will receive daily bible verses for the day. Go to http://www.klove.org/
A book I found valuable is called 90 Days Through the New Testament by Jim Burns.
There are many other resources you can find. Find one that appeals to you. With any study, read it critically. Ask yourself questions. How true does the message from the study fit with scripture and Lutheran doctrine? This critical evaluation will help you continue to grow in your relationship to our father in heaven.
Stay the course. Keep praying daily and studying God’s word. Let’s continue this journey together.
The GPS Team
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