Not To Faint Or Lose Heart
The same lesson is taught in a very striking way in the second passage in Luke to which I have already referred, Luke 18:1-8: “And He spake a parable unto them to the end that they ought always to pray, and not to faint; saying, There was in a city a judge, who feared not God, and regarded not man: and there was a widow in that city; and she came oft unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest she wear me out by her continual coming. And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge saith. And shall not God avenge His elect, that cry to Him day and night, and yet He is long-suffering over them? I say unto you, that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith [literally, ‘the faith’] on the earth?”
What the central lesson in this parable is, we find in the words with which our Lord Jesus opens the parable, which are really the text of the whole parable; these words are, “Men ought always to pray, and not to faint,” the clear meaning of which is, that when we begin to pray we ought to pray on and on until we get the thing that we desire of God.
The exact force of the parable is, that if even an unrighteous judge will yield to persistent prayer and grant the thing that he did not wish to grunt, how much more will a loving God yield to the persistent cries of His children and give the things that He longs to give all the time, but which it would not be wise to give, would not be for the person’s own good to give, unless they were trained to that persevering faith that will not take “no” for an answer. So we see again that God does not always give us at the first asking what we desire of Him in prayer. – R. A. Torrey
Excerpt from Praying Through “Power of Prayer and the Prayer of Power”
The Lord's Day Services
Sunday, December 11th:
10:00a.m. Sunday School for all ages
11:00a.m. Morning Service – Dr. Larry Saunders
(Ladies Choir practice following the morning service)
4:00p.m. Christmas Outreach
6:00p.m. Pre-Service Prayer Meeting
6:30p.m. Evening Service – Dr. Larry Saunders
Weekly Announcements
Wednesday, December 14th:
6:00p.m. Sunday School Teachers – Gift Wrap
7:25p.m Bible Study & Prayer Meeting
Thursday, December 15th:
7:00p.m. Whitefield Christmas Concert
Friday, December 16th:
4:00p.m. Youth Fellowship Christmas Outing
7:00p.m Good News Bible Club
Advance Announcements
Sunday, December 18th:
10:00a.m. Sunday School Classes for all ages
11:00a.m. Morning Service – Dr. Larry Saunders
4:00p.m. Christmas Outreach
6:30p.m. Evening Service – Sunday School & Good News Bible Club Christmas Program
Wednesday, December 21st:
7:25p.m. Bible Study & Prayer Meeting
Christmas Outreach
We are planning for three Christmas outreach sessions. December 4th, 11th and 18th at 4:00pm. The Jew family have kindly offered to host a light lunch for each of these dates. Please join us to give the glorious Christmas Gospel Message!
Sunday School Christmas Concert
The Sunday school and Good News Club will be taking part in our Christmas program on Sunday December 18th, in the evening service.
Christmas Day Services
As Christmas day falls on the Lord’s Day this year, we are planning a special International Lunch following the morning service. Everyone is invited, and families are asked to bring a hot dish and salad or dessert. After lunch, we will have a time of Carol singing and reading of the Scriptures. There will be NO evening meeting that day.
A Virgin Shall Bear a Son – C.H. Spurgeon
“Oh, marvelous sight! Let us stand and look at it. A Child of a virgin, what a mixture! There is the finite and the Infinite, there is the mortal and the Immortal, corruption and Incorruption, the manhood and the Godhead, time married to eternity! There is God linked with a creature, the Infinity of the august Maker come to tabernacle on this speck of earth—the vast unbounded One whom earth could not hold and the heavens cannot contain—lying in His mother’s arms! He who fastened the pillars of the universe and riveted the nails of creation, hanging on a mortal breast, depending on a creature for nourishment! Oh, marvelous birth! Oh, miraculous conception! We stand and gaze and admire. Verily, angels may wish to look into a subject too dark for us to speak of! There we leave it, a virgin has conceived and borne a Son.” – From Spurgeon’s Sermons # 2392
Baptism Service
We are planning to have a baptism service early in the New Year. If you have come to Christ in salvation and desire to be baptized, please speak to Dr. Saunders
Please Pray for
Special Events
Current Magazine
The Fall issue of the Current is now available online. Click on the link below to view it.