03-22-2020

Rev. Trevor Johnston and Pastor Efrain Silva
Sermon Series: How to Pray, A Simple Guide for Normal People
Week 3: Rejoice
English PDF file for printing.
Para imprimir el archivo PDF en Español.

The Sermon Discussion Questions that we offer each week are designed to help the message go deeper into your life.  You can think them through on your own, or discuss it with your spouse, family, or small group – whether in person or through an online platform. 

1.    Continue to learn our memory verse for this sermon series by reading it out loud together.  
Luke 11:1: “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’” What is your favorite place to pray?

2.    In this sermon series, we are looking at author Pete Grieg’s acronym P.R.A.Y. from his book, How to Pray, A Simple Guide for Normal People to help us become more effective and more involved in prayer. Last week, we said that the ”P” stands for “Pause.”  Share what you remember from last week’s message about why it’s good to start prayer with a pause. 

3.    Read Philippians 4:4-7: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
What do you notice in these verses?

4.    The “R” stands for “Rejoice.” List all the things you can think of from your life to rejoice in. 

5.    Notice that Paul specifically says to “rejoice in the Lord.”  What do you think it means to rejoice in the Lord?  Why do you think Paul adds those words? 

6.    Rejoicing in the Lord involves two things:  Take time now to do these now:
- Thank God for who He is. 
- Thank God for what He does. 

7.    Read Nehemiah 8:10c:  “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength”.  If you’ve experienced a challenging time in your life when you received strength from the Lord, share what that was like. 

8.    Try out these four simple ideas to help you with this part of prayer: 
a. Say to yourself “I rejoice today in God’s ___________.” (fill in the blank)
b. Pray a Psalm
c. Play instrumental music
d. Pray with others – Jesus said that he is present in a special way, when several Christians pray together. 

9.    Try praying through Psalm 103:1-5 now:
“Praise the Lord, my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

10. Check out the resource “How to Pray the Psalms” by Pete Greig.

11. Check out Pastor Trevor’s friend Brian Wages’ album “Music for Prayer – Vol. 1”

a.    On Apple Music

b.    On Spotify

12. Community of Hope will have a 24-7 Prayer Week from Sunday, April 5th – Sunday, April 12th.  Sign up for a time-slot to pray at communityofhope.church/prayer

13. If you have kids, check out our kids’ resources at communityofhope.church/coronavirus.

14. We are grateful for your continued financial support of our church. It’s easy to give online at communityofhope.church/give.  Thank you for being such a generous church! 

15. We are creating two different at-home kits to make Holy Week meaningful and special, even from your home. Please register at communityofhope.church/holyweek so we know how many kits to prepare.  These will be available in both English and Spanish.  We’re planning on one of each kit per household, and we encourage you to sign-up for an extra kit to give to a neighbor.
a.   Holy Week at Home Kit for families with kids elementary age and younger. Daily activities you can do all throughout Holy Week.
b.  Good Friday At Home Experience Kit for people of all ages. Everything you need to create an interactive at-home experience to help you remember what Jesus did for you on that first Good Friday.